In 1769, Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander became the first European botanists to explore Tahiti, making significant contributions to botany through their discovery of approximately 1,400 unknown plant species. Their work, heavily relying on Indigenous expertise and knowledge, has often been overlooked. Dr. Edwin Rose's recent research indicates that much of the botanical terminology they used was informed by insights from Indigenous people. This collaboration not only enriched European understanding of botany but also emphasizes the crucial role Indigenous contributions had in advancing scientific knowledge in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Solander noted that children suck out the sweet juice from the elongated bud of a white flowering vine, now known as Operculina turpethum. He makes a specific reference to the elongated bud when describing the plant's physical features, said Rose.
Their groundbreaking discoveries filled seminal 18th- and 19th-century botany publications and had a profound impact on western science.
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