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The Most Important Medicinal Plants of the Highland Maya

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Ethnoecology and Medicinal Plants of the Highland Maya

Part of the book series: Ethnobiology ((EBL))

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Abstract

A botanical ethnography is presented for the most important medicinal plants used by the Highland Maya in the municipality of Tenejapa. Importance is determined based on use reports over time and ethnographic interviews. Despite knowing approximately 1500 medicinal plants, five plant species account for around 25% of all uses. Linguistic, economic and ecological aspects of medical ethnobotany are described. In addition, a reported ethnoecological distribution of these medicinal plants based on degree of human modification of the landscape and gross climatic zones is presented. Plants are listed in order of their importance. For each plant the entry is divided into two sections: Ecology, Botany, Folk Classification and Nomenclature; and Medical Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    John Richard Stepp

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  1. John Richard Stepp
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Stepp, J.R. (2018). The Most Important Medicinal Plants of the Highland Maya. In: Ethnoecology and Medicinal Plants of the Highland Maya. Ethnobiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69315-6_4

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