This award allows the investigator to get released time from teaching at his predominantly undergraduate institution in order to analyze a large data base on the medicinal properties and uses of plants used by native Americans. The database comprises 2100 species. By matching the plants used by American Indians with another database of purely botanical information, the PI will create an enriched ethnobotanical database of native uses and botanical properties. This latter database will be analyzed for general principles underlying the choice of plants for medicinal uses. This research is important because the potential value of new medicinal plants is enormous, and the large database this project will create and analyze will be unique. The value of the data in allowing regional comparisons will also stimulate other research into Native American belief systems.
