“Zanthoxylum: What’s in a (plant’s) Name?” Free Public Lecture

Exploring the roots of plant names

Free Talk on April 12 at KCC

“Zanthoxylum: What’s in a (plant’s) name?” is the title of a free public lecture on Tuesday, April 12 from 5:30 p.m. In this fourth offering of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) and Kaua‘i Community College (KCC)’s ‘What in the World’ public series, Puanani Anderson-Fung of the University of Hawai‘i’s Department of Botany, will discuss Polynesian plant relations and linguistics in the cafeteria at the KCC Campus Center in Puhi.

In her talk, Anderson-Fung will explore the fascinating ties between plants and language in Hawaii, Tonga, New Zealand, and other Pacific Islands. Specifically, she will examine the Polynesian word ake and its widespread and varied uses based on her linguistic, botanical, and ethnological “detective work” as she illuminates the ties between language, plants, and Polynesian culture.

The “What in the World” lecture series is one of many collaborations between the nonprofit National Tropical Botanical Garden and Kaua‘i Community College. Both NTBG and KCC share a common goal of quality education to truly change lives. NTBG is a not-for-profit institution, headquartered in Kalāheo. KCC, which is part of the University of Hawai‘i system, operates a large campus in Līhu‘e.

For questions about accessibility, please contact Margaret Clark at (808) 332-7324 ext. 225 at least 10 days in advance.

For information on the institutions, visit their respective websites at www.ntbg.org and kauai.hawaii.edu

Speaker Puanani Anderson-Fung