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El objetivo de este trabajo fue relevar las plantas usadas con fines terapéuticos por los habitantes de un sector costanero del Río de la Plata entre los balnearios Bagliardi y La Balandra. Se identificaron 36 especies utilizadas en la medicina popular, 10 de las cuales también se usan como condimento., In this paper the objective was to survey therapeutic plants used by the inhabitants in a coastal region located along Rio de la Plata and between the riverside resort of Bagliardi and La Balandra. Thirty six species used in folk medicine were recorded among them ten are also used as condiment., Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Laboratorio de Morfología Comparada de Espermatófitas

Research on agrobiodiversity points to the importance of home gardens in situ conservation, yet few studies to date explicate the origins and dynamics of plant species diversity. In this paper, we examine inter-household variations in cultivated plant species diversity among house gardens in a traditional peasant community, near Iquitos, Peru. In-depth household interviews (n = 24) and garden/field surveys reveal that home gardens are clearly the site of highest plant diversity in farmers’ field portfolios, and that substantial differences exist in garden composition, plant diversity, and the sources of garden planting material across households. Statistical analyses indicate that home garden diversity is related strongly to specific garden characteristics, household socioeconomic features, and access to planting material including seeds, cuttings, and suckers. The role and implications of differential access to planting material in the development and maintenance of crop species diversity is signaled as an important theme for future study in economic botany.

The native palm flora of Ecuador consists of 129 taxa, including at least 69 species used by rural people, 19 of which are exploited commercially. This paper integrates bioclimatic modeling of palm distribution and quantitative ranking through pair-wise comparisons of species as a tool to evaluate and map the importance of 14 taxa of commercially exploited palms in Ecuador based on criteria of harvest values, sustainability, vegetation cover and population density. The ranking procedure could find broad application within ethnobotany and economic botany. Results show that extraction of palm products, economically speaking, is most important in the heavily deforested and populated coastal lowland.

The edible fruits of Spondias purpurea are valued highly throughout the Ecuadorian coastal plain and Andes where they are cultivated. They are also exported to Colombia and Peru. The fruits are either eaten fresh or processed into various products such as marmalade, wine, and liquor, all with promising market potential. This paper describes the annual cultivation cycle including, propagation, harvest and processing, yields, and socioeconomic importance of the fruits. In 1995, the total volume of the harvest in Ambuqui, province of Imbabura, was 130 000 kg with an average yield of 3250 kg/ha. Gross earnings was 472 US$/ha. The net gain was 314 US$/ha which represents six times the official monthly minimum wage in Ecuador. Spondias purpurea can grow and develop normally on rocky substrates and other marginal soils of otherwise low agricultural value.

The Hispano-Arabic culture in the Iberian Middle Ages is a major chapter in the history of the use and knowledge of plants. The Andalusi agronomists, botanists and physicians assimilated their heritage of Iberian, Hispano-Roman, and Hispano-Visigothic cultures with North-African and Eastern influences. They developed a profound knowledge of the plant world and managed a high diversity of species. A part of this ethnobotanical and agronomic heritage was transmitted not only to the local cultures and generations that followed, but also to peoples on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean by the Spanish colonists in the New World. This paper presents a study of the principal works of the so-called Andalusi Agronomic School (10th-15th centuries) and their agronomist authors: Arib ben Said, Ibn Wafid, Ibn Hayyay, Abu l-Jayr, Ibn Bassal, al-Tignari, Ibn al-Awwam and Ibn Luyun. We also raise questions about Andalusi ethnobotany, the introduction of Oriental species in the Iberian Peninsula and the prospects for ethnobotanical research through the philological study of Hispano-Arabic writings.

The Case for Borojoa patinoi in the Choco Region, Colombia. Economic Botany 51(1): 39-48. 1997. The economic botany of the tree speciesBorojoa patinoi is presented after consulting all available literature and visiting the region.Borojoa patinoi is a noteworthy species in that it is endemic to the biogeographic Choco region, its fruits have high market value, and it is an understory tree, which means it can be cultivated without clearing the overstory trees. This paper reviews the literature on the taxonomy and phytogeography of the genus, as well as the production ecology of the species. Two net present value models are presented to analyze the species economically. From the models, we conclude that in many areas in the Choco, plantingB. patinoi trees is likely to be economically more competitive than planting commercial timber species. Furthermore, monocultures ofB. patinoi may not be the economically optimal production system. BesidesB. patinoi, some other Choco species with edible fruits are suggested for further research.

In a recent paper in Economic Botany, Quimby et al. (1973) described a peculiar variant of Cannabis, found on a herbarium sheet housed in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois (accession number 1628511). This specimen was identified on the herbarium label as Cannabis indica Lam., and Quimby et al. interpreted it as an unusual example of Cannabis sativa L., with pinnate leaves. Two photographs of this specimen were included in the paper '(figs. 23, 24, p. 127; not fig. 22 as stated in text). The specimen has been cited several times in recent symposia, and I have received a number of inquiries concerning its nature. Dr. John McNeill of this institute and I have determined that the plant in question is in fact a male of Datisca cannabina L. Male plants of Datisca cannabina L. are remarkable mimics of Cannabis sativa L. (females are less so). As noted by Steam (1974): "In the Hortus Cliffortianus, Linnaeus provided a short diagnosis, Cannabis foliis digitatis, to distinguish the true hemp from a then imperfectly known plant diagnosed there as Cannabis foliis pinnatis, but named Datisca cannabina in the first edition of the Species Plantarum." On close examination, a wealth of characters distinguish the two species. Indeed, they are so distant that Cronquist (1968) assigns

Tamangs, one of the ethnic tribes of Nepal, have a good association with plant resources they use for their existence. The paper provides a glimpse of medicobotany of this tribe. As many as 95 plant species, both wild and cultivated, representing 88 genera under 47 families, have been found to be of common use for the treatment of various ailments. Curculigo orchioides is the only plant representing the monocotyledons.

This paper documents that the first specimens of the economically important nutmeg tree did not reach the New World until 1773, while the equally valuable cinnamon tree had been transferred to a Caribbean island by 1762. These dates can serve to interpret a recently discovered manuscript by the French botanist Jean Baptiste D’Arnault in which he claimed to have collected nutmeg and cinnamon in the Lesser Antilles or Venezuela in 1767 (Lindorf 2001, 2002). Este artículo documenta que los primeros especímenes de la nuez moscada, árbol económicamente importante, no llegaron al Nuevo Mundo antes de 1773, mientras que el árbol de la canela, igualmente valioso, fue transferido a una isla del Caribe en 1762. Estos datos pueden contribuir a interpretar un manuscrito recién descubierto del botánico francés Jean Baptiste D’Arnault, en el cual él afirmaba haber coleccionado nuez moscada y canela en las Antillas o Venezuela en 1767 (Lindorf 2001, 2002).

The species of the genus Physalis L. (Solanaceae) are grasses or shrubs, practically all of which are native to America. They are known for their application as foods and medicines in several different countries of the continent. The genus is represented in the Gran Chaco by 6 taxa, of which Physalis viscosa L. is the most widespread and of greatest local use. This paper presents ethnobotanical, floristic and ecological data recorded for the Physalis that live in the region. Likewise, bibliographical sources were examined for references to the genus in the Gran Chaco and other parts of America. During field work original data were recorded and the reference plant material was collected. The research study included nine indigenous groups as well as the rural population of the region. The vernacular names of the different species collected, their uses and forms of use are provided. These results are compared with the references from other human groups in America, and the role of these plants in the context of each culture is discussed. Fil: Arenas Rodriguez, Pastor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos; Argentina Fil: Kamienkowski, Nicolás Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos; Argentina

The author acknowledges constructive comments on earlier versions from: Michael Bravo, Gary Kofinas, Stuart Marks, Colin Scott, Frank Sejersen, and Joe Spaeder. In this paper I argue: a) that it is important to examine the differences between the uses of local knowledge in wildlife management as compared to its uses in economic botany and health professions; b) that the application of local knowledge by wildlife resource professionals is decisively shaped by the interests and conditions of state institutions; c) that the processes and structures linking state systems and local peoples are little influenced by the needs and well-being of local resource users; d) that we may nevertheless be at a historical moment in which this long-standing pattern is under increasing stress, as a result of global restructuring and government funding cuts, and in which the opportunities and benefits for change are significant for state and regional institutions, local users, and wildlife. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Danish Polar Center (Copenhagen) Travel Grant, EuroMAB (Man and Biosphere, UNESCO), International Association for the Study of Common Property (IASCP), GÉTIC at Universitè Laval, Arts Research Board of McMaster University.