Today we successfully met with Lucio-the president of Payamino-and collected around 15 plants. When we went out with our guide the other day, we collected and documented around 30! I still consider today very successful as we were able to recollect some specimens that had gone bad from last years collections, fill in some information we were missing on those, and then collect new plants.
Side note--a huge bug just flew into the side of my face while I was writing this. It kind of hurt. Sometimes they can be pretty vicious.
Moving on.
A little bit about the process of what we do here when we go out into the field.
First, we meet with our guide (the guy who knows about the medicinal plants) whether in the center or at their finca. *Each family has both a finca and a home in the community--basically a farm with a plot of land with a house and then a house in the center as well*
Second, we go out with them to the forest or to their garden-wherever they know the plants are located- and we walk with them on the trails until they find a plant that they use for medicine.
Thirdly, we record the name of the plant, basic descriptions, what it is used for, how it is prepared, dosage, etc. We make sure to take really well-elaborated and detailed notes, asking questions to fill in information as we need to. We have a pre-determined list of questions that we like to ask each guide on a data sheet that we fill in after our hikes. Questioning them and recording info about each specimen is very important to do while we are still standing by the plant as it could be difficult for our guides to answer our questions about these plants later on when we have taken the plants from their surroundings.
Fourthly, we take very deliberate and planned-out pictures of each plant including the leaf arrangement, height, veins, and flowers so that later on when we are compiling all of our data, we have great references to fall back to. We also hope to use these photos in the future to gather what the rest of the community may know about these plants.
Fifthly, we cut a specimen that will be good for identification later on. We try to collect the smaller specimen (our bag for carrying them is relatively small) with flowers if they are present, and leaves that are well intact. We make sure to label these plants when we put them in our bag with a corresponding number in our field notes.
Sixthly, when the hike is over, we head back to the station and press the plants. We normally do this before even changing out of our field clothes so that the leaves have less of a chance of withering before we press them.
That is as far as we got today. Tomorrow after the plants have pressed for 24 hours or so, we will preserve them in alcohol until we can take them to Coca to get shipped out.
Now for the even more fun part of our day (for real, collecting plants is actually fun and it's something I've never done before, but something even BETTER happened!)
Lucio was indicating a plant to us (Onion of the Mountain) when all the sudden he makes three short calls (almost like whistles). When we looked at him in confusion, he says something along the lines of, "I'm calling the monkeys closer." So he continues on with this for a little while longer and we hear the monkeys repeat his call and gradually get closer. Jane and I whip our cameras out and start recording this. After a little bit more, Lucio had run down the path. Along the way, he had taken his shirt off. His words, "I need to get rid of my white t-shirt." We were thinking for camouflage purposes?? When he signaled the three of us to follow (his little son had come with us) he pointed up, and sure enough there were some monkeys in the trees. A lot of the times he pointed, I didn't see anything-my eyes must not be jungle-equipped yet. It was so cool though! Definitely the highlight of my day by far!
It was such a beautiful day here in the Amazon and we had the pleasure of working with a really friendly and genuine guide. On the way home, he asked us if we wanted to hear a story even. It was basically your typical "Tortoise and Hare" story except with a "Caracol y Tigre" (Snail and Tiger). It was very adorable. He also told us stories about defeating the anacondas that used to make bathing in the river dangerous as well as stories about when the Spanish came to this region and what his ancestors did during that time.
Today was one of my favorite days in Ecuador by far and I hope they just keep getting better.
When we have better access to internet, make sure to keep an eye out for pictures we'll be posting so we can share our experiences with you a little better!
Always feel free to comment!
Samashu!
Adiós!
See ya!
Side note--a huge bug just flew into the side of my face while I was writing this. It kind of hurt. Sometimes they can be pretty vicious.
Moving on.
A little bit about the process of what we do here when we go out into the field.
First, we meet with our guide (the guy who knows about the medicinal plants) whether in the center or at their finca. *Each family has both a finca and a home in the community--basically a farm with a plot of land with a house and then a house in the center as well*
Second, we go out with them to the forest or to their garden-wherever they know the plants are located- and we walk with them on the trails until they find a plant that they use for medicine.
Thirdly, we record the name of the plant, basic descriptions, what it is used for, how it is prepared, dosage, etc. We make sure to take really well-elaborated and detailed notes, asking questions to fill in information as we need to. We have a pre-determined list of questions that we like to ask each guide on a data sheet that we fill in after our hikes. Questioning them and recording info about each specimen is very important to do while we are still standing by the plant as it could be difficult for our guides to answer our questions about these plants later on when we have taken the plants from their surroundings.
Fourthly, we take very deliberate and planned-out pictures of each plant including the leaf arrangement, height, veins, and flowers so that later on when we are compiling all of our data, we have great references to fall back to. We also hope to use these photos in the future to gather what the rest of the community may know about these plants.
Fifthly, we cut a specimen that will be good for identification later on. We try to collect the smaller specimen (our bag for carrying them is relatively small) with flowers if they are present, and leaves that are well intact. We make sure to label these plants when we put them in our bag with a corresponding number in our field notes.
Sixthly, when the hike is over, we head back to the station and press the plants. We normally do this before even changing out of our field clothes so that the leaves have less of a chance of withering before we press them.
That is as far as we got today. Tomorrow after the plants have pressed for 24 hours or so, we will preserve them in alcohol until we can take them to Coca to get shipped out.
Now for the even more fun part of our day (for real, collecting plants is actually fun and it's something I've never done before, but something even BETTER happened!)
Lucio was indicating a plant to us (Onion of the Mountain) when all the sudden he makes three short calls (almost like whistles). When we looked at him in confusion, he says something along the lines of, "I'm calling the monkeys closer." So he continues on with this for a little while longer and we hear the monkeys repeat his call and gradually get closer. Jane and I whip our cameras out and start recording this. After a little bit more, Lucio had run down the path. Along the way, he had taken his shirt off. His words, "I need to get rid of my white t-shirt." We were thinking for camouflage purposes?? When he signaled the three of us to follow (his little son had come with us) he pointed up, and sure enough there were some monkeys in the trees. A lot of the times he pointed, I didn't see anything-my eyes must not be jungle-equipped yet. It was so cool though! Definitely the highlight of my day by far!
It was such a beautiful day here in the Amazon and we had the pleasure of working with a really friendly and genuine guide. On the way home, he asked us if we wanted to hear a story even. It was basically your typical "Tortoise and Hare" story except with a "Caracol y Tigre" (Snail and Tiger). It was very adorable. He also told us stories about defeating the anacondas that used to make bathing in the river dangerous as well as stories about when the Spanish came to this region and what his ancestors did during that time.
Today was one of my favorite days in Ecuador by far and I hope they just keep getting better.
When we have better access to internet, make sure to keep an eye out for pictures we'll be posting so we can share our experiences with you a little better!
Always feel free to comment!
Samashu!
Adiós!
See ya!
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