Current status of ethnobotany research on palms from Peru

The current situation concerning research in ethnobotany and economic botany of Peruvian palms is analyzed through a review of the literature with emphasis on knowledge related to uses and vernacular names. Of the 136 Peruvian palm species, 104 have at least one use. A total of 268 different uses di...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Albán, Joaquina, Millán, Betty, Kahn, Francis
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2008
País:Perú
Institución:Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
Repositorio:Revistas - Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:revistasinvestigacion.unmsm.edu.pe:article/3344
Acceso en línea:https://revistasinvestigacion.unmsm.edu.pe/index.php/rpb/article/view/3344
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Arecaceae
etnobotánica
botánica económica
Perú
ethnobotanics
economic botany
Peru
Descripción
Sumario:The current situation concerning research in ethnobotany and economic botany of Peruvian palms is analyzed through a review of the literature with emphasis on knowledge related to uses and vernacular names. Of the 136 Peruvian palm species, 104 have at least one use. A total of 268 different uses distributed in 16 categories were registered. The most frequent categories are "construction", "edible", "craft industry" and "medicinal". There are 109 palm species with at least one vernacular name in Peru. The consulted literature is analyzed in four categories: (i) general studies in economic botany, (ii) ethnographic and ethnobiological studies, (iii) studies of South-American palms of economic interest, (iv) studies that exclusively deal with the useful Peruvian palms. Ethnobotanical knowledge of Peruvian palms proves to be essentially descriptive, with much repetitive information. Studies that significantly contribute to the genetic or agronomical improvement of the economically promising palms are rare.