A medicinal plant survey in marketplaces of Ecuador

A medicinal herb survey was conducted in ten major marketplaces in Andean and coastal communities of Ecuador. Collections were made during the summer of 1997. Four plant collections from each market were pressed, dried, identified, and the medicinal information for each plant was recorded. Photographs of fresh plants, market vendors and the marketplaces were taken. Fifty three families were represented in the 112 species collected. Forty-two species (37%) were introduced to Ecuador while seventy species (63%) were native to Ecuador. Plant taxa were grouped into 22 categories of medicinal usage. The most common 3 uses were: 1. General tonic and body purifier, represented by 42 species. 2. Stomach and digestion disorders. 30 species, and 3. Skin wash and astringent, 27 species. The coefficient of similarity indicated all marketplaces shared a coefficient of at least .243 with .674 being the highest. The dendrogram exhibited the Andean marketplaces clustered together with the exception of Otavalo. Santo Domingo is more similar to the Andean marketplaces while other coastal marketplaces clustered together