Gender Influences on Local Botanical Knowledge: A Northeast Brazil Study

Authors

  • Celiane da Silva Ribeiro Gomes
  • Aline Dourado Sena Gama
  • Aníbal da Silva Cantalice 2Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução de Sistemas Socioecológicos (LEA), Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
  • Paula Thayanne Mata Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução de Sistemas Socioecológicos (LEA), Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil and Laboratório de Etnobiologia e Conservação de Ecossistemas (LAEC), Colegiado de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Alagoas, Palmeira dos Índios, Alagoas, Brazil.
  • Taline Cristina Silva Laboratório de Etnobiologia e Conservação de Ecossistemas (LAEC), Colegiado de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Alagoas, Palmeira dos Índios, Alagoas, Brazil
  • Patrícia Muniz de Medeiros Campus de Engenharias e Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Br 104, s/n, Mata do Rolo, Rio Largo, Alagoas 57100-000, Brazil

Abstract

Background: Ethnobotanical studies commonly employ the gender variable to understand how knowledge about medicinal plants is structured. However, most focus specifically on the number of species known among men and women, with limited attention to issues such as collection location, species endemism, and the repertoire of medicinal plants. This study primarily seeks to understand if there are differences in various types of knowledge and in the composition of known and used medicinal species between genders.

Methods: The study was conducted in the rural community of Morrão de Cima, Bahia, Brazil. We gathered information about the knowledge and use of medicinal species, including details on collection sites, through semi-structured interviews. To answer our questions, we used generalized linear models and a multivariate permutational analysis of variance.

Results: We found no significant difference in the total number of known medicinal species between genders. However, women showed greater knowledge of species close to their homes and exotic species, while men demonstrated more knowledge of species in forested areas and native species. We also observed a significant difference between the species known and used by men and women.

Conclusions: Our findings emphasize the need to use various knowledge metrics for a deeper understanding of the relationship between medicinal species knowledge and gender. Differences in the composition of medicinal plants between men and women highlight the heterogeneity of knowledge, underscoring the essential role of both genders in shaping local medical systems, resulting from the health/disease dynamics among genders.

Keywords: Ethnobotany; Local ecological knowledge; Medicinal plants; Composition; Knowledge and use.

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Published

2024-02-28

How to Cite

Gomes, C. da S. R., Gama, A. D. S. ., Cantalice, A. da S., Mata, P. T., Silva, T. C., & Muniz de Medeiros, P. (2024). Gender Influences on Local Botanical Knowledge: A Northeast Brazil Study. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 28, 1–8. Retrieved from https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/5746

Issue

Vol. 28 (2024)

Section

Research

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