An ethnobotanical analysis of parasitic plants (Parijibi) in the Nepal Himalaya.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed
; 12: 14, 2016 Feb 24.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26912113
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
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 particularly true for knowledge surrounding parasitic and mycoheterotrophic plant species, which are well represented throughout the Central-Eastern Himalayas but lack a collated record. Our study addresses this disparity by analyzing parasitic and mycoheterotrophic plant species diversity in Nepal as well as the ethnobotanical knowledge that surrounds them.METHODS:
Botanical texts, online databases, and herbarium records were reviewed to create an authoritative compendium of parasitic and mycoheterotrophic plant species native or naturalized to the Nepal Central-Eastern Himalaya. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with 141 informants to better understand the biocultural context of these species, emphasizing ethnobotanical uses, in 12 districts of Central-Eastern Nepal.RESULTS:
Nepal is a hotspot of botanical diversity, housing 15 families and 29 genera of plants that exhibit parasitic or mycoheterotrophic habit. Over 150 of the known 4500 parasitic plant species (~3 %) and 28 of the 160 mycoheterotrophic species (~18 %) are native or naturalized to Nepal; 13 of our surveyed parasitic species are endemic. Of all species documented, approximately 17 % of parasitic and 7 % of mycoheterotrophic plants have ethnobotanical uses as medicine (41 %), fodder (23 %), food (17 %), ritual objects (11 %), or material (8 %).CONCLUSIONS:
Parasitic and mycoheterotrophic plant species exhibit high diversity in the Nepal Central-Eastern Himalaya and are the fodder for biocultural relationships that may help inform future environmental management projects in the region.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Plantas Medicinais
/
Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde
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Inquéritos e Questionários
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Conservação dos Recursos Naturais
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Etnobotânica
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Preparações de Plantas
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Medicina Tradicional
Tipo de estudo:
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2016
Tipo de documento:
Article