MICRB 201 Introductory Microbiology

Indigenous and Eurocentric Classification of Organisms

As noted from the works of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, the rich flora diversity that occupies the equally diverse ecological regions of Canada is an area that deserves appreciation and conservancy.  However, the regions have continuously been getting altered by human activities, therefore placing plants thereof at a risk of decline in their populations. The activities are inclusive of industrial activities, deforestation as well as unsustainable practices in agriculture. Thus the importance of the activity I carried out of investigating three types of plant organisms using the Indigenous and Eurocentric methods. The paper will be describing the three plant organisms and will be contrasting how they were classified by the Native Americans of Northern Canada and by people in the Eurocentric training and perspective.

The first plant organism I sampled was the American Ginseng. The plant was is essentially an herbaceous perennial plants for the ivy family native in the east Northern side of American, most noted in Ontario as well as the Ozark Mountains and Appalachian deciduous forests in the US. For its indigenous classification, the Native Americans essentially categorized the plant through its features – its three prolonged (or added) display of five leaflet of its mature plants. The natives used to identify the “sang” as they called it in the digging season by looking for its red berries. The berries together with the unique yellowing of the leaves towards the end of subject season made some excellent field markers (Xie, et al., 2004). 

There were also folkloric and medicinal application of the ginseng by the Native Americans as well as the Chinese, which are remarkably similar to ones another.  However, the White Americans, however, vastly disregarded the main herbal roots of the Seng and favored the gaining of lucrative gains noted from the ginseng export to the Eastern market to China. For the plant’s Eurocentric classification, its scientific name is Panax Quinquefolius. Previous Eurocentric studies have indicated that both the American gingseng root as well as the berry extract have hypoglycemic properties. It can also be noted how the leaves are scientifically determined by six main ginsenosides, that is Re, Rd, Rc, Rb(1), and Rb(2) by the performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

The Nodding Trillium is the second plant organism I sampled. The Indigenous classification of the plant indicated that there were and still are 39 different native types of trilliums in North America. All these species belong to the family Liliaceae (lil). The plant is native to the temperate areas of Northern America as well as Eastern Asia. The plant was also indigenously identified by its how the apex of each part of the stem as being whorl having three-pointed bracts and some perfect solitary flower on the stronger stems. The flower also has three different sepals as well as three broad particularly white petals with at least six solitary flower on its stronger stems.

The plant’s fruit is also identified as having a berry of about 3 centimeters for its diameter, and is sex-lobed and reddish (Stritch, 2021). The Natives were familiar with the fact that the fruit was mainly found in areas with moist, fertile soils in the coniferous and broad-leaf forests and were essentially widely distributed in the Northeastern areas of the Northern America.  The Eurocentric categorization confirms the genus ‘Trillium’ as having 49 different species, with 39 of them being native to the various areas across North America. It is known that the specimen noted by the Linanaeus was indeed Trillium catesbaei, the nodding species were native to the Appalachian Mountains in the southern areas where Trillium cernuum was not found (Stritch, 2021).

The third plant I sampled was the Red Bearberry. The natives identified it by the delicious edible fruit said as being greatly enjoyed by the bears. Its fruit, also referred to as the Kinnikinnick, Mountain Box, and Mealberry. As far as it Indigenous history is concerned, it can also be noted how in the 13^th century Marco Polo reported that the Chinese had been using it as one of diuretic, in treating urinary and kidney health issues (Bionity.com, 2021). The Bearberry leaves were also known to be used for medical purposes in Poland as well as other countries. The Native Americans applied it with tobacco as well as other herbs in their religious ceremonies, and was also used as smudge and also smoked in their sacred pipes, and it also carried the prayers of the smokers to its Great Spirit. The name Kinnikinnick came from the one that was mixed with Tobacco (Bionity.com, 2021).

Native Americans were also using Bearberry tea in treating inflammation of its urinary tract, kidney stones, urethritis, as well as cystitis. The Cheyenne also use d the tea in treating back sprains, while some of the tribes of the Native American powered the leaves as well as applying them of sores. There were also other tribes that drank it in treating venereal diseases. The subject berries had also been made into tea and used in warding off obesity. Early settlers in the Americas from Europe also used the leave s taken as some astringent in treating nephritis, other diseases, and kidney stones of urinary system.

For the Eurocentric classification, the Red Bearberry is categorized as belonging to the Kingdom of Plantae, the Division of Magnoliopsita, the Class of Magnoliopsida, the Order of Ericales, the Family of Ericaceae, and the Genus Artostaphylos (Bionity.com, 2021). The plant also has three species of the dwarf shrubs in a genus Artostaphylos. As opposed to the other species of Arctostaphylos, and may be adapted to the sub-arctic and arctic climates, and may have a circum-polarised distribution in the Northern part of North American, Europe and Asia. The plant also contains tannic acid, arbutin, some bitter principle, methylarbutin, ursolic acid, Gallic acid, essential oils as well as resin, and hydroquinones.

References

Bionity.com. (2021). Bearberry. Retrieved Nov 7, 2021, from https://www.bionity.com/en/encyclopedia/Bearberry.html

Stritch, L. (2021). Northern Nodding Trillium (Trillium cernuum). Retrieved Nov 7, 2021, from https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/trillium_cernuum.shtml

Xie, J.-T., Mehendale, S. R., Wang, A., Han, A. H., Wu, J. A., Osinski, J., & Yuan, C.-S. (2004, Feb). American ginseng leaf: ginsenoside analysis and hypoglycemic activity. Pharmacol Res, 49(2), 113-7.

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