When time and funding permit, each flower (each plant species) will have its own page, and its own PDF, and eventually its own PPT so that professors and students have plenty of material on Guatemala (and Honduras, etc) to study.
Heliconia adflexa, Coban, Guatemala, Hotel Monja Blanca, FLAAR, by Nicholas Hellmuth
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Bibliography on Palms of Mesoamerica |
Suggested reading list for palm trees of Guatemala FLAAR (USA) and FLAAR Mesoamerica (Guatemala) do research on all utilitarian plants that were edible or otherwise used by the Mayan people for thousands of years. We then search for each species to help botanists find them more quickly. FLAAR also works to prepare bibliographies for botanists, students, landscape gardeners, home gardeners, and hobbyists. We then write and illustrate field reports for professors, students, and botanical gardens which use our high-resolution photographs of the plants and flowers. We also have a team that takes this scientific botanical knowledge and writes storyboards for children’s books and animated educational videos. Our brand for this is Mayan Toons. So we start with botanical and ethnobotanical research. When funding allows it, we work to find what eco-system supports the plants we are studying. All this requires having a good bibliography. Three of the FLAAR team work on preparing these bibliographies: Marcella Sarti, Cristian Garcia, and Nicholas Hellmuth. Once we have these bibliographies we feel it is appropriate to share our work with botanists, botanical park personnel, national park personnel, students, and the millions of people around the world who are interested in learning more about plants. So here is our list of suggested reading on palm trees (and palm vines and “bushes”). We focus on Guatemala but also are interested in all areas of the Mayan peoples: Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Yucatan, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. Bibliography on Palms of Mesoamerica (Mexico, Guatemala, etc) Here is the initial bibliography on palms of the areas of the Americas occupied by or connected by long-distance trade routes of ancient times of the Olmecs, Maya, Teotihuacanos, Toltecs, Aztecs and their neighbors. This part of the world (occupied and influenced by the Maya and Aztec) is known as Mesoamerica: north-central Mexico down to northern Costa Rica. There are hundreds of books and thousands of web pages. Our goal is to find the reliable web pages (which are better than copy-and-paste). If you are a botanist at a large university you will have a huge library around you. We (Dr Nicholas and FLAAR) have provided about 5,000+ books to the Museo Popol Vuh on long-term loan and 13,000 books on loan to the La Ruta Maya Foundation. We do this so that more Guatemalan professors and students can have access to the books we have bought over past decades, plus the several people’s libraries that they generously donated to us. In-house (surrounding the FLAAR teams) we have a pretty good library on plants, animals, fish, insects, reptiles, etc. of Guatemala, Mexico, and Costa Rica. So here are our initial suggestions, both for botanists but also for ethnographers, ethnobotanists, archaeologists, and all those who wish to learn about the eco-systems surrounding the Mayan cities and even more the forests nearer the Mayan people. PDF, Articles, Books on Palms of Mesoamerica
Palms of the Americas is an essential book, but, as typical of books on Plant XYZ of the World, the authors are from USA and South America: so plenty on South America and in general, but clearly Guatemala was neither their focus nor their area of expertise. But at least they do list all the palms (that they knew of in 1995) for each country: Belize has 38 (a lot for its size). Guatemala has 60 species since it’s size is larger than Belize and Guatemala has more diversity of altitude and eco-systems. Mexico of course has more diversity of eco-systems than Guatemala, plus is significantly larger: so Mexico has lots more species. Yet Panama has more than Belize, Guatemala and Mexico put together. Peru has even more than Panama. But this book is over three decades in the past. Fresh botanical field work on palms would be helpful. Plus, most discussions of palm trees need more information on local use.
Note: They list, among others, xa’an palm (Sabal yapa and Sabal mexicana)
Note: If all you have space for is one book on trees of Guatemala, this is definitely the one book you should consider. She takes everything written in multiple aging volumes by Standley, Steyermark, Record, and their team and copies-and-pastes it into a single volume. She of course adds newer information from other sources. But I estimate 90% is copy-and-paste and less than 10% is her going on field trips to see each tree face-to-face (though surely she worked in a lot of herbarium collections). But if you need fresh info on any one species, best to consult the botanists at UVG, USAC, and at the major national parks of Guatemala.
Note: Features primarily corozo and guano palms as source of roof thatch. But also mentions that in areas outside the well-studied Mayan areas of Yucatan, Campeche, Quintana Roo and Central Petén, that Wauchope also lists cabbage palm, and chiapai or chichon (p. 106). Plus, cumumxan (a Q’eqchi’ Mayan word, spelled K’ekchi’ in the 1930’s-1960’s). Of course grass and heliconia leaves are also listed as thatch (though Wauchope himself did not work in areas where he could see and learn about heliconia leafed roof thatch). Senaida Ba, one of our Q’eqchi’ Mayan assistants, suggests that cumumxan could be kumum, spiny palm to make brooms, Sabal species.
Note: his PhD dissertation was based on San Pedro Carchá, a suburb of Cobán (so close to the cloud-forest area). So palms of lower elevations (such as Petén) do not grow where he did his excellent research.
Suggested webpages with photos and information on Palms of Mesoamerica www.prensalibre.com/vida/palma-bellos-usos_0_1079892061.html www.prensalibre.com/retalhuleu/Artesanos-utilizan-palma-cocotero-elaborar-escobas-Retalhuleu-0-1181881933 http://publirutagt.com/blog/las-escobas-azulco-una-tradicion-traspasa-generaciones/ http://fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/sites/default/files/rapid-color-guides-pdfs/404_1.pdf www.backyardnature.net/mexnat/sabal.htm www.tropicos.org/Name/2400612?projectid=7&langid=66 www.palmerasyjardines.com/index.php/es/palmeras/guia-especies/details/28/64 sabal-mexicana www.gbif.org/species/2732503 www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Arecaceae/Bactris/ http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Bactris+guineensis https://www.gbif.org/species/2733363
First posted June, 2018
Suggested reading list for palm trees of Guatemala FLAAR (USA) and FLAAR Mesoamerica (Guatemala) do research on all utilitarian plants that were edible or otherwise used by the Mayan people for thousands of years. We then search for each species to help botanists find them more quickly. FLAAR also works to prepare bibliographies for botanists, students, landscape gardeners, home gardeners, and hobbyists. We then write and illustrate field reports for professors, students, and botanical gardens which use our high-resolution photographs of the plants and flowers. We also have a team that takes this scientific botanical knowledge and writes storyboards for children’s books and animated educational videos. Our brand for this is Mayan Toons. So we start with botanical and ethnobotanical research. When funding allows it, we work to find what eco-system supports the plants we are studying. All this requires having a good bibliography. Three of the FLAAR team work on preparing these bibliographies: Marcella Sarti, Cristian Garcia, and Nicholas Hellmuth. Once we have these bibliographies we feel it is appropriate to share our work with botanists, botanical park personnel, national park personnel, students, and the millions of people around the world who are interested in learning more about plants. So here is our list of suggested reading on palm trees (and palm vines and “bushes”). We focus on Guatemala but also are interested in all areas of the Mayan peoples: Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Yucatan, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. Bibliography on Palms of Mesoamerica (Mexico, Guatemala, etc) Here is the initial bibliography on palms of the areas of the Americas occupied by or connected by long-distance trade routes of ancient times of the Olmecs, Maya, Teotihuacanos, Toltecs, Aztecs and their neighbors. This part of the world (occupied and influenced by the Maya and Aztec) is known as Mesoamerica: north-central Mexico down to northern Costa Rica. There are hundreds of books and thousands of web pages. Our goal is to find the reliable web pages (which are better than copy-and-paste). If you are a botanist at a large university you will have a huge library around you. We (Dr Nicholas and FLAAR) have provided about 5,000+ books to the Museo Popol Vuh on long-term loan and 13,000 books on loan to the La Ruta Maya Foundation. We do this so that more Guatemalan professors and students can have access to the books we have bought over past decades, plus the several people’s libraries that they generously donated to us. In-house (surrounding the FLAAR teams) we have a pretty good library on plants, animals, fish, insects, reptiles, etc. of Guatemala, Mexico, and Costa Rica. So here are our initial suggestions, both for botanists but also for ethnographers, ethnobotanists, archaeologists, and all those who wish to learn about the eco-systems surrounding the Mayan cities and even more the forests nearer the Mayan people. PDF, Articles, Books on Palms of Mesoamerica
Palms of the Americas is an essential book, but, as typical of books on Plant XYZ of the World, the authors are from USA and South America: so plenty on South America and in general, but clearly Guatemala was neither their focus nor their area of expertise. But at least they do list all the palms (that they knew of in 1995) for each country: Belize has 38 (a lot for its size). Guatemala has 60 species since it’s size is larger than Belize and Guatemala has more diversity of altitude and eco-systems. Mexico of course has more diversity of eco-systems than Guatemala, plus is significantly larger: so Mexico has lots more species. Yet Panama has more than Belize, Guatemala and Mexico put together. Peru has even more than Panama. But this book is over three decades in the past. Fresh botanical field work on palms would be helpful. Plus, most discussions of palm trees need more information on local use.
Note: They list, among others, xa’an palm (Sabal yapa and Sabal mexicana)
Note: If all you have space for is one book on trees of Guatemala, this is definitely the one book you should consider. She takes everything written in multiple aging volumes by Standley, Steyermark, Record, and their team and copies-and-pastes it into a single volume. She of course adds newer information from other sources. But I estimate 90% is copy-and-paste and less than 10% is her going on field trips to see each tree face-to-face (though surely she worked in a lot of herbarium collections). But if you need fresh info on any one species, best to consult the botanists at UVG, USAC, and at the major national parks of Guatemala.
Note: Features primarily corozo and guano palms as source of roof thatch. But also mentions that in areas outside the well-studied Mayan areas of Yucatan, Campeche, Quintana Roo and Central Petén, that Wauchope also lists cabbage palm, and chiapai or chichon (p. 106). Plus, cumumxan (a Q’eqchi’ Mayan word, spelled K’ekchi’ in the 1930’s-1960’s). Of course grass and heliconia leaves are also listed as thatch (though Wauchope himself did not work in areas where he could see and learn about heliconia leafed roof thatch). Senaida Ba, one of our Q’eqchi’ Mayan assistants, suggests that cumumxan could be kumum, spiny palm to make brooms, Sabal species.
Note: his PhD dissertation was based on San Pedro Carchá, a suburb of Cobán (so close to the cloud-forest area). So palms of lower elevations (such as Petén) do not grow where he did his excellent research.
Suggested webpages with photos and information on Palms of Mesoamerica www.prensalibre.com/vida/palma-bellos-usos_0_1079892061.html www.prensalibre.com/retalhuleu/Artesanos-utilizan-palma-cocotero-elaborar-escobas-Retalhuleu-0-1181881933 http://publirutagt.com/blog/las-escobas-azulco-una-tradicion-traspasa-generaciones/ http://fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/sites/default/files/rapid-color-guides-pdfs/404_1.pdf www.backyardnature.net/mexnat/sabal.htm www.tropicos.org/Name/2400612?projectid=7&langid=66 www.palmerasyjardines.com/index.php/es/palmeras/guia-especies/details/28/64 sabal-mexicana www.gbif.org/species/2732503 www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Arecaceae/Bactris/ http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Bactris+guineensis https://www.gbif.org/species/2733363
First posted June, 2018 |