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ABSTRACT: Plant domestication is an evolutionary process guided by human groups who modify the landscape for their needs. The objective
of this study was to evaluate the phenotypic variations between populations of Spondias tuberosa Arruda (umbuzeiro) when subjected to different local landscape management strategies. The influence of the landscape management
system on these populations was evaluated in five identified regional units (mountains, base of mountains, pastures, cultivated
areas and home gardens). Ten individuals were randomly selected from each region and subjected to morphological and chemical
fruit analysis. The diversity index, based on Simpson’s index, was determined for the different populations. We then evaluated
the morphological differences between the individual fruits from the distinct landscape areas. We observed no significant
differences in morphological diversity between the areas studied. Our data suggest that the umbuzeiro specimens in this region
may be in the process of incipient domestication.
KeywordsUmbuzeiro–Incipient management–Caatinga–Edible plants–Morphological diversity index
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 05/2012; · 1.40 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Traditional Knowledge and Management of Umbu (
Spondias tuberosa
, Anacardiaceae): An Endemic Species from the Semi–Arid Region of Northeastern Brazil.
Spondias tuberosa, or umbu, is an arboreal species that is important both as an alternative economic and subsistence resource for rural communities
in the semi–arid, northeastern regions of Brazil. The aim of this work was to study the knowledge, uses, local gathering practices,
and management systems of S. tuberosa that are part of the traditions of the communities in this region. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in two stages in
a rural community in the state of Pernambuco. In the first stage, all of the dwellings were visited and both the men and the
women who were responsible for their house were interviewed. In the second stage, people who were identified as having a direct
relationship with the resource were questioned more thoroughly about the species. Knowledge of S. tuberosa is equally distributed in the community; there are no significant differences in knowledge between men and women, or across
age groups. The food category is the most important for both human and animal nourishment. The main forms of local management
are tolerance and gathering of fruit. Fruit gathering is directly affected by, in order of importance, taste (sweet–sour),
size, and quantity of fruit pulp. The usefulness of S. tuberosa contributes considerably to the tolerance of this species in both managed areas and as part of the native vegetation.
Conhecimento tradicional e manejo do Umbu (
Spondias tuberosa
, Anacardiaceae): uma espécie endêmica do semi–árido do Nordeste do Brasil.
Spondias tuberosa, ou Umbu, é uma espécie arbórea que é uma importante alternativa econômica e recurso de subsistência para comunidades rurais
no semi–árido do nordeste brasileiro. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar o conhecimento, o uso, as práticas locais de coleta,
e os sistemas de manejo de S. tuberosa. Foi conduzido um levantamento etnobotânico, em duas etapas, em uma comunidade rural no estado de Pernambuco. Na primeira
etapa, todas as pessoas residentes na comunidade foram visitadas entrevistando–se os responsáveis pela casa, homens ou mulheres.
Na segunda etapa, identificaram–se as pessoas que têm um contato mais direto com o recurso estudado, que foram questionadas
com perguntas mais detalhadas sobre a espécie. O conhecimento de S. tuberosa é igualmente distribuído na comunidade; não há diferenças significativas entre o conhecimento de homens e mulheres. A categoria
alimento foi considerada a mais importante neste estudo. As principais formais de manejo local são a tolerância e a coleta
de frutos. A coleta dos frutos é diretamente afetada, por ordem de importância, pelo sabor, tamanho, e quantidade da polpa
do fruto. A utilização da espécie contribui consideravelmente para a sua tolerância em áreas manejadas e como parte da vegetação
nativa.
Key WordsCaatinga-edible plants-ethnobotany-incipient non–selective management-umbuzeiro
Economic Botany 04/2012; 64(1):11-21. · 1.60 Impact Factor
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Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 09/2011; 184(10):6463-4. · 1.40 Impact Factor
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[show abstract]
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ABSTRACT: Plant domestication is an evolutionary process guided by human groups who modify the landscape for their needs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the phenotypic variations between populations of Spondias tuberosa Arruda (umbuzeiro) when subjected to different local landscape management strategies. The influence of the landscape management system on these populations was evaluated in five identified regional units (mountains, base of mountains, pastures, cultivated areas and home gardens). Ten individuals were randomly selected from each region and subjected to morphological and chemical fruit analysis. The diversity index, based on Simpson's index, was determined for the different populations. We then evaluated the morphological differences between the individual fruits from the distinct landscape areas. We observed no significant differences in morphological diversity between the areas studied. Our data suggest that the umbuzeiro specimens in this region may be in the process of incipient domestication.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 08/2011; 184(7):4489-99. · 1.40 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The caatinga (semi-arid vegetation) is a Brazilian biome with a significant but poorly studied biodiversity closely associated with a diverse cultural heritage. The present work focused on analyzing published information available concerning medicinal plants used by traditional communities. We sought to contribute to future phytochemical and pharmacological investigations by documenting the therapeutic uses of native caatinga plants within the aims of modern ethnopharmacological research. Twenty-one published works cited a total of 389 plant species used by indigenous and rural communities in northeastern Brazil for medicinal purposes. The relative importance index (RI) of each species in these inventories was calculated, and information concerning the plant's local status (spontaneous or cultivated), distribution, and habit was recorded. Of the 275 spontaneous (non-cultivated) species cited, 15.3% were endemic to the caatinga. A statistical relationship was verified between the relative importance of the species and their endemic status (p<0.05). Herbaceous plants were more numerous (169) than trees (90) or shrubs and sub-shrubs (130) at a statistically significant level (p<0.05). A survey of published information on the phytochemical and pharmacological status of the plants demonstrating the highest RI supported the veracity of their attributed folk uses.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology 01/2008; 114(3):325-54. · 3.01 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The present work seeks to quantify the knowledge of two rural communities in the semi-arid region of the state of Pernambuco (northeastern Brazil) concerning two species of native medicinal plants: "aroeira do sertão", Myracrodruon urundeuva (Engl.) Fr. All. (Anacardiaceae) and "angico", Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan (Mimosaceae). Semi-structured interviews were carried out, combined with a checklist/inventory method, which yielded different indexes for quantifying knowledge and use of these species. In addition, the reliability of local knowledge was tested using analytical techniques to determine actual tannin concentrations. Although both communities possess knowledge concerning these two species, one of them stood out in terms of the diversity of information presented (P < 0.05), a difference that may be related to its lower degree of modernization. In general, older people had a greater variety of information about these plants, although both men and women demonstrated similar knowledge. Of the 101 people interviewed in Riachão, 85% stated that they knew of uses for both species studied; in Ameixas, of the 55 interviewees, 63% responded that they knew of uses for Myracrodruon urundeuva, and 45% knew of uses for Anadenanthera colubrina. A total of 97 different uses were reported by all informants for the two species studied. Of these, 62 were mentioned in only a single community, confirming our hypothesis of differences in knowledge between them. Informants from both communities knew of a great variety of uses for these plants as well as a number of different collection techniques. We expected that knowledge about the two species would differ in relation to both gender and age, but this was only true for one of the communities. Greater concentrations of tannins were expected to be found consistently in the tree bark, but experimental data demonstrated that tannin concentrations can vary among plant parts during the year.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology 04/2006; 105(1-2):173-86. · 3.01 Impact Factor
