2014 - Volume 12 : Ethnobotany Research and Applications
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ItemWine, Beer, Snuff, Medicine, and Loss of Diversity - Ethnobotanical travels in the Georgian Caucasus(Botany Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014)
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ItemEthnobotany of Wild and Semi-Wild Edible Fruit Species used by Maale and Ari Ethnic Communities in Southern Ethiopia(Botany Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014)Wild and semi-wild tree fruit species are important resources in combating food insecurity and providing supplementary diet to rural people. We studied wild and semi-wild fruit species used by the Maale and Ari communities in southern Ethiopia and the conservation status of these resources. We used focus group discussions (n = 18) and individual interviews (n = 144) in three rural kebeles. In total, the two communities used 52 species of wild and semi-wild fruit species which were especially important for their diet in times of food shortage. The most important species were, for the Maale community, Balanites rotundifolia (Tiegh.) Blatt. and Dobera glabra (Forssk.) Juss. ex Poir. and, for the Ari community, Carissa spinarum L. and Vitex doniana Sweet. No significant variation in ethnobotanical knowledge regarding fruit species existed among gender and age groups. The main traded fruit species were B. rotundifolia, Ximenia caffra Sond., and Vangueria madagascariensis J.F.Gmel. The major threats reported by informants to the availability of wild and semi-wild fruit species were tree felling and conversion of forest to agricultural land. In addition to preserving the local knowledge and implementing conservation strategies that protect the remaining fruit trees, maintenance and enrichment planting of the most important species are plausible management interventions.
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ItemSendera-clandi (Xenostegia tridentata, Convolvulaceae): A medicinal creeper(Botany Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014)In 1692 Rheede reported vines in India by the Malayalam name sendera-clandi. Soon afterward, the medicinal species was in London, imported from India and West Africa. Subsequent exploration of Africa and Asia revealed that these diminutive creepers were widespread and that they were considered medicinal throughout the Old World tropics. Now known scientifically as Xenostegia tridentata, people have long recognized two distinct morphotypes, one African and one Asian. Recent research confirms that these two represent subspecies of X. tridentata whose ranges overlap in southern India and Sri Lanka. Historical data indicate that the overlap was caused, or at least enhanced, by traders moving between Asia and Africa.
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ItemEcological Apparency Hypothesis and Availability of Useful Plants: Testing different seu values(Botany Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014)The present study tested the ecological apparency hypothesis in a Brazilian rural community. It used the use value to test the information gained through three types of calculations (UVchange, UVgeneral, UVpotential). A vegetation inventory was performed in two areas near Capivara, Paraíba, Brazil, and 112 informants were interviewed. For the hypothesis test, the Spearman correlation coefficient was used to correlate the phytosociological (vegetation) and ethnobotanical data (use value). The study recorded 25 useful species in the first site and 20 in the second site. Positive correlations were found in the first site, between the UVg to basal area and dominance, and between the UVc and basal area, dominance, and importance value. In the second site, between the UVg and both basal area and dominance and between UVc and basal area, density, and dominance. Apparency explained the local importance of useful plants in construction, technology, and fuel, but was not explanative of medicine. Also, important responses were observed for the different use values.
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ItemEthnobotanical Uses of Some Plants of Bhattiyat Block in District Chamba, Himachal Pradesh (Western Himalaya)(Botany Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014)In this study an ethnobotanical survey of plant diversity was carried out at Bhattiyat block of District Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India. The study was mainly focused on the medicinal plants used for treatment of various ailments/diseases by the nearby village inhabitants. The information was collected by questionnaire and consulting local elders. The present paper provides information on the indigenous therapeutic application and other traditional uses of 22 plant species that are commonly used by the natives of Bhattiyat block of District Chamba.