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BackgroundThe trade of plant roots as traditional medicine is an important source of income for many people around the world. Destructive harvesting practices threaten the existence of some plant species. Harvesters of medicinal roots identify the collected species according to their own folk taxonomies, but once the dried or powdered roots enter the chain of commercialization, accurate identification becomes more challenging.MethodologyA survey of morphological diversity among four root products traded in the medina of Marrakech was conducted. Fifty-one root samples were selected for molecular identification using DNA barcoding using three markers, trnH-psbA, rpoC1, and ITS. Sequences were searched using BLAST against a tailored reference database of Moroccan medicinal plants and their closest relatives submitted to NCBI GenBank.Principal FindingsCombining psbA-trnH, rpoC1, and ITS allowed the majority of the market samples to be identified to species level. Few of the species level barcoding identifications matched the scientific names given in the literature, including the most authoritative and widely cited pharmacopeia.Conclusions/SignificanceThe four root complexes selected from the medicinal plant products traded in Marrakech all comprise more than one species, but not those previously asserted. The findings have major implications for the monitoring of trade in endangered plant species as morphology-based species identifications alone may not be accurate. As a result, trade in certain species may be overestimated, whereas the commercialization of other species may not be recorded at all.

BackgroundThere are few publications on the use and diversity of wild leafy vegetables (WLVs) in Morocco. In order to address this gap, we conducted ethnobotanical field work in Taounate, Azilal and El House regions.MethodsEthnobotanical collections, free listing, qualitative interviews and a 7 day food frequency questionnaire.ResultsMore than 30 species in 23 genera of WLV were identified. Of these 4 had not previously recorded as WLVs used in Morocco in the literature. WLVs were used by 84% of households surveyed in Taounate (N = 61, in March 2005), and were used up to 4 times a week. Qualitative data revealed both positive and negative perceptions of WLVs and detailed knowledge about preparation among women. The greatest diversity of WLV knowledge and use was in the Rif Mountains (Taounate). There was significant variation in nomenclature and salience of WLVs, not only between regions, but also between villages in the same region. Within the same region (or even village) different local names were used for a given species or genus, and different species were identified by the same local name (including species from different botanical families). Data showed greater overlap in knowledge among villages using the same market.ConclusionWe believe the results suggest that markets are important sites for WLV knowledge transmission.

BackgroundA literature review revealed heavy reliance on a few key publications for identification of medicinal plant species from local or vernacular names and a lack of citation of voucher specimens in many publications. There is a need for more reliable and standardized data on the identity of species used for medicine, especially because local names vary from region to region. This is especially true in the case of medicinal roots, for which identification of species is difficult. This paper contributes to existing data on the species sold as medicinal roots (and other underground plant parts such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers) in Morocco.MethodsData were collected in collaboration with herbalists in Marrakech and collectors in rural regions near Marrakech where species are collected from the wild. The ethno-medicinal uses of these species were also recorded.ResultsWe identified the vernacular names for 67 medicinal roots (by free listing) used to treat a variety of human diseases. We were able to collect and identify one or more species for 39 of the recorded vernacular names. The ones we were not able to identify were either imported or no longer available in the markets. We collected more than one species for some of the vernacular names for a total of 43 species. We identified six new vernacular names and four species which had not been previously described in the literature. Our botanical identification matched at least one of the names listed in the literature 63% of the time and did not match any species listed in the literature 37% of the time. Of the three most commonly cited pieces of literature we compared to, we found the greatest overlap with the broader, more comprehensive work of Bellakhdar 1997 (as opposed to Benchâabane and Abbad 1997 which worked in a similarly focused geographical area). However there was only 63% agreement between Bellakhdar 1997 and our botanical identifications, and 29% of the time our identification didn’t match even the genus of any of the species listed in any of the 3 most commonly cited pieces of literature.ConclusionsMore rigorous methodology and reporting are needed for medicinal plant research in Morocco. This will ensure that studies are comparable, help to protect traditional medicine users from negative health effects, and, support efforts to conserve overharvested wild medicinal plants.

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