RESUMEN
The island of Grande-Terre is a French overseas region that belongs to the Guadeloupean archipelago, a biodiversity hotspot with unique flora. Herbal medicine is widely used in the island for therapeutical purposes; however, there is a significant knowledge gap in the records relating to medicinal plants and their associated uses. Ethnobotanical survey methodology using quantitative parameters (informant consensus factor, species use value, relative frequency of citation, frequency use of a treatment and plant for an ailment) provided insights into the traditional medicinal use of a given plant. Ninety-six different plant species distributed among 56 families were identified and 523 remedies were documented in the survey. After data filtering, 22 plants species were associated with 182 remedies. The most frequent plant families were Poaceae, Myrtaceae, Cucurbitaceae and Rubiaceae. Aerial parts of these plants were the most common parts of the plant used for the remedies and the most frequent mode of administration was oral ingestion. This study highlights a valuable traditional knowledge of folklore medicine and helps to document and preserve the association of a plant with-and its use frequency for-a given ailment. These findings might be the starting point for the identification of biologically active phytocompounds to fight common health debilities.
RESUMEN
Many climbing plants have microspines on their stems, which facilitate attachment and prevent slipping and falling from host plant supports. Extending via growth through complex environments and anchoring stems to substrates with minimal contact forces are key benefits for climbing plants. Microspines are also highly desirable features for new technologies and applications in soft robotics. Using a novel sled-like device, we investigated static and sliding attachment forces generated by stems in 10 species of tropical climber from French Guiana differing in size and climbing habit. Eight species showed higher static and sliding forces when their stems were pulled in the basal direction against a standard surface than in the apical direction. This anisotropic behaviour suggests that tropical climbers have evolved different ratchet-like mechanisms that allow easy sliding forwards but are resistant to slipping downwards. The presence of a downwards 'stick-and-slip' phenomenon, where static attachment is not significantly stronger than maximal sliding attachment, was present in most species apart from three showing relatively weak attachment by microspines. This indicates that diverse microspine attachment strategies exist in climbing plants. This diversity of functional properties offers a range of potential design specifications for climbing strategies on different substrates for artificial climbing artefacts.
