The unpublished Raúl Martínez Crovetto’s moqoits ethnobotany II: Description, updates and plants uses analysis

Abstract

We have found unpublished and valuable moqoit ethnobotany data at the IBONE (Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste), gathered by Martínez Crovetto in the 60s at Chaco province. In this paper, we aim to systematize and disseminate those historical records, put them into their precise socio-cultural and spatio-temporal context, and finally, make a plant uses analysis. To achieve this goal, we use the methodology of “historical ethnobotany”, that considers past data as a primary information source. Four hundred (400) ethnobotany data referring to 231 species were recorded. Ninety five percent (95 %) of them were native plants. Most used plants species were Prosopis alba, Copernicia alba, Zea mays, P. nigra, Bromelia serra andSchinus fasciculatus. Almost half of uses (49 %) were of medicinal nature; 23 % alimentary and the remaining categories showed less than 5 % of data each one of them. All this information becomes one of the most important background about moqoit ethnobotany that has been published so far