Is it the plants we know that we use? Unraveling the determining factors of traditional botanical knowledge in a rural community in Central Mexico.

The knowledge and use of plant resources are constantly evolving. In this work, the socio-cultural and economic factors that influence the traditional botanical knowledge of a mestizo community in Mexico were analyzed, and the correspondence of two cultural indices that asses the theoretical and practical ethnobotanical dimensions was determined to identify the magnitude of the significance and utility of each one of the useful plants. The study was carried out through semi-structured interviews with 44 local informants. Free lists were applied, and the indexes of use value and practical value were used to document the most culturally important plants. With an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), the differences in traditional botanical knowledge between gender and the effect of socioeconomic covariates on it were evaluated. 223 species were recorded in 54 botanical families and 86 genera, of which 48% were herbs and just over 60% of the total were recorded in homegardens. The Asteraceae family had the highest number of useful species followed by Fabaceae and Rosaceae. Of a total of 10 categories of use, medicinal, food, and ornamental plants were the most representative. A weak correspondence was found between the cultural indices at the species level, but there was consistency at the level of use categories. The ANCOVA showed that there is no statistically significant difference between the genders and none of the covariates have a significant influence (p>0.05) on traditional botanical knowledge. However, there was a consensus between men and women on the importance they give to medicinal and food plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]