Skip to main content
Log in

Ethnobotanical knowledge ofBrosimum alicastrum (Moraceae) among urban and rural el salvadorian adolescents

  • Published:
Economic Botany Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study represents a systematic attempt to quantify and compare the degree of familiarity among rural and urban El Salvadorian adolescents with ujushte,Brosimum alicastrum Sw. (Moraceae). To do this, we administered a written questionnaire to 177 students attending school in either San Franciso Menéndez or Apopa, El Salvador. Using a closed-end format, the students provided information about their knowledge of the tree and its fruit, frequency and enjoyment of consumption, method of preparation, and the source of their knowledge. Although most of the rural students knew of the tree and ate its fruit, very few of the urban students indicated familiarity. Statistical hypothesis testing demonstrated that the discrepancy between rural and urban knowledge could not be accounted for by differences in reported socioeconomic status. Grandparents were cited as the most important source of information about ujushte.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  • Arvigo, R., and M. J. Balick. 1993. Rainforest remedies: One hundred healing herbs of Belize. Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, WI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boom, B. M. 1996. Ethnobotany of the Chcobo Indians, Beni, Bolivia, 2nd Edition. The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomez-Pompa, A., J. S. Flores, and V. Sosa. 1978. The “Pet Kot”: A man-made tropical forest of the Maya. Interciencia 12:10–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johns, T., E. B. Mhoro, and P. Sanaya. 1996. Food plants and masticants of the Batemi of Norongoro District of Tanzania. Economic Botany 50:115–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lentz, D. L., and C. R. Ramírez-Sosa. 2002. Cerén plant resources: Abundance and diversity. Pages 33–42 in P. Sheets, ed., Before the volcano erupted. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milliken, W., and B. Albert. 1997. The use of medicinal plants by the Yanomami Indians of Brazil. Economic Botany 51:264–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, J. 1837. A descriptive account of the Palo Vaca, cow tree of the Caracas, with chemical analysis of the milk and the bark. Effingham Wilson, Royal Exchange, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ortiz, M., Y. Azañón, M. Melgar, and L. Elias. 1995. The corn tree (Brosimum alicastrum): A food for the tropics. Pages 134–146 in A. P. Simopoulos, ed., Plants in human nutrition: World review of nutrition and diabetics. Karger Publishers, Basel, Switzerland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pardo-Tejada, E., and C. Sánchez-Muñoz. 1978.Brosimum alicastrum: Recurso silvestre tropical desaprovechado. Instituto de Investigaciones Sobre Recussos Bióticos, A.C. Xelapa, Veracruz, México.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, C. M. 1983. Observations on Maya subsistence and the ecology of a tropical tree. American Antiquity 48: 610–615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —,and E. Pardo-Tejada. 1982.Brosimum alicastrum (Moraceae) uses and potentials in Mexico. Economic Botany 36:166–175.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prance, G. T., and J. A. Kallunki, eds. 1984. Ethnobotany in the neotropics: Proceedings, Ethnobotany in the Neotropics Symposium, Society for Economic Botany, 13-14 June 1983, Oxford, OH, The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Puleston, D. E. 1982. The role of ramón in Maya subsistence. Pages 353–366 in Kent V. Flannery, ed., Maya subsistence: Studies in memory of Dennis E. Puleston. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramírez-Sosa, C. R. 2001. Vegetation of a subtropical pre-montane forest in Central America. Dissertation, The Graduate School of the City University of New York, New York, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • —,and S. Yates. 1996. Etnobotanica del ujushte,Brosimum alicastrum, en Tacuba, Ahuachapan, El Salvador: Un estudio piloto. Pankia: Boletin Informativo JBLL, 15:3–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheets, P. D. 1982. Prehistoric agricultural systems in El Salvador. Pages 99–118 in Kent V. Flannery, ed., Maya subsistence: Studies in memory of Dennis E. Puleston. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ventocilla, J., H. Herrera, and V. Nŭnes. 1995. Plants and animals in the life of the Kuna. The University of Texas Press, Austin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Witsberger, D., D. Current, and E. Archer. 1978. Arboles del Parque Dininger. Ministerio de Educación, Dirección de Publicaciones, San Salvador, El Salvador.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suzanne Yates.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yates, S., Ramírez-Sosa, C.R. Ethnobotanical knowledge ofBrosimum alicastrum (Moraceae) among urban and rural el salvadorian adolescents. Econ Bot 58, 72–77 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0072:EKOBAM]2.0.CO;2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0072:EKOBAM]2.0.CO;2

Key Words

Navigation