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Medicinal plants of the sierra madre: Comparative study of tarahumara and Mexican market plants

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Abstract

Of the 47 medicinal plants that originate from the Sierra Madre Occidental of Chihuahua, Mexico, and that are sold in Chihuahuan markets, about three-fifths are used in a similar manner by both the urban Mexicans and the Tarahumara. This pattern suggests that these plants produce satisfactory effects on certain human systems, are reliable, and hence are repeatedly employed by both ethnic groups. Such plants that are used for similar ailments by 2 cultural groups with different ethnomedical concepts may be of interest for intensive research.

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Paper presented at the 20th Meeting, Society for Economic Botany, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 10-13 June 1979

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Bye, R.A. Medicinal plants of the sierra madre: Comparative study of tarahumara and Mexican market plants. Econ Bot 40, 103–124 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858951

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