Essential Oil and Phylogenic Positions of Five Medicinal Litsea Species (Lauraceae)

<p>Table S1. The information concerning the villages where the Litsea species were studied; Table S2 Sample part, place of collection, voucher number for Litsea species in GC-MS; Table S3 Voucher information and GenBank accession number in this study; Table S4 Primer used and sequencing for PCR amplification; Table S5 Species and medicinal plant used of Litsea species.; Table S6 Chemical compositions of the essential oils from barks leaves and roots of five Litsea species.</p&gt

Taxonomy and ethnobotany of Acmella (Asteraceae) in Thailand

Abstract. Panyadee P, Inta A. 2022. Taxonomy and ethnobotany of Acmella (Asteraceae) in Thailand. Biodiversitas 23: 2177-2183. Thai toothache plant is an ethno-species, referred to as any species in the genus Acmella of the aster family (Asteraceae). The plants are used commonly in Thailand as vegetables and medicine. However, in earlier phytochemistry and ethnobotanical studies, missed scientific names: Acmella olearcea and Spilanthes acmella, were applied to these species. In this study, we have clarified the identity of these ethno-species and related species in the genus Acmella. There were six species of Acmella in Thailand, including two native species and four introduced species. The keys and brief description of these species are provided. In ethnobotanical studies, A. oleracea and S. acmella were mentioned as nearly 80% of total use records. These names could be referred to A. paniculata which is one of the native species and most widely distributed. Although there were a reasonable amount of studies on the Thai toothache plant, more comparative studies for their bioactivities are still needed according to the taxonomical confusion of their names.</jats:p

Very High Food Plant Diversity among Ethnic Groups in Northern Thailand

The combination of the high biodiversity and many ethnicities in Thailand results in extensive ethnobotanical studies, especially in the northern part of the country. Here we have assembled 7620 records from 60 references regarding how plants are used for food among 14 ethnicities in northern Thailand. The uses are based on 1182 different plant species. Vegetables are the most common food category, which contributed more than 60% of all use-reports and involved nearly 900 species. This was followed by the dessert fruit category, which included about 350 species and over 1800 use-reports. The similarity among the different ethnicities was low and the number of uses and species recorded among different ethnicities were significantly related to the number of studies that had been conducted for each group. This implies that additional ethnobotanical studies are still needed in order to conserve and compile the valuable traditional knowledge related to food plants. Many exotic species are now an important part of traditional knowledge, whereas rare endemic species are uncommon among wild food plants. This situation leads to a loss of traditional knowledge about food plants and reduced awareness of their importance. As a key to using this great reservoir of food for local people, traditional knowledge related to local wild food plants can contribute to the zero-hunger goal of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). More studies on the nutrient content and health properties of these plants could lead to the development of new crops to meet present consumer demands.</jats:p

A “rediscovered” record of Ainsliaea brandisiana (Asteraceae) from Thailand and its biogeographic significance

Ainsliaea brandisiana was regarded as distributed only in southeastern Myanmar. Koyama once reported the occurrence of A. brandisiana in Thailand in 1983, whereas Tseng thought it was a new species and described it as A. spnocephala in 1988. This treatment was accepted by Freire in 2007. Thus, the record of A. brandisiana from Thailand reported by Koyama was not valid. However, during a field trip in Phu Soi Dao National Park of northeastern Thailand, we found a remarkable species of Ainsliaea growing in mountain forests at the elevation of 1600 m. After detailed and comprehensive examination, we determined that it was A. brandisiana. This rediscovered record of A. brandisiana suggested a close phytogeographical connection between the mountain forests flora of southeastern Myanmar and that of northeastern Thailand, although they were separated by the lowlands rain forests of Thailand peninsula. We proposed a new hypothesis that there might be a plant migration route connecting southeastern Myanmar, northeastern Thailand and the Hengduan Mountains. Here, we described and illustrated A. brandisiana and provided photographs of its live specimens in the field, its habitat, morphological details of its floret, its distribution map and a key to all the known species of Ainsliaea from Thailand

Ethnobotany and Ecosystem Services in a Tidal Forest in Thailand

Ecosystem services from ecosystems have been providing different kinds of goods to people living in and around them. Here, the ecosystem services of the tidal forest in Thailand were investigated using the ethnobotanical research method. A total of 101 informants living around a tidal forest in Rayong Province, Thailand was interviewed using the free-listing technique. Totally, 48 species and 992 uses were recorded. Among these, the highest use value species included Cratoxylum cochinchinense, Garcinia cowa, Melientha suavis, and Nelumbo nucifera. Half of the informants received income from selling plant products which varied from 75 to 4000 USD annually without a significant difference between male and female informants. We found a significant correlation between economic value and the number of use-reports. Most economic species are food plants except one which was weaving material. Gender equality is supported by the ecosystem services since the difference in knowledge and generated income were not observed. Significantly, our results support that economic value is one of the most important factors to promote the recognition of traditional uses of local plants or on the other hand, the service from the ecosystem. Therefore, to conserve the existence of traditional knowledge, efforts from various stakeholders, e.g., the communities and the local and central governments, are required.</jats:p

Traditional Uses of Leguminosae among the Karen in Thailand

Leguminosae (legumes) are one of the largest plant families. They are widely used for a variety of purposes by people around the world and include many important cultivated economic food crops. On local scales, legumes are commonly used by various ethnic groups. However, the data are incomplete and scattered, not least in Thailand. We found that species of legumes were important in Karen communities, so we decided to investigate in detail the traditional knowledge of legumes on a local scale among Karen people in northern Thailand. We interviewed six herbalists and eighty-four nonherbalist informants in three Karen villages in Chiang Mai province about their use of legumes, and about the local names for the species, using semistructured interviews. A total of 83 legumes species (in 45 genera) had 4443 use reports. Five of the 83 legume species had not been reported previously as used in Thailand. Most Karen use reports (43%) of legumes were for food, medicine (36%), and materials (8%), but in term of species more legumes (68 species) were used for medicine than for food (53 species). The legume genera with most used species were Crotalaria and Flemingia each with six species. The most important species are Tamarindus indica (CI = 3.38), Senegalia rugata (CI = 2.39), Glycine max (CI = 1.27) respectively.</jats:p

Traditional Uses of Leguminosae among the Karen in Thailand

Leguminosae (legumes) are one of the largest plant families. They are widely used for a variety of purposes by people around the world and include many important cultivated economic food crops. On local scales, legumes are commonly used by various ethnic groups. However, the data are incomplete and scattered, not least in Thailand. We found that species of legumes were important in Karen communities, so we decided to investigate in detail the traditional knowledge of legumes on a local scale among Karen people in northern Thailand. We interviewed six herbalists and eighty-four nonherbalist informants in three Karen villages in Chiang Mai province about their use of legumes, and about the local names for the species, using semistructured interviews. A total of 83 legumes species (in 45 genera) had 4443 use reports. Five of the 83 legume species had not been reported previously as used in Thailand. Most Karen use reports (43%) of legumes were for food, medicine (36%), and materials (8%), but in term of species more legumes (68 species) were used for medicine than for food (53 species). The legume genera with most used species were Crotalaria and Flemingia each with six species. The most important species are Tamarindus indica (CI = 3.38), Senegalia rugata (CI = 2.39), Glycine max (CI = 1.27) respectively

Exotic Plants Used by the Hmong in Thailand

Exotic species are an integral part of the plants used by many ethnic groups, but they usually receive little attention and have been considered alien to the ethnobotanical data. Here, we analyze the plants used by Thai Hmong refugees that are not native to their current habitats in Thailand. We attempt to understand the sources of this knowledge. Do people maintain the original traditional knowledge related to exotic species when they migrate to a new region, or does new knowledge originate from acculturation? We interviewed 16 specialist Hmong informants in Nan province, Thailand, about their traditional knowledge of 69 exotic species used. Acquisition of this knowledge has a long history; several species are the same as plants used by the Hmong in China and other countries, others are globally useful species which have become part of the pool of species that the Hmong have developed local knowledge about. However, migration also involves the integration of local knowledge from other cultures, and also adapts them to function in urban settings. This includes using closely related exotic taxa that replace some of the species they used in their original homelands. The migrants’ traditional knowledge in their new habitats is more complicated and also involves the development of local knowledge that is entirely new.</jats:p