Reciprocal antecedents in ethnobotany: Exchange of plant knowledge among Florida’s African, indigenous and pioneer populations

From the late 18^th through the early 20th century, Florida was settled by populations from Africa, Europe, and North America.  These populations replaced the state’s original inhabitants who succumbed to warfare and introduced diseases by the late 1700s.  Native Americans from the southeastern U.S., pioneers of European ancestry and enslaved Africans (and escapees) migrated into Florida.  As they moved farther south along the peninsula, they encountered an ever-increasing number of novel, tropical plant species.  Exchange of information about these new plants allowed the immigrant populations to adapt to Florida’s subtropical and subtropical flora.  In many cases, linguistic and historical data can determine the donor and recipient populations regarding the knowledge about a plant species.  For example, sugarcane and came from Europeans; coontie from Native Americans; and wiregrass from Africans.  The tripartite diffusion of knowledge has enriched the ethnofloras of each of the groups and it persists today.