BOOK - covers plant use by bedouins in Arabia

Bedouin Ethnobotany offers the first detailed study of plant uses among the Najdi Arabic-speaking tribal peoples of eastern Saudi Arabia. It also makes a major contribution to the larger project of ethnobotany by describing aspects of a nomadic peoples' conceptual relationships with the plants of their homeland.

This volume includes a CD-ROM featuring more than 340 color images of the people, the terrain, and nearly all of the plants mentioned in the text as well as an audio file of a traditional Bedouin song and its translation and analysis.

A review published in Saudi Aramco World (Sept/Oct 2012) notes that the author, James Mandaville has an impressive knowledge of Arabian plant life. "His insights into the nomadic way of life makes this book a treasure for anyone who wishes to know how the Bedouin survive in so harsh and unforgiving an environment."

Bedouin Ethnobotany: Plant Concepts and Uses in a Desert Pastoral World costs $55US.
Published by University of Arizona press