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Traditional Medicine Among the Nahua: Contemporary and Ancient Medicinal Plants
Preliminary results
Over 50 medicinal plants were collected during this field season (which, together with the plants collected during previous field seasons add up to over 150 specimens); they are spread out over 33 families, with all but three of the families having only one or two plant members. The exceptions are Asteraceae with three plants, Euphorbiaceae with three plants, and Solanaceae, which has six plants (see Table 1, below).
| Table 1. List of plant species and families collected |
| Acanthaceae |
Jacobinia spicigera Schl. |
| Amaranthaceae |
Amaranthus spinosus L. |
| Anacardiaceae |
Spondias mombin L. |
| Annonaceae |
Annona globiflora Schltdl |
| Annonaceae |
Rollinia mucosa (Jacq) Baill |
| Apocynaceae |
Plumeria rubra L. |
| Araliaceae |
Dendropanax arboreus (L) Decne & Planch |
| Asteraceae |
Artemisia mexicana Willd. |
| Asteraceae |
Eupatorium sp. |
| Asteraceae |
Tagetes erecta L. |
| Bignoniaceae |
Parmentiera edulis DC |
| Bombacaceae |
Bombax ellipticum Kunth. |
| Bromeliaceae |
Tillandsia reurbata L. |
| Burseraceae |
Bursera simaruba (L) Sarg. |
| Burseraceae |
Protium copal (Schl & Cham) Engl. |
| Cactaceae |
Hylocereus undatus (Haw) Britton & Rose |
| Cactaceae |
Nopalea cochenillifera (L) Salm-Dyck |
| Dryopteridaceae |
Tectaria heracleifolia (Willd) Underw. |
| Dryopteridaceae |
Tectaria sp. |
| Elaeocarpaceae |
Muntingia calabura L. |
| Euphorbiaceae |
Croton guatemalensis Lotsy |
| Euphorbiaceae |
Croton soliman Cham & Schltdl |
| Euphorbiaceae |
Pedilanthus tithymaloides (L) Poit |
| Fabaceae |
Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L) Sw. |
| Fabaceae |
Harpalyce arborescens A. Gray |
| Labiateae |
Ocimum basilicum L. |
| Labiateae |
Ocimum cf. Micranthum |
| Lamiaceae |
Salvia amarissima Ort. |
| Malvaceae |
Heliocarpus glanduliferus Robinson |
| Malvaceae |
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. |
| Meliaceae |
Cedrela mexicana M. Roem. |
| Musaceae |
Musa sp. |
| Myrtaceae |
Psidium guajava L. |
| Nyctaginaceae |
Mirabilis jalapa L. |
| Nyctaginaceae |
Mirabilis longiflora L. |
| Phytolaceaceae |
Rivinia humilis L. |
| Poaceae |
Arundo donax L. |
| Pteridaceae |
Adiantum tenerum Sw. |
| Rosaceae |
Rosa chinensis Jacq. |
| Rubiaceae |
Hamelia erecta Jacq. |
| Rutaceae |
Citrus sinensis Osbeck. |
| Sapotaceae |
Achras zapota L. |
| Sapotaceae |
Pouteria salicifolia Stadl. |
| Simaroubaceae |
Picramnia antidesma Swart. |
| Solanaceae |
Capsicum annum L. |
| Solanaceae |
Cestrum dumetorum Schltdl. |
| Solanaceae |
Cestrum sp. |
| Solanaceae |
Solanum madrense Fern. |
| Solanaceae |
Solanum nudum Kunth. |
| Solanaceae |
Solanum werdlandii Hook |
| Sterculiaceae |
Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. |
| Thelypteridaceae |
Thelypteris cf. Tetragona (Sw) Small |
| Violaceae |
Hybanthus attenuatus (Humb & Bonpl ex Schultes) |
| Zingiberaceae |
Cydista potosina (K Schum & Loes) |
| Zingiberaceae |
Zingiber officinale Rose |
The majority of the plants were gathered in the home gardens belonging to the healing specialists I interviewed. However, several of them, such as Harpalyce arborescens, Adiantum tenerum, Cedrela mexicana, Croton soliman, Bursera simaruba, and Protium copal were obtained in the milpas, cattle pastures, or the few patches of remaining forest.
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