Florida International University
Miami, FL 33199

bennett@fiu.edu (email)
305-348-3586 (phone)
305-348-1986 (fax)

Research Interests

Information for Prospective Students
Graduate Studies in Ethnobotany at FIU

Biographical Sketch

Education
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. Ph.D. (Biology). May 1988.
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL. M.S. (Biology). Aug 1982.
Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA. B.A. (Biology & Geology/Geography). Jun 1978.

Professional Experience
Director, Center for Ethnobiology and Natural Products (CENaP), Florida International University, Miami, FL. May 200-present.
Associate Professor, Departments of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies, Florida International University, Miami, FL. May 1997-present.
Assistant Professor, Departments of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies, Florida International University, Miami, FL. Aug 1992-May 1997.
Research Associate, Institute of Economic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY. Apr 1990-Aug 1992.
Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Institute of Economic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY. Apr 1988-Apr 1990.

Professional Associations
International Society of Ethnobiology
Association for Tropical Biology
Florida Native Plant Society
Plant Biologist of South Florida
Society for Economic Botany
Society of Ethnobiology

Professional Service and Appointments
Collaborator, Fairchild Tropical Garden, 1992-present
Honorary Research Associate, New York Botanical Garden, Institute of Economic Botany, Aug 1992-present
Member, Land Acquisition and Selection Committee, Miami-Dade County Endangered Lands Program, 1994 - present
Member, Society for Economic Botany, Publication Award Committee, 1995-present
Member, Advisory Board, American Botanical Council, 1998-present
Medicinal Plant Garden Advisory Board, NovaSoutheastern University College of Pharmacy, 1999-present
Member, Technical Advisory Board for Natural Areas Management Plans, Miami-Dade County Endangered Lands Program, 1999-present
Chair, Society for Economic Botany, Education Committee, 2000-present
Chair, Society for Economic Botany, Website Committee, 2000-present
Member, Advisory Committee, Building Bridges with Traditional Knowledge II, 1998 - 2001
Symposium Organizer, Florida Native Plant Society Ethnobotany Symposium, 2000
Editorial Board, Plants and People Newsletter, Society for Economic Botany, 1997 - 2000
Scientific Advisory Panel, International Ethnobotanical Symposium, San Jose, Costa Rica, 1999
Member, External Scientific Peer-Review Committee, New York Botanical Garden's Botanical Science Division, 1999
Symposium Organizer, Florida Native Plant Society Ethnobotany Symposium, June 1998
Council Member, Society for Economic Botany, 1995-1998
Consultant, Fairchild Tropical Garden Chachi Exhibit, 1993-1995
Coordinator, South Florida Plant Biologists Meeting, 1995
Ethnobiology Committee, Systematics Agenda 2000, 1992-1994
Honorary Assistant Curator, Herbario Nacional, Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencas Naturales, Quito, Ecuador, 1990-1994
Scientific Advisory Board, Program for Economic Botany in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1990-1994
Symposium Coordinator, Society for Economic Botany, 1993
Meeting organizer, Society for Economic Botany, 1993

Courses taught at FIU
Conservation of Tropical Forests
Ecology of Biotic Resources
Ecology of South Florida
Economic Botany
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany Readings
Ethnobotany Research Methods
Flora of southern Florida
Medical Botany
Restoration Ecology
Taxonomy of Tropical Plants
Trees of Tropical Florida
Field Courses
Tropical Ethnobotany: Institute for Ecology and Conservation, Bocas del Toro, Panama.
Ethnobotany: Uses of plants by native peoples: School for Field Studies, Napo, Ecuador.
Botánica económica y plantas medicinales: Tratado de Cooperación Amazonica and the United Nations Development Program, Iquitos, Perú.
Métodos en la etnobotánica y análisis económicos de recursos naturales: United States Agency for International Development, Quito, Ecuador.

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Graduate Students

Cristina Ugarte 1 (MS, 1993 - 1997) - Medicinal use of traditional food plants by the Totonacs of Zapotitlan, Mexico. Ph.D. candidate at Florida International University.
Bruce Hoffman (MS, 1994 - 1997) - Biology & economic botany of Heteropsis flexuosa Araceae) in Guyana. Ph.D. program at University of Michigan.
Christinae Eringhaus 2,3 (MS 1994 - 1997) Medicinal use of Piperacaee by the Kaxinawa of Acre Brazil. Ph.D. candidate at Yale University.
Laura Flynn (MS, 1995 - 1998) - Soil seed banks of tropical hardwood hammocks in southern Florida. Biologist with conservation NGO in New York.
Allan Phipps 4 (MS, 1997 - 2000) - Consumption of Amanita muscari in Japan: detoxification and use. High School Science Teacher
Jason Steindler (MS, 1997 - 2000) - Ethnobotany and chemistry of Ligusticum porteri in the southwestern U.S. Biochemistry lab researcher, University of Oregon.
Cecilia Garcia Espinosa (MS, 1996 - 2000) - Tumor inhibition properties of traditional medicines from a highland Quechua community in Peru. South American sales rep. for Leica.
Kristine Stewart (MS, 1997 - 2000) - Sustainability harvest of natural Prunus africana populations in Cameroon. Biology Lecturer, Florida International University.
Michael Thomas (at University of Florida, PhD 1996 - 2001) - A global ethnobotanical information system with medicinal plant data from the Pataxoa from Brazil. Peace Corps Recruiter, University of Florida.
Allen Drey (PhD, 1995 - present) Genetic, morphological, and chemical variation in Melaleucca quinquenervia. Research Scientist, USDA.
Alíce Warren-Bradley. (PhD, 1995 - present) - Sustainable harvest of Lepidocaryum tenue in Amazonian Peru. Natural Areas Manager, Miami-Dade, Co.
Kiki Mutis (MS, 1998 - present) - Uses of Solanaceae in an Andean Community in Bolivia. Peace Corps/Masters International Program.
Anne Frances (MS, 2000 - present) - Comparison of mestizo and Guyamí healing traditions in Costa Rica.
Eva Lehmbeck (MS, 2000 - present) - Plants used for gynecological purposes in Jamaica
Chad Husby (PhD, 2001 - present) -
Adam Edwards (PhD, 2001 - present)
Joan Stevens (PhD, 2001 - present) -
Andrew Martin (MS, 2001 - present) - Environmental history of Royal Palm Hammock
Pat Houle (PhD, 2001 - present) -

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Selected Publications

Bennett, B.C., M.A. Baker, and P. Gómez. 2001. Ethnobotany of the Shuar of Eastern Ecuador. Advances in Econ. Bot. 14:1-299.
Bennett, B.C. 2001. An Introduction to the Ethnobotany of the Seminoles of Florida, U.S.A. In R. Chaves, ed. Proceedings of the International Symposium Ethnobotany, Medicinal Plants, Folk Traditions, History and Pharmacology. Universidad de la Paz, San Jose Costa Rica and UNESCO. San Jose, Costa Rica.
Bennett, B., D. Burtscher, L. Chaney, S. Colitz, D. Crandall, E. Appetiti, N. Etkin, F. Heidenreich, Ch. Kabuye, R. Kutalek, and D. Moerman. 2001. Ethnobotany's Problems and Potential. R. Chaves, ed. Proceedings of the International Symposium Ethnobotany, Medicinal Plants, Folk Traditions, History and Pharmacology. Universidad de la Paz, , San Jose Costa Rica and UNESCO. 7 pages. (published on CD).
Bennett, B.C. 2000. Ethnobotany of Bromeliaceae. Pages 587-608 in D.H. Benzing, editor. Bromeliaceae: Profile of an adaptive radiation. Cambridge University Press, London.
Benzing, D.H., H. Luther, and B.C. Bennett. 2000. Reproduction and life history. Pages 245-328 in D.H. Benzing, editor. Bromeliaceae: Profile of an adaptive radiation. Cambridge University Press, London.
Bennett, B.C. and G.T. Prance. 2000. Introduced plants in the indigenous pharmacopoeia of northern South America. Econ. Botany 54:90-102
Bennett, B.C. and J. Hicklin. 1998. Uses of Serenoa repens (Bartr.) Small (saw palmetto) in Florida Econ. Bot 52:365-375.
Bennett, B.C. 1997. An introduction to the Seminole people and their plants, Part II: Seminole plant use. Palmetto 17(2):16-17,22.
Bennett, B.C. 1997. An introduction to the Seminole people and their plants, Part I: History and Ethnology. The Palmetto 17(2):20-21,24.
Bennett, B.C. 1995. Ethnobotany and economic botany of epiphytes, lianas, and other host-dependent plants: An overview. Pages 547-586 in M. Lowman and N. Nadkarni, editors. Forest canopies: A review of research on this biological frontier. Academic Press, NY.
Grimes, A., R Alarcón, P. Jahnige, S. Loomis, M. Burnham, K. Onthank, D. Neill, W. Palacios, C. Cerón, M. Balick, B. Bennett, and R. Mendelsohn). The economic value of non-timber forest products in Ecuador. Ambio 23:405-410.
Bennett, B.C. and R. Alarcón. 1994. Osteophloeum platyspermum (A.DC.) Warburg and Virola duckei A.C. Smith (Myristicaceae): Newly reported as hallucinogens from Amazonian Ecuador. Econ. Botany 48:152-158.
Bennett, B.C. 1992. Hallucinogenic plants of the Shuar and related indigenous groups in Amazonian Ecuador and Peru. Brittonia 44:483-493.
Bennett, B.C. 1992. Uses of epiphytes, lianas, and parasites by the Shuar people of Amazonian Ecuador. Selbyana 13:99-114.
Bennett, B.C., R. Alarcón, and C. Cerón. 1992. The ethnobotany of Carludovica palmata Ruíz & Pavón (Cyclanthaceae) in Amazonian Ecuador. Econ. Bot. 46:233-240.
Bennett, B.C. 1992. Plants and people of the Amazonian rainforests: The role of ethnobotany in sustainable development. BioScience 42:599-607.
Bennett, B.C. 1991. Aspectos económicos y sociológicos de la etnobotánica. Pages 359-365 in M. Ríos and H. Borgtoff Pedersen, editors. Las plantas y el hombre. Abya-Yala, Quito, Ecuador.
Bennett, B.C. 1991. Variación de los nombres y de los usos que dan a las plantas los indígenas Shuar del Ecuador. Pages 129-137 in M. Ríos and H. Borgtoff Pedersen, editors. Las plantas y el hombre. Abya-Yala, Quito, Ecuador.
Bennett, B.C. 1991. Comparative biology of neotropical epiphytic and saxicolous Tillandsia species: Population structure. J. Tropical Ecology 7:361-371.
Austin, D.F., J.L. Jones, and B.C. Bennett. 1990. Vascular plants of the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve Fla. Sci. 53:89-117.
Bennett, B.C. 1990. The ethnobotany of bromeliads: The use of Tillandsia species in the highlands of southern Peru. J. Brom. Soc. 40:64-69.
Bennett, B.C., C.R. Bell, and R. Boulware. 1990. Geographic variation in alkaloid content of Sanguinaria canadensis L. Rhodora 92:57-69.
Austin, D.F., J.L. Jones, and B.C. Bennett. 1990. Endangered plants of the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. Rhodora 92:27-35.
Bennett, B.C. 1987. The spatial distribution of Catopsis and Guzmania (Bromeliaceae) in southern Florida. Bull. Torrey Botanical Club 114:265-271.
Bennett, B.C. 1986. Patchiness, diversity and abundance relationships of vascular epiphytes. Selbyana 9:70-75.
Bennett, B.C. 1983. Primitive habit in Orchidaceae. Syst. Bot. 8:472-474.
Adams, R.P., R. Sauleda, and B.C. Bennett. 1982. The Orchidaceae of the Bahama Island Archipelago ¾ taxonomy, ecology and biogeographic patterns. Pages 121-148 in J. Stewart and C.N. van der Merwe, editors. Proceedings 10th World Orchid Conference, Durban South Africa.

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Research Interests

My primary focus is ethnobotany, in lowland regions of the Neotropics. Among my primary research questions are the following three.

1) What botanical resources do traditional people use? This is perhaps the most eminent question to be addressed, as forest destruction and acculturation rapidly erode traditional knowledge systems. I especially am interested in the relationship between food and medicinal plants.

2) How do traditional people use and manage these botanical resources? While accurate botanical documentation is sufficient, alone it is inadequate. Ethnoscientists should also examine the reciprocal ecological effects of the plant-people interactions.

3) Why do people use particular plants? Few researchers address this topic, yet it is perhaps the most interesting one. The "Why?" question encompasses a variety of possible explanations at both proximate and ultimate levels. Tradition, form-function (doctrine of signatures), taxonomic affiliation, efficacy, empiricism, and exchange (diffusion), all may play a role in determining which plants will be utilized.

To address these questions I study several indigenous people in the Neotropics including the Quechua in the highlands of Peru, the Shuar and Quichua in Amazonian Ecuador, the Cachi in coastal Ecuador, the Guaymí in Panama, and the Seminole in southern Florida. Using a comparative approach, with data from several cultures, is especially important in examining the "Why?" question. The practical applications of this research (along with the studies of my graduate students in Cameroon, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Japan, and the US) include preservation of traditional knowledge, conservation of tropical forests, and sustainable use of plant resources.

My second research focus concerns floristic and vegetation dynamics, especially in southern Florida. My students and I study vascular epiphytes, restoration and succession in hardwood hammocks, exotics, and the human use of Florida's native plants. One study, for example, has examined saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). An estimated 50 millions pounds of the fruit are shipped to Europe annually, where they are used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasy. Working with a colleague in chemistry, Martin Quirke, we are looking for new compounds in the fruit that may be responsible for its efficacy.

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Graduate Studies in Ethnobotany and Economic Botany at Florida International University

Florida International University offers graduate study in ethnobotany and economic botany in three departments: Biological Sciences (M.S. & Ph.D.), Sociology/Anthropology (M.A. & Ph.D.), and Environmental Studies (M.S.). Principal faculty with interest in ethnobotany are Bradley C. Bennett (Biological Sciences & Environmental Studies), Richard Campbell (Fairchild Tropical Gardens & Biological Sciences), Janet M. Chernela (Anthropology), Kelsey R. Downum (Biological Sciences), David W. Lee (Biological Sciences & Environmental Studies), Javier Francisco-Ortega ((Biological Sciences and Fairchild Tropical Garden), William T. Vickers (Sociology), and Scott Zona (Fairchild Tropical Gardens & Biological Sciences). FIU faculty and their students have conducted ethnobotanical research in southern Florida, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Japana, Mexico, Panama, and Peru.

FIU, the state university of Florida in Miami, has an enrollment of more than 30,000. Students can take advantage of Miami-Dade County's multi-ethnic urban environment as well as three national parks that are within a 45 minute drive from FIU's main campus. The University maintains a strong cooperative relationship with nearby Fairchild Tropical Garden. FIU botanists are Fairchild collaborators, while Fairchild scientists are adjunct professors in the Department of Biological Sciences. Other important botanical resources include the Kampong (former home and garden of David Fairchild), Dade County's Tropical Fruit & Spice Park, the USDA Subtropical Agricultural Station, and the Montgomery Foundation.

Miami affords convenient access to the Caribbean and Latin America. Moreover, the city's ethnic diversity provides possibilities for intriguing local study. The University's Latin America and Caribbean Studies Program is nationally recognized. The University also is a member of the Organization for Tropical Studies. Graduate and upper level undergraduate courses related to ethnobotany and economic botany include the following:

Biological Sciences ¾ Ethnobotany, Ethnobotany Workshop, Readings in Ethnobotany, Economic Botany, Phytochemistry, Tropical Botany, Plant Ecology, Plant Systematics, Medical Botany
Anthropology ¾ Cultural Ecology, Ecological Anthropology, Ethnology, Hallucinogens and Culture, Medical Anthropology, and many courses with a Latin American or Caribbean geographical or ethnological focus
Environmental Studies ¾ Biologic Resource, Conservation Biology, Methods of Environmental Analysis, Natural Resource Management, Resource Policy, Tropical Forest Conservation, Environmental Economics

FIU ethnobotany students work on a variety of projects in varied locations. Seven of Dr. Bennett's graduate students recently completed their degrees. Bruce Hoffman (currently a Ph.D. student at Michigan) studied Heteropsis flexuosa. Roots of this hemiepiphyte are an important fiber source, used in the manufacture of furniture. Christiane Ehringhaus, a Fullbright scholar from Germany, examined medicinal uses of Piperaceae in a Kaxinawá community in Acre, Brazil. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Yale. Cristina Ugarte (currently a Ph.D. student at FIU) investigated medicinal uses of food plants in a Mexican Totonacan community. Alan Phipps (currently teaching high school biology) examined traditional methods of detoxifying Amanita muscaria in Japan. Jason Steindler (currently working in a phytochemistry lab) investigated the phytochemistry of Ligusticum porteri in Colorado. Cecilia Garcia Espinosa (currently south America sales rep for Leica) looked at the effects of Peruvian medicinal plants on cancer cells. Kris Stewart's Ph.D. research investigated the sustainability of the harvest of Prunus africana bark in Cameroon. Bennett's current students are studying ethnobotany in Peru, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Cameroon, and the U.S.

Dr. Bennett's research interests are diverse, focusing on the following questions: 1) What botanical resources do traditional people use? 2) How do they use and manage these resources? 3) Why do people use particular plants? In Florida, he is studying Seminole and Miccosukee plant use. Some traditional members of these indigenous groups still live in palm-thatched huts, less than 45 minutes west of the university. Dr. Bennett continues his research with Ecuador's indigenous lowland people and is initiating projects in Panama. Dr. Kelsey Downum, a phytochemist, and Dr. Martin Quirke, an organic analytical chemist, are collaborators on studies of saw palmetto and other plants. Dr. Bennett also directs FIU's Center for Ethnobiology and Natural Products (CENaP).

Graduate admission to FIU is competitive. Minimum requirements for entrance to the Ph.D. program at FIU are a GRE score of 1100 and GPA of 3.0. Most ethnobotany applicants, however, have much higher scores and many have extensive field experience before entering the graduate program. Prospective students should speak to faculty at other universities (a list of some programs is included here), but please keep FIU in mind. Please contact Dr. Bennett if you have additional questions. Good luck in finding a graduate program.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Bradley C. Bennett Phone: 305-348-3586
Department of Biological Sciences Fax: 305-348-1986
Florida International University E-mail: bennett@fiu.edu
Miami, Florida 33199

Field Course: Dr. Bennett teaches an ethnobotany field course in Panama during the summer. For more info check the website: http://www.itec-edu.org/

For more info on graduate program: www.fiu.edu/~biology1/grad/index.html
For applications see: www.fiu.edu/orgs/admiss/application.html

GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN ETHNOBOTANY

Dr. Gregory J. Anderson
Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT 06269-3043
(860) 486-4322
ander@uconnVM.uconn.edu

Dr. David Bates
L.H. Bailey Hortorium
467 Mann Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-4301
(607) 255-3155
dmb15@cornell.edu

Dr. Bradley C. Bennett
Department of Biological Sciences
Florida International University
(305) 348-3586
bennett@fiu.edu

Dr. Brent Berlin
Graham Purdue Professor
Anthropology Department
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602
obberlin@arches.uga.edu

Dr. Audrey Bingel
Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceuticals Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago
833 S. Wood St.
Chicago, IL 60612-7231
(312) 996-7253
Norman@uic.edu [Dr. Norman Farnsworth]

Dr. Nina Etkin
University of Hawaii
2424 Maile Way
Honolulu. HI 96822
(808) 956-7726
Etkin@Hawaii.edu

Dr. Richard Ford
Anthropology Department
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
(313) 764-6177
RIFord@Umich.edu

Dr. David Lentz
Director of Graduate Studies
New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, NY 10458
(718) 817-8871
dlentz@nybg.org

Dr. Walter Lewis
Department of Biology
Washington University
St. Louis, MO 63130
(314) 935-6841

Dr. Will McClatchey
Botany Department
University of Hawaii at Manoa
3190 Maile Way
Honolulu, HI 96822
(808) 956-6704
McClatch@hawaii.edu

Dr. Deborah Pearsall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
(314) 882-3038
Anthdp@MIZZOU1.missouri.edu

Dr. Beryl B. Simpson,Botany
Department of Botany
The University of Texas
(512) 471-7335
beryl@mail.utexas.edu

Dr. Nancy Turner
University of Victoria
P.O. Box 1700
Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2
Canada
(604) 721-6124
nturner@uvic.ca

Dr. Donald Ugent
Botany Department
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901(618)
618-453-3218
ugent@siu.edu

Dr. Gail Wagner
University of South Carolina
Department of Anthropology
Columbia, SC 29208
(803) 777-6548
wagnerG@garnet.cla.sc.edu

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Bradley C. Bennett is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies. He also directs FIU's Center for Ethnobiology. After completing his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina, Bennett spent two years as a post-doc and two years as a research associate with New York Botanical Garden's Institute of Economic Botany. He studied ethnobotany of the Shuar and Quichua in Amazonian Ecuador and directed a multidisciplinary study of the economic value of Quichua plant resources. Chris Joyce describes some of this research in Earthly Goods: Medicine Hunting in the Rainforest (Little, Brown and Company 1994) and in Chasing the Dragon (Details Magazine, Sep. 1994). Bennett also investigated Chachi plant use in the Pacific lowlands of Ecuador. Since 1994, he has worked with Florida's Seminole and recently began studies of plant use in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama. His research has been published in Ambio, BioScience, Brittonia, Economic Botany, Selbyana, and Journal of Tropical Ecology. Bennett hosted the 1993 annual meeting, served on the SEB Council (1995-1998) and Fulling Award Committee, and currently serves on the Book Award Committee, and chairs the Education Committee.

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