Morphological variation,management and domestication of ‘maguey alto’ (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Agave inaequidens</Emphasis>) and ‘maguey manso’ (<Emphasis Type="Italic">A. hookeri</Emphasis>) in Michoacán,México

Background

Agave inaequidens and A. hookeri are anciently used species for producing the fermented beverage ‘pulque’, food and fiber in central Mexico. A. inaequidens is wild and cultivated and A. hookeri only cultivated, A. inaequidens being its putative wild relative. We analysed purposes and mechanisms of artificial selection and phenotypic divergences between wild and managed populations of A. inaequidens and between them and A. hookeri, hypothesizing phenotypic divergence between wild and domesticated populations of A. inaequidens in characters associated to domestication, and that A. hookeri would be phenotypically similar to cultivated A. inaequidens.

Methods

We studied five wild and five cultivated populations of A. inaequidens, and three cultivated populations of A. hookeri. We interviewed agave managers documenting mechanisms of artificial selection, and measured 25 morphological characters. Morphological similarity and differentiation among plants and populations were analysed through multivariate methods and ANOVAs.

Results

People recognized 2–8 variants of A. inaequidens; for cultivation they select young plants collected in wild areas recognized as producing the best quality mescal agaves. Also, they collect seeds of the largest and most vigorous plants, sowing seeds in plant beds and then transplanting the most vigorous plantlets into plantations. Multivariate methods classified separately the wild and cultivated populations of A. inaequidens and these from A. hookeri, mainly because of characters related with plant and teeth size. The cultivated plants of A. inaequidens are significantly bigger with larger teeth than wild plants. A. hookeri are also significatly bigger plants with larger leaves but lower teeth density and size than A. inaequidens. Some cultivated plants of A. inaequidens were classified as A. hookeri, and nearly 10% of A. hookeri as cultivated A. inaequidens. Wild and cultivated populations of A. inaequidens differed in 13 characters, whereas A. hookeri differed in 23 characters with wild populations and only in 6 characters with cultivated populations of A. inaequidens.

Conclusions

Divergence between wild and cultivated populations of A. inaequidens reflect artificial selection. A. hookeri is similar to the cultivated A. inaequidens, which supports the hypothesis that A. hookeri could be the extreme of a domestication gradient of a species complex.

     

Local Knowledge,Use and Management of Ethnovarieties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Araucaria angustifolia</Emphasis> (Bert.) Ktze. in the Plateau of Santa Catarina,Brazil

This study examines the human use and management of Araucaria angustifolia ethnovarieties from Santa Catarina, Brazil, and contributes to what is known about the ethnobotany of Araucaria species. The available literature on varietal differences of A. angustifolia is somewhat divergent, and there are currently no ethnobotanical studies on the intraspecific variation and management of this species. The study examined local knowledge and sociocultural and economic values of A. angustifolia varieties to understand how the varieties are managed and how management practices are influencing the conservation of the species. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 informants (identified using the snowball method) in the Painel and Urubici municipalities. Participants identified 12 local varieties, four of which were cited by more than one informant. Characteristic differences include size, color and flavor of the nut-like seeds (pinhão), and most importantly, season of maturation of the cone. The “Caiová” variety was preferred for its bigger, firmer, and sweeter seeds that are considered easier to peel and last longer in storage. Even though there is some interest in developing management practices that favor some varieties in order to guarantee year-round production, seedlings are commonly removed. This management practice is most likely a response to current regulations that prohibit cutting down adult trees. The results of this study have important implications for the relationship between the knowledge of A. angustifolia practices and the current legal framework that protects this species. A more detailed understanding of the relevant ethnobotanical knowledge is required in order to establish the best practices for sustainable use of A. angustifolia and its varietal diversity and to support the communities that depend on this species as a resource.     

Letting the Air Out: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aire</Emphasis> as an Empty Signifier in Oaxacan Understandings of Illness

“Air (aire, also aigre) in the body” is a frequent explanation of illness according to the traditional medical beliefs in Mexico. Anthropologists have generally scrutinized aire in the context of other common folk illnesses treated by traditional healers (curanderas). However, drawing on my research in the communities of Northern Oaxaca I suggest that aire occupies a more distinct position in the folk medical cosmology than it has usually been credited with. This distinction rests on the notion’s exceptional ambivalence and openness to multiple interpretations. “Air” is recurred to as the cause of illness mainly in situations where every other explanation, either “traditional” or “biomedical,” seems to be inadequate. The physical properties of air—its transparency, invisibility, apparent immateriality, near omnipresence, and virtual “nothingness”—render it a suitable explanation of the last resort. Local understandings of what aire “is” are often vague and elusive, and in many respects the term functions in folk medical discourse as an “empty signifier.”     

Lower Ordovician microfacies and microfossils from Cerro San Pedro (San Pedro de la Cueva,Sonora, Mexico), as a westernmost outcrop of the newly defined <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nuia</Emphasis> Province

The lowermost carbonate beds of the Cerro San Pedro (San Pedro de la Cueva, Sonora State, Mexico) previously assigned to the Mississippian, belong in fact to the lower Ordovician. The limestone of this succession is often dolomitized and chertified, and displays gastropods, pelmatozoans, sponges, and trilobites as major bioclastic components. The different microfacies show that high-energy grainstones, proximal tempestites, and distal tempestites dominated the sedimentation. The paleoenvironments of deposition correspond to an inner ramp, a mid-ramp, and perhaps the upper part of an outer ramp. The strata are characterized by the incertae sedis cyanobacteria Nuia sibirica. A taxonomic revision and discussion of these cyanobacteria, often confused with ooidic grains, is emphasized. Some data are presented on other microfossils, such as primitive, monothalamous foraminifers: Rauserina sp., Vicinesphaera sp., and Neoarchaesphaera sp., leperditicopida and their endolithic microperforations, and primitive chaetetids. Compared to the contemporaneous deposits of the USA, some paleobiological components, e.g., the lithistid siliceous sponges Archaeoscyphia, stromatoporoids? Pulchrilamina, and receptaculacean algae Calathium, are quite rare in the studied section of Sonora, but the predominance of tempestites in the carbonate succession shows that boundstones formed before were systematically eroded and resedimented. The paleogeographic implications are the following: (1) a lower Ordovician intertropical Nuia Province is newly defined in the western part of the lower Ordovician intertropical belt; (2) San Pedro de la Cueva constitutes one of the westernmost outcrops of this new Nuia Province; (3) from Sonora, Nuia extends eastward as far as South China; (4) due to its westernmost paleoposition, San Pedro de la Cueva was frequently affected by tropical storms; and (5) northern lower Ordovician terranes of Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, and Baja California) are entirely distinct from the southern ones (Oaxaca). The paleopositions and paleogeographic connections of these northern Mexican terranes with Laurentia, Avalonia, and peri-Gondwanan parts of South America, through the Iapetus and Rheic oceans, still remain disputable or unknown.     

Evolution and systematics of Green Bush-crickets (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tettigonia</Emphasis>) in the Western Palaearctic: testing concordance between molecular,acoustic, and morphological data

The genus Tettigonia includes 26 species distributed in the Palaearctic region. Though the Green Bush-crickets are widespread in Europe and common in a variety of habitats throughout the Palaearctic ecozone, the genus is still in need of scientific attention due to the presence of a multitude of poorly explored taxa. In the present study, we sought to clarify the evolutionary relationships of Green Bush-crickets and the composition of taxa occurring in the Western Palaearctic. Based on populations from 24 disjunct localities, the phylogeny of the group was estimated using sequences of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and the internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2). Morphological and acoustic variation documented for the examined populations and taxa was interpreted in the context of phylogenetic relationships inferred from our genetic analyses. The trees generated in the present study supported the existence of three main lineages: “A”—composed of all sampled populations of Tettigonia viridissima and the Tettigonia vaucheriana complex, “B”—comprising Tettigonia caudata, Tettigonia uvarovi, and the Tettigonia armeniaca complex, and “C”—consisting of Tettigonia cantans. The present study provides the first phylogenetic foundation for reviewing the systematics of Tettigonia (currently classified mostly according to morphological characteristics), proposing seven new synonymies.     

Phylogenetic relationships among cultivated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zanthoxylum</Emphasis> species in China based on cpDNA markers

We here present a molecular phylogenetic analysis of cultivated Zanthoxylum species which have a long history of cultivation both for economic and for chemical values in China. Three cpDNA markers, including matK, rbcL, and trnL-F, were sequenced, with the goals of untangling phylogenetic relationships and inferring biogeographic origin and patterns of distribution among Zanthoxylum species. Based on three cpDNA markers, 19 haplotypes with 64 polymorphic sites in Zanthoxylum provenances were identified in our study. A low genetic differentiation (G _ST ?=?0.271, N _ST ?=?0.373) was observed within Zanthoxylum provenances. Based on phylogenetic tree and haplotype network, all 19 haplotypes were grouped into six clusters. Our results also supported the hypothesis that the so-called “Green Huajiao” belongs to the species Zanthoxylum armatum rather than Zanthoxylum schinifolium. The results also revealed that haplotypes of two cultivated species, Zanthoxylum bungeanum and Z. armatum, most probably diverged during the Late Miocene. Ancestral area reconstruction indicated that cultivated Zanthoxylum species experienced multiple long-distance dispersal events and several vicariance events and the ancestors of Zanthoxylum first colonized Yunnan and Guizhou provinces (D). Accordingly, the current disjunct distribution of Z. bungeanum and Z. armatum may represent long-distance dispersal of ancestors popularly named “Dahongpao” and “Qinghuajiao,” respectively. It is concluded that cpDNA markers may provide a new conceptual and practical opportunity to evaluate genetic diversity and to identify local cultivars of Zanthoxylum, making it a valuable source to include into potential breeding programs.     

Genetic Diversity,Genotype Discrimination,and Population Structure of Mexican <Emphasis Type="Italic">Opuntia</Emphasis> sp., Determined by SSR Markers

The Opuntia (prickly pear) genus, an important horticultural crop in Mexico, is essentially a fruit crop with two variants: sweet (“tunas”) or acid (“xoconostles”) fruits; it is also a source of vegetables “nopalitos” or fodder for livestock, among other uses. Its taxonomical classification has been reported as complex, although few studies on the genetic structure of Mexican Opuntia are available, and genetic differences between the two types of fruits are unknown. Opuntia genotype identification and classification are still mainly based on morphological characters. In this study, the genetic diversity of Mexican Opuntia germplasm with agronomic and economic importance was revealed, using 88 accessions and 13 SSR markers, in an attempt to explore the genetic relationships among them. A total of 159 alleles were detected ranging from 7 to 23 per locus with an average of 12.2. The SSR markers generated unique fingerprints for each Opuntia accession confirming their usefulness for genetic analysis. The accessions’ grouping was defined by several complementary clustering methods, and the moderate incongruences between the different methods did not influence the overall clustering. DAPC and STRUCTURE analyses grouped the accessions into five groups, thus confirming the incorrect delimitation of species in this genus. The following species had no clear boundaries: Opuntia ficus-indica, Opuntia albicarpa, Opuntia megacantha, Opuntia streptacantha, Opuntia lasiacantha, and Opuntia hyptiacantha. However, Opuntia robusta was separated from the rest of the species. Opuntia joconostle and Opuntia matudae, which produce acid fruits, tended to differ from the others. Median-joining simulation classified all genotypes into a complex network, and both linear and reticular ties between Mexican Opuntia genotypes were revealed. The genetic distance revealed in the present study shows the importance of Mexican accessions for conservation and use in breeding programs.     

Assessment of genetic relationships between cultivated arracacha (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arracacia xanthorrhiza</Emphasis> Bancr.) and its wild close relatives in the area of domestication using microsatellite markers

Arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancr.) is an asexual propagated root crop domesticated in the Andean highlands, which exists naturally with polycarpic and monocarpic forms. Wild A. xanthorrhiza are present in the area of domestication and can occasionally be mistaken in the same field for a crop or a weed. To study genetic relationships between cultivated arracacha and the wild forms, we surveyed the diversity of 178 plant samples at 11 microsatellite (SSR) loci. As expected, wild A. xanthorrhiza forms showed a significantly higher allelic diversity for all the examined SSR markers. The cultivated pool showed an excess of heterozygosity as opposed to a deficit found in the wild compartment. High Fst values and AMOVA analysis suggest that the cultivated variety has genetically differentiated from the wild forms and is more related to the wild polycarpic than to the monocarpic. Both the wild forms were well distinguished from the cultivars. Nevertheless, among a set of F1 experimental hybrids (cultivated?×?wild polycarpic), some other genotypes were revealed, also being admixed. Our results highlight a large genetic base available in the wild populations of A. xanthorrhiza with potential implications for the utilization and breeding of this promising crop.     

A systematic revision of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Encyclia adenocarpos</Emphasis> complex (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae) from Megamexico,including two new species from Mexico

The Encyclia adenocarpos complex is restricted to the Pacific slopes of Megamexico, from Sonora, Mexico, to northern Nicaragua. It is characterized by pyriform to suborbicular pseudobulbs, (1-)2-3(4) thickly coriaceous, narrow leaves (> 15 times longer than wide), thin, verruculose inflorescences, and a verruculose ovary. The column is broad and wingless, fused to the labellum at its proximal 1/4. The flowers of the Encyclia adenocarpos complex feature what is here dubbed the Tupperware© labellum-column morphology, where the columnar ventral face is concave and fits tightly around the rim or upper margins of the callus, similar to the seal of this plasticware. All species grow on dry forests at low elevations from sea level to ca. 1500 m; most populations occurring below 500 m. The complex consists of six species, two of which are newly described herein: E. acapulcensis sp. nov., from southern Guerrero and E. enriquearcilae sp. nov., from western Oaxaca and neighboring Guerrero, Mexico. Encyclia rodolfoi is the correct name for populations of the Tehuantepec Isthmus whereas E. × nizandensis is here regarded as a natural hybrid between E. rodolfoi and E. parviflora; the evidence is presented and discussed. Encyclia schaeferi is treated as a morph of E. papillosa and included in its synonymy. A neotype is selected for Epidendrum adenocarpos and Epidendrum crispatum is rejected as a synonym thereof. All species are illustrated and discussed, and a key to the species is presented. Furthermore, the conservation status of each species is analyzed under the IUCN methodology. Other aspects of the biology of this complex are also discussed.     

Recalcitrance Assessment of the Agro-industrial Residues from Five <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agave</Emphasis> Species: Ionic Liquid Pretreatment,Saccharification and Structural Characterization

Agave has recently shown its potential as a bioenergy feedstock with promising features such as higher biomass productivity than leading bioenergy feedstock while at the same time being drought-resistant with low water requirements and high sugar to ethanol conversion using ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment. IL pretreatment was studied to develop the first direct side-by-side comparative recalcitrance assessment of the agro-industrial residues from five Agave species [Agave americana (AME), A. angustifolia (ANG), A. fourcroydes (FOU), A. salmiana (SAL), and A. tequilana (TEQ)] using compositional analysis, X-ray diffraction, and the lignin syringyl/guaiacyl subunit ratio (S/G) by pyrolysis molecular beam mass spectrometry (PyMBMS). Prominent calcium oxalate peaks were found only in unpretreated AME, SAL, and TEQ. The S/G ratios of all five unpretreated Agave species were between 1.27 and 1.57 while the IL-pretreated samples were from 1.39 to 1.72. The highest overall sugar production was obtained with IL-pretreated FOU with 492 mg glucose/g biomass and 157 mg xylose/g biomass at 120 °C and 3 h using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C₂C₁Im][OAc]). An estimated theoretical ethanol yield from the studied agro-industrial residues from the five Agave species was in the range of 1060 to 5800 L ethanol/ha/year. These comparison results demonstrate the potential of the Agave spp. as a suitable biofuel feedstock which can be employed within a biorefinery scheme.     

High-throughput sequencing of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prunus ferganensis</Emphasis> indicates that it is a geographical population of <Emphasis Type="Italic">P. persica</Emphasis>

Peach belongs to the genus Prunus, which includes Prunus persica and its relative species, P. mira, P. davidiana, P. kansuensis, and P. ferganensis. Of these, P. ferganensis have been classified as a species, subspecies, or geographical population of P. persica. To explore the genetic difference between P. ferganensis and P. persica, high-throughput sequencing was used in different peach accessions belonging to different species. First, low-depth sequencing data of peach accessions belonging to four categories revealed that similarity between P. ferganensis and P. persica was similar to that between P. persica accessions from different geographical populations. Then, to further detect the genomic variation in P. ferganensis, the P. ferganensis accession “Xinjiang Pan Tao 1” and the P. persica accession “Xia Miao 1” were sequenced with high depth, and sequence reads were assembled. The results showed that the collinearity of “Xinjiang Pan Tao 1” with the reference genome “Lovell” was higher than that of “Xia Miao 1” and “Lovell” peach. Additionally, the number of genetic variants, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), structural variations (SVs), and the specific genes annotated from unmapped sequence in “Xia Miao 1” was higher than that in “Xinjiang Pan Tao 1” peach. The data showed that there was a close distance between “Xinjiang Pan Tao 1” (P. ferganensis) and reference genome which belong to P. persica, comparing “Xia Miao 1” (P. persica) and reference ones. The results accompany with phylogenetic tree and structure analysis confirmed that P. ferganensis should be considered as a geographic population of P. persica rather than a subspecies or a distinct species. Furthermore, gene ontology analysis was performed using the gene comprising large-effect variation to understand the phenotypic difference between two accessions. The result revealed that the pathways of gene function affected by SVs but SNPs and insertion-deletions markedly differed between the two peach accessions.     

Diversity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">A</Emphasis> mating type in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lentinula edodes</Emphasis> and mating type preference in the cultivated strains

Diversity of A mating type in Lentinula edodes has been assessed by analysis of A mating loci in 127 strains collected from East Asia. It was discovered that hypervariable sequence region with an approximate length of 1 kb in the A mating locus, spanning 5′ region of HD2-intergenic region-5′ region of HD1, could represent individual A mating type as evidenced by comprehensive mating analysis. The sequence analysis revealed 27 A mating type alleles from 96 cultivated strains and 48 alleles from 31 wild strains. Twelve of them commonly appeared, leaving 63 unique A mating type alleles. It was also revealed that only A few A mating type alleles such as A1, A4, A5, and A7 were prevalent in the cultivated strains, accounting for 62.5% of all A mating types. This implies preferred selection of certain A mating types in the process of strain development and suggests potential role of A mating genes in the expression of genes governing mushroom quality. Dominant expression of an A mating gene HD1 was observed from A1 mating locus, the most prevalent A allele, in A1-containing dikaryons. However, connections between HD1 expression and A1 preference in the cultivated strains remain to be verified. The A mating type was highly diverse in the wild strains. Thirty-six unique A alleles were discovered from relatively small and confined area of mountainous region in Korean peninsula. The number will further increase because no A allele has been recurrently observed in the wild strains and thus newly discovered strain will have good chances to contain new A allele. The high diversity in small area also suggests that the A mating locus has evolved rapidly and thus its diversity will further increase.     

Anthropogenic dispersion of selected germplasm creates a geographic mosaic of contrasting maternal lineages in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crescentia cujete</Emphasis> from Mesoamerica

The modification of the genetic/phenotypic composition of plant populations through artificial selection occurs both through time and space. We analyzed the role of human dispersal on the geographic distribution of maternal lineages of Crescentia cujete in Mesoamerica. We sampled 28 homegarden (224 individuals) and 12 wild populations (159 individuals). Semi-structured interviews provided information on the origin of cultivated trees. Six chloroplast microsatellites allowed for the identification of 21 haplotypes, four of them exclusively in 83% of homegarden trees. Wild haplotypes from local C. cujete and Crescentia alata were found at low frequencies (17%) under cultivation. Cultivated and wild haplotypes constituted two different haplogroups. Accordingly, barriers to seed dispersal were detected among neighboring cultivated and wild populations. Recorded events of human dispersal of cuttings and seeds attaining up to >?200 km agreed with homegardens’ lower diversity (Nei’s h?=?0.55, dropping to 0.32 when excluding wild haplotypes). Wild populations displayed high diversity (h?=?0.71) and isolation by distance, in agreement with physiographic provinces. Our results support the native status of wild C. cujete and a Pre-Columbian introduction of cultivated lineages that generated a novel genetic mosaic superimposed on native maternal lineages. The results reveal the active role of farmers in maintaining the identity of cultivated lineages through time, while chloroplast capture from local congeners has increased the diversity of maternal lineages under cultivation. Additional data are needed on the origins of cultivated lineages, but our results contribute new insights into tree domestication in this center of crop diversity.     

Mechanisms,origin and heredity of Glu-1Ay silencing in wheat evolution and domestication

Key message

Allotetraploidization drives Glu-1Ay silencing in polyploid wheat.

Abstract

The high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit gene, Glu-1Ay, is always silenced in common wheat via elusive mechanisms. To investigate its silencing and heredity during wheat polyploidization and domestication, the Glu-1Ay gene was characterized in 1246 accessions containing diploid and polyploid wheat worldwide. Eight expressed Glu-1Ay alleles (in 71.81% accessions) and five silenced alleles with a premature termination codon (PTC) were identified in Triticum urartu; 4 expressed alleles (in 41.21% accessions), 13 alleles with PTCs and 1 allele with a WIS 2-1A retrotransposon were present in wild tetraploid wheat; and only silenced alleles with PTC or WIS 2-1A were in cultivated tetra- and hexaploid wheat. Both the PTC number and position in T. urartu Glu-1Ay alleles (one in the N-terminal region) differed from its progeny wild tetraploid wheat (1–5 PTCs mainly in the repetitive domain). The WIS 2-1A insertion occurred?~?0.13 million years ago in wild tetraploid wheat, much later than the allotetraploidization event. The Glu-1Ay alleles with PTCs or WIS 2-1A that arose in wild tetraploid wheat were fully succeeded to cultivated tetraploid and hexaploid wheat. In addition, the Glu-1Ay gene in wild einkorn inherited to cultivated einkorn. Our data demonstrated that the silencing of Glu-1Ay in tetraploid and hexaploid wheat was attributed to the new PTCs and WIS 2-1A insertion in wild tetraploid wheat, and most silenced alleles were delivered to the cultivated tetraploid and hexaploid wheat, providing a clear evolutionary history of the Glu-1Ay gene in the wheat polyploidization and domestication processes.

     

Comparison of bioethanol production from cultivated versus wild <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gracilaria verrucosa</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gracilaria gigas</Emphasis>

The seaweed genus Gracilaria is a potential candidate for the production of bioethanol due to its high carbohydrate content. Gracilaria is abundant throughout the world and can be found in both wild and cultivated forms. Differences in the ecological factors such as temperature, salinity, and light intensity affecting wild and cultivated specimens may influence the biochemical content of seaweeds, including the carbohydrate content. This study aimed to investigate the proximate composition and potential bioethanol production of wild and cultivated G. gigas and G. verrucosa. Bioethanol was produced using separate hydrolysis fermentation (SHF), employing a combination of enzymatic and acid hydrolysis, followed by fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 200062. The highest carbohydrate content was found in wild G. gigas. The highest galactose and glucose contents (20.21 ± 0.32 and 9.70 ± 0.49 g L^?1, respectively), as well as the highest production of bioethanol (3.56 ± 0.02 g L^?1), were also found in wild G. gigas. Thus, we conclude that wild G. gigas is the most promising candidate for bioethanol production. Further research is needed to optimize bioethanol production from wild G. gigas. Domestication of wild G. gigas is a promising challenge for aquaculture to avoid overexploitation of this wild seaweed resource.     

The uses of Kenyan aloes: an analysis of implications for names,distribution and conservation

Background

The genus Aloe is renowned for its medicinal and cosmetic properties and long history of use. Sixty-three Aloe species occur in Kenya, of which around 50 % are endemic. Several species of aloes are threatened with extinction and knowledge about their use is of major importance for sound conservation strategies. The main aims of this study were to assess the biocultural value of Aloe in Kenya by documenting local uses of aloes and evaluating how the vernacular names reflect the relative importance in different ethnic groups.

Methods

Ethnobotanical and ethnotaxonomical data were collected using field observations and semi-structured interviews. Information was collected by interviewing 63 respondents from nine different ethnic groups, representing different ages, gender and occupations. Statistical analyses were performed using R version 3.1.2.

Results

A total of 19 species of Aloe were found in the study area, of which 16 were used. On the generic level Aloe was easily distinguished. At species level, the local and scientific delimitation were almost identical for frequently used taxa. Aloe secundiflora, with 57 unique use records was the most important species. The two most frequently mentioned Aloe treatments, were malaria and poultry diseases. In our study area neither age nor gender had a significant influence on the level of knowledge of Aloe use. Finally, no correlation was found between extent of use and people’s perception of decrease in local aloe populations. The aloes are highly appreciated and are therefore propagated and transported over large areas when people relocate.

Conclusion

Biocultural value is reflected in the ethnotaxonomy of Aloe in Kenya. Different ethnic groups recognise their most-valued Aloe at the genus level as “the aloe” and add explanatory names for the other species, such as the “spotted aloe” and the “one-legged aloe”. Widespread species of Aloe have the highest number of uses. There is no obvious correlation with high use and decrease in abundance of aloes locally, and we found no compelling evidence for local uses causing devastating damage to populations of the 19 species in use, whereas habitat loss and commercial harvesting appear to be of urgent concern for these important plants.