Knowledge Of Native Plants Research Articles

Local botanical knowledge of native food plants in the semiarid region of Brazil

BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the local botanical knowledge of native food plants in three rural communities, located in the semiarid region of Paraíba State, Brazil, verifying possibilities of differences of knowledge among communities and between men and women.MethodsSemi-structured interviews about native plant knowledge and use were conducted with all householders in each community, totaling 117 informants. The species similarity among the communities of Pau D’Arco, Várzea Alegre, and Barroquinha was compared with Jaccard index, and the use value index (UVgeneral, UVcurrent, UVpotential) was used to determine the most important species. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the use values among communities and genders. The consensus factor among the informants was calculated according to the uses cited, and the Wilcoxon test was used to compare the use values between men and women.ResultsWe recorded 9 species belonging to 8 genera and 8 families in Várzea Alegre; 10 species, 9 genera, and 9 families in Barroquinha; and 7 species, 7 genera and 7 families in Pau D’Arco. Spondias tuberosa Arruda (Anacardiaceae) in Várzea Alegre, Spondias sp. (Anacardiaceae) in Barroquinha, and Ximenia americana L. (Olacaceae) in Pau D’Arco were the most prominent species. Preparation methods are slightly different in the three communities, and there is low similarity about species use among the communities. Regarding gender, the analysis of use value among the communities evidenced significant differences only for UVgeneral among women, specifically between Barroquinha and Pau D’Arco. For men and women within each community, there is a difference only for UVpotential in Barroquinha.ConclusionThis study showed that the residents of the three rural communities have limited knowledge of native food plants found in their communities, but they know where to find them, which parts they may use and how to consume them. The fact is that men know plants that are more distant from the residences and women know those that are next to them.

Native plant naming by high-school students of different socioeconomic status: implications for botany education

ABSTRACTPeople’s diminished awareness of plants, affected by anthropogenic environmental deterioration, has challenged science education to overcome the obstacles impeding a better understanding of their meaning and value. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the socioeconomic status of high-school students, as indicated by their attendance at private or state schools, on their knowledge of native plants. In total, 321 students aged 15–18 were asked to write down 10 plants native to Córdoba, Argentina, in a freelist questionnaire. Students listed a mean of 6.8 species of a total of 165 different categories of plant names. The majority of the species named were exotic to Córdoba (63%) or Argentina (50.6%, of which 33.8% were adventitious), indicating an ‘adventitious-to-native’ effect by which all spontaneously reproducing plants were presumed to be native species. However, the 20 most frequently named plants were mainly native, with ‘Algarrobo’ (Prosopis spp.) and ‘Espinillo’ (Vachellia caven) being the most mentioned. Students’ socioeconomic status had a significant effect on the number of species named, with the students of state schools (where the less well-off sectors of the society attend) mentioning more species and, among these, more native ones than the students from private schools. Furthermore, we defined size, colour and scent as being conspicuous traits of plant flowers that are relevant for human perception, and found that the most frequently named adventitious species, unlike the native ones, were those exhibiting big brightly-coloured flowers which ranged from being inodorous to having medium intensity scents.

Folk medicinal uses of indigenous plant species of Barroha, Bhara Kahu and Maanga in Islamabad, Pakistan

Ethnobotany is the study of mutual relationships of plants and people. An ethnomedicinal study covers the utilization of plants by the native people as remedy against various ailments. The aim of present study was to evaluate the folk medical uses of the study area. For this purpose, the study areas: Barroha, Bhara Kahu and Maanga had been visited regularly from October 2009 to February 2010. Semi-structured questionnaire and formal interviews from the elderly known people, herbalists (Hakeems) and merchants (Pansaars) had been conducted for the extraction of folk knowledge of native plants. A total of 34 plant species of medicinal importance belonging to 27 families and 32 genera were recorded, which are being used by the inhabitants as a source of medicament. These species are being used to treat 64 ailments of humans and their cattle as well. Sexual diseases of humans, that is, leucorrhoea and spermatorrhoea were also cured by the local people by using wild plant species. Key words: Indigenous species, Hakeems, Barroha, Bhara Kahu, Maanga.