Articles

Fern rhizomes as fodder in Norway

Although ferns are often known under collective names in Norway, e.g. blom, a substantial number of vernacular names for individual fern species are known, in particular for useful or poisonous taxa. In the past,...

Authors: Torbjørn Alm

Therapeutic and prophylactic uses of invertebrates in contemporary Spanish ethnoveterinary medicine

Zootherapeutic practices in ethnoveterinary medicine are important in many socio-cultural environments around the world, particularly in developing countries, and they have recently started to be inventoried a...

Authors: José Antonio González, Francisco Amich, Salvador Postigo-Mota and José Ramón Vallejo

Traditional knowledge and use of wild mushrooms by Mixtecs or Ñuu savi, the people of the rain, from Southeastern Mexico

Mexico is an important global reservoir of biological and cultural richness and traditional knowledge of wild mushrooms. However, there is a high risk of loss of this knowledge due to the erosion of traditiona...

Authors: Faustino Hernández Santiago, Jesús Pérez Moreno, Beatriz Xoconostle Cázares, Juan José Almaraz Suárez, Enrique Ojeda Trejo, Gerardo Mata Montes de Oca and Irma Díaz Aguilar

Exploiting indigenous knowledge of subsistence farmers’ for the management and conservation of Enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) (musaceae family) diversity on-farm

Enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) belongs to the order sctaminae, the family musaceae. The Musaceae family is subdivided into the genera Musa and Ensete. Enset is an important staple crop for about 20 m...

Authors: Zerihun Yemataw, Kassahun Tesfaye, Awole Zeberga and Guy Blomme

Traditional climate knowledge: a case study in a peasant community of Tlaxcala, Mexico

Traditional climate knowledge is a comprehensive system of insights, experiences and practices used by peasant communities to deal with the uncertainties of climate conditions affecting their livelihood. This ...

Authors: Alexis D. Rivero-Romero, Ana I. Moreno-Calles, Alejandro Casas, Alicia Castillo and Andrés Camou-Guerrero

Ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants in Burji District, Segan Area Zone of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia

An ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants was conducted in Burji District, Segan Area Zone of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to identify and do...

Authors: Mersha Ashagre, Zemede Asfaw and Ensermu Kelbessa

TEK and biodiversity management in agroforestry systems of different socio-ecological contexts of the Tehuacán Valley

Transformation of natural ecosystems into intensive agriculture is a main factor causing biodiversity loss worldwide. Agroforestry systems (AFS) may maintain biodiversity, ecosystem benefits and human wellbein...

Authors: Mariana Vallejo-Ramos, Ana I. Moreno-Calles and Alejandro Casas

Ixcatec ethnoecology: plant management and biocultural heritage in Oaxaca, Mexico

Studying motives of plant management allows understanding processes that originated agriculture and current forms of traditional technology innovation. Our work analyses the role of native plants in the Ixcate...

Authors: Selene Rangel-Landa, Alejandro Casas, Erandi Rivera-Lozoya, Ignacio Torres-García and Mariana Vallejo-Ramos

Medicinal plants sold at traditional markets in southern Ecuador

The traditional markets in southern Ecuador and within the Andean region are especially important for plant resource trading among local people, even since before Spanish colonization; therefore, ethnobotanica...

Authors: Fani Tinitana, Montserrat Rios, Juan Carlos Romero-Benavides, Marcelino de la Cruz Rot and Manuel Pardo-de-Santayana

Medicinal plants of Dagala region in Bhutan: their diversity, distribution, uses and economic potential

The traditional g.so-ba-rig-pa hospitals in Bhutan uses more than 100 polyingredient medicines that are manufactured by the Menjong Sorig Pharmaceuticals (MSP). The MSP has been collecting medicinal plants from L...

Authors: Phurpa Wangchuk, Kuenga Namgay, Karma Gayleg and Yeshi Dorji

Traditional alcoholic beverages and their value in the local culture of the Alta Valle del Reno, a mountain borderland between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna (Italy)

Traditional alcoholic beverages (TABs) have only received marginal attention from researchers and ethnobotanists so far, especially in Italy. This work is focused on plant-based TABs in the Alta Valle del Reno...

Authors: Teresa Egea, Maria Adele Signorini, Luca Ongaro, Diego Rivera, Concepción Obón de Castro and Piero Bruschi

Engaging indigenous and academic knowledge on bees in the Amazon: implications for environmental management and transdisciplinary research

This paper contributes to the development of theoretical and methodological approaches that aim to engage indigenous, technical and academic knowledge for environmental management. We present an exploratory an...

Authors: Simone Athayde, John Richard Stepp and Wemerson C. Ballester

Formal education, previous interaction and perception influence the attitudes of people toward the conservation of snakes in a large urban center of northeastern Brazil

The attitudes and perceptions of people toward animals are influenced by sociodemographic factors, such as formal education and gender, and by personal experience. Understanding these interactions is critical ...

Authors: Luan Tavares Pinheiro, João Fabrício Mota Rodrigues and Diva Maria Borges-Nojosa

The symbolic efficacy of medicinal plants: practices, knowledge, and religious beliefs amongst the Nalu healers of Guinea-Bissau

In attempting to understand how the use of medicinal plants is symbolically valued and transformed according to specific cosmologies, we gain valuable insight into the ethnopharmacologial practices, in terms o...

Authors: Amélia Frazão-Moreira

Beyond food and medicine, but necessary for life, too: other folk plant uses in several territories of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands

Ethnobotanical academic research, particularly in European industrialised countries, has been, and is, mostly focused on folk uses of food and medicinal plants. Nevertheless, other uses, as may well be suppose...

Authors: Airy Gras, Teresa Garnatje, M. Àngels Bonet, Esperança Carrió, Marina Mayans, Montse Parada, Montse Rigat and Joan Vallès

Public perceptions of snakes and snakebite management: implications for conservation and human health in southern Nepal

Venomous snakebite and its effects are a source of fear for people living in southern Nepal. As a result, people have developed a negative attitude towards snakes, which can lead to human-snake conflicts that ...

Authors: Deb Prasad Pandey, Gita Subedi Pandey, Kamal Devkota and Matt Goode

Wild food plants and fungi used in the mycophilous Tibetan community of Zhagana (Tewo County, Gansu, China)

The aim of the study was to investigate knowledge and use of wild food plants and fungi in a highland valley in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Region on the north-eastern edges of the Tibetan Plateau.

Authors: Jin Kang, Yongxiang Kang, Xiaolian Ji, Quanping Guo, Guillaume Jacques, Marcin Pietras, Nasim Łuczaj, Dengwu Li and Łukasz Łuczaj

Fishers’ knowledge on the coast of Brazil

Although fishers’ knowledge has been recently considered into management programmes, there is still the need to establish a better understanding of fishers’ perceptions and cognition. Fishers can provide novel...

Authors: Alpina Begossi, Svetlana Salivonchyk, Priscila F. M. Lopes and Renato A. M. Silvano

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

Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs), an important provisioning ecosystem services, are recognized for their contribution in rural livelihoods and forest conservation. Effective management through sustainable ha...

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

The changing ethnoecological cobweb of white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico) gatherers in South Piedmont, NW Italy

Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) related to truffles represents an under-investigated area of research in ethnobiology. Nevertheless, truffles, in a few southern European areas, and notably in South P...

Authors: Andrea Pieroni

Folk knowledge of wild food plants among the tribal communities of Thakht-e-Sulaiman Hills, North-West Pakistan

Indigenous communities of the Thakht-e-Sulamian hills reside in the North-West tribal belt of Pakistan, where disadvantaged socio-economic frames, lack of agricultural land and food insecurity represent crucia...

Authors: Khalid Ahmad and Andrea Pieroni

Do artisanal fishers perceive declining migratory shorebird populations?

This paper discusses the results of ethno-ornithological research conducted on the local ecological knowledge (LEK) of artisanal fishers in northeast Brazil between August 2013 and October 2014.

Authors: Luciano Pires Andrade, Horasa Maria Lima Silva-Andrade, Rachel Maria Lyra-Neves, Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque and Wallace Rodrigues Telino-Júnior

Rapid assessment of insect fauna based on local knowledge: comparing ecological and ethnobiological methods

The rapid assessment of biodiversity making use of surveys of local knowledge has been successful for different biological taxa. However, there are no reports on the testing of such tools for sampling insect ...

Authors: Daniele Cristina de Oliveira Lima, Marcelo Alves Ramos, Henrique Costa Hermenegildo da Silva and Angelo Giuseppe Chaves Alves

An ethnobotanical analysis of parasitic plants (Parijibi) in the Nepal Himalaya

Indigenous biocultural knowledge is a vital part of Nepalese environmental management strategies; however, much of it may soon be lost given Nepal’s rapidly changing socio-ecological climate. This is particula...

Authors: Alexander Robert O’Neill and Santosh Kumar Rana

Acknowledgement of manuscript reviewers 2015

The editors of Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 11 (2015).

Authors: Andrea Pieroni

A survey of wild plant species for food use in Sicily (Italy) – results of a 3-year study in four Regional Parks

This paper illustrates the results of a study carried out in four Regional Parks of Sicily (Italy), concerning traditional knowledge on food use of wild plant species. The main aims of the paper were: (i) to v...

Authors: Mario Licata, Teresa Tuttolomondo, Claudio Leto, Giuseppe Virga, Giuseppe Bonsangue, Ignazio Cammalleri, Maria Cristina Gennaro and Salvatore La Bella

Erratum to: Assessment of wild leafy vegetables traditionally consumed by the ethnic communities of Manipur, northeast India

Authors: Surjata Konsam, Biseshwori Thongam and Arun Kumar Handique

Traditional knowledge and its transmission of wild edibles used by the Naxi in Baidi Village, northwest Yunnan province

The collection and consumption of wild edibles is an important part in livelihood strategies throughout the world. There is an urgent need to document and safeguard the wild food knowledge, especially in remot...

Authors: Yanfei Geng, Yu Zhang, Sailesh Ranjitkar, Huyin Huai and Yuhua Wang

Assessment of wild leafy vegetables traditionally consumed by the ethnic communities of Manipur, northeast India

The NE region of India falls in the global hotspot of biodiversity. Wild edible plants (WEPs) are widely consumed in the daily diet of the local people. WEPs are critical for the sustenance of ethnic communiti...

Authors: Surjata Konsam, Biseshwori Thongam and Arun Kumar Handique

Ethnopharmacobotanical study on the medicinal plants used by herbalists in Sulaymaniyah Province, Kurdistan, Iraq

Medicinal plants still play an important role in the Kurdish community. Sulaymaniyah Province in South Kurdistan (Iraq) has a great diversity of plants, including medicinal plants, yet very few scattered ethno...

Authors: Hiwa M. Ahmed

Food taboos and myths in South Eastern Nigeria: The belief and practice of mothers in the region

Poor nutritional practices especially in pregnancy and early childhood can result in dire consequences in the growth and development of a child.

Authors: Uchenna Ekwochi, Chidiebere D. I. Osuorah, Ikenna K. Ndu, Christian Ifediora, Isaac Nwabueze Asinobi and Christopher Bismark Eke

Erratum to: Ethnoichthyology of the indigenous Truká people, Northeast Brazil

Authors: Carlos Alberto Batista Santos and Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plant species used by communities around Mabira Central Forest Reserve, Uganda

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants was carried out in 14 villages adjacent to Mabira Central Forest Reserve (CFR) in Central Uganda between August 2013 and March 2014.

Authors: Patience Tugume, Esezah K. Kakudidi, Mukadasi Buyinza, Justine Namaalwa, Maud Kamatenesi, Patrick Mucunguzi and James Kalema

Forming a joint dialogue among faith healers, traditional healers and formal health workers in mental health in a Kenyan setting: towards common grounds

Qualitative evidence on dialogue formation and collaboration is very scanty in Kenya. This study thus aimed at the formation of dialogue and establishment of collaboration among the informal (faith and traditi...

Authors: Christine W. Musyimi, Victoria N. Mutiso, Erick S. Nandoya and David M. Ndetei

Foodways in transition: food plants, diet and local perceptions of change in a Costa Rican Ngäbe community

Indigenous populations are undergoing rapid ethnobiological, nutritional and socioeconomic transitions while being increasingly integrated into modernizing societies. To better understand the dynamics of these...

Authors: Ugo D’Ambrosio and Rajindra K. Puri

Comparative ethnobotany of the Wakhi agropastoralist and the Kyrgyz nomads of Afghanistan

The mountainous Wakhan and Pamir in northeastern Afghanistan is one of the most isolated yet inhabited places in Asia. It is home to the agropastoralist Wakhi and the last Afghan semi-nomadic Kyrgyz. We presen...

Authors: Jens Soelberg and Anna K. Jäger

Ethnoichthyology of the indigenous Truká people, Northeast Brazil

Historically, fishing is an important activity for riverine communities established along the São Francisco River, including indigenous communities. In the present study, we researched fishing activities in tw...

Authors: Carlos Alberto Batista Santos and Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves

Erratum to: Assessing human-bat interactions around a protected area in northeastern Brazil

Authors: Karlla Morganna Costa Rego, Caio Graco Zeppelini, Luiz Carlos Serramo Lopez and Rômuno Romeu Nobrega Alves

Children’s daily activities and knowledge acquisition: A case study among the Baka from southeastern Cameroon

The acquisition of local knowledge occurs through complex interactions between individual and contextual characteristics: as context changes, so it changes the acquisition of knowledge. Contemporary small-scal...

Authors: Sandrine Gallois, Romain Duda, Barry Hewlett and Victoria Reyes-García

Fischer’s Lexicon of Slavic beliefs and customs: a previously unknown contribution to the ethnobotany of Ukraine and Poland

Historical ethnobotanical studies are important, even if they are only descriptive, because they help to throw light on the missing chains needed for diachronic analysis. However, the documentation of traditio...

Authors: Monika Kujawska, Łukasz Łuczaj and Joanna Typek

Ethnobotanical survey of plants used in Afyonkarahisar-Turkey

The traditional knowledge about plants and their uses in Turkey is disappearing in recent years because the new generations of villagers migrate to big cities for a better life. Afyonkarahisar located at the i...

Authors: Süleyman Arı, Mehmet Temel, Mustafa Kargıoğlu and Muhsin Konuk

Scented grasses in Norway—identity and uses

Some grass species are richer in coumarin and thus more sweetly scented than others. These have been eagerly sought after in parts of Norway, but the tradition has been weakly documented, both in terms of the ...

Authors: Torbjørn Alm

The uses of Kenyan aloes: an analysis of implications for names, distribution and conservation

The genus Aloe is renowned for its medicinal and cosmetic properties and long history of use. Sixty-three Aloe species occur in Kenya, of which around 50 % are endemic. Several species of aloes are threatened wit...

Authors: Charlotte S. Bjorå, Emily Wabuyele, Olwen M. Grace, Inger Nordal and Leonard E. Newton

An ethnobotany of the Lukomir Highlanders of Bosnia & Herzegovina

This aim of this study is to report upon traditional knowledge and use of wild medicinal plants by the Highlanders of Lukomir, Bjelašnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). The Highlanders are an indigenous commun...

Authors: Jonathan Ferrier, Lana Saciragic, Sabina Trakić, Eric C. H. Chen, Rachelle L. Gendron, Alain Cuerrier, Michael J. Balick, Sulejman Redžić, Emira Alikadić and John T. Arnason

Assessing human-bat interactions around a protected area in northeastern Brazil

Bats are key components to the Neotropical forests. Unfortunately, their bad reputation is a major obstacle in their conservation as it creates fear and hostility towards them. Understanding this reputation ac...

Authors: Karlla Morganna da Costa Rego, Caio Graco Zeppelini, Luiz Carlos Serramo Lopez and Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used in the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea

Rapid modernization in the East Sepik (ES) Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is resulting in a decrease in individuals knowledgeable in medicinal plant use. Here we report a synthesis and comparison of tradit...

Authors: Michael Koch, Dickson Andrew Kehop, Boniface Kinminja, Malcolm Sabak, Graham Wavimbukie, Katherine M. Barrows, Teatulohi K. Matainaho, Louis R. Barrows and Prem P. Rai

Processing insect abundance: trading and fishing of zazamushi in Central Japan (Nagano Prefecture, Honshū Island)

This article presents the links between technique, commerce and consumption in fishing for zazamushi, a mixture of aquatic insect larvae sold as food souvenirs in Japan. Since zazamushi are mainly collected fo...

Authors: Nicolas Césard, Seiji Komatsu and Akihisa Iwata

Farmers knowledge and perception on maize stem borers and their indigenous control methods in south western region of Cameroon

Agriculture is a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Cameroon, The South West region of Cameroon is known for its potential in the production of major agricultural commodities, but farmers...

Authors: Esther Obi Oben, Nelson Neba Ntonifor, Sevilor Kekeunou and Martin Nkwa Abbeytakor

Ræstur fiskur: air-dried fermented fish the Faroese way

Fish has played an important role in the diet of the population of the mid-Atlantic Faroe Islands. Dried and fermented fish in particular have been an essential storable protein source in an economy where weat...

Authors: Ingvar Svanberg

Bird naming systems by Akan people in Ghana follow scientific nomenclature with potentials for conservation monitoring

Studies on indigenous knowledge of fauna particular birds and its potential use in biodiversity conservation and management are rare globally. Characteristics used in creating indigenous bird names in many Gha...

Authors: Justus P. Deikumah, Vida Asieduwaa Konadu and Richard Kwafo