The use of native plants as food in Santa Catarina

Abstract

Traditional knowledge related to the use of native plants as food has been perpetuated through generations. However, the advance of urbanization and changes in lifestyle are leading to the loss of this knowledge. In this paper, native plants commonly used as food by the rural population of Santa Catarina (SC) were identified based on data obtained from the Social and Environmental Assessment, an a component of the Santa Catarina Forest and Floristic Inventory. Ethnobotany information was originated from a semi-structured interview applied through an individual survey with 777 residents living near forested areas, selected through a process of systematic sampling which covered the entire state of SC. The results indicated that a large number of native species are currently being used as food by the rural population, predominantly species from the Myrtaceae family. Nevertheless, the survey also indicated that the utilization of native flora as food has no major economic significance in SC since the collection and extraction of fruit and other plant parts are associated almost exclusively to domestic use only.