En el presente estudio se describen los sitios de manejo y la fl ora leñosa asociada a Oecopetalum mexicanum (cachichín) en la Sierra de Misantla, Veracruz; así como la recolección, el uso y la estimación de los frutos con base en muestreos de vegetación, entrevistas y observaciones de campo. El cachichín crece en cuatro tipos de manejo: selva, cachichinal (selva dominada por O. mexicanum), cafetal y huerto. Los muestreos de vegetación se llevaron a cabo en seis parcelas distribuidas en los primeros tres tipos de manejo, en una superfi cie total de 0.3 ha, fueron considerados todos los individuos ≥ 1 cm a la altura del pecho. En los mismos sitios se estimó la producción de frutos de 60 árboles. Debido a la reducida extensión de los huertos, se realizaron ocho muestreos fl orísticos independientes. La riqueza fl orística en conjunto fue de 79 especies pertenecientes a 35 familias distribuidas de la siguiente forma: 52 en la selva, 27 en el cachichinal y 28 en el cafetal. En los huertos se registró la presencia de 11 especies dominantes. La fi sionomía en las selvas no se ve afectada por la recolección del cachichín. Los cachichinales conservan los atributos fi sionómicos similares a las selvas con mayor abundancia de especies útiles nativas; en el cafetal, hay presencia de especies exóticas y pocos individuos de cachichín. La producción promedio anual fue de 680 frutos/árbol (± 167.4 D.E.), sin encontrar diferencias entre los distintos tipos de manejo (P = 0.75). El cachichín se recolecta ampliamente en la región para autoconsumo y para su venta, comercializándose en la Sierra y en ciudades como Misantla y Xalapa.

Abstract:México is a cultural and biological megadiverse country with an increased anthropogenic pressure on its tropical landscapes. The study area was the ejido "Los Ídolos", Misantla, Central Veracruz, Mexico. The main objective of this research was to identify how the woody plant diversity of agroforestry systems contributed to the cultural, economic, and subsistence security of local farmers. Five different agroforestry systems were identified: forest gardens (FG), home gardens (HG), plantation crop combination with perennial cultivates (PC), plantation crop combinations with annual cultivates (AC), and trees on pastures (TP). FG systems had the highest floristic diversity, followed by HG and TP. Interviews with farmers showed that FG, HG, and PC systems were important for maintaining cultural identity and secure subsistence needs, while PC and TP systems were important for improving the economic situation of farmers. The FG systems contained only native species, while the proportion of exotic plants differed among the other systems. Useful exotic plants were found in the HG system. This study demonstrated that agroforestry systems such as FG were not used to their full potential, despite their high diversity of useful plants. It is recommended that farmers-assisted by institutions and representatives of local product chains-conduct feasibility studies on the marketing and promotion of products derived from specific agroforestry systems.

Homegardens are small-scale agroforestry systems consisting of parcels of land on homesteads in which diverse plant species are cultivated in several strata, often integrating herbaceous, tree, vine, crop, and animal components. Among the vines in Mayan homegardens in Yucatán is the pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus), a cactus with edible fruit. We use this species as a model to identify changes in the level of knowledge and management of homegardens due to modernization (increased tourism, paved roads, and urban expansion) in order to propose conservation strategies. Structured interviews were carried out in 100 homegardens; information regarding economics, language, school attendance, and the distance to cities were gathered. Currently, pitahaya is mostly eaten as a sorbet, and women harvest its fruit more often than men do. It is the elderly who teach the next generations about the use and care of pitahayas. The model that best explained the level of knowledge and management about pitahaya included variables such as the location of homegardens; their distance to the nearest city; as well as language, gross domestic product, and school attendance rate of home gardeners. We found that there is less traditional knowledge about pitahayas when home gardeners have higher school attendance and that not only pitahayas but also homegardens near cities are being neglected. We suggest that conservation planning for pitahayas and homegardens should include education programs on their ecological, nutritional, and economic importance. Homegardens, whose owners have the highest level of knowledge about their management and biodiversity, should be interactively conserved, and the knowledge of home gardeners should be acknowledged.

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The genus Oecopetalum Greenm. & C.H. Thomps. (Metteniusaceae) is distributed in the southeastern portion of Mexico to Central America (Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica). Three species have been described and two have been reported as edible. We studied herbarium specimens of the genus Oecopetalum and performed a phylogenetic analysis based on the chloroplast genes matK and ndhF to answers to main questions: How many species are in the genus Oecopetalum? Is the genus Oecopetalum monophyletic? What are the generic relationships with other members of the family? Oecopetalum is a monophyletic genus with only two species. Pittosporosis is the sister group of Oecopetalum. The Trans-Atlantic relationship of Oecopetalum and Pittosporosis is a recurrent geographic pattern in the family Mettenuisaceae as well as in the family Icacinaceae. Our results, in concordance with fossil evidence and relationships of other groups, support the Boreotropical model of high-latitude terrestrial migrations of tropical taxa during the globally warm Paleocene–Eocene.

Wild edible fruits are a complement to the diet, generate income, and contain cultural values for local populations. In Mexico, their presence is threatened mainly by deforestation. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the distribution of 106 wild edible fruits from Veracruz state in several vegetation types and consider the effect of land-use changes on species distribution between 1993 and 2013. Seven species with the least number of herbarium specimens were chosen in order to estimate the current and potential distribution using Maxent models. The types of vegetation with the largest number of wild edible fruit species were the evergreen tropical rainforest with 64, deciduous tropical forest with 51, and the mountain cloud forest with 33. The largest loss between 1993 and 2013 was in secondary vegetation (0.19%) and evergreen tropical rainforest (0.11%). The main causes are the increment in human settlements and pasture, and grazing land (originally populated by tropical forests)-both factors that could put at risk, in the near future, most of the species studied. All of the species with restricted distribution in Veracruz showed a tendency to shrink in area, particularly the piñó n (Pinus cembroides) and nuez de castilla (Juglans pyriformis), both of economic importance. In the face of land-use changes, conservation strategies must be designed in accordance with rational use and public policies that promote a sustainable management of wild edible fruits and the forests in which they grow.

Background: Explored botanically from the 19th century, the Sierra de Chiconquiaco is recognized for its large vegetal and topographical heterogeneity. However, the available floristic information is sparse and its geographic characteristics remain undefined. The objective of this study was therefore to integrate floristic, vegetal and geographic information in order to identify areas that have experienced floristic exploration as well as potential sites for conservation. Question: Under which criteria can the Sierra be geographically delimited? What kind of floristic and vegetational studies have been carried out? How many species of plants have been registered? Which sites have been more widely explored? Which of them have conservation and research potentials? Study site and years of study: Sierra de Chiconquiaco, Veracruz, Mexico, 2010-2014. Methods: A bibliographical and records review of the XAL and MEXU herbariums, works and field survey were carried out. Through analysis of geomorphological attributes in a geographic information system, the boundaries of the Sierra were established, revealing an area of 3,632 km 2 , featuring 22 municipalities and an altitudinal range of 50 to 3,000 m a.s.l. Results: Seven vegetation types were described, as well as a floristic list of 3,016 species, including 72 type localities, 36 endemics, 57 registered in the NOM-059, 2010 and 195 in the CITES. Conclusions: Nine potential areas for conservation of flora were detected, as well as six that were scarcely documented in the herbaria. This study provides a relevant contribution to the knowledge, use and conservation of the vegetal resources of Mexico. Key words: floristic inventory, vegetational, botanic collections, geographic delineation, conservation zones. Florística, vegetación y características geográficas de la Sierra de Chiconquiaco, Veracruz, México ResumenAntecedentes: Explorada botánicamente desde el siglo XIX, la Sierra de Chiconquiaco destaca por su amplia heterogeneidad vegetal y topográfica. Sin embargo, la información florística disponible era dispersa y sus características geográficas indefinidas. Por este motivo, el objetivo de este estudio fue llevar a cabo una síntesis geográfica, florística y de vegetación, con el fin de identificar áreas exploradas florísticamente y sitios con potencial para la conservación. Preguntas: ¿Bajo qué criterios se delimita geográficamente a la Sierra? ¿Qué estudios florísticos y de vegetación se han llevado cabo? ¿Cuántas especies de plantas se registran? ¿Cuáles sitios son más explorados? Sitio de estudio y fechas: Sierra de Chiconquiaco, Veracruz, Mexico, 2010-2014. Métodos: Registros de los herbarios XAL y MEXU, trabajos de campo. Mediante el análisis de atributos geomorfológicos en un sistema de información geográfica, se establecieron los límites de la Sierra, que abarca una extensión de 3,632 km 2 , 22 municipios y un intervalo altitudinal de 50 a 3,000 m s.n.m. Resultados: Siete tipos de vegetación, una lista florística de 3,016 especies, que incluye 72 locali...

La cocina de México forma parte de su identidad alimentaria, es reconocida por la gran diversidad biocultural y por la convergencia de raíces indígenas y extranjeras. El objetivo de esta contribución fue catalogar especies condimentarias de origen americano utilizadas en la cocina mexicana y proponer una clasificación de sus formas de uso y consumo. Se realizó una recopilación de datos a partir de bibliografía y consulta a la “Base de Datos Etnobotánicos de Plantas Útiles de México” del Jardín Botánico del Instituto de Biología, UNAM. Se catalogaron 256 especies, 218 son silvestres y de ellas, 50 son endémicas de México, 5 están reguladas en la NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010. La estructura vegetal más mencionada fue la hoja (145) y la forma biológica fueron las hierbas (118). Los condimentos se clasificaron en 3 grupos: a) aditivos (193 especies) divididos en colorantes, sales, edulcorantes y otros diversos, y complejos (plantas que comparten nombre, olor y sabor similar), incluyen 8 formas de preparación de alimentos; b) materiales (66) divididos en envoltura de alimentos, envoltura de tamales, cubrimiento de hornos y leña; y c) condimentos comidos crudos (42) que acompañan y/o complementan alimentos.