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This paper is an historical review of ethnobotanical notes about wild and cultivated edible plants collected through texts from the end of the 18th century (1796) to the first decades of the 20th century (1930) in the area of Albania under European Turkey, which included parts of today North Macedonia and Kosovo. Albania is an Eastern European country, which has been little studied from historical ethnobotany point of view. For this reason, this paper is focused on foreign authors' works containing data on the use of plants for economic, medicinal, food purposes, and discussing mythological, religious and magical explanations for them. The study is not intended to be an exhaustive review of all materials on this subject, but includes the texts known to us that contain ethnobotanical knowledge. Further scientific research can be carried out in other studies on historical ethnobotany not only by foreign authors but also by Albanians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this research were to identify and analyze ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and their associated indigenous knowledge, including their preparation and application by traditional healers and the status of their conservation by Guji Semi-Pastoralist People of Suro Barguda District, West Guji Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Forty-six ethnoveterinary medicinal plant species representing 43 genera and 29 families were identified in the district. Approximately 26.1% of the families were represented by more than one species. The highest number of species was recorded for Asteraceae (5 species), followed by Euphorbiaceae (4 species), and most ethnoveterinary medicines were prepared from herbs and shrubs rather than other growth forms. Chopping the remedial parts and homogenizing them with cold water was found to be the major mode of remedy preparation. All documented ethnoveterinary plant species were harvested from the wild, and approximately 4.4% of the ethnoveterinary medicinal plants in the study area were endemic to Ethiopia. This study indicated that the study area encompasses different species of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants that should be given conservation priority, and the local community depends largely on these plants for the treatment of different livestock ailments, although the healers had a very high intention to keep their traditional knowledge secret. The indigenous knowledge of pastoralists about plants and breeding different species of livestock, as well as their environmental management systems (traditional forest, soil, and water conservation systems), should be incorporated into the planning and implementation of developmental interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suriname's freshwater systems are home to a large diversity of (endemic) fish species, and communities of Suriname's interior strongly depend on this diversity for their nutrient intake. However, studies on traditional knowledge of the country's freshwater fish and fish-plant interactions are scarce. Here, we present our findings of a pilot study in the Aucan Maroon community of Diitabiki (Tapanahoni river). We report the species of freshwater fish caught for food, their corresponding Aucan names and plants eaten by fish and/or used for fishing by the local population. We held semi-structured interviews and performed participant observation with fishers and forest guides in August and September 2021. We recorded 14 fish species, of which 12 were identified to species level, and recorded 16 Aucan fish names, of which nine were previously undocumented. Furthermore, we reported 11 plant species that were used for fishing and one fish poison (Tephrosia sinapou (Buc'hoz) A.Chev.). Suriname's riverine ecosystems are threatened by gold mining activities that endanger the health of local communities, as well as the fish populations and riverine forests on which both people and fish depend. Local knowledge on fish, their feeding behavior and the flooded forests is essential for the conservation of this important Amazonian ecosystem, for the development of sustainable management plans and health education programs on mercury levels in consumption fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study recorded inhabitants' traditional knowledge and uses of bromeliads and the phorophytes present in their ecosystems in two localities of Oaxaca. We also evaluated the effect of harvest practices on the abundance and distribution of the populations of these epiphytes on different phorophytes, considering the existence, or not, of a Forest Management Program. Structured interviews were conducted with 60 adults to identify the species of bromeliads of greater cultural importance (BGCI). We identified recurrent harvest sites (RHS) and occasional harvest sites (OHS) in order to estimate the abundance and phorophyte preference of BGCI. Traditional names and uses of epiphytes and phorophytes are described; it was identified that Tillandsia deppeana, T. lucida and Catopsis occulta had the highest BGCI in both localities. Their populations showed greater abundance values in OHS in both localities compared with RHS (x2gl6 = 296.99, p < 0.05). T. deppeana and T. lucida were shown to prefer Quercus elliptica, while distribution of C. occulta showed a preference for Q. rugosa and Pinus oocarpa; however, phorophyte preference patterns of bromeliads may be influenced by the intensity of forest management. Decrease in abundance as the size category increased was recorded in three species, as well as the adult harvest. Finally, the inhabitants of both communities demonstrate similarities in their traditional knowledge, the intensity of harvest may be a factor influencing their abundance and preference of phorophytes, but also forest management programs determine the availability of bromeliads populations, due to the phorophytes specificity that some bromeliads exhibited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO, "Bioma Pampa-Quebradas del Norte", Rivera Department is an important reservoir of biocultural diversity of Uruguay. With the objective of contributing to its recognition and valuation, we describe the diversity of medicinal plants used by local communities in rural or urban settlements at the Reserve, from a quali-quantitative ethnobotanical approach. We estimated and compared species richness of alien and native medicinal plants mentioned by the 13 urban and 31 rural people in semi-structured interviews selected by snowball sampling. We found that the diversity of medicinal plants comparing urban and rural areas did not present significant differences. However, rural areas report more native species as consequence of a higher environmental offer of medicinal plants and the prevalence of cultural elements of native peoples; in contrast, the construction of homegardens within a pluricultural context in urban areas promotes the incorporation of alien species in the local herbalist. Finally, we emphasize the possibility of integrating the official medicinal system with the traditional medicinal systems based in plants, contributing to the programs of conservation of biocultural heritage and primary health care as posed by the World Health Organization in its Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]