La Etnobotánica como herramienta multidisciplinaria nos permite comprender las inter-relaciones entre comunidades humanas y plantas desde una perspectiva biocultural. El objetivo del trabajo fue reconocer los conocimientos actuales sobre el uso de plantas medicinales en la comunidad rural Barro Vermelho, con ubicación compartida entre los municipios de Ilha Grande y Parnaíba, norte de Piauí. Se empleó la técnica de muestreo conocida como "bola de nieve" para seleccionar a los participantes de la investigación. La documentación de datos socioeconómicos y etnobotánicos fue realizada por medio de formularios semiestructurados, recorridos guiados y visitas al pueblo. Para el análisis de los datos, se calcularon índices usuales en Etnobotánica. Fueron indicadas 34 especies medicinales de uso actual, distribuidas en 24 familias botánicas. Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants (mastruz) y Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers. (corona) han sido las especies más importantes culturalmente. La dinámica sobre el uso actual de plantas medicinales en la comunidad se ve directamente asociada a diversos factores locales. Los resultados señalan la importancia biocultural del uso de plantas medicinales localmente y a la vez refuerzan la idea de patrones de uso entre distintas comunidades, a pesar del aislamiento geográfico, social y cultural.

In this article, we investigate the biocultural behavior regarding the use of species of the Euphorbiaceae in the Franco community, Cocal, Piauí State, located in the Semiarid Region of Brazil. For the study, we performed 19 interviews with the home gardens maintainers based on semi-structured interviews, and calculate the Use Value (UV) for each species mentioned by the interviewees. In addition, the importance of socioeconomic factors in this type of biocultural behavior was evaluated. Seven species of the Euphorbiaceae with biocultural emphasis were mentioned, distributed across four genera, which are cultivated for various purposes, including food, medicine, fuel, animal fodder, commercial sale, cultural uses, and others. The species Ricinus communis (“mamona”) presented the highest UV (7.0). Socioeconomic factors did not influence biocultural behavior associated with the use of plants of the botanical family studied. Our findings suggest that documented biocultural attitudes are essential to ensuring the resilience and conservation of biological and cultural diversity.

Background: Since its origin, the human being as a biocultural species has been observing the natural world and forming a set of practices, beliefs and cosmovisions associated with its environment. These practices have been transmitted between generations, primarily through oral storytelling, and have played an important role in human evolutionary history. Narratives and short stories about the natural world have also been essential for the maintenance, inheritance, and transmission of knowledge within the cultural and social group. Short stories can even function as a strategy to conserve or rescue the biocultural memory. The students, as culturally distinct subjects, each have a rich knowledge and reports on their individual experiences and perceptions regarding the natural world. In view of this scenario, of the rich biocultural diversity on a global scale, we propose that such narratives regarding ethnobiology can be highly valuable when included in the educational context as a pedagogical tool. To support this idea, we have presented a methodological proposal that aims to stimulate the writing and discussion of those short stories which highlight the interrelationships between students and nature. This methodological proposal is structured in order to value multiculturalism in the teaching environment, having as its main subjects the students and their past and recent experiences. Methodological proposal:The present methodological proposal is broken down into five main subtopics, namely: (1) ethical suggestions, in which the teacher should decide whether the data arising from the application of this methodological proposal would be documented and published, (2) procedures for presentation, in which the teacher must give an explanation related to the short stories, explaining to the students what a short story would be, its structure and characteristics, as well as giving examples of short stories related to ethnobiology to the class, (3) writing procedures, where the students will write their own short stories, (4) socializing procedures of the short stories, where written short stories will be read and discussed, and (5) assessment procedures, which are based on student participation during the execution of this practice, interaction during the socialization of the short stories, and the assembly of a panel.

Background: Wild plants are one of the plant resources that have contributed most to meet the basic needs of human and are essential for the livelihoods of various peoples of the world. In addition, they represent a priority resource in periods of food shortages, especially for the populations in developing countries. Thus, this study aimed to know the wild plants food species diversity and its subcategories of use in emergencies and/or nonemergencies situations in four rural communities of the Semiarid Region of Piauí state, Brazil.Methods: Wild food species on Carrasco vegetation in rural communities of the Semiarid Region of Piauí state, Northeastern Brazil were documented evaluating whether there is a consensus among the informants regarding the knowledge associated with the subcategories of food use and also analyzing whether ecological factors, age and gender behaved as variables that influenced the knowledge, selection and/or use of these species. For data documentation, 93 interviews through semistructured forms were performed and the participant observation technique was applied.Results: Forty-three food species of emergency use, thirty-sixth for non-emergency use, twenty-eighth subcategories of food use were cited by interviewees, and a consensus related to this knowledge was registered. In the four rural communities studied there was not positive correlation between age and the number of known plants, while the number of species known by men and women in Oiticica rural community diverged significantly, differing from the findings in Bebedouro, Itapecuru, and Pinga. The ecological factors studied influenced the selection and use of the known wild food species in these communities.

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