Ethnobotany and Native Plant Production Ethnobotanically Significant Plants of the Pacific Northwest

With notable exceptions, indigenous peoples in most parts of the world relied on plants for most of their physical and cultural needs. Plants provide not only food, in many diverse forms, but also medicine, as well as the basis of material culture. Traditional cultures manufactured everything from string to boats to houses with the materials provided by the plants around them. We have provided a list of some of the more ethnobotanically significant plants of the Pacific Northwest to serve as a reference for restoration efforts in the region and to demonstrate the wide array of plants and uses that fall into the realm of ethnobotany and TEK. The plants listed below by no means provide a thorough ethnobotany of the region, but do represent some of the most ethnobotanically significant plants of the region, as well as those plants that lend themselves to restoration efforts (namely woody species and perennial herbs for the most part). Further discussion of a handful of species of outstanding importance is given.