ethobotany if the wild mexican cucurbitaceae

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  • 7/30/2019 Ethobotany if the Wild Mexican Cucurbitaceae

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    ETH N O BO TA N Y O F THE W ILD M EX IC A N

    RAFAEL LIRA AND JAVIER CABALLERO

    C U C U R B I T A C E A E 1

    Rafael Lira (Um dad de Btologfa, Tecnologfa y Protottpos, Universldad Nacton al Autd nom a deMdxtco, Campus Iztacala, Apartado Postal 314, Los Reyes lztacala, Estado de Mdxtco 54090,M~xwo, e-mad: [email protected] .mx) and Javier Caballero (Jardin Bot6mco, lnstituto de Blol-ogla, Untverstdad Nacional Aut6noma de Mdxico, Apartado Postal 70-614, M~xtco, D F. M~xwo).ETHNOBOTANYOF THE WED MEXICANCUCURalTACEAE.Econom tc Botany 56(4).380-398, 2002. Thtspap er presents the results of a survey on the ethnobotany of the wdd Mexican C ucurbttaceae Thesources of mformatlon were fieldw ork m different regtons o f Mexw o, a s well as herbarium spectmensand btbhographtc references. A total of 34 wtM specw s (26.5% of the 128 wtM mextcan specw s)of Cucurbttaceae are reported as used m 24 o f the 32 states o f Mextc o All o f the spectes are calledby one or more local names, an d 23 are known by names m nattve languages The uses comprtse12 categories, mcluding hum an m edw me (18), fo od (13), soap substttute (12), fodd er (4), toy (3),drink (2), ornate (2) , insectwMe (1), am ma l medtcm e (1) , handtcrafts (2), conta mer (1 ), and cere-montal (1), and some uses date back to pre-Hlspanic and colomal ttmes.ETNOBOT,/~NICA DE ESPECIES MEXICANAS SILVESTRES DE LA FAM1LIA CUCURBITACEAEEste artfculopresenta los resultados de una mvest tgact6n etnobot6mca de las espectes mexwanas si lvestresde la fam tha Cucurbttaceae Las fuentes de mformact6n fueron el trabajo de campo en dtfer-entes regtones de Mdxw o, a sf com o tambz~n ejemplares de herbarto y referenctas btbhogrdficasUn total de 34 especies stlvestres (26.5% de las 128 especies stlvestres mexicanas) de Cucur-bttaceae son reportadas com o tittles en 24 de los 32 estados de M~xico Todas las especiesson conoctdas por uno o mds n ombres locales y 23 de e l ias rectben nombres en lenguas nativasLos usos regtstrados abarcan un total de doce categorfas, mcluyendo medwma humana (18),ahm ento (13), substttuto de jab 6n (12), forr aje (4), jugu ete (3), bebidas (2), ornato (2), msec -ttctdas (1), medtcm a an tmal (1), artesan[as (2), contenedores (1) y cerem om al (1), y algunosde los usos parecen remontarse ala s dpocas pre-Hispd mca y colom alKey Words: Cucurbltaceae; wild useful plants; ethnobotany; M6xlco

    The Cucurbltaceae have an important culturaland economic role among many societies. Somespecies are among the plants first domesticatedby humans and several are staple crops Accord-lng to Jeffrey (1990), this family includes 118genera and 825 species, of which 142 taxa, in-cluding species and infraspeclfiC taxa (14 culti-vated and 128 wild) grow in Mexico; nearly halfof these taxa are endemic to this country, andsome are wild relatives of cultivated species(Lwa et al. 1998).Numerous studies have been devoted to thetaxonomy, ethnobotany, and other aspects of thedomesticated species of the family (Andres 1990;Arora and Nayar 1984; Bailey 1929; Bukasov1981; Chakravarty 1990, Decker-Waiters 1990,Esquinas-Alcazar and Gulick 1983; Lira 1992,1995a, 1996; Lira and Bye 1996; Lira and Mon-

    t Recewed 25 October 2000, accepted 20 May 2002

    tes-Hernfindez 1992; Merrick 1990, 1991; Nee1990; Newstrom 1990, 1991; Okoli 1984; Poter-field 1943, 1951, 1955; Schultes 1990; Whitaker1990; Whitaker and Davis 1962; Yang and Wai-ters 1992, Zizumbo-Villarreal 1986). However,only a few have taken into account the economicand cultural importance and potential of the wildspecies growing in Mexico (Alcorn 1984; Berlin,Breedlove, and Raven 1974; Caballero-Salas1984; Casas, Viveros, and Caballero 1994; Lira1988, 1995a,b, 1996; Lira and Casas 1998; Mar-tin et al. 1998, Roys 1931). This paper presentsthe results of a survey on the ethnobotany of thewild specxes of Mexican Cucurbitaceae.

    METHO DS AND SOURCES OFINFORMATION

    The survey was conducted m different partsof Mexico, mostly in the Yucat~in Peninsula, andthe states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, where a rich

    Economtc Botany 56(4) pp 380-398 20029 2002 by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U S A

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    2002] LIRA AND CABALLERO WILD MEXICAN CUCURBITACEAE 381

    e thnobo tan lca l l o r e s ti l l ex i s t s A l a rge num bero f i n f o r m a n t s , i n c l u d i n g f a r m e r s , h o u s e w i v e s ,a n d h e a l e r s , w e r e i n t e r v i e w e d V o u c h e r s p e c i -m e n s w e r e c o l l e c t e d d u r i n g i n t e r v i e w s , a s s ig n e da Lira et al. co l l ec t ion number , and depos i t ed int h e N a t i o n a l H e r b a r i u m ( M E X U ) . F i e l d re s e a r c hw a s c o m p l e m e n t e d b y d a t a f r o m h e r b a r i u ms p e c i m e n s d e p o s i t e d I n t h e m a i n M e x i c a n h e r -b a r l a ( C IC Y , E N C B , I E B , I Z T A , M E X U , X A L )and f rom o ther coun t r i es (BH, E GH, K, MICH,M O , N Y , U C , U S , U S E T E X ) .

    RESULTSE t h n o b o t a n l c a l i n f o r m a t i o n w a s o b t a i n e d f o r

    a to t a l o f 34 wi ld spec ies o f Cucurb l t aceae inM e x i c o . T h e i n f o r m a t i o n i s p r e s e n t e d f o r e a c hspec ies , and a summary i s p r esen ted in Tab les 1a n d 2

    A p o d a n t h e r a a s p e r a C o g n . a n d A .u n d u l a t a A . G r a y

    T h e M e x i c a n s p e c i e s o f Apodanthera arec h a r a c t e r is t i c o f a r i d a n d s e m i a r i d e n v i r o n m e n t s(Cog nlaux 1881 , 1916) Taxon omic l imi t s o fthese spec ies a r e s t i l l unc lea r and the namesu s e d h e r e i n m a y c h a n g e . Apodanthera aspera ise n d e m i c t o th e s t a te s o f P u e b l a a n d O a x a c a i ncen t r a l Mexico (L i r a e t a l . 1998 , L i r a and Rod-r fguez 1999) and par t i cu la r ly abunda n t in the Te-huacf in -Cuica t l fin Val l ey , where i t g row s in c ropf i e lds and a round u rban a r eas (L i r a and Rodr f -guez 1999) . In th is region i t i s known as melon-cdlo; t he seeds a r e ea t en roas t ed (Lira & Soto1093, M E X U ; L i r a a n d R o d r f g u e z 1 99 9)Apodanthera undulata has a wider d i s t r ibu-t i o n , r a n g i n g f r o m s o u t h e r n U n i t e d S t a t e sth rough cen t r a l Mexico (Cogn laux 1881 , 1916 ,L i r a e t al . 1998), an d has d i f f e r en t loca l nam esand uses a long i ts range . In the S ta t e o f Guana-jua to , i t i s l oca l ly know n as calabaza hedtonda( s t i n k y p u m p k i n ) (Laborde CU 0765, G e r m -p l a s m c o l l e c t i o n o f I N I F A P , C e l a y a , G u a n a j u a -to ) ; i n the S ta t e o f Jahsco i t i s known as cala-baza loca ( c r a z y p u m p k i n ) a n d calabaza amar-ga ( b i t t e r p u m p k i n ) (Lira & Brunneau 847,M E X U ; M on te s& Merrick CU 0760, G e r m -p l a s m c o l l e c t i o n a t I N I F A P , C e l a y a , G u a n a j u a -to ) . I n Guana ju a to the m ashed pu lp o f the f ru i ti s used to t r ea t u r ina ry a i lmen t s ; i n Ja l i sco andZaca tecas the seeds a r e ea t en roas t ed (Mer r l ck1991) Th i s use i s pam cul a r ly imp or tan t in Za-ca tecas c i ty , where s t r ee t vendor s se l l r oas t ed

    seeds by the bag (Ramos & Marffnez 1175,M E X U ) .

    R o a s t i n g t h e s e e d s o f Apodanthera fo r humanc o n s u m p t i o n i s a n a n c i e n t p r a c t i c e i n M e x i c o .S e e d s o f t h e s e p l a n ts h a v e b e e n f o u n d a s s o c i a t e dw i t h a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e m a i n s m c a v e s o f t h e T e-huacf in Val l ey in Pueb la and Gui l a Naqua tz inOaxaca (Cut l e r and Whi taker 1967) . The seedswere iden t i f i ed as be long ing to A. bureavliC o g n , a s p e c i e s d e s c r i b e d f r o m a r e g i o n c l o s eto the Tehuacf in Val l ey and Gul l a Naqu l t z tha thas been t r ea t ed in some f lo r l s ti c s paper s as con-spec i f i c wi th A. aspera (L i r a and Rodr fguez1999). Acc ord ing to Bemis e t a l ( 1967a) , t hes e e d s o f Apodanthera have a h igh nu t r i t i ona lva lue These au thor s r epor t ed tha t t he seeds o fA undulata c o n t a i n 2 1 . 2 - 2 9 . 4 % f a t a n d 6 2 . 1 -79 .3% pro te inC a y a p o n i a a t t e n u a t a ( H o o k . & A m . ) C o g n .

    a n d C a y a p o n i a r a c e m o s a (Mi l l . ) Cogn.These two spec ies have d i f f e r en t d i s t r ibu t ion

    r a n g e s Cayaponia attenuata i s f ound in Mexicoand Cen t r a l Amer ica as we l l a s in Jamaica ; C .racemma IS more wlde ly d i s t r ibu ted , r ang ingf rom sou thern F l o r ida and Me xico to nor thernSou th Amer ica and the Ant i l l e s (Die te r l e 1976 ;Jef f rey and Truj i l lo 1992; Lira e t a l . 1998, Nee1993 , Wun derhn 1978). I n the S ta t e o f Ch lapasin sou thern Mexico , C. attenuata i s k n o w n a sjabonct l lo and i s used as a soap subs t i tu t e fo rw a s h i n g c l o t h e s (Lira et al. 1020. M E X U ) . I nE l Sa lvador th i s spec ies i s ca l l ed Tamapaz o rTamagaz and i s be l i eved to be a r emedy fo rsnake b i t e (Schu l t es 1990 , Von Rei s and L ipp1982).

    Cayaponia racemosa, h a s v a r i o u s c o m m o nname s and uses in d i f f e r en t pa r ts o f M6xico .Th i s spec ies i s known as estropajo de ropa InO a x a c a a n d t h e l e a v e s a n d f ru i ts are used as aninsec t i c ide aga ins t f l eas (Nereyda & Hemrtch255, M E X U ) . I n C h l a p a s , i t i s k n o w n a s chililloo r bohta, and the f ru i t s a r e used as a soap sub-st i tu te (Lira et al. 936, 957A, 1010, M E X U ) . I nthe Yuca t f in Pen insu la , where i t has been an im-p o r t a n t p l a n t r e s o u r c e f o r t h e M a y a p e o p l e , C .racemosa IS kn ow n as ta-keh or xta'kej (deerexcrement ) as we l l a s sandfa chtca ( s m a l l w a -t e r m e l o n ) o r sandfa de rat6n ( m o u s e w a t e r m e l -on) (Chin 166, CICY, Chavelas 320, Ucdn3110, 3556, M E X U ; L i r a 1 9 88 ). A c c o r d i n g toR o y s ( 1 9 3 1 ) , t h e a n c i e n t M a y a m a y h a v e u s e dC racemma a long wi th o ther p l an t s as a r emedy

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