#SmellingTheBouquet White sagebrush is found across most of North America and grows to a smaller height than white sage; also aromatic, it has a strong smell and also flowers and produces fruit. It is used by other North American Indigenous tribal nations in many of the same ways as white sage.

#SmellingTheBouquet Native to tropical America, especially Brazil, but invasive in other regions, goat weed is an aromatic herb used in many traditional medicinal applications for wounds, and as an insecticide and nematicide.

#SmellingTheBouquet Native to southeast Asia, Patchouli gained popularity in Europe during the 1840s due to its distinctive aroma, which was associated with exported Indian fabrics such as cashmere shawls, which were packed with its leaves due to its insect repellent qualities.

#SmellingTheBouquet Priprioca has attracted scientific and commercial attention in Brazil due to the pleasing scent of its essential oil, extracted from the rhizomes. Its stems produce small tubers that, when cut, release a fresh, woody, and spicy fragrance.

Thank you Maura!

This palo santo is one of the most used among Bolivians as incense in Indigenous rituals, such as offerings to Pachamama (goddess of the earth) for whom it was named for science; it is also used for Catholic religious services. In 2023, it was listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.

This species of palo santo grows in the Yungas, a narrow band of forest on the eastern slope of the Andes north of La Paz, Bolivia. It was named by @mobotgarden.bsky.social botanist Alfredo Fuentes; despite the popularity of this incense plant in Bolivia, it had never been scientifically described.

#SmellingTheBouquet Elephant Tree or Torote (Bursera microphylla) is native to the Sonoran Desert, from the SW US to NW Mexico. The Indigenous people of this region—the Comcáac and the Coahuilla—use it medicinally (it's antibactierial!) and burn its resin (copal) as fragrant incense in ceremonies.

#SmellingTheBouquet All of the plant parts can be used to make a medicinal tea to deal with many ailments. It also produces a resin used for varnish, perfume, and incense. The resin exudes from the bark and trickles to the ground where it hardens into lumps and is able to be collected or harvested.

#SmellingTheBouquet Non-timber forest products are valuable resources for culture and community, and generating income. Copal (Protium montanum) from Peru was of interest to Spanish colonizers in South America. It can be used to burn as incense, for medicine, and also for paint and varnish.

#SmellingTheBouquet Mayan copal (Protium copal) is endemic to Mexico and Central America. Considered sacred, copal was burned as offerings to deities in rituals. It continues to be used today for ceremonies and festivals, including Central America’s famous Días de los Muertos (Days of the Dead).

Of course! Happy to share and thanks for reading! Cheers!