Ethnobotany. Lecture 15

Alexey Shipunov

Minot State University

February 18th, 2011

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Outline

1 Notes about Thursday’s excursion

2 Technical oil plants

3 Fruits and vegetables

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Outline

1 Notes about Thursday’s excursion

2 Technical oil plants

3 Fruits and vegetables

Shipunov (MSU) BIOL 310.15 February 18th, 2011 2 / 36

Outline

1 Notes about Thursday’s excursion

2 Technical oil plants

3 Fruits and vegetables

Shipunov (MSU) BIOL 310.15 February 18th, 2011 2 / 36

Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Ferocactus sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Mammillaria sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Melocactus sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Opuntia sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Pereskia sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Rhipsalis sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

≈Cereus sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Astrophytum sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Achlorophyllous form

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Aloë sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Aeonium sp. (Crassulaceae)

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Echeveria sp. (Crassulaceae)

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Lithops sp., Aizoaceae

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Aizoaceae “windowed” leaves

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Euphorbia sp.

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Euphorbia inflorescences

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Euphorbia cristata-like forms (fasciated growth)

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Dyckia sp. (Bromeliaceae, pineapple family)

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Brighamia insignis from Hawaii

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Brighamia as a weeble toy

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Notes about Thursday’s excursion

Young Welwitschia in a pot

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Technical oil plants

Tung, Vernicia (Aleurites) fordii

Small East Asian deciduous tree from spurge family,EuphorbiaceaeHighly poisonous seeds contain one of the best drying oils, rich(82%) of 3-unsaturated α-eleostearic fatty acidUsed for finishing wood (especially for musical instruments) andother staining processes

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Technical oil plants

Tung fruits

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Technical oil plants

Castor oil plant, Ricinus communis

African and Indian shrub from spurge family, EuphorbiaceaeCultivated as annual in temperate regionsSeeds are poisonous, but contain (95%) unique castor oilcontaining hydroxylated ricinoleic oil (unsaturated oil with –OHgroup)Widely used in traditional medicine as laxative, now used in manymodern drugs as a component, and also as technical oil forlubrication, making plastics etc.In fascist Italy, was widely used for intimidation of Mussoliniopponents (oil is not poisonous but in large quantity may beharmful)

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Technical oil plants

Castor plant

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Technical oil plants

Jojoba, Simmondsia sinensis

Shrub of its own family (Simmondsiaceae) native to southernNorth AmericaName is a result of botanical mistake: botanist J. Link misreadlabel “Calif” as “China”Seeds contain unique liquid wax (10◦C is a melting point):combination of long-chained fatty acids and fatty alcoholsJojoba “oil” is odorless, colorless and oxidatively stable, used a asubstitute for sperm whale oil: cosmetics, as stable lubricant (it isnot digested for most organisms); and now also as biofuelWidely cultivated in Arizona, California and Mexico

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Technical oil plants

Jojoba male flowers

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Fruits and vegetables

Fruits—and vegetables

The main “common sense” difference is the low amounts ofsugars in vegetables, plus tree origin of fruitsHowever, there are multiple exceptions: beet, avocado, plantainsetc.In addition, pumpkins and relatives (melon, watermelon,squashes) normally treated as separate groupMorphologically, fruits are fruits (and sometimes seeds like litchi orpomegranate, or riped inflorescences like pineapple or fig), andvegetables are everything else

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Fruits and vegetables

Main components of fruits

WaterDietary fiberSugarsOrganic acidsVitamins

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Fruits and vegetables

Dietary fiber

PolysaccharidesLigninOther constituents of plant cell walls (glycoproteides etc.)Improve intestinal transit, lowering the risk of colorectal cancer

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Fruits and vegetables

Lignin

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Fruits and vegetables

Fruit sugars

Mostly fructose and its derivatives (kestoses)Sweeter 1.7 times more than sucrose, but only at roomtemperature

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Fruits and vegetables

Summary

Photos from Vitko’s collection: http://ifile.it/c8eiwx9Most of fruits are sources of water, sugars, organic acids andplant vitamins

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Appendix For Further Reading

For Further Reading

A. Shipunov.Ethnobotany [Electronic resource]. 2011—onwards.Mode of access:http://ashipunov.info/shipunov/school/biol_310

P. M. Zhukovskij.Cultivated plants and their wild relatives [Electronic resource].Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, 1962.Mode of access:http://ashipunov.info/shipunov/school/biol_310/zhukovskij1962_cultivated_plants.pdfPages 28–74.

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