Date of Award
1999
Degree Name
Biological Sciences
College
College of Science
Type of Degree
M.S.
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Dan K. Evans
Second Advisor
Leonard Deutsch
Abstract
A medicinal herb survey was conducted in ten major marketplaces in Andean and coastal communities of Ecuador. Collections were made during the summer of 1997. Four plant collections from each market were pressed, dried, identified, and the medicinal information for each plant was recorded. Photographs of fresh plants, market vendors and the marketplaces were taken.
Fifty three families were represented in the 112 species collected. Forty-two species (37%) were introduced to Ecuador while seventy species (63%) were native to Ecuador. Plant taxa were grouped into 22 categories of medicinal usage. The most common 3 uses were: 1. General tonic and body purifier, represented by 42 species. 2. Stomach and digestion disorders. 30 species, and 3. Skin wash and astringent, 27 species. The coefficient of similarity indicated all marketplaces shared a coefficient of at least .243 with .674 being the highest. The dendrogram exhibited the Andean marketplaces clustered together with the exception of Otavalo. Santo Domingo is more similar to the Andean marketplaces while other coastal marketplaces clustered together.
Subject(s)
Medicinal plants – Ecuador – Marketing.
Markets – Ecuador.
Recommended Citation
Bailey, Pamela, "A medicinal plant survey in marketplaces of Ecuador" (1999). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 1555.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/1555
Included in
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons, Biology Commons, Botany Commons, Other Plant Sciences Commons
