Plants of Local Interest for Medicinal and Conservation Purposes in Morelos, Mexico

This study attempts to test whether local selection of species, whose conservation is considered a priority at the community level, has the potential of contributing to public health care showing vegetal species valuable in traditional medicine. This work was carried out in Temimilcingo, a community immersed in the deciduous forest in the Sierra de Monte Negro State Reserve, Morelos, Mexico. Interviews and workshops were used to register Traditional Ecological Knowledge of participants. Distribution of knowledge related to plants used by informants and its social valuation was estimated, and later on compared using Multivariate Methods (Classification and Ordination). Participants selected 14 late and mid serial species distributed in the deciduous forest whose future conservation they felt should be guaranteed. Twelve species have a traditional medicinal use that is closely related to the Morelos's state main causes of morbidity and mortality, and 10 of them have been already corroborated by scientific protocols. Therefore, these species should be promoted in the plans for sustainable development of indigenous communities.