Traditional use of the flora in the "El chile" the Pomoca Ejido, Tacotalpa, Tabasco, Mexico

Abstract

Plant diversity in our country and indeed all over the world is used in different ways; therefore, the number of botanical families can vary depending on indigenous peoples and the culture that these human groups have maintained for generations, as well as their geographical area. This fact has led to a wealth of botanical knowledge and the development of traditional medicine. In this paper, the ethnobotanical knowledge used by the villagers in the “El Chile” Ridge area within the Pomoca Ejido of Sierra Tacotalpa inTabasco is presented. Uni-structured interviews were carried out with the cooperation of the villagers to generate basic information about the use of plants in the region, using the ethnobotanical methodology proposed by Martin (2001). Subsequently, the entire area of the Pomoca Ejido was explored in order to gather information on the ethnobotanical knowledge in the “El Chile” ridge area. It was determined that 19% is used for medicinal purposes, 16% for consumption, 14% ornamental, 10% construction, 7% is used as firewood, 6% is timber-yielding, and another 6% provides edible fruit, 5% is used as forage, 4% is used for craftwork and the remaining 13% is used in various ways. In this sense, the main feature of ethnobotany is accomplished, which is to study the relationship between humans and plants through time in different cultural and ecological environments. The Pomoca Ejidos cultural wealth is further enriched by hers inhabitants knowledge; nevertheless, this is gradually being lost, as the younger members of the community are now more involved in outside activities and, in general, show little interest in learning traditional knowledge. However, there are still a few who are keen to learn; thus, it is in the best interests of the community to create areas of environmental culture in order to disseminate plant knowledge.