Table Of Content

Ethnobiol. 13(2):233-256 Winter 1993 /. PLANT A USES BRAZILIAN COASTAL IN COMMUNITY FISHING (BUZIOS ISLAND) BEGOSSI A. Niicleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Ambientais Campinas Universidade Estadual de CP 6166 Campinas, 13081-970, SP, Brazil. LEITAO-FILHO H.F. Departamento de Botdnica e Parque Ecologico Campinas Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13081-970, SP, Brazil. RICHERSON P.J. Environmental Studies Division of University California of CA USA. Davis, 95616, ABSTRACT.— community which Buzios Island (southeast Brazil) is a fishing in impor- Despite the increased agriculture played an important role in the past. and from traditional tance of market-oriented fishing, decline of agriculture, shift _ ^m _ b * cultivated descript cultivated names provided plants and are for 61 and medicinal purposes. Local scientific house and and used used for food, 53 plants used in medicine, 32 species for On showed older adults a better canoe and handicrafts. Buzios, construction Many medicinal plants are knowledge than younger ones. of medicinal plants common among The medici- children. used for the treatment of worms, which are commonly used other in widespread plants nal plants used on Buzios Island are compared used on Buzios even We found high diversity of plants parts of a Brazil. Amazonian communities. to do teve RESUMO.—A dos Buzios (sudeste Brasil), da comunidade pesqueira Ilha do Apesar desenvolvi- predominante. como no atividade passado a agriculture mudanca de da agriculture e certa do decrescimo mento das atividades de pesca, coletadas e cultivadas uma mais moderna, as plantas da medicina para caseira estudo apre- da comunidade. Este economia na importante ainda urn papel tern ou das plantas cultivadas coleta- uma da vegetacao da area, senta descricao geral Nomes medicina^ usos e para artesanato das para alimentacao, construcoes, como ahmento, usadas 53 usadas plantas para 61 locals e cientificos sao listados para em de casas e canoas, e arte- construcoes na medicina e 32 usadas caseira conhecimento demonstraram urn Em mais velhos individuos sanato. Buzios, os usadas no tratamento sao plantas Muitas dessas maior sobre plantas medicinais. em usadas As medicinais plantas de muito comuns entre as criancas. verminoses, em Encontremos Buzios do em tambem usadas outres partes Brasil. Buzios sao & RICHERSON LEITAO-FILHO No. BEGOSSI, Vol. 2 234 13, uma mesmo comparada de comunidades da diversidade de plantas usadas, a alta Amazonia du RESUME.— au La communaute de pecheurs de Tile de Buzios (situee sudest comme dans temps, une des activites predomi- l'agriculture Bresil) pratiquait, le un Malgre developpement de peche, diminution de l'agriculture, et nantes. la la le changement de medecine menagere envers une plus moderne, les plantes certain la commu- un important dans l'economie de cultivees recoltees jouent encore role la et nautee. Cette etude presente une description generate de la vegetation de l'endroit, des plantes cultivees ou recoltees en vue de leur utilisation dans l'alimentation, la noms Ont locaux construction, l'artisanat, et l'usage medicinal. ete catalogues les et noms de dans 53 en scientifiques 61 plantes utilisees l'alimentation, utilisees les que medecine menagere, 32 pour construction des maisons des canoes, ainsi et la et A Buzios, personnes plus agees ont demontre une connaissance plus l'artisanat. les Un profonde des plantes medicinales. grand nombre de ces plantes s'emploie a soigner verminose, frequente parmi enfants. Les plantes medicinales la tres les On du utilisees a Buzios sont aussi employees dans d'autres regions Bresil. trouve a meme compare Buzios une grande de diversite plantes utilisees localement; cela, aux communautes de Amazonique. region la INTRODUCTION shown humans and improved Ethnobotanical studies have that have discovered and Even plants for a variety of purposes, including food, medicine. in shelter, we owe where modern the case of medicine, inventions appear dominate, a to great debt to folk medicine for a knowledge of the healing properties of plants Many (Schultes 1978). aboriginal cultures in Africa, Asia, and South America are much disappearing; there is a danger that of potentially useful knowledge of the and Even curative properties other uses of plants will vanish with these cultures. 45% in industrialized countries, of commercial drug production comes from natu- products (Elisabetsky There comment on the ral 1986). less in the literature is effects of modernization on nonmedicinal plant uses. Similarly, the continued use of land for cultivation and plant communities bv modern- for collected resources communities an impoi is economy Buzios Island ? Willems 1947 Willems in ( document modernization function of human economic domina We commercial by production. used describe here the plants Bu from families and agriculture fishing. economic Buzios from shift at twentieth century (Begossi impor 1989), plants are very still variety medicine economic on shift Buzios is similar to events alone the whole northern coast of JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY Winter 1993 235 Sao Paulo According Diegues from State. to (1983), the shift agriculture to fishing occurred mainly due low products that since the 1950s to prices for agricultural is and accumulating and problems relative to fish, to soil pest in the agricultural sector. One of the studies of Brazilian plant utilization (including medical prac- first was and Portuguese and Indian influences) that of Piso in 1648 (Piso 1957). tices As pointed out by Levi-Strauss few peoples have so complex a knowledge (1986), and do South American of the physical chemical properties of plants as the South American Indians. Prance (1987) studied the plant utilization of four et al. Indian groups and showed that 49-79% of the tree species on one hectare sample forest plots were useful to each group. They suggest that such a high usage has important implications for conservation policies. Phytogeographic Pro- Buzios Island in the heavily disturbed Atlantic Forest is know what from other parts of would be extent studies vince. interesting to to It Amazonia from by Portuguese and Indian cult influenced manioc processing conspicuous flour in THE STUDY SITE (23° 47' 45° 10' W), off the southeastern Brazil S, Buzios Island located in is about 220 of The population of the island consists coast of Sao Paulo State (Fig. 1). among on small harbors hamlets situated 8 individuals (44 families) distributed do Meio the largest harbor, with 23 families. Bairro with canoe Porto shelters. is and (Sao Sebastiao Island) are the Ilhabela de Sao Francisco (Sao Sebastiao City) main give descriptions and and Leitao-Filho (1982) Silva 1987) Leitao-Filho (1982, families Myrcia, Marlierea), Myrtaceae (Eugenia, vmma M and Caesalpmiaceae Hymenolobium) Andira, Fabaceae (Centrolobium tadenia), , , by the by or cutting) deforested (either fire areas In (Sclerolobium Tachigalia). , from the genera Ti bo uchina, plants and colonizing predominant shrubs plants are suc- and typical of early Solatium, Trema, Cecropia, Rapanea, Leandra, Piper, Costus, the Atlantic Forest. cessional stages of and on main the island of found on top of the hill on Buzios Island are Forests {Man k ^^n , a. I _ _^k -aml _*^b_ j^» m 4 ^k ^B ^^W ^B ^B M r j J I 11 /I II m m ga iftT i m M ifolia Meio more METHODS September commu by plant utilization photographs of and December Observations 1987. were obtamec purposes and medicinal members construction, v agriculture, for & RICHERSON BEGOSSI, LEITAO-FILHO Vol. No. 2 13, 236 SCALE 1/32.000.000 Porto do cait Porto do mtio Cotttiro Pitangutira Cotttiro Gerobo Mot Joana BUZIOS ISLAND ^Lajt sul llhott O '. Somiti- ca Island HARBORS SCALE 30.000 i: C3 FOREST ROCK Etml — FIG. Location of Biizios Island in Brazil and the harbors 1. distribution of JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 237 Winter 1993 wm FIG. 2.— General view of Biizios Island. mainly do Meio Porto at Mae harbors except Joar These harbors were 1). weather famil The interviews. pated in names Herbarium the were identified at Meio. Plants Bra Sao Paulo, Campinas, Campinas (UEC) at le O de and O.C. bv Machado, Vielliard, L.O.M. J. mento TO FISHING AGRICULTURE FROM SHIFT ^northern the for agriculture ^^^^^r^o^f ^^^^^ history L general reviewed the Franca (1954) coast of economy by ^^^^X^^ C^L/IlVin*vv.-.y 3 w rruumm or pinga) sugar ana sugarcane (u<a#e"u"a'r"dec n"tlet r—or- * • „„i,,~ oiaarrane Coffee Lnd A »00 produced. ™dnm*teenm -. . pfantmgs peaked fn the c. , , sugarcane of ***££* ion ****** cultiva i decade During after 1870. economic main the agai„ agua production of time the restricted to Manioc wvvm« midcentury. graauauy activity, but declined introductions. staple crop, despite these & RICHERSON LEITAO-FILHO BEGOSSI, 238 Vol. No. 2 13, On mainly Buzios today, agricultural activities are carried out for subsis- still tence. Cash income obtained almost exclusively from fish sales (Begossi 1989). is But agriculture centered around the cultivation of manioc was formerly more important in the local economy. Willems (1952) reported that during his stay at men worked two depended Buzios, 33 at farming as their major activity while only primarily on fishing. According to older informants, at the beginning of this and century Buzios islanders cultivated beans, maize, manioc, cotton, coffee, rice, oranges, and even exported some of these crops. These crops, along with sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkins, sugarcane, coconuts, bananas, and tobacco were attas, mentioned by Willems As with contemporary manioc, the case Buzios, (1952). is sweet potatoes, and sugarcane were important crops in the past, but Buzios was never community. based on manioc a self-sufficient In spite of a stable subsistence and fish, major changes occurred in commercial production on the island; start- ing with economy moved from coffee in the last century, the island's trade of and salted fish black beans, to cultivation of manioc and beans and algae collect- ing (Willems and back been 1952), finally to trade of Agriculture has thus fish. on by replaced Buzios fishing as the principal economic Fishing espe- activity. is cially emphasized by younger people. Older islanders maintain manioc and still bean and fields, are usually part-time rather than fishermen. full-time Buzios is similar to other relatively small and isolated settlements in which based on social relations are kinship exchanged ties (Begossi 1989). Products are along and family an lines, there informal younger is division of labor in that fishermen exchange grown fish for plant foods and by collected their older relatives. CONTEMPORARY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION important contemporary in Manioc families small plots located bv from five to ten minutes, foot, small grown About (Fig. 3). 17 species of fruit trees are planted by islanders and along with Willems machetes and burning hoes, the resulting debris. Plots are prepared and planted the dry in from The season, July to October. bean harvest months occurs three or four later, whereas manioc harvested throughout is the two the year. After or three years can be burned plot again or may left fallow. Informants us use the told that they same leave a given plot fallow based on expected is roqa productivity. Fields that are still manioc manioc that is called the casa defarinha (flour house). The technique and instruments manioc to process are indigenous and the same as Willems described (1952) time spent on each step in the processing of manioc and the production of a™ was Two recorded bv Beeossi (1989:62). nprQnnQ n*^H aK™*+ ^«^ *^ nrr JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY Winter 1993 239 «a^"^" protected garden ttorta) m a and bananas; (b) FIG beans 3._(a) a typical « with . f by pieces of fishing nets. & RICHERSON BEGOSSI, LEITAO-FILHO Vol. No. 2 240 13, TABLE 1.— and garden food crops cultivated at Buzios Field (hortas) (roqas) from walking distance (5-10 minutes) Island. Fields are small plots located in names from con used Buzios. Plants Brazil are at bs from other areas (including South America) Names Plant Common Name Name Family Scientific Open In Fields (roqa) Solanaceae Solanum tuberosum e batata L. potato Convolvulaceae e batata doce Ipomoea batatas Poir. sweet potato Gramineae L e cana de aqucar1 Saccharum officinarum sugarcane Dioscoreaceae e card (inhame) Dioscorea alata L. yam 1 Rubiaceae e cafe Coffea arabica L. coffee 3 Fabaceae e Phaseolus vulgaris feijao L. beans e guando Cajanus Fabaceae feijao cajan (L.) Mill. gram red e feijao fava Phaseolus lunatus L. Fabaceae n 4 mandioca (rama) Manihot Euphorbiaceae esculenta Crantz. manioc n mandioca landi-preto Manihot sp.l manioc n mandioca vermelhinha Manihot sp.2 manioc n mandioca landi-miudo no longer used manioc n mandioca macae no longer used manioc n mandioca maria no francisca longer used manioc n mandioca no saracura longer used manioc e milho Zea mays Gramineae L. maize max e soja Glycine Merr Fabaceae (L.) soybea n House Garden In (horta) e abobora Cucurbita pepo L Cucurbitaceae squash e abobrinha Cucurbita pepo L Cucurbitaceae summer squash e Lactuca Compositae alface sativa L. lettuce Winter JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 1993 241 Names Plant Common Name Name Scientific Family e almeirao Cichorium Compositae endivia L. blue sailors e cebolinha Allium fistulosum L. Liliaceae welsh onion e chicoria Cichorium intybus Compositae L. chicory e chuchu Sechium Sw. Cucurbitaceae edule chocho e couve Cruciferae Brassica oleracea L. cole e pepino Cucumis Cucurbitaceae sativus L. cucumber e pimentdo Capsicum annuum Solanaceae L. green pepper n L Solanaceae pimenta vermelha Capsicum frutescens hot pepper Malvaceae L e quiabo Hibiscus esculentum okra Cruciferae e repolho Brassica oleracea L. cabbage Umbelliferae e salsinha Petroselium sativum L. parsley Solanaceae e tomate Lycopersicum esculentum Mill tomato and !eaten by children; they also make garapa (fresh sugar cane juice) to drink as a substitute for refined sugar. 2 one family and or listradinho da roqa roxinho. Varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris are: bico de ouro, carioca, vassourinha, and roxinha da areia. Varieties of Manihot esculenta are: branca, doce, nortista, equal to 22 kg) of one weight measure used at the island, (standard alqueire manioc Manioc manioc flour. markets (US$ in manioc was cruzados/kg 0.23) flour 10 J much more rew was by sold lsia (Cuvier)J such as yellow chub [{typhosus incisor i grouper (Serranidae) such as zados/kg while an expensive fish approximate!] yielded zados/kg. Typical catches fish times growin the labor of including without manioc processing, and Bego Begossi 1989 see economics of fishing more ioc informat (for and Richerson 1991). & RICHERSON LEITAO-FILHO 242 BEGOSSI, Vol. No. 2 13, — TABLE and food 2. Fruits cultivated collected (*) for at Biizios Island. Portuguese names are the ones used at Biizios. Native (n) and exotic (e) species. Voucher Names Number Plant Common Name UEC) Family (AB, Scientific e abaca Persea americana Mill. Lauraceae te avocado Mammea n L 10812 abrico americana Guttiferae mamey apple e amora* Rubus Sm. Rosaceae 23906 rosaefolius raspberry n azedinha* Oxalis Raddi Oxalidaceae 49815 hedisarifolia n araqd Psidium cattleyanum Sabine Myrtaceae 12227 n bacupari* Rheedia gardneriana Planch. Clusiaceae 5524 Triana et e banana Musa acuminata Colla Musaceae banana e chapeu de sol Terminalia catappa L Combretaceae 1435 almond tropical e coco Cocos Palmae nucifera L. coconut n coquinho Syagrus Palmae sp. guando e Feijao 1 Cajanus cajan (L.) Mill Fabaceae gram red e fruta do conde Annona squamosa Annonaceae L. sugar apple n goiaba branca Psidium guajava L. Myrtaceae guava n guapeba* Pouter ia sp. Sapotaceae n tnga^ Inga Mart sessilis (Veil.) Mimosaceae 49737 inga e jaca Artocarpus Moraceae integrifolia L. jack fruit e jambolao Eugenia cumini Druce (L.) Myrtaceae jambolan 2 e jambro Syzygium jambos Alston 47000 (L.) Myrtaceae apple star 3 e laranja Citrus Osbeck sinensis (L.) Rutaceae orange e limao Citrus Swing aurantifolia Rutaceae lemon mamao e Carica papaya L. Caricaceae papaya e melao de Momordica charantia 33276 L. Cucurbitaceae Sao Caetano e mexerica* Clidemia D. Don hirta Mela stoma 10342 taceae manga e Mangifera indica L. Anacardiaceae mango