Abstract
Caiçaras are inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest coast in SE Brazil. We studied the uses of plants by five Caiçara communities and compared medicinal plant citations by informants in coastal and island communities. We use diversity indices to evaluate the use of plants and to compare communities. There is a high diversity of plants used in the Atlantic Forest coasts: we found 276 species used for food, medicine and construction. Caiçaras rely on folk medicine, and medicinal plants were especially cited in interviews. Following predictions of island biogeography theory, we found a lower diversity of medicinal plants cited in islands compared to continental communities.
Resumen
OS caiçaras são habitantes da costa da Mata Atlântica no SE do Brasil. Estudamos o uso de plantas em cinco comunidades caiçaras e comparamos as citações de plantas medicinais entre as comunidades da costa e das ilhas. Usamos indices de diversidade para comparar as comunidades. Há uma alta diversidade de plantas usadas na costa da Mata Atlântica: encontramos 276 plantas usadas para alimento, medicina e construçāo. Os caiçaras dependem da medicina tradicional, e plantas medicinais foram especialmente citadas nos entrevistas. Seguindo as expectativas da teoria de biogeografia de ilhas, encontramos uma diversidade menor de plantas medicinais citadas nas ilhas comparado às comunidades continentais.
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Rossato, S.C., De LeitãO-Filho, H.F. & Begossi, A. Ethnobotany of caiçaras of the Atlantic Forest coast (Brazil). Econ Bot 53, 387–395 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02866716
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02866716