Alaska Ethnobotany

Cattail Baskets

Cattails There are three species of cattails in the family Typhaceae growing in North America.  Of these three species, only Typha latifolia L., or the broad-leaved cattail, is found in Alaska. Worldwide, cattails are an important resource in almost all of the communities where they grow, and there is an …

Pine Needle Basket

At the beginning of the year I was shopping in an antique store and found two pine needle baskets. They were beautiful so I took pictures for inspiration and was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to make my own as my first project for this class. Pine Needle Basket …

Cottonwood Oil

Description Populus balsamifera Linnaeus is a deciduous tree in the Salicaceae (willow) family. Populus comes from Latin “of the people” which shows how relevant and widely used the genus is. Balsamifera comes from Latin via the Hebrew word for perfume. The genus of Populus L. contains a number of related …