Ethnobotany is the study of how people (past and present) use plants for food, medicine, shelter, tools, and cultural practices. It looks at the relationship between humans and plants across different societies, including Indigenous knowledge, historical uses, and modern applications.
For example:
Maple trees → Used for syrup (food) and wood (furniture, flooring).
Black walnut → Wood for furniture, nuts for food, and husks for dye.
Cedar → Used in Indigenous ceremonies, canoe building, and natural medicine.
For the Dendrologue, ethnobotany sources will help document historical and cultural tree uses... which would be a cool addition alongside the economic and ecological values!