Field Book Project

Sharing Culture through Plants

By Sonoe Nakasone, Field Book Project

Entry for Ledum palustre in William J. Fisher's botanical field notes from Kodiak, Alaska, 1899. Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History.

What would an anthropological view of biodiversity look like?  Perhaps one answer is the botanical field notes of William J. Fisher (1830- 1903) from Kodiak, Alaska, 1899. 

William Fisher worked as a Tidal Recorder in Alaska, but it seems his real interest was collecting biological specimens and ethnographic artifacts.  In 1879, Fisher began collecting specimens for the Smithsonian in his spare time.  Although Fisher collected birds, plants, fish, and other natural history specimens, his ethnographic collections eventually dominated his focus.

Fisher’s botanical field notes from 1899 take an ethnobotanical approach, perhaps reflecting his interest in Kodiak culture.  Fisher examined the relationship between the Alutiiq (Aleut) and their plants by recording medicinal and food uses for 48 specimens.  Additionally, for many of these specimens Fisher includes Russian and Sugpiat/Alutiiq (Aleut) names, distribution information, and a note if the plant is introduced. 

The natural remedies and culinary descriptions Fisher recorded sparked many questions: how accurate were Fisher’s notes; how much more knowledge about our environment can we obtain from other cultures?  For this post, I attempted to answer only the first of these questions.  Conducting light internet research, I compared Fisher’s notes to published sources for some of the known medicinal properties and general or Alutiiq food uses of these plants.  This was challenging as most of the phonetically spelled Russian and Sugpiat/Alutiiq names listed in Fisher’s notes yielded no internet search results.  Luckily, Fisher included scientific names for two of his specimens: Fritillaria camschatcensis and Ledum palustre  Eventually, I also found results on two other specimens using their Russian names “brussnika [sic]” (brusnika) and “kalina”.

Fisher provides medicinal uses for two of the four plants I researched.  For one of these specimens, Ledum palustre (wild rosemary), Fisher makes the following note:

“[U]sed […]: 1) as a tea […for] alleviating the hacking cough of consumptives; 2) as a gargle for sore throat; 3) […] as a tea […for] asthmatic complaints. […]  The leaves are chewed also and give relief in asthmatic complaints.”

Fisher’s notes align with the medical benefits listed for Ledum palustre on Plants for a Future (PFAF). This entry, however, also notes several serious hazards to Ledum palustre that Fisher does not.

Another medicinal plant from Fisher’s notes is “Kalina” (Viburnum edule; Highbush cranberry):

“[R]emedy for sore throats, either the raw berries or boiled with sugar added for same purpose the outside bark of the plant is removed and the inner bark taken and boiled and freely drank.”

The entry for “Kalina” in Plant Lore of An Alaskan Island: Foraging in the Kodiak Archepelago [sic] (Kelso, 2011) contains a similar description of the medical benefits of this plant, but offers more details.

 

Fisher’s notes include information on food, but not medicinal uses for the following two specimens.  According to Fisher’s notes, Fritillaria camschatcensis (Kamchatka fritillary), in the Lily family, was used as a preserve:

“[T]he bulbs are boiled, mashed, and after a liberal supply of seal or whale oil has been thoroughly mixed therewith, it is put away for winter’s use.”
 
Similarly, both the PFAF database entry for Kamchatka fritillary and Kelso's book mention the edible bulbs of the fritillary, descriptions on how to prepare this plant differ greatly from Fisher’s.

Different from the Highbush Cranberry mentioned earlier, Fisher’s notes record another type of cranberry that is used for preserves.  These are referred to as “brussnika [sic]” (brusnika) in Russian.  Fisher’s notes explain how these cranberries are “[M]ixed with seal or whale oil and salmon spawn for winter’s preserves.”  By contrast, the entry for “brusnika” in Kelso's book has no record of seal, whale, or fish parts being used in the making cranberry preserves and also includes medicinal information absent from Fisher’s notes.

From my brief research on the four plants above, I found some overlap between Fisher’s notes and the information found in PFAF and Kelso's book, particularly with the medicinal information Fisher was able to capture.  There were, however, many striking differences.  These differences highlight the importance of the folk knowledge that can be gleaned from various cultures and communities world-wide.

So, where are you from?  Are there plants special to your region?  Does your community or region have unique traditions using those plant materials?  We invite you to share some of your botanical traditions in the comments.  Let us know your story and we may invite you to guest blog.

References

Crowell, A. L. 1992. Postcontact Koniag Ceremonialism on Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula: Evidence from the Fisher Collection. Arctic Anthropology, vol. 29(1), pp. 18-37.

 Kelso, F. (2011). Plant Lore of an Alaskan Island: Foraging in the Kodiak Archepelago. AuthorHouse: Bloomington, Indiana.

Around the World in 60 Years: The Traveling Field Books of F. Raymond Fosberg

By Emily Hunter, Field Book Project

92-1712, F. Raymond Fosberg, (1908-1993), botanist and ecologist, looking at leaves on a tree, was on the staff of the National Museum of Natural History from 1966 to 1993, Smithsonian Archives - History Div

F. Raymond Fosberg was a botanist with a long and remarkable career. He joined the staff of the National Museum of Natural History in 1966, working as Curator of Botany, Senior Botanist, and eventually Emeritus Botanist. Fosberg collected specimens all over the globe, including the Americas, Pacific Islands, Europe, Africa, and Asia. He documented his activities in 129 field books, spanning 62 years, across seven decades (1931-1993).

It’s not just sheer quantity that is so incredible about Fosberg’s field notes. His notes are comprehensively inclusive, descriptive, and meticulously detailed. Rusty Russell, Department of Botany Collections Manager, noted in his blog post that Fosberg encouraged him to record everything he saw. Fosberg himself maintained a zealous yet thoughtful and deliberate record of his activities in the field through his carefully dated and numbered field books. He collected wherever he happened to be, including outside of hotel rooms.

Fosberg always found opportunities for recording in his field books. When I began cataloging them, I often found notes labeled “Germany to Pakistan” or “Washington, D.C. to Miami” and wondered at this very broad style of geographic description. Then I realized that Fosberg was actually writing field notes from the airplane! Indeed, Fosberg recorded even as he traveled from point A to point B, peering from the windows of airplanes, trains, and taxis, and noting everything he saw.

Fosberg was an exceptionally well traveled individual. From the field books, we can see that he collected in 73 countries and 45 U.S. states! Feel free to pause a moment and let that sink in. Amazing, right?!

The map above shows countries visited by Fosberg, and displays the number of field books that include field notes from that country. To interact with the map, hover your mouse over the countries. You will see a small window that displays the country (or dependent state) name and the number of field books held by the Smithsonian (NMNH Department of Botany) that contain field notes from that place.

This map (above) breaks down the field notes of Fosberg by state. As you can see, Fosberg didn’t just collect abroad in exotic environments. He often collected and created field notes very close to home. In fact, 68 field books contain notes from Virginia. Fosberg visited numerous states and countries each year, so nearby locations like Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina are peppered throughout as he left and returned to his office in Washington, D.C.

Fosberg was active up until his death in 1993. His final field book (March 1992 to May 1993) shows that he traveled to Hawaii, California, Virginia, Maryland, Caroline Islands, and Okinawa, collecting 153 specimens. No decline in the rigor and precision can be observed from these final pages. A final entry is dated 29 May 1993. Fosberg passed away the following September.

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Parícutin, a Personal Account

Anniversary of the eruption, February 20, 1943.

By Lesley Parilla, Field Book Project

  

SIA2009-0861. Cabin engulfed by lava flow, northeast of Parícutin Volcano in Mexico, June 12, 1943. Photograph comes from the William Foshag papers, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7281.

The Field Book Project includes several examples of citizen scientists at work. Often these people later became scientists, others remained longtime amateur enthusiasts. Some were brought to science by circumstance. This is the story of one such man, Caledonio Gutierrez. His papers were cataloged along with the field books of William Foshag, a Curator of Minerals at the U.S. National Museum, while studying Parícutin Volcano in Mexico. Parícutin has at times been a popular topic for writing here at the Smithsonian. The Volcano was a rare geological event, representing the first time a volcano’s birth, life, and death was recorded by scientists. During its period of activity, 1943 - 1952, it garnered significant attention from the scientific and general public. It was born in a corn field, and over its short life span caused the evacuation of two nearby towns, and required the resettlement of San Juan Parangaricutiro.

 

SIA2009-0866. Parícutin crater viewed from helicopter, July 31, 1945.

Foshag’s materials include a wide variety of photographs and entries detailing daily changes. They also include images of New San Juan Parangaricutiro, when the town was resettled. Accounts of the area around the volcano are often dramatic. William Foshag wrote while traversing the sides of Parícutin Volcano in Mexico in 1943:

 “About 15 minutes after our arrival, a spot, about one meter across became more incandescent, changing from the glowing red of the lava cracks to a brilliant orange yellow, and began to work like leavening bread, and then to slowly flow. Slowly the moving area spread, and within five minutes the entire cliff, for the width of five meters had melted into a flow of brilliant orange.”

 

Foshag worked for several years studying the evolution of Parícutin. While there, a local inhabitant of San Juan Parangaricutiro, by the name of Caledonio Gutierrez worked as his assistant. Though not a geologist or mineralogist, Gutierrez kept a diary of the daily activity and effects of the Volcano on his community. The diary covers 1943-1952, describing changes observed in Paricutín, Mesa de los Hornitos, and the surrounding environment, including emanating debris (i.e. ash) and vapor, ongoing eruptions, changes to the crater, and individuals who explored the area. His diary, composed in Spanish, was partially translated into English and is part of Foshag’s Smithsonian Institution Archives collection.

 

SIA2009-0865. Parícutin from the outskirts of Parícutin village. The cross was erected to ward off danger to the village, May 27, 1943.

Below is a quote (translated) from Gutierrez explaining his journal.

“[January 1, 1946] Three years ago my village existed tranquilly, without any warning of the volcano that exists today. Three years ago all parts of this region were beautiful, with fruit trees in the village, green pastures, beautiful fields that demonstrated the riches of the area, with cattle and sheep and droves of horses…now there remains for me only a remembrance and a pride to have known it as it existed three years ago and to note that changes that I observed with the eruption of this volcano as it continues its activity.”

Below Gutierrez’s excerpt, Foshag wrote:

"Although these notes are couched in simple terms, they constitute the only complete record of the volcano's activity and have the advantage of being free of any preconceived notions of what a volcano should do."

 

As Foshag acknowledged in the quote above, the Gutierrez journal is a wonderful example of the care and focus that citizen scientists often give to their work. Though Gutierrez had no formal training, his style and content were consistent and detailed enough to provide valuable information to professionals in the natural sciences.  The journal not only tells the story of a volcano and the communities it affected, but also augments scientific observations in the vicinity, shedding light on field work in habitats affected by the volcanic activity.

 

SIA 2009-0876, Front of the flow of January, February, and March 2, 1944.

 

How Sweet It Is... Love in the Field

By Emily Hunter & Lesley Parilla, Field Book Project

Whoever said that field books aren’t romantic? Accounts of affection can be found among the pages of botanists, ornithologists, and mammalogists alike. Some include accounts of trips for 50th wedding anniversaries (Lawrence Walkinshaw), or honeymoon plans (Pacific Ocean Biological Survey).

Once you begin to look, you may see that signs of love are all around. To observe the mating ritual of the Laysan Albatross one must acknowledge the care and attention that goes into wooing one’s partner. It’s inspiring! Perhaps that is how scientists working for the Pacific Ocean Biological Survey felt, when they encountered this enamored duo on Midway Island:

Laysan albatross, Laysan Island, circa 1961-1973

In fact, someone liked it enough to create a sketch. Sweet, no? And if you would like to see this courtship dance in all of its glory, we encourage you to watch this video.

If you think it’s only the birds feeling the Valentine’s day spirit, look below at some of the other expressions of affection in the field.

SIA2012-3233, RU7293, Primate and tiger cub  photographed during the National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to the Dutch East Indies, 1937.

SIA2012-3236, RU7293, Unidentified child with tiger cub photographed during the National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to the Dutch East Indies, 1937.

SIA2012-3234, RU7293, Tiger cub being fed by Lucile Mann, during the National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to the Dutch East Indies, 1937.

SIA2012-3237, RU7293, Pangolin, photographed during the National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to the Dutch East Indies, 1937.

 From all of us here at the Field Book Project: Happy Valentine’s Day!

Flash! Starfish

Starfish specimen collected off the coast of Palmer Peninsula, Antarctica, c. 1962.

A New Way to Look at a Fish Market

By Lesley Parilla, Field Book Project

Sketch from a page in“Color Notes on Hawaiian Fishes” in Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) Record Unit 7184, Box 16 Folder 8, 1901.

While working on this project I have come across a number of items that have taken me by surprise, changed my perception of what is a priority for specimen description, and what counts as field work. Before this project, I had not realized some types of specimens change dramatically in appearance after they are caught and preserved. Birds’ feathers for instance, stay the same, but fish lose much of their original coloring during the preservation process. This affects the types of information collected in field notes.

Scientists use unexpected resources to collect data. Alexander Wetmore, ornithologist and much blogged about former Secretary of the Smithsonian, used entrée listings on regional menus to gauge the migration of birds across South America. In the case of this post, my discovery has to do with the importance of recording the colors and appearance of fish when first collected.

When fish are collected, many invariably lose their coloring shortly after death or during the preservation process. In field notes from the 1800’s, recording color and patterns was a major focus because of how much was lost by the time specimens reached the institution. See the post and activity on the lovely series of sketches and color images of fish created shortly after they were caught during the United State Exploring Expedition (1838-1842).

While cataloging the Bureau of Fisheries Records, 1877-1948 (RU 7184) I found a record book labeled Color Notes on Hawaiian Fishes. In it were detailed descriptions of fish found at the Honolulu fish market, June 6 - August 8, 1901.

Page from “Color Notes on Hawaiian Fishes” from RU 7184, Box 16 Folder 8, 1901.

An employee of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries went through the market carefully describing fish after fish for sale. Descriptions for a single fish often cover an entire page; some, like the one above, include sketches with notes. These sketches are not so different from ones completed during The U.S Exploring Expedition (seen below).

SIA2011-1231. Sketch of fish collected near Fiji, during the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842.

The similarities between these two emphasize one of the things so fascinating about working with Smithsonian materials. As a research institution and federal entity, the Smithsonian straddles the areas of pure and applied sciences. The Bureau of Fisheries grew out of the work of Spencer Baird (Secretary of the Smithsonian 1878 to 1887) conducted for the federal government in regards to American commercial fishing. This is why the Smithsonian has their early records, before the Bureau morphed and merged with US Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Many of Smithsonian departments work closely with federal agencies applying science – US Department of Agriculture, US Geological Survey, just to name two. They work well together because, though the initial purpose of the science is different, the principles and methods are similar. Their results are comparable and of value to both types of science. The two fish shown above are from between Fiji and the Hawaiian Islands, yet the comparison is intriguing because the field work occurred in such dissimilar places, the Pacific Ocean and a fish market.

A Map Mystery

By Eleonore Dixon-Roche

Figure 1: Map from December 6th 1920. The journal entry describes the river as “winding as ever” which can be seen in the map. (From Joseph Francis Rock, field notes, 1920-1929. Folder 3: Rock, J.F.: Siam, Burma, Assam, 1920-1921.)

I started working on an assignment for the Field Book Project in September 2011 as an intern cataloguing maps for various departments at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.  I looked at one of Botanist Joseph Rock’s (see also http://goo.gl/ay2O1) extensive journeys throughout Asia that he completed during the early 1900s. For a brief portion of those travels in 1921, Rock created hand-drawn maps with corresponding journal entries in a manuscript covering his travels of 1921-1922. We knew from a general collection description that he traveled through Burma, Thailand, and Siam. His maps also provided enough detail to establish the general direction of travel and discern some distinctive geological landmarks. Pinpointing an exact location and specific route, however, was fraught with issues.

Whilst the map did include place names of where Rock and his native guides passed through, each place name was written phonetically, with multiple spellings for the same location being used throughout his journal. Disambiguating these place names was especially difficult because there was no mention of what country they were in, let alone detailed accounts of the location. 

To complicate matters, the majority of these locations were small villages that are not registered in most indexes or Google Earth.  In addition, the place name could be several words, and the point at which the series of letters were split into words seemed arbitrary at times. Some place names were rather commonly used throughout the region for different locations and therefore not a good indicator of a unique location. The river seemed to disappear at certain points, and it did not seem likely that natural events would have caused this. Lastly, due to the high density of rapids in certain areas it was rather difficult to pin point exactly which river he went down. As the rapids were mentioned multiple times as a reference to his location this could have been key to narrowing down his route further (Figure 2). As the scale was not perfect, the maps also could not be used for calculating accurate distances or for actual variations in river width.

Figure 2: An excerpt from page 7 of Rock's journal, one of the many references
to the high density of rapids. (Rock, J.F.: Siam, Burma, Assam, 1920-1921)

Deciphering Rock’s route was daunting at first, but there were in fact some great clues and rather simple solutions to many of the challenges. Though the journal and maps did not correlate exactly, I was able to work backwards from the route described in his journal, to find the general direction he had come from.  The map shown in Figure 1, for example, has the corresponding journal entry for December 6: "The banks of the river are now flat and fringed by trees and Bamboo; and as is as winding as ever."

I was also able to narrow down countries he was passing through whilst disambiguating and the mention of a river’s name in both Thai and Burmese. Discounting some inaccuracies of scale, I focused on the distinctive forks and bends Rock marked along the river on his maps to plot them in Google Earth (Figurea 3a and 3b).

Figure 3a.  Page 5 of Joseph's Rock 1921 hand-drawn map.  From Joseph Francis Rock, field notes, 1920-1929. Folder 3: Rock, J.F.: Siam, Burma, Assam, 1920-1921.	Figure 3b. Bends in Rock’s maps lined up with a contemporary satellite view of a river using Google Earth.

 Along with the sporadic descriptions from the journal of the water’s speed, the river’s width, and the occasional island, it was possible to begin confidently marking some points along my virtual route on Google Earth. In the more ambiguous areas, I used what little information the maps conveyed on the mountain ranges to ascertain the general direction he could have traveled using waterways. After working out the general direction in which he was traveling, I looked at the place names on Google Earth and correlated any that sounded similar. This method only worked for a few locations. Next, I made note of every place name that was mentioned in both the journal and the maps. I then sorted through the lists and made note of those that sounded similar. Using various websites listing all Thai cities and villages, I pinned them all on Google Earth. Some were immediately discounted due to their location, but once all the pins were in place, a path became unequivocally clear.

The remaining ambiguous routes were described as narrow rivers with fast moving water, leading to an assumption that they were rapids. This region was full of rapids in areas less than approximately a square mile. For these sections, it was impossible to be accurate beyond a general area.

Even though Rock’s maps presented serious challenges in trying to line up with contemporary maps, it was interesting to observe how the accuracy of the maps increased along his journey. This may be due to the fact that later locations had more distinctive landmarks, which can be seen in pages 8 and 9.  It is unlikely that his cartography skills would have improved substantially, however his observation skills may have.

Figure 4: View from Google Earth showing a dam constructed after J.F. Rock's hand-drawn maps were created.

The most intriguing part of this project was where Rock's map was almost logically aligned with the features shown on Google Earth, but one section remained where the river in the satellite images seemed to disappear into a rather large lake that was not marked on Rock's map.  The discrepancy took up a significant portion of the route and required closer examination.  Upon looking at it, Rusty Russell, the Collections Manager in the Dept of Botany, immediately knew to zoom in as far as possible on the Google Earth map.  And lo and behold, there was now a dam, which had drastically altered the landscape and waterways since Rock's travels (Figure 4).  

 

 

To view the full course of Rock's journey that was plotted in Google Earth, you can Download JosephRockJourney or click on the map below to view in Google Maps.  Enjoy!

 

View JosephRockJourney.kml in a larger map

 

Sources

The following websites were used to help disambiguate place names:

http://www.fallingrain.com/world/TH/

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Thailand

http://gospelgo.com/a/thaiv.htm