The evolution of medicinal floras: insights from Moroccan medicinal plant knowledge transmission

Why some plants are used medicinally, and others not, is not yet totally understood; intrinsic, cultural and floristic factors may be important and their interactions are complex. Plants’ morphological, organoleptic and ecological traits have been evaluated elsewhere. This thesis focuses on the role of cultural transmission of knowledge across generations, societies and floristic environments. Using Morocco as a case study, this thesis describes medicinal plant use among understudied Tashelhit speakers in the High Atlas and specialist healers called ferraggat. The role of knowledge transmission is evaluated in a context of cultural change. Processes of transmission are also inferred from patterns of medicinal plant use regionally; a checklist for Moroccan medicinal plants is compiled and a new method based on biogeographic data is used to test a hypothesis about the influence of the Arab knowledge due to historical migrations into Morocco. Aspects of Ishelhin ethnobotanical knowledge are described through 254 vernacular plant names, which reflect local livelihoods and biodiversity values; 151 vernacular names for medicinal plants correspond to 159 botanical species and are found to treat 36 folk ailments. Men and women listed significantly different medicinal plants; herbal medicine is a women’s domain characterized by low specificity of herbal remedies and widespread use of mixtures. Medicinal plant use is guided by local concepts of health and illness including supernatural aetiologies, which also determine healthcare seeking behaviour. Belief in supernatural causes of illness and difficult access to biomedicine result in preference for ferraggat to treat childrens’ ailments in the High Atlas by a practice called frigg. Seventy plants were documented for this treatment, but emphasis on plants may be a recent substitute for remedies that used primarily wool and blood two generations ago. This is a shift in the objects of cultural meaningfulness in response to the increasing influence of orthodox Islam and state-sponsored modernisation, including public healthcare and schooling. Transmission of knowledge is underpinned by the prestige and legitimacy of alternative remedies and healing systems, which shift during socioeconomic and religious change. With biomedicine available, herbal remedies may not be preferred treatments, unless local explanatory models of illness are maintained. Meta-analysis of the Moroccan medicinal flora supports this view. Although I hypothesised that Saharo-Arabian plants would be overrepresented in the Moroccan medicinal flora, overrepresentation was not significant. Nonetheless, Arabic influence is evidenced through the Moroccan syncretic health system. The combination of pattern and process observation in the field and from macroscale analysis contributes to the understanding of how knowledge transmission shapes medicinal floras

Comprehensive dataset of the medicinal plants used by a Tashelhit speaking community in the High Atlas, Morocco

This dataset describes medicinal plants used in a poorly studied area of Morocco: the High Atlas mountains, inhabited by Ishelhin people, the southern Moroccan Amazigh (Berber) ethnicgroup, “An ethnomedicinal survey of a Tashelhit-speaking community in the High Atlas, Morocco” (Teixidor-Toneuetal.,2016). It includes a comprehensive list of the plants used in the commune, as well as details on the plant voucher specimens collected and a glossary of Tashelhit terminology relevant to the study. To collect the data, semi-structured and structured interviews were carried out, as well as focus group discussions. Free prior informed consent was obtained for all interactions. A hundred and six adults were interviewed and 2084 use reports were collected; a hundred fifty-one vernacular names corresponding to 159 botanical species were found

To pick or not to pick: photographic voucher specimens as an alternative method to botanical collecting in ethnobotany

The identification of plants according to the Linnaean system of taxonomy is a cornerstone of ethnobotany, allowing the discipline to be a comparative science. To accomplish plant identification, ethnobotanists have long relied on the collection of voucher specimens and their deposition in herbaria. Here we critically analyze the role of botanical collecting in ethnobotany and bring attention to a range of issues that can complicate, and sometimes hamper, the practice. In lieu of traditional herbarium specimens, the collection of photographic vouchers and their deposition in digital repositories is proposed as an alternative method for ethnobotanical research. The ever-improving quality and ubiquity of smartphone cameras, photographic citizen science applications like Pl@ntnet and iNaturalist, and deep learning techniques of automated photo identification are discussed as elements that are contributing to a slow revolution in the role of digital data in the field sciences. Guidelines for when plant herbarium specimens versus photographic vouchers should be considered required are laid out. Although botanical collecting will doubtless and with good reason remain a foundational practice in ethnobotany, we present the use of photographic vouchers as a valid, scientifically rigorous and, in some situations, preferred method of identification

Treating infants with frigg: linking disease aetiologies, medicinal plant use and careseeking behaviour in southern Morocco

Background: Although most Moroccans rely to some extent on traditional medicine, the practice of frigg to treat paediatric ailments by elderly women traditional healers known as ferraggat, has not yet been documented. We describe the role of these specialist healers, document the medicinal plants they use, and evaluate how and why their practice is changing. Methods: Ethnomedicinal and ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews and observations of medical encounters. Information was collected from traditional healers, namely ferraggat, patients, herbalists and public health professionals. Patients’ and healers’ narratives about traditional medicine were analysed and medicinal plant lists were compiled from healers and herbalists. Plants used were collected, vouchered and deposited in herbaria. Results: Ferragat remain a key health resource to treat infant ailments in the rural High Atlas, because mothers believe only they can treat what are perceived to be illnesses with a supernatural cause. Ferragat possess baraka, or the gift of healing, and treat mainly three folk ailments, taqait, taumist and iqdi, which present symptoms similar to those of ear infections, tonsillitis and gastroenteritis. Seventy plant species were used to treat these ailments, but the emphasis on plants may be a recent substitute for treatments that used primarily wool and blood. This change in materia medica is a shift in the objects of cultural meaningfulness in response to the increasing influence of orthodox Islam and state-sponsored modernisation, including public healthcare and schooling. Conclusions: Religious and other sociocultural changes are impacting the ways in which ferraggat practice. Treatments based on no-longer accepted symbolic elements have been readily abandoned and substituted by licit remedies, namely medicinal plants, which play a legitimisation role for the practice of frigg. However, beliefs in supernatural ailment aetiologies, as well as lack or difficult access to biomedical alternatives, still underlie the need for specialist traditional healers

Historical, archaeological and linguistic evidence test the phylogenetic inference of Viking-Age plant use

In this paper, past plant knowledge serves as a case study to highlight the promise and challenges of interdisciplinary data collection and interpretation in cultural evolution. Plants are central to human life and yet, apart from the role of major crops, people–plant relations have been marginal to the study of culture. Archaeological, linguistic, and historical evidence are often limited when it comes to studying the past role of plants. This is the case in the Nordic countries, where extensive collections of various plant use records are absent until the 1700s. Here, we test if relatively recent ethnobotanical data can be used to trace back ancient plant knowledge in the Nordic countries. Phylogenetic inferences of ancestral states are evaluated against historical, linguistic, and archaeobotanical evidence. The exercise allows us to discuss the opportunities and shortcomings of using phylogenetic comparative methods to study past botanical knowledge. We propose a ‘triangulation method’ that not only combines multiple lines of evidence, but also quantitative and qualitative approaches. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Foundations of cultural evolution’

Local Observations of Climate Change and Adaptation Responses: A Case Study in the Mountain Region of Burundi-Rwanda

Mountain regions and their communities are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. However, little is known on the impacts observed and adaptation responses used in Burundi’s mountain region and if these are different to those reported in the contiguous mountain region of Rwanda. This paper aims to fill in these knowledge gaps. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 300 smallholder farmers, 150 in northern Burundi and 150 in southern Rwanda. Farmers in both countries reported negative impacts on crops, animals, and human health, with small differences between countries driven by the main cultivated crops. More adaptation strategies were used in Burundi than in Rwanda, and more farmers in Burundi were using multiple strategies. In both countries, farmers’ wealth affected farmers’ adaptation responses and their food security. Notably, for all wealth groups (poor, average, rich), food security was lower in Rwanda than in Burundi. We relate our findings to current agricultural intensification policies in both countries and argue for the greater involvement of local farmers in adaptation planning using, for example, science-with-society approaches.We are deeply grateful to our study participants, who graciously shared their time, energy, and stories. We thank our field assistants and facilitators for making this research possible. We also acknowledge the Mountain Research Initiative for funding support

An ethnomedicinal survey of a Tashelhit speaking community in the High Atlas, Morocco

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Traditional knowledge about medicinal plants from a poorly studied region, the High Atlas in Morocco, is reported here for the first time; this permits consideration of efficacy and safety of current practices whilst highlighting species previously not known to have traditional medicinal use. Aim of the study: Our study aims to document local medicinal plant knowledge among Tashelhit speaking communities through ethnobotanical survey, identifying preferred species and new medicinal plant citations and illuminating the relationship between emic and etic ailment classifications. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical data were collected using standard methods and with prior informed consent obtained before all interactions, data were characterized using descriptive indices and medicinal plants and healing strategies relevant to local livelihoods were identified. Results: 151 vernacular names corresponding to 159 botanical species were found to be used to treat 36 folk ailments grouped in 14 biomedical use categories. Thirty-five (22%) are new medicinal plant records in Morocco, and 26 described as used for the first time anywhere. Fidelity levels (FL) revealed low specificity in plant use, particularly for the most commonly reported plants. Most plants are used in mixtures. Plant use is driven by local concepts of disease, including “hot” and “cold” classification and beliefs in supernatural forces. Conclusion: Local medicinal plant knowledge is rich in the High Atlas, where local populations still rely on medicinal plants for healthcare. We found experimental evidence of safe and effective use of medicinal plants in the High Atlas; but we highlight the use of eight poisonous species

The 16th-19th century Soundtoll Registers Online: uncovering traded plant diversity between the North and the Baltic Seas

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