Ethnobotany: the Nature and Culture of Plants
April 24-June 10 in the Gallery

The science of “ethnobotany” studies the relationship between human society and plants. Ethnobotanists research how people have used plants for food, shelter, medicines, clothing, dyes, tools, and in religious ceremonies. Visitors to Tohono Chul Park’s Ethnobotanical Garden may view demonstration plantings of seasonal crops such as beans, corn, squash, cotton, okra and gourds: plants that have been collected or cultivated for use by people of the Southwest region from historical times to the present.

  Ethnobotany is a rich subject for Tucson artists whose work is featured in our exhibition. Julia Andres is a sculptor who casts in bronze a bounty of three-dimensional fruits, seeds and vegetables that she details with polychromatic patinas. Botanical illustrator Margaret Pope’s work will include an image of Tohono O’odham squash that she observed in the Park’s Ethnobotanical Garden.

   Watercolors by Martha Burgess and Sharon Bertrand will depict significant and useful plants of the region such as Devils’ Claw, used by Native American basket makers to weave dark brown design elements, as well as cactus fruits and corn used for food and ceremonial purposes.