Threats to cycad biocultural heritage in the Amami Islands, Japan

Abstract

This article details the significance of Cycas revoluta in the cultural ecology of the Amami Islands, Japan. Although this plant was never domesticated, multiple lines of evidence elucidate a long history of its alimentary, ethnoecological, and symbolic saliency within Amami culture. Despite this fact, Amami cycad culture remains understudied and virtually unknown outside of Japan. This article summarizes previous and current research on the social roles and environmental significance of C. revoluta in the Amami Islands, with a specific focus on current threats to these plants and the cultural ecologies that surround them, including the ongoing biological invasion by the cycad aulacaspis scale. In doing so, the article seeks to highlight a unique form of biocultural heritage and ancestral cultural traditions that are in danger of being lost. It concludes with brief observations on potential avenues for future research that can both foment interest in and promote the holistic conservation of Amami cycad culture.