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RESUMO: "Etnobotânica urbana em Petrópolis e Nova Friburgo (Rio de Janeiro, Brasil)". O principal objetivo desse trabalho foi estudar as plantas úteis comercializadas em feiras livres em Petrópolis e Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Os dados foram coletados utilizando as técnicas de observação participante, entrevistas semi-estruturadas e listagem livre com quatro comerciantes de plantas medicinais. A partir dessas entrevistas, 115 espécies (pertencentes a 49 famílias) foram relacionadas: 94 com uso medicinal, 12 com uso religioso e 9 com uso ornamental. Trinta por cento das espécies são nativas e 72% possuem hábito herbáceo. As famílias mais representativas foram Asteraceae (26 espécies) e Lamiaceae (10 espécies). As espécies medicinais indicadas para o tratamento de doenças do sistema respiratório foram mais freqüentes durante o outono e inverno. A espécie denominada como Espinheira-santa (Clarisia cf. ilicifolia) obteve o valor mais alto de Importância Relativa (1,8) e a mais alta colocação em todas as estações do ano utilizando o cálculo Preference Ranking, embora seus níveis de eficiência e toxidez não tenham sido ainda estabelecidos. O estudo se mostrou relevante, pois visa reunir o conhecimento dos informantes sobre as espécies que comercializam em feiras livres e mercados populares no estado do Rio de Janeiro, que representa uma valiosa fonte para a bioprospecção.Unitermos: Etnobotânica, plantas medicinais, feira-livre, conhecimento local, Brasil. ABSTRACT:The main goal of this paper was the study of the useful plants sold in the openair fairs of Petrópolis and Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Data collection was obtained through participant observation, semi structured interviews and free listing with four herbalist informants. From the interviews, 115 species (belonging to 49 families) were recorded: 94 for medicinal purposes, 12 with religious application, and 9 for ornamental purposes. Thirty percent of the species were native, and 72% herbaceous. The most representative families were Asteraceae (26 species) and Lamiaceae (10 species). The medicinal species related to diseases of the respiratory system were more common during the winter and autumn. "Espinheirasanta" (Clarisia cf. ilicifolia) had the highest Relative Importance (1.8) and collocation in all seasons using the Preference Ranking, although its effectiveness or toxicity levels have not been established. The importance of the study is to gather knowledge from local herbalists about commercialized species in open-air fairs and popular markets in the Rio de Janeiro State, which represent valuable resources for bioprospection.

This study demonstrated the importance of ethnobotanical surveys in markets as a source for new drugs and also for scientific validation of folk medicine.

Mistletoe is the common name for hemi-parasite plants belonging to several families of the order Santalales, where Loranthaceae is the largest pantropical plant family, with approximately 70 genera and 800 species around the world. Members of this family parasitize a broad range of Gymnosperms and Angiosperms (Deeni and Sadiq, 2002;Costa et al., 2010) and can cause important damages to their hosts leading to great economic losses (Deeni and Sadiq, 2002;Costa et al., 2010). In Brazil there are approximately 10 genera of Loranthaceae with around 100 species (Souza and Lorenzi, 2008). Species of the genus Struthanthus (Loranthaceae) are used worldwide and in the Brazilian folk medicine to treat many diseases (Coe and

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