Society for Ethnobotany

Over the course of the next month we'll be sharing highlights from the first official issue of "Ethnobotany and Economic Botany". Be sure to check out these exciting new papers, starting with "Understanding the Medicinal Orchid Trade in Central Nepal Through Harvest Monitoring" 💐

Log into your member account at ethnobotany.org to read more!

Our first issue under the new title: "Ethnobotany and Economic Botany" has been published!

Log into your account at ethnobotany.org to check out this exciting release, with topics from the medicinal Orchid trade in Nepal, to the conservation of Wild Olive in Ethiopia.

Names carry vision, identity, and direction. We’re proud to announce that the "Journal of Economic Botany" is now the "Journal of Ethnobotany and Economic Botany" — reflecting our evolving scope as well as the dynamic and interdisciplinary nature of our work.

Read more about the name change in December's issue, and keep your eyes peeled for our first issue of "Ethnobotany and Economic Botany"!

Check out this paper on urban foraging in Indonesia in our last Special Issue of Economic Botany! Log in at ethnobotany.org to access this and so much more 🌿

From medicinal plants and ancient crops to colonial histories and recovered knowledge, brings together voices reshaping how we understand human-plant relationships today.

TINDE VAN ANDEL
Tinde van Andel joins SEB 2026 in Montpellier for a special lecture marking her recognition as the 2026 recipient of the Distinguished Ethnobotanist Award. A professor of Ethnobotany at Leiden University and senior researcher at Naturalis Biodiversity Center, her work traces the movement of medicinal plants, crops, and knowledge systems between Suriname, the Caribbean, and West and Central Africa, while recovering histories obscured by colonialism.

3 June 2026, 18h
Auditorium, MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain, La Panacée, Montpellier

To learn more about all of our keynote speakers, visit: https://ethnobotany.org/home/meetings/ethnobotany-2026/keynote-speakers.html

From Indigenous knowledge and biocultural diversity to climate adaptation and planetary health, brings together voices reshaping how we understand human-plant relationships today.

XIAOYUE LI
Anthropologist Xiaoyue Li explores how traditional ecological knowledge intersects with climate change, conservation, and wild food systems. Drawing on long-term fieldwork with Indigenous communities including the Akha and the Nuosu, her work asks urgent questions about biocultural diversity, adaptation, and planetary health.

Lecture Title:
Why Ethnobotany Matters Now: Indigenous Knowledge, Planetary Health, and the Questions We're Not Asking
2 June 2026, 13.30h
Amphithéâtre Charles Flahaut, Institut de Botanique, Montpellier

To learn more about all of our keynote speakers, visit: https://ethnobotany.org/home/meetings/ethnobotany-2026/keynote-speakers.html

Don't miss this paper on wild food foraging in the Karakorum mountains in our latest Special Issue of Economic Botany!

Log in at ethnobotany.org to read more

Calling SEB Students! We are looking for a Social Media Manager to help promote SEB and its publications. The position is fully remote, ~ 1 hour per week, and pays $750 per year. Apply by June 18, 2026!

Scan the QR codes in the graphic for the application and full job description, or send questions to [email protected].

You must be a current SEB Student Member to apply.

The spring edition of SEB’s biannual newsletter “Plants and People” has been published!

Log in at ethnobotany.org to access the full newsletter, and to read more about scheduling and field trips for the upcoming SEB conference in Montpellier, as well as a special interview with Prof. Tinde van Andel.

From Indigenous rights and agroecology to biocultural diversity, climate adaptation, and the politics of plant knowledge, brings together voices reshaping how we understand human-plant relationships today.

KENZA BENABDERRAZIK
Researcher and lecturer at ETH Zürich, Kenza Benabderrazik works at the intersection of agroecology, political ecology, and art-science collaboration. Her practice explores food systems, water governance, and agroecological transitions through feminist and decolonial perspectives, while building new platforms between researchers, artists, and communities.

Lecture Title:
Cultivating a Third Space: Experimental Pathways for Agroecological Transformation
2 June 2026, 9h
Amphithéâtre Charles Flahaut, Institut de Botanique, Montpellier

To learn more about all of our keynote speakers, visit: https://ethnobotany.org/home/meetings/ethnobotany-2026/keynote-speakers.html