Articles

Plants traditionally used to make Cantonese slow-cooked soup in China

Lǎo huǒ liàng tāng (Cantonese slow-cooked soup, CSCS) is popular in Guangdong, China, and is consumed by Cantonese people worldwide as a delicious appetizer. Because CSCS serves as an important part of family hea...

Authors: Yujing Liu, Qi Liu, Ping Li, Deke Xing, Huagang Hu, Lin Li, Xuechen Hu and Chunlin Long

The return of the Iberian lynx to Portugal: local voices

Ethnographic research can help to establish dialog between conservationists and local people in reintroduction areas. Considering that predator reintroductions may cause local resistance, we assessed attitudes...

Authors: Margarida Lopes-Fernandes, Clara Espírito-Santo and Amélia Frazão-Moreira

Traditional uses of medicinal plants practiced by the indigenous communities at Mohmand Agency, FATA, Pakistan

Plant-derived products have an imperative biological role against certain pathogenic organisms and were considered to be a major source of modern drugs. Rural people residing in developing countries are relyin...

Authors: Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Muhammad Adnan, Amir Hasan Khan, Abdelaaty Abdelaziz Shahat, Mansour S. Al-Said and Riaz Ullah

Evolutionary ethnobiology and cultural evolution: opportunities for research and dialog

The interest in theoretical frameworks that improve our understanding of social-ecological systems is growing within the field of ethnobiology. Several evolutionary questions may underlie the relationships bet...

Authors: Flávia Rosa Santoro, André Luiz Borba Nascimento, Gustavo Taboada Soldati, Washington Soares Ferreira Júnior and Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque

Correction to: Medicinal plants used by women in Mecca: urban, Muslim and gendered knowledge

In the original publication [1] were the Arabic letters in Table 2 incorrect. The corrected version of Table 2 can be found as Additional file 1 in this Erratum.

Authors: Afnan Alqethami, Julie A. Hawkins and Irene Teixidor-Toneu

Why they eat, what they eat: patterns of wild edible plants consumption in a tribal area of Western Himalaya

From time immemorial, wild plants have been used for edible purposes. They still continue to be a major source of nutrition for tribal people. However, unfortunately, their use is now declining. This has impli...

Authors: Deepika Thakur, Alpy Sharma and Sanjay Kr. Uniyal

Magico-religious and social belief of tribals of district Udaipur, Rajasthan

Religious beliefs and practices have long influenced human perceptions and uses of nature. Animals in particular play a prominent role in magico-religious practices and provide historical and cultural depth of...

Authors: Vandana Singh Kushwah, Rashmi Sisodia and Chhaya Bhatnagar

Ethnopharmacological studies of indigenous plants in Kel village, Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

This explorative study was undertaken for the first time in Kel village located in the Upper Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The purpose was to document the indigenous knowledge of the native people use...

Authors: Khawaja Shafique Ahmad, Abdul Hamid, Fahim Nawaz, Mansoor Hameed, Farooq Ahmad, Jiabin Deng, Noreen Akhtar, Ambreen Wazarat and Sehrish Mahroof

Exploring differences in stakeholders’ perceptions of illegal bird trapping in Cyprus

Cyprus is recognised as a hotspot for illegal bird trapping in the Mediterranean basin. A consumer demand for the Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) is driving the use of non-selective trapping methods, resul...

Authors: Heather M. Jenkins, Christos Mammides and Aidan Keane

Functional diversity of home gardens and their agrobiodiversity conservation benefits in Benin, West Africa

Understanding the functional diversity of home gardens and their socio-ecological determinants is essential for mainstreaming these agroforestry practices into agrobiodiversity conservation strategies. This pa...

Authors: Rodrigue Castro Gbedomon, Valère Kolawolé Salako, Adandé Belarmain Fandohan, Alix Frank Rodrigue Idohou, Romain Glèlè Kakaї and Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo

Are identities oral? Understanding ethnobotanical knowledge after Irish independence (1937–1939)

The Schools’ Folklore Scheme (1937–1939) was implemented at a pivotal time in Irelands’ political history. It resulted in a body of ethnological information that is unique in terms of when, why and how it was ...

Authors: Fiona Shannon, Astrid Sasse, Helen Sheridan and Michael Heinrich

Farmers’ perception of termites in agriculture production and their indigenous utilization in Northwest Benin

Although termites are considered as agricultural pests, they play an important role in maintaining the ecosystem. Therefore, it matters to investigate the farmers’ perception of the impacts of the termites on ...

Authors: Laura Estelle Yêyinou Loko, Azize Orobiyi, Paterne Agre, Alexandre Dansi, Manuele Tamò and Yves Roisin

Famine food of vegetal origin consumed in the Netherlands during World War II

Periods of extreme food shortages during war force people to eat food that they normally do not consider edible. The last time that countries in Western Europe experienced severe scarcities was during World Wa...

Authors: Tom Vorstenbosch, Ingrid de Zwarte, Leni Duistermaat and Tinde van Andel

Medicinal plants used by women in Mecca: urban, Muslim and gendered knowledge

This study explores medicinal plant knowledge and use among Muslim women in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Ethnobotanical research in the region has focused on rural populations and male herbal healers in ci...

Authors: Afnan Alqethami, Julie A. Hawkins and Irene Teixidor-Toneu

Naukan ethnobotany in post-Soviet times: lost edibles and new medicinals

This study focuses on health-related plant use among speakers of the critically endangered Naukan language (Inuit-Yupik-Unangan family) in the Russian Far East. The Naukan people were forced, in 1958, under So...

Authors: Kevin A. Jernigan, Olga S. Belichenko, Valeria B. Kolosova and Darlene J. Orr

Traditions, beliefs and indigenous technologies in connection with the edible longhorn grasshopper Ruspolia differens (Serville 1838) in Tanzania

Edible insects are an important source of food to many African populations. The longhorn grasshopper, Ruspolia differens (Serville 1838), commonly known as senene in Tanzania is one of the most appreciated edible...

Authors: Mercy W. Mmari, John N. Kinyuru, Henry S. Laswai and Judith K. Okoth

Sociocultural and ecological factors influencing management of edible and non-edible plants: the case of Ixcatlán, Mexico

Identifying factors influencing plant management allows understanding how processes of domestication operate. Uncertain availability of resources is a main motivation for managing edible plants, but little is ...

Authors: Selene Rangel-Landa, Alejandro Casas, Eduardo García-Frapolli and Rafael Lira

The implications of ritual practices and ritual plant uses on nature conservation: a case study among the Naxi in Yunnan Province, Southwest China

Conservation of biodiversity is primary important of today’s critically vulnerable environment. Efficient conservation can be possible only with the long-term participation and understanding of the communities...

Authors: Yanfei Geng, Guoxiong Hu, Sailesh Ranjitkar, Yinxian Shi, Yu Zhang and Yuhua Wang

Traditional knowledge hiding in plain sight – twenty-first century ethnobotany of the Chácobo in Beni, Bolivia

The Chácobo are a Panoan speaking tribe of about 1000 members (300+ adults) in Beni, Bolivia. Originally nomadic, the Chácabo were relocated to their current main location in the 1960s. Researchers have visite...

Authors: Narel Y. Paniagua Zambrana, Rainer W. Bussmann, Robbie E. Hart, Araceli L. Moya Huanca, Gere Ortiz Soria, Milton Ortiz Vaca, David Ortiz Álvarez, Jorge Soria Morán, María Soria Morán, Saúl Chávez, Bertha Chávez Moreno, Gualberto Chávez Moreno, Oscar Roca and Erlin Siripi

Ethnobotanical studies of fodder grass resources for ruminant animals, based on the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities in Central Punjab Pakistan

Traditional knowledge of indigenous plants is pivotal in developing strategies to feed livestock sustainably in low input systems. Likewise, in Pakistan the indigenous people of Central Punjab have been using ...

Authors: Nidaa Harun, Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry, Shabnum Shaheen, Kifayat Ullah and Farah Khan

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used against human ailments in Gubalafto District, Northern Ethiopia

Traditional medicinal plant species documentation is very crucial in Ethiopia for biodiversity conservation, bioactive chemical extractions and indigenous knowledge retention. Having first observed the inhabit...

Authors: Getnet Chekole

Use of cultivated plants and non-plant remedies for human and animal home-medication in Liubań district, Belarus

To use any domestic remedy, specific knowledge and skills are required. Simple logic dictates that the use of wild plants in the context of limited interaction with nature requires prior identification, while ...

Authors: Renata Sõukand, Yanina Hrynevich, Julia Prakofjewa, Tatsiana Valodzina, Iryna Vasilyeva, Jury Paciupa, Aliaksandra Shrubok, Aliaksei Hlushko, Yana Knureva, Yulia Litvinava, Siarhei Vyskvarka, Hanna Silivonchyk, Alena Paulava, Mare Kõiva and Raivo Kalle

Medicinal plants used by inhabitants of the Shigar Valley, Baltistan region of Karakorum range-Pakistan

The inhabitants of mountainous terrains depend on folk therapies to treat various ailments; however lack of plant based research and geographical constraints set the traditional knowledge in jeopardy. Present ...

Authors: Zaheer Abbas, Shujaul Mulk Khan, Jan Alam, Sher Wali Khan and Arshad Mehmood Abbasi

Sharing fishers´ ethnoecological knowledge of the European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) in the westernmost fishing community in Europe

With the present difficulties in the conservation of sardines in the North Atlantic, it is important to investigate the local ecological knowledge (LEK) of fishermen about the biology and ecology of these fish...

Authors: Heitor de Oliveira Braga, Miguel Ângelo Pardal and Ulisses Miranda Azeiteiro

More fishers and fewer martens due to cumulative effects of forest management and climate change as evidenced from local knowledge

Monitoring of fur-bearing species populations is relatively rare due to their low densities. In addition to catch data, trappers’ experience provides information on the ecology and status of the harvested spec...

Authors: Pauline Suffice, Hugo Asselin, Louis Imbeau, Marianne Cheveau and Pierre Drapeau

Ethnobotanical survey of wild food plants traditionally collected and consumed in the Middle Agri Valley (Basilicata region, southern Italy)

This research was carried out in a scarcely populated area of the Middle Agri Valley (Basilicata region, southern Italy). The aim of the study was to record local knowledge on the traditional uses of wild food...

Authors: Sabrina Sansanelli, Maura Ferri, Mirko Salinitro and Annalisa Tassoni

Ethnomedicinal plants used by local inhabitants of Jakholi block, Rudraprayag district, western Himalaya, India

Ethnomedicinal knowledge of the Indian Himalayas is very interesting because of the wide range of medicinal plants used in traditional medical practice. However, there is a danger of knowledge being lost becau...

Authors: Ankit Singh, Mohan C. Nautiyal, Ripu M. Kunwar and Rainer W. Bussmann

Medicinal and commercial uses of ostrich products in Tanzania

Traditional communities have been utilizing animal products for numerous purposes and have for a long time contributed to the accumulation of world knowledge. Local people in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa, ...

Authors: Flora Magige and Eivin Røskaft

The therapeutic use of the dog in Spain: a review from a historical and cross-cultural perspective of a change in the human-dog relationship

In Spain, studies about traditional knowledge related to biodiversity have focused on vascular plants. For this reason, our review concentrates on the identification and inventory of zootherapeutic resources, ...

Authors: José Ramón Vallejo, Dídac Santos-Fita and José Antonio González

Habits and customs of crab catchers in southern Bahia, Brazil

Brazilian mangrove forests are widely distributed along the coast and exploited by groups of people with customs and habits as diverse as the biology of the mangrove ecosystems. This study identifies different...

Authors: Angélica M. S. Firmo, Mônica M. P. Tognella, Gabrielle D. Tenório, Raynner R. D. Barboza and Rômulo R. N. Alves

Rare tradition of the folk medicinal use of Aconitum spp. is kept alive in Solčavsko, Slovenia

Aconitum species are poisonous plants that have been used in Western medicine for centuries. In the nineteenth century, these plants were part of official and folk medicine in the Slov...

Authors: Marija Povšnar, Gordana Koželj, Samo Kreft and Mateja Lumpert

Patient-centered boundary mechanisms to foster intercultural partnerships in health care: a case study in Guatemala

Up to one half of the population in Africa, Asia and Latin America has little access to high-quality biomedical services and relies on traditional health systems. Medical pluralism is thus in many developing c...

Authors: Martin Hitziger, Mónica Berger Gonzalez, Eduardo Gharzouzi, Daniela Ochaíta Santizo, Regina Solis Miranda, Andrea Isabel Aguilar Ferro, Ana Vides-Porras, Michael Heinrich, Peter Edwards and Pius Krütli

Diversity of use and local knowledge of wild and cultivated plants in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

Traditional ecological knowledge among indigenous communities plays an important role in retaining cultural identity and achieving sustainable natural resource management. Hundreds of millions of people mostly...

Authors: Alfred Maroyi

Cognition, culture and utility: plant classification by Paraguayan immigrant farmers in Misiones, Argentina

This study was conducted in three rural communities of small farmers of Paraguayan origin living in the province of Misiones, Argentina. These Criollos (Mestizos) hail chiefly from departments located in the east...

Authors: Monika Kujawska, N. David Jiménez-Escobar, Justin M. Nolan and Daniel Arias-Mutis

Ethnomedicinal and cultural practices of mammals and birds in the vicinity of river Chenab, Punjab-Pakistan

Although, use of animal species in disease treatment and culture practices is as ancient as that of plant species; however ethnomedicinal uses and cultural values of animal species have rarely been reported. P...

Authors: Muhammad Altaf, Arshad Javid, Muhammad Umair, Khalid Javed Iqbal, Zahid Rasheed and Arshad Mehmood Abbasi

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal and edible plants of Yalo Woreda in Afar regional state, Ethiopia

The Afar people inhabit the sub-arid and arid part of Ethiopia. Recurrent drought and invasive encroaching plants are taking out plants that have cultural importance, and threaten the biodiversity and the asso...

Authors: Tilahun Teklehaymanot

Ethnozoological study of animals based medicine used by traditional healers and indigenous inhabitants in the adjoining areas of Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India

India has an immense faunal, floral, as well as cultural diversity with many ethnic communities who are primarily dependent on the traditional medicinal system for their primary health care. Documentation and ...

Authors: Manash Pratim Borah and Surya Bali Prasad

Plants as highly diverse sources of construction wood, handicrafts and fibre in the Heihe valley (Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi, China): the importance of minor forest products

Chinese rural communities living among species-rich forests have little documentation on species used to make handicrafts and construction materials originating from the surrounding vegetation. Our research ai...

Authors: Jin Kang, Yongxiang Kang, Jing Feng, Mengying Liu, Xiaolian Ji, Dengwu Li, Kinga Stawarczyk and Łukasz Łuczaj

Utilization and farmers’ knowledge on pigeonpea diversity in Benin, West Africa

Understanding factors driving farmers’ uses of crop genetic resources is a key component not only to design appropriate conservation strategies but also to promote sustainable production. However, in Benin, li...

Authors: Mathieu Anatole Tele Ayenan, Agyemang Danquah, Léonard Essehou Ahoton and Kwadwo Ofori

Truffle renaissance in Poland – history, present and prospects

The use of truffles in Poland has a long tradition, yet due to some historical aspects, this knowledge was lost. Currently, truffles and truffle orchards are again receiving attention, and thanks to, e.g., his...

Authors: Aleksandra Rosa-Gruszecka, Dorota Hilszczańska, Wojciech Gil and Bogusław Kosel

The use of birds as pets in Mexico

The use of birds as pets has been a historical tradition in Mexico since prehispanic times. It has survived through bird traders, called pajareros, which is a local name given to the trade (derived from pájaro, t...

Authors: Blanca Roldán-Clarà, Víctor M. Toledo and Ileana Espejel

Semiarid ethnoagroforestry management: Tajos in the Sierra Gorda, Guanajuato, Mexico

The semi-arid environments harbor nearly 40% of biodiversity, and half of indigenous cultures of Mexico. Thousands of communities settled in these areas depend on agriculture and using wild biodiversity for th...

Authors: Vincent M. Hoogesteger van Dijk, Alejandro Casas and Ana Isabel Moreno-Calles

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used as insects repellents in six malaria endemic localities of Cameroon

The combined efforts to combat outdoor/indoor transmission of malaria parasites are hampered by the emerging vector resistance in a wide variety of malaria-endemic settings of Africa and the rest of the world,...

Authors: Roger Ducos Fokouo Youmsi, Patrick Valère Tsouh Fokou, Elisabeth Zeuko’o Menkem, Issakou Bakarnga-Via, Rodrigue Keumoe, Victor Nana and Fabrice Fekam Boyom

The socioeconomic context of the use of Euterpe precatoria Mart. and E. oleracea Mart. in Bolivia and Peru

Traditional knowledge (TK) has enabled communities to adapt to changes in life conditions over centuries. However, this local context is being dramatically affected by recent changes through globalization and ...

Authors: Narel Paniagua-Zambrana, Rainer W. Bussmann and Manuel J. Macía

Using Ellenberg-Pignatti values to estimate habitat preferences of wild food and medicinal plants: an example from northeastern Istria (Croatia)

The paper presents the first ethnobotanical application of Ellenberg indicator values, which are widely used in European plant ecology. The aim of the study was to find out if Ellenberg values (indicating habi...

Authors: Ivana Vitasović Kosić, Josip Juračak and Łukasz Łuczaj

The use of Local Ecological Knowledge as a complementary approach to understand the temporal and spatial patterns of fishery resources distribution

Acquiring fast and accurate information on ecological patterns of fishery resources is a basic first step for their management. However, some countries may lack the technical and/or the financial means to unde...

Authors: Mauro Sergio Pinheiro LIMA, Jorge Eduardo LINS OLIVEIRA, Marcelo Francisco de NÓBREGA and Priscila Fabiana Macedo LOPES

Food beliefs and practices among the Kalenjin pregnant women in rural Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Understanding food beliefs and practices is critical to the development of dietary recommendations, nutritional programmes, and educational messages. This study aimed to understand the pregnancy food beliefs a...

Authors: Roselyter Monchari Riang’a, Jacqueline Broerse and Anne Kisaka Nangulu

Agrobiodiversity and in situ conservation in ethnic minority communities of Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province, Southwest China

Xishuangbanna of Yunnan Province, southwest of China belongs to a global biodiversity and cultural hotspot. Agrobiodiversity plays an essential role in local livelihoods and traditional culture in the region. ...

Authors: Shicai Shen, Gaofeng Xu, Diyu Li, David Roy Clements, Fudou Zhang, Guimei Jin, Jianyong Wu, Pingfang Wei, Song Lin and Dayuan Xue

An ethnopharmacological evaluation of Navapind and Shahpur Virkanin district Sheikupura, Pakistan for their herbal medicines

The chief aim of this study was to enlist the ethnobotanical uses of wild plants in district Sheikhupura, province Punjab, Pakistan. Due to extreme geographical and climatic conditions, Pakistan has a great fl...

Authors: Maria Zahoor, Zubaida Yousaf, Tahreem Aqsa, Manahil Haroon, Nadia Saleh, Arusa Aftab, Sadia Javed, Mouzma Qadeer and Habiba Ramazan

Erratum to: Traditional use and management of NTFPs in Kangchenjunga Landscape: implications for conservation and livelihoods

Authors: Yadav Uprety, Ram C. Poudel, Janita Gurung, Nakul Chettri and Ram P. Chaudhary