Edible wild plants of the Chorote Indians, Gran Chaco, Argentina

Abstract

The Chorote Indians are hunter-gatherers and fishermen from north-west Argentina and south-west Paraguay who belong to the Mataco-Maká linguistic family. Their edible plants are identified by botanical and vernacular names, the parts employed and modes of preparation and consumption. The Chorote people use 57 plant species as a source of food, which they consume in 118 different ways. Five new edible species, that yield seven plant foods, are reported here for the first time for Chaquenian ethnic groups. However, only a few wild plant foods are in frequent use today, with most being used occasionally, infrequently or not at all. A cross-cultural comparison with four neighbouring ethnic groups reveals that one third of their plant foods are exclusive to the Chorote people, despite the fact that they share most of their edible plants with the other groups. This article is the first contribution to an understanding of the Chorote's ethnobotany and to a comparison of interethnic relationships concerning their edible plant resources.

Estudio Etnobotánico De Plantas Usadas en La Alimentación De Los Campesinos Del Noroeste De La Pampa Argentina

“…Concretamente existe un conocimiento mayor de las plantas alimenticias que las que realmente se utilizan y esto se advierte mejor entre los pobladores de edad más avanzada. Este proceso de pérdida se relaciona con cambios en la forma de vida, que se manifiestan a través de la substitución de alimentos recolectados por productos manufacturados del mercado (Arenas y Scarpa 2007;Hilgert 1999;Ladio y Lozada 2001;Reyes-García et al 2005). Buenos ejemplos de lo mencionado son los reemplazos de algunas variantes de arropes por mermeladas y de la aloja y la chupilca por bebidas alcohólicas comerciales.…”

The Consumption of Wild Edible Plants

“…Ethnic groups of Gran Chaco, Argentina, used a total of 179 native plant taxa belonging to 46 botanical families; 46.5% of the reported species are Cactaceae (27 species) and 11% are from Apocynaceae, Fabaceae, and Solanaceae (19 species each) (Arenas & Scarpa 2007;Scarpa 2009). …”

Ethnobotany of Wild and Semi-Wild Edible Plants of Chelia District, West-Central Ethiopia

“…A considerable array of literature is available worldwide on WSWEPs ethnobotany with an emphasis on field surveys and documentation, to cite but a few: Amare Getahun (1974); Zemede Asfaw and Mesfin Tadesse (2001); Pieroni et al (2002); Ertug (2004); Reyes-Garcia et al, (2005); Kebu Balemie and Fassil Kibebew (2006); Tardio et al (2006); Arenas and Scarpa (2007); Rashid et al (2008); Fentahun Mengistu and Hager (2008); Aryal et al (2009) Paul et al (2011); Assegid Assefa and Tesfaye Abebe (2011) and Getachew . Moreover, research on nutritional value and health benefits of WSWEPs has been reported by Grivetti and Ogle (2000); Ohiokpehal (2003); Heinrich et al (2005); Termote et al (2009Termote et al ( , 2010, De Caluwé (2010); Beluhan and Ranogajec (2010);Debela Hunde Feyssa et al (2011);Ermias Lulekal et al (2011);Mahapatra et al (2012); Hegazy et al (2013) and Getachew .…”