Homegardens and their role as a main source of medicinal plants in mountain regions of Catalonia (Iberian peninsula)

In this paper the validity of the homegardens in Catalonia is analyzed from data obtained in two ethnobotanical studies carried out in the districts (comarques) of Pallars Jussà and Pallars Sobirà (Pyrenees) and in the Montseny Massif (Catalan Prelittoral Range). We classified nine groups of plants by their uses and their situation in the homegarden. We centered our analysis on medicinal plants lato sensu (curative, palliative, symptomatic, prophylactic, used for diagnosis, placebos or with other health uses). More than 50% of the species used in these regions are in the homegardens, either expressly cultivated, wild, or indirectly favored by agricultural practices. If the whole range of human daily activity is considered (including the ruderal and weedy flora, and plants cultivated in fields and orchards) the proportion surpasses 80%.