The Introduction:
Photosynthesis is arguably one of the most important processes on Earth – essentially all life depends on it. Humans and other animals depend on plants to capture the energy of the sun and use that energy to manufacture carbohydrates – subsequently releasing the oxygen that we breathe. But plants are vital to our lives in other ways as well. Think about the pencil you write with (or used to), the toothpick you used last night, the cotton T-shirt you wore today or the maple syrup you had on your pancakes this morning. These all came from plants! Ethnobotany is the study of the relationship between plants and people – plants used for practical, ceremonial, spiritual, medicinal, decorative, edible, etc. purposes.