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Folkbotanical classification: morphological, ecological and utilitarian characterization of plants in the Napf region, Switzerland Anna Poncet1, Christian R Vogl1 and Caroline S Weckerle2* * Corresponding author: Caroline S Weckerle caroline.weckerle@systbot.uzh.ch Author Affiliations 1 Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Strasse 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria 2 Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, Zürich, CH-8008, Switzerland For all author emails, please log on. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2015, 11:13 doi:10.1186/1746-4269-11-13 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/11/1/13 Received: 22 May 2014 Accepted: 31 December 2014 Published: 14 March 2015 © 2015 Poncet et al.; licensee BioMed Central. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Abstract Background Discussions surrounding ethnobiological classification have been broad and diverse. One of the recurring questions is whether classification is mainly based on the “inherent structure of biological reality” or on cultural, especially utilitarian needs. So far, studies about ethnobotanical classification have mainly been done in indigenous societies. Comparable data from industrialized countries are scarce. In this paper, folkbotanical classification data from the Napf region in central Switzerland is analysed and cross-culturally compared. Methods Structured and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 adults and children chosen by random sampling. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and cultural domain analysis were used to analyze the data. Results Close to 500 folk taxa have been documented during field work. As life-form taxa appeared tree, bush, grass, herb, flower, and mushroom. Intermediate taxa mentioned regularly were sub-categories of the life form tree and bush, i.e. conifer, deciduous tree, fruit tree, stone fruits, pomaceous fruits, and berry bush. The rank of the folk generic was by far the largest with 316 taxa (85.4% monotypical). The specific rank contained 145 taxa, the varietal 14 taxa. The 475 generic, specific and varietal folk taxa could be assigned to 298 wild growing plant species, which make up 28.13% of the local flora, and to 213 cultivated plant species, subspecies and cultivars. Morphology, mainly life-form, fruits, leaves, and flowers, was the most important criterion for classifying plants. Other important criteria were their use (mainly edibility) and habitat (mainly meadow, forest and garden). The three criteria emerged spontaneously out of open questioning. Conclusion The classification system of the Napf region is comparable to classification systems of indigenous societies, both in its shallow hierarchical structure and in the amount of recognized taxa. The classification of plants was mainly guided by morphology, habitat and use. The three aspects seem to be mutually linked for certain plant groups, which results in always the same groups, independent from the different sorting criteria. Sensory perception allows for a broader explanation of the known coincidence of morphology and use groups. Keywords: Ethnobotany; Ethnobotanical classification; Local plant knowledge; Switzerland

Folkbotanical classification: morphological, ecological and utilitarian characterization of plants in the Napf region, Switzerland

Anna Poncet1, Christian R Vogl1 and Caroline S Weckerle2*
Author Affiliations
1 Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Strasse 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria
2 Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, Zürich, CH-8008, Switzerland
For all author emails, please log on.
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2015, 11:13  doi:10.1186/1746-4269-11-13
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/11/1/13

Received:22 May 2014
Accepted:31 December 2014
Published:14 March 2015
© 2015 Poncet et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

Abstract

Background

Discussions surrounding ethnobiological classification have been broad and diverse. One of the recurring questions is whether classification is mainly based on the “inherent structure of biological reality” or on cultural, especially utilitarian needs. So far, studies about ethnobotanical classification have mainly been done in indigenous societies. Comparable data from industrialized countries are scarce. In this paper, folkbotanical classification data from the Napf region in central Switzerland is analysed and cross-culturally compared.

Methods

Structured and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 adults and children chosen by random sampling. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and cultural domain analysis were used to analyze the data.

Results

Close to 500 folk taxa have been documented during field work. As life-form taxa appeared tree, bush, grass, herb, flower, and mushroom. Intermediate taxa mentioned regularly were sub-categories of the life form tree and bush, i.e. conifer, deciduous tree, fruit tree, stone fruits, pomaceous fruits, and berry bush. The rank of the folk generic was by far the largest with 316 taxa (85.4% monotypical). The specific rank contained 145 taxa, the varietal 14 taxa. The 475 generic, specific and varietal folk taxa could be assigned to 298 wild growing plant species, which make up 28.13% of the local flora, and to 213 cultivated plant species, subspecies and cultivars.
Morphology, mainly life-form, fruits, leaves, and flowers, was the most important criterion for classifying plants. Other important criteria were their use (mainly edibility) and habitat (mainly meadow, forest and garden). The three criteria emerged spontaneously out of open questioning.

Conclusion

The classification system of the Napf region is comparable to classification systems of indigenous societies, both in its shallow hierarchical structure and in the amount of recognized taxa.
The classification of plants was mainly guided by morphology, habitat and use. The three aspects seem to be mutually linked for certain plant groups, which results in always the same groups, independent from the different sorting criteria. Sensory perception allows for a broader explanation of the known coincidence of morphology and use groups.
Keywords:
Ethnobotany; Ethnobotanical classification; Local plant knowledge; Switzerland
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