Current use of wild plants with edible underground storage organs in a rural population of Patagonia: between tradition and change

OCHOA, JUAN; LADIO, A H

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine

Bio Med Central

Año: 2015 vol. 11 p. 1 - 20

Background: Edible plants with underground storage organs (USOs) are neglected resources. We studied the localecological knowledge edible plants with (USOs) in rural populations of North-Patagonia in order to establish howpeople are utilizing these plants. Some aspect of corpus-praxis-cosmos complex associated to the local ecologicalknowledge was documented and discussed. In addition, variation in this ecological knowledge due to age, gender,family structure, ethnic self-determination was also evaluated.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 inhabitants in order to study the relationship betweenthe current use of plants with USOs and the age, sex, family group composition and ethnic self-identification ofinterviewees. In addition, the Cultural Importance Index for each species was calculated.Results: The current richness of known species in these populations is a total of 9 plants. Plants with USOs tend to beused more frequently as the age of the interviewee increases. Women and men showed no differences in the averagerichness of species cited. The interviewees who share their homes with other generations use these plants morefrequently than those who live alone. Our results indicate that the interviewees who identified themselves asbelonging to the Mapuche people use these plants more frequently.Conclusion: For the Mapuche people, wild plants have constituted material and symbolic resources of greatimportance in their historical subsistence. In addition, they are currently being redefined as elements which present aconnection with ancestral practices, produce a strong relationship with the ?land?, and become markers which identifythe ?natural? (historical) ways of their people; these are key elements in the current political processes of identityrevaluation. This research is valuable to stimulate cultural revival and health promotion programs in the communitieswith their own local, cultural food.