Is Ethnobotany and Ecological Science? Steps towards a complex Ethnobotany

There are different links between ecology and ethnobotany. In principle, because they have some common interests, like the conservation of plant resources. Nevertheless, the consolidation of the ecology as a science of synthesis that is based on the complexity of relationships between organisms and their surroundings, allows the ecology to provide a conceptual framework for more complex and comprehensive ethnobotany. This is also, for origin, a science of synthesis. In this contribution we discuss the basic aspects of ecology that can become guides for a complex framework of ethnobotany, which acts as a context in which their contributions to acquire significance. It also discusses various aspects of ethnobotany which, by its own complexity, are linked to the theoretical framework of ecology. Finally, we consider ethnobotany as an ecological science, from which certain assumptions are given, that can guide investigations based on the complex relationships between people and plants, the object of study of this science.Fil: Hurrell, Julio Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino de. Universidade Federal Rural Pernambuco. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Etnobotanica Aplicada; Brasi

Ethnobotany in Intermedical Spaces: The Case of the Fulni-ô Indians (Northeastern Brazil)

We analyzed the Fulni-ô medical system and introduced its intermedical character based on secondary data published in the literature. Then we focused on the medicinal plants known to the ethnic group, describing the most important species, their therapeutic uses and the body systems attributed to them. We based this analysis on the field experience of the authors in the project Studies for the Environmental and Cultural Sustainability of the Fulni-ô Medical System: Office of Medicinal Plant Care. This traditional botanical knowledge was used to corroborate the hybrid nature of local practices for access to health. We show that intermedicality is a result not only of the meeting of the Fulni-ô medical system with Biomedicine but also of its meeting with other traditional systems. Finally, we discuss how traditional botanical knowledge may be directly related to the ethnogenesis process led by the Fulni-ô Indians in northeastern Brazil

A New Application for the Optimal Foraging Theory: The Extraction of Medicinal Plants

The Optimal Foraging Theory was used to identify possible patterns in bark extraction and the selective cutting of Anadenanthera colubrina (Angico), a medicinal plant. The hypotheses were built on two approaches: selection of collection place and bark exploitation occurrence in only one of these resource areas. The results suggest that the distance that must be traveled to reach each gathering site determines the extent of the extraction process, showing that people minimize the time and energy spent in A. colubrina collection. The availability of each site appears not to influence the operation. The resource amount was the optimized variable for bark extraction, which was analyzed in only one collection zone. In contrast to the phenomenon of collection place selection, the distance between angico individuals, the management period, and the tannin content did not affect bark extraction. This study also discusses how certain cultural aspects influence the extraction of angico

Is Ethnobotany and Ecological Science? Steps towards a complex Ethnobotany

There are different links between ecology and ethnobotany. In principle, because they have some common interests, like the conservation of plant resources. Nevertheless, the consolidation of the ecology as a science of synthesis that is based on the complexity of relationships between organisms and their surroundings, allows the ecology to provide a conceptual framework for more complex and comprehensive ethnobotany. This is also, for origin, a science of synthesis. In this contribution we discuss the basic aspects of ecology that can become guides for a complex framework of ethnobotany, which acts as a context in which their contributions to acquire significance. It also discusses various aspects of ethnobotany which, by its own complexity, are linked to the theoretical framework of ecology. Finally, we consider ethnobotany as an ecological science, from which certain assumptions are given, that can guide investigations based on the complex relationships between people and plants, the object of study of this science.Fil: Hurrell, Julio Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino de. Universidade Federal Rural Pernambuco. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Etnobotanica Aplicada; Brasi

Does environmental instability favor the production and horizontal transmission of knowledge regarding medicinal plants? A study in Southeast Brazil

Greater socio-environmental instability favors the individual production of knowledge because innovations are adapted to new circumstances. Furthermore, instability stimulates the horizontal transmission of knowledge because this mechanism disseminates adapted information. This study investigates the following hypothesis: Greater socio-environmental instability favors the production of knowledge (innovation) to adapt to new situations, and socio-environmental instability stimulates the horizontal transmission of knowledge, which is a mechanism that diffuses adapted information. In addition, the present study describes "how", "when", "from whom" and the "stimulus/context", in which knowledge regarding medicinal plants is gained or transferred. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews from three groups that represented different levels of socio-environmental instability. Socio-environmental instability did not favor individual knowledge production or any cultural transmission modes, including vertical to horizontal, despite increasing the frequency of horizontal pathways. Vertical transmission was the most important knowledge transmission strategy in all of the groups in which mothers were the most common models (knowledge sources). Significantly, childhood was the most important learning stage, although learning also occurred throughout life. Direct teaching using language was notable as a knowledge transmission strategy. Illness was the main stimulus that triggered local learning. Learning modes about medicinal plants were influenced by the knowledge itself, particularly the dynamic uses of therapeutic resources.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Plant Stem Bark Extractivism in the Northeast Semiarid Region of Brazil: A New Aport to Utilitarian Redundancy Model

We use the model of utilitarian redundancy as a basis for research. This model provides predictions that have not been tested by other research. In this sense, we sought to investigate the stem bark extraction between preferred and less-preferred species by a rural community in Caatinga environment. In addition, we sought to explain local preferences to observe if preferred plants have a higher content of tannins than less-preferred species. For this, we selected seven preferred species and seven less-preferred species from information obtained from semistructured interviews applied to 49 informants. Three areas of vegetation around the community were also selected, in which individuals were tagged, and were measured the diameter at ground level (DGL) diameter at breast height (DBH), and measurements of available and extracted bark areas. Samples of bark of the species were also collected for the evaluation of tannin content, obtained by the method of radial diffusion. From the results, the preferred species showed a greater area of bark removed. However, the tannin content showed no significant differences between preferred and less-preferred plants. These results show there is a relationship between preference and use, but this preference is not related to the total tannins content

Etnobotánica del género Ocimum L. (Lamiaceae) en las comunidades afrobrasileñas

The genus Ocimum L. includes around 12 species round in Brazil, including some cultivated species. This paper gives details of the traditional uses of Ocimum by the Afrobrasilian people, with information on the common uses of plants by Africans. The information was derived fan specimens deposited in herbaria, ethnobotanical survey and literature review. The transpon of African species and their uses in Brazil is discussed. Two routes are presented, discussed and mapped: the European routes, transporting plants to Brazil; and the slave route from África to Brazil which also transponed traditional uses and knowledge. This study is based on four species used in Afrobrazilian ceremonies: O. americanum L., O. basilicum L., O. minimum L. and O. gratissimum L. Morphological, botanical and economic data are included, and a key to identify the species found in Brazil is also provided.El género Ocimum L. consta de 12 especies en el Brasil, algunas de ellas cultivadas. Se estudian los usos tradicionales que los afrobrasileños hacen de estas plantas y se incluye información sobre alguno de sus usos en África, basado en estudios bibliográficos, de herbario y en investigaciones etnobotánicas. Se reconocen dos vías de llegada de las plantas africanas a Brasil: a través de los colonizadores europeos, principales responsables del trasiego de plantas, y siguiendo la ruta del comercio de esclavos africanos, directamente implicados en la introducción del manejo y uso de ellas. Se han considerado sobre todo las cuatro especies que se utilizan fundamentalmente en los ritos afrobrasileños: O. americanum L., O. basilicum L.. O. minimum L. y O. gratissimum L. Se incluyen datos morfológicos, botánicos y económicos, así como una clave para la identificación de las especies de Ocimum que habitan en Brasil

Quantificação na pesquisa etnobotânica: um panorama sobre os índices usados de 1995 a 2009

Over the last few decades, local knowledge has begun to be studied by ethnobotanists using quantitativeanalyses to assess the relationship between biological and cultural diversity, and the relative importance of naturalresources for the local population. A considerable number of published articles have proposed these quantitative analyses,necessitating discussion and analysis of the commonly employed quantitative techniques. This study examines twocentral issues: the nature of quantitative research in ethnobotany and the use of quantitative indices in ethnobotanicalresearch. A literature review was completed consisting of books, reviews, articles and editorials in the main internationalperiodicals in the areas of ethnobiology and ethnoecology. Scientific search sites were consulted, and a database wascompiled and analyzed. The analysis of 64 papers and four books constituted the basis for this work. The United Statesproduce the greatest number of publications in journals in this field (65%). A total of 87 different quantitative techniqueswas recorded. This work does not claim to provide a census of all the publications on the subject, but rather intends topresent a panorama on the current state of quantification in ethnobotany.A forma pelaqual o conhecimento local passou a ser pesquisado pelos etnobotânicos incorporou, nas últimas décadas, instrumentos deanálise quantitativa usados para estimar a relação entre diversidade biológica e cultural, bem como a importância derecursos naturais para as populações locais. Desde então, um considerável número de artigos publicados propõem análisesquantitativas. Em decorrência desta adesão por parte dos pesquisadores, se faz necessário uma discussão e análise dastécnicas usualmente empregadas. Em vista disto, este estudo tem como base o desenvolvimento de duas ideias centrais: anatureza das pesquisas quantitativas em Etnobotânica e o emprego de índices quantitativos nas pesquisas Etnobotânicas.Com este propósito de descortinar o cenário da quantificação na Etnobotânica, através da análise dos índices quantitativosamplamente difundidos nestas produções, realizou-se uma revisão da literatura para se detectar pesquisas em Etnobotânicaque tenham aplicado índices quantitativos. Assim, neste trabalho, são discutidos os tipos de informações que podem serobtidas por meio da análise de um acervo constituído por livros, revisões, artigos e editoriais de algumas das principaisrevistas científicas na área de Etnobiologia e Etnoecologia. O material bibliográfico foi localizado por meio de consultas asites de busca científica. As informações integraram um banco de dados e foram analisadas com base em 64 artigos e quatrolivros. Os Estados Unidos concentraram 65% das publicações em periódicos. Ao todo, 87 técnicas quantitativas diferentesforam identificadas. Este trabalho tem como intuito final abrir espaço para uma reflexão acerca do que vem sendo realizadoem termos de quantificação na etnobotânica

El género Ocimum L. (Lamiaceae) en el nordeste del Brasil

A taxonomic revision of the genus Ocimum L. from North-East Brazil, including native species, in addition to naturalized and cultivated species, is presented here. Attention is paid to morphological characters, both vegetative and reproductive, and the nutlets and seedlings of two problem species are emphasized. Seven species belonging to three sections are recognized: O. americanum L., O. basilicum L., O. gratissimum L., O. transamazonicum C. Pereira, O. minimum L. (sect. Ocimum), O. campechianum Mill. (sect. Gymnocimum) and O. tenuiflorum L. (sect. Hierocimum). The accepted species, with their most important synonyms, detailed description and geographical distribution are given, after the Identification keys. Morphological variety is also discussed, and illustrations are given of all species.Presentamos aquí una revisión taxonómica del género Ocimum L. en el nordeste del Brasil, en la que figuran tanto las especies autóctonas como las naturalizadas y cultivadas. En ella se atendió a los caracteres morfológicos -vegetativos y reproductivos-, y se hizo hincapié en el estudio de núculas y plántulas en dos especies problemáticas. Reconocemos siete especies pertenecientes a tres secciones: O. americanum L., O. basilicum L., O. gratissimum L., O. transamazonicum C. Pereira, O. minimum L. (sect. Ocimum), O. campechianum Mill. (sect. Gymnocimum) y O. tenuiflorum L. (sect. Hierocimum). Tras las claves de identificación van las especies aceptadas con sus sinónimos más importantes, descripción detallada y distribución geográfica. Asimismo se hacen comentarios referentes a la variabilidad morfológica y se presentan ilustraciones de todas las especies