T. Heilbron 2012.Botanical relics of the plantations - osodresie

3 Results
3.1 Graphs
Figure 4: Locations of collected specimens and species
In total, a number of 41 botanical vouchers were collected on 27 plantations. Among these collected
specimens were plants mentioned by locals as relics that were not on the list of plants
expected as relics. Figure 4 shows the locations and the species of the collected specimens. A
complete list of the collected species with number, scientific name, vernacular name(s), historical
and current uses is given in Appendix A.
In total, individuals from 18 species that could be regarded as botanical relics were collected.
Table 1 summarizes information on relic type, species, reproduction status, cultivation
status and origin. Some specimens of ‘original individuals’ 1 were collected, but most specimens
were ‘offspring individuals’ 2 . Some of the large individuals of Tamarindus indica and Erythrina
fusca that were observed might very well date to before the abolition of slavery. Species can be
potentially attributed and linked to more than a single group. An example is Mangifera indica,
which can be a relic of plantation owners, slaves or wage laborers. Pandanus dubius, Musa
balbisiana and the black Oryza sativa cultivar are attributed to wage laborers solely, whilst plantation
owner garden relics could potentially also be attributed to other groups. Typical botanical
relic species attributed to African slaves are Phoenix reclinata and Caesalpinia bonduc. Musa
x paradisiaca, Pandanus dubius and the black Oryza sativa cultivar were the only plants found
1 Original individual: an individual originally planted and managed by people from the plantations
2 Offspring individual: an individual that is offspring of an original individual
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