Commercial use of wildlife is booming. However, knowledge of trade, price structure and benefit distribution mechanisms remain limited for many endemic, threatened and economically valuable species, impeding efforts to develop conservation intervention schemes in line with sustainable objectives. We illustrate the nature of commercialization of the caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis, collected in a high-altitude Tibetan region. Using the value-chain approach, we document how caterpillar fungus is collected in a remote mountainous region and traded across a wide range of middlemen until it finally reaches high-end markets in urban centres. Mapping the caterpillar fungus value chain helps identify the actors involved and the social institutions (i.e. the rules, norms and arrangements that shape people's behaviours) facilitating access to markets and influencing profit distribution and price structure. We present the complex dynamics of this commercialization process, providing a holistic value-chain analysis that encompasses actors, profits and institutions.

Plants and animals play a vital role in the human experience, from providing basic sustenance to creating unique social practices that may govern familial, political, or religious experiences; reconstitute identities; or forge social relationships. In this article, we present analyses on the ethnobotanical and zoological remains recently recovered from the Spring Lake Tract, Cahokia, a neighborhood populated from approximately AD 900 to 1275. The assemblage represents a variety of plants and animals that demonstrate the diverse utility of the biota from the region. We conclude that this assemblage indicates that this neighborhood community participated in an array of practices not easily dichotomized into “ritual” or “domestic.” From the perspectives of “Place-Thought” and locality, we emphasize the agency of these entities (plant/animal/human) in the process of creating and sustaining this Cahokian neighborhood.

Evidence has been slowly accumulating that the urban home gardens of immigrants or transnational migrants in the USA conserve food plant diversity with roots in the developing world. Published species lists for home gardens indicate that, at least at the species level, this diversity is not novel but consists of widely grown, culturally important plant species that are also available through the horticultural trade. In 2018, we returned to the home garden of a Mexican-origin household in Chicago and confirmed the identity of a plant provisionally identified as Jaltomata darcyana during an earlier inventory of the garden. A recently named species of Central America, J. darcyana has not been previously recorded in cultivation. Collection of this species from a Chicago garden suggests that urban gardens may harbor other novel species awaiting documentation by urban ecologists and botanists.

In the highlands of northwestern Ethiopia, Orthodox Christian churches provide habitats for plants that have become rare in the surrounding agricultural landscapes. The objective of this paper is to investigate why and how the local clergy and laypeople protect and promote woody plants within their sacred spaces. Interviews at 11 churches in the Debark District of North Gonder generated a list of 47 woody species, of which most are rare in the rest of the landscape. Three tree species (indigenous cedar, Juniperus procera; indigenous olive, Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata; and exotic Eucalyptus globulus) were identified as most important. While cedar and olive are symbols of tradition and witnesses to church history, eucalyptus is a source of income and alternative material for church construction and repair. A significant proportion of indigenous species within Debark's church forests were said to have been planted, including cedars and olives. Knowledge that these species are cultivated enhances the conservation value of these forests by inspiring local people to continue planting trees and shrubs. In addition to serving as refugia for rare species, Ethiopia's church forests nurture the knowledge necessary to promote plant diversity in the rest of the landscape and serve as archetypes for community-driven conservation.

Eight Zingiber species (Z. densissimum S.Q.Tong & Y.M.Xia, Z. kerrii Craib, Z. ligulatum Roxb., Z. nudicarpum D.Fang, Z. orbiculatum S.Q.Tong, Z. parishii Hook.f. subsp. phuphanense Triboun & K.Larsen, Z. recurvatum S.Q.Tong & Y.M.Xia and Z. smilesianum Craib) are newly recorded for the flora of Laos, raising the total number of species to 25. Colour illustrations, notes on their distribution, and citations of the specimens supporting the new records are given, as well as vernacular names and uses. An updated checklist of Zingiber in Laos, with an indication of the current sectional placement of each species, is presented.

Bioprospecting is the search for valuable products from natural sources. Given that most species are poorly known, a key question is where to search. Ethnodirected bioprospecting approaches use traditional knowledge in the process of selecting plants to screen for desired properties. A complementary approach is to utilize phylogenetic analyses based on traditional uses or known chemistry to identify lineages in which desired properties are most likely to be found. Novel discoveries of plant bioactivity from these approaches can aid the development of treatments for diseases with unmet medical needs. For example, neurological disorders are a growing concern, and psychoactive plants used in traditional medicine may provide botanical sources for bioactivity relevant for treating diseases related to the brain and nervous system. However, no systematic study has explored the diversity and phylogenetic distribution of psychoactive plants. We compiled a database of 501 psychoactive plant species and their properties from published sources. We mapped these plant attributes on a phylogenetic tree of all land plant genera and showed that psychoactive properties are not randomly distributed on the phylogeny of land plants; instead certain plant lineages show overabundance of psychoactive properties. Furthermore, employing a ‘hot nodes’ approach to identify these lineages, we can narrow down our search for novel psychoactive plants to 8.5% of all plant genera for psychoactivity in general and 1–4% for specific categories of psychoactivity investigated. Our results showcase the potential of using a phylogenetic approach to bioprospect plants for psychoactivity and can serve as foundation for future investigations.

Introduction. En Afriquede l’Ouest, plusieurs études ont révélé la richesse numérique des espècescomposant les zones de forêts et savanes ainsi que la diversitéde leurs utilisations. Parmi les espèces utilitaires, les lianesoccupent une place importante car leurs fruits sont très prisésdans l’alimentation, la pharmacopée et l’artisanat ; elles sontde plus une source de revenus non négligeables pour les populationslocales. Au Togo, les informations relatives aux lianes restentfragmentaires ; il nous est donc apparu urgent de recenser cellesentrant dans l’alimentation humaine afin de proposer des mesuresde conservation et de valorisation en leur faveur. Matérielet méthodes. Des enquêtes ethnobotaniques ont été réaliséessur un échantillon de 433 personnes dans 60 localités mono-ethniquesregroupant 28 ethnies, dans quatre zones écologiques du Togo. Des interviewssemi-structurées ont été effectuées pour la collecte d’informations. Lesquestions ont porté sur le nom vernaculaire des espèces fruitières,le moment d’apparition des fleurs et des fruits, ainsi que sur lesautres utilisations des fruits. Ces enquêtes ethnobotaniques ontété complétées par des observations sur le terrain qui ont permisla réalisation de 215 relevés floristiques. Résultats.Au total, dix-sept espèces de lianes à fruits comestibles appartenantà 15 genres et 13 familles (dont essentiellement des Apocynaceaeet des Rubiaceae) ont été recensées. Ces espèces produisent pour laplupart des fruits charnus (baies et drupes). Ils sont principalementconsommés crus sur les lieux de cueillette, commercialisés sur lesmarchés locaux, ou utilisés à des fins condimentaires. Ils représentent uneressource alimentaire importante et fournissent un complément appréciable derevenus. Conclusion. Du fait de leur potentiel alimentaireet économique, la plupart des espèces lianescentes à fruits comestiblesmériteraient d’être valorisées. Mais leur statut de plantes alimentairessauvages et leur port lianescent constituent des facteurs qui handicapent leurvalorisation.

Introduction. Black plum (Vitexdoniana) is an indigenous fruit tree species importantfor the livelihoods of rural populations. Currently, there is renewednational and international interest in black plum, and it has emergedas a priority species for domestication in Africa. The present workaddressed farmers’ indigenous knowledge of the use and managementof the species among different socio-cultural groups in Benin, takinginto account gender differences. The specific objective of thiswork was to study the knowledge, uses, local gathering practices andmanagement systems of V. doniana that are partof the traditions of the communities in Southern Benin. Materialsand methods. A total of 150 participants randomly selected fromthree socio-cultural groups provided survey responses. Information collectedmainly referred to the motivation of respondents to conserve blackplum trees on their land, the local uses and the management practicesto improve the regeneration and production of the black plum. Resultsand discussion. The study showed that knowledge of black plumis well distributed in the community. However, people have differentinterests in using black plum and there is variable knowledge ofuse and management practices. The food and medicinal categorieswere the most important uses. There were no significant differencesin knowledge of the management and utility of black plum betweenmen and women, or across socio-cultural groups. Conclusion. Givenits value to the communities in southern Benin, black plum should beprioritized for domestication.

The importance of edible wild plants may be traced to antiquity but systematic studies are recent. Anthropologists, botanists, ecologists, food scientists, geographers, nutritionists, physicians and sociologists have investigated cultural aspects and nutrient composition of edible species. Important contributions to the diet from edible wild plants are well documented and numerous studies reveal roles played by ‘lesser-known’ species when meeting macro- and micronutrient needs of groups at risk, whether infants and children, pregnant and/or lactating women, or the elderly. The literature is vast and scattered but information on the macro- and micronutrient content of wild plants and their importance to the human diet appear in five kinds of publications: cultural works by social scientists, descriptions and inventories by botanists, dietary assessment studies by nutritionists, intervention programmes managed by epidemiologists and physicians, and composition data generally conducted by food scientists and chemists. Many macro- and micronutrient-dense wild species deserve greater attention but lack of adequate nutrient databases, whether by region or nation, limit educational efforts to improve diets in many Third World areas. Limited and uneven compositional data generally reflect factors of cost and personal interest in key nutrients. Whilst edible wild plants are regularly deprecated by policy makers and considered to be the ‘weeds of agriculture’, it would be tragic if this led to loss of ability to identify and consume these important available species.

In the context of action research in community forests, stakeholders' values for biodiversity can be elicited, communicated and understood with the help of a multidimensional conceptual framework. This incorporates levels of diversity (genes, species, habitats and processes), types of values (direct use, indirect use, option and existence) and stakeholders. This paper explores the effect of using this framework on forest monitoring, learning and communication, and wider implications for conservation, in Baglung District (Nepal). Monitoring was initially an unfamiliar concept to villagers, but the process clarified its purpose, whilst helping to elicit and exchange values and knowledge amongst stakeholders. This precipitated proposals for silvicultural experimentation and social inquiry into the diversity of users' needs. The framework allowed the translation of local value statements into categories recognized by other actors. It aided external stakeholders in understanding the factors contributing to values held by community forest users. Villagers' appreciation of ‘quality’ forest did not necessarily equate to the most ‘biodiverse’ forest, but rather the greenest and densest and that stocked with useful species. Elite domination, tenure and access to markets affected values assigned and behaviour in forest management. Elicitation of these values provoked questioning of forest management decisions and benefit sharing among community forest users. This, in turn, stimulated more democratic forest management and more inclusive, wide-ranging biodiversity values. Participatory monitoring is more conceptually challenging than is usually recognized, and the links between equity and conservation merit further attention in different cultural contexts.