Australian Ethnobotany

Shelley GAGE sgage4@eq.edu.au
Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:39:16 PST
Dear Pam, 
Australia has, as you would know, few native bulbous plants but if I can help you with info etc on any of our many and varied plants let me please let me know. I live in South-east Qld and of course we have a wide range of habitats.
Shelley

----- Original Message -----
From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>
Date: Thursday, February 5, 2009 3:42 am
Subject: Re: [pbs] Australian Ethnobotany
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>

> Pam asked about Australian ethnobotanical information for an 
> exhibit 
> where she volunteers.
> 
> >At Boyce Thompson Arboretum where I volunteer, we're talking 
> about in an
> >Australian Seep exhibit.  In studying a little but very 
> interesting monograph
> >called "Mutooroo," I found the following entries about bulbous 
> >plants but would
> >like to pass on the definition of mutooroo found in the book - 
> "Aboriginal for
> >'place where we go for food'."  The following is verbatim 
> and I will thus, not
> >use quotes:
> >
> >This book was first published in 1984.  I was told that 
> its title 
> >"Mutooroo" is
> >pronounced moo-jer-OOO.  Is this correct?  Also, 
> isn't the correct Crinum name
> >pendiculatum?  There are also interesting but longer 
> entries for Alocasia and
> >Calocasia spp. that I'd be glad to share if anyone's interested.
> 
> Pam, there's no such language as "Aboriginal." Australia has 
> many 
> native languages in more than one family. If you'd like this 
> clarified for your exhibit, I can track down some more rigorous 
> information for you. The languages of Australia, most of which 
> are 
> extinct or nearing extinction (thanks in part to colonial 
> efforts to 
> separate children from their cultures), have been relatively 
> well documented.
> 
> Jane McGary
> 
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