Search

Confluence of ethnomedical experiences and use of medicinal plants of practitioners native to Translasierra Valley (San Javier Department), Córdoba, Argentina. The valley named as Valle de Traslasierra extends over the western mountainside of the Sierras de Los Comechingones hills. Its characteristic distance from large cities changed qualitatively due to major migration flows. This study aims at characterizing the ethnomedicine and natural pharmacopoeia in the region. We followed qualitative and quantitative methods representative of the ethnobotanical approach. We evidenced a vast and varied therapeutics exerted by native practitioners with a total of 676 medicinal uses corresponding to 231 taxa and 84 botanical families. An analysis of frequency of uses and taxa was also carried out through descriptive statistics. The families with higher number of cited taxa and medicinal use are Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae and Verbenaceae. The most commonly found applications were those related to gastrointestinal disorders, followed by those related to pneumology and cardiology. From the taxa with the largest number of applications, 60% comprise introduced species and 40% consist of wild native species. Finally, the narratives show that native practitioners, while keeping alive practices based on popular medical knowledge, they have incorporated various therapeutic practices and representations, especially from alternative medicine, thus forming a vast natural pharmacopoeia with multiple meanings, typical of multicultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the occasion of preparing the Flora of Cordoba, new records for the Argentinean flora have been registered as a result of intensive field trips and the revision of the main herbaria collections of the country. In this paper, three new records for the native flora and 17 for the introduced flora (casual aliens and naturalized species) of Argentina are presented. Descriptions, illustrations and a lectotypification are done. Furthermore, the presence of 10 introduced species is formally documented for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogenity of the vegetation of basaltic environments in central Argentina. The flora and the vegetation of basaltic outcrops of Los Cóndores Mountains, central Argentina, are described. Plant communities were sampled following the Braun-Blanquet methods. The 98 relevés × 272 species matrix was classified through the ISOPAM method. The classification discriminated three main communities occurring in the three different substrates explored in this landscape: Rocky Islands (inselbergs), a Natural Matrix surrounding the Islands and an Agricultural Matrix, surrounding the whole basaltic area. The three communities differed in composition and physiognomy: the Islands were the less disturbed sites, reporting the highest plant species richness and diversity as well as the higher number of endemics, and the lowest number of exotic species. In the other extreme of the disturbance gradient, the Agricultural Matrix showed the opposite patterns and is dominated by annual and perennial herbs, mainly weeds. While the number of aliens is low in the Islands and in the Natural Matrix, almost 50% of the species are exotic in the Agricultural Matrix. The results of this study reveal that the basaltic inselbergs are relevant sites for the conservation of the natural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new records of Polystichum (Dryopteridaceae) for the Argentine Flora. In this paper, two new records for the Argentina fern-flora are reported: P. subintegerrimum (Hook. & Arn.) R. Rodr. found in the Patagonian Forests and P. platylepis Fée collected in Misiones; both have been considered endemic for Chile and Brazil, respectively. The species are described and illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation of carbonate outcrops in mountains of central Argentina. In mountains of Central Argentina, which have severe fragmentation and replacement of natural vegetation, rocky outcrops are important habitats for biodiversity conservation, as refuges for endemic and rare species. In this paper, we explore the local compositional variation of vegetation in calcium and dolomitic outcrops of Sierras de Córdoba and compare associations between different geochemical types and floristic composition along a local altitudinal gradient. Four adjacent outcrops of different geochemical types located in different positions in a local elevation gradient from 1000 to 1800 m.a.s.l. were selected and cover-abundance of all vascular plants at 216 rélevés, was estimated. Significative differences of compositional vegetation attributes occurred between the different lithologies and altitudinal strata. At the local scale, the floristic composition appeared related to the geochemical typology of outcrops and this pattern is overlapped with altitude. It was possible to establish relationships between the presence of different vascular plants and different types of calcitic and dolomitic rocks, independently of their position in the altitudinal gradient. The importance of these variables in structuring the habitat and filtering of species is confirmed, and its importance in looking for priorities in conservation of these singular habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]