Ethnobotanique

This study was conducted in Zuénoula with the aim of assessing the local people’s level of knowledge on wild edible plants and the availability of these plants to serve as alternatives for the local population and thus contribute to their development. To achieve this, botanical surveys were carried out in 5 localities involving 368 persons. Plants and edible organs collected were identified at the Centre National de Floristique (CNF) in Abidjan. All 76 species recorded belong to 36 families and 62 genera, and they represent 32.34% of wild edible plants identified in Côte d'Ivoire. Fabaceae (33.34%) and Malvaceae (22.23%) were the most common families and are mainly trees (38.16%) and herbs (26.32%). Concerning the part of the plants used, leaves (38.85%) and seeds (07.45%) were the most consumed in meals, which is contrary to fruits (40.43%) often consumed as sweets at the harvesting sites. The majority of the population (62.23%), which has a good knowledge of the local edible flora, is today confronted with the progressive disparition of  species once sought after such as Glyphaea brevis, Irvingia gabonensis, and Telfairia occidentalis. This study reveals for the first time the consumption in Côte d'Ivoire of two plants' species, Bixa orellana and Gymnema sylvestre, widely used in human food and medicine in Asia, highlighting the great diversity of the local flora. Since the nutritional potential of these species has never been studied in Côte d'Ivoire, additional research on the most sought-after species is highly recommended for their nutritional valorization.

This opus of nearly 349 pages and 403 photos is the collection of about forty notices that I published in 2017 and 2018 on a sharing network and covering various topics that could be related to ethnobotany, history of Morocco, art, popular culture, defence of human rights or any other subject that the current news inspired me.
Many of these notices were specially written to be published on the web, on the occasion of particular events that we wanted to comment on through the relationship of a memory of youth, a tradition or a testimony collected from the Ancients. Others come from my notebooks, some of which date from the very beginning of my research activity and were sleeping quietly in my drawers until I decided to bring them back to life on media platforms.
For the most part, the material in these records comes from the field investigations that I have conducted during my career, the very first investigation since I left university a few years ago, the most recent less than a week ago.
This first volume will be followed by a second of forty new records within a few months.
Through this wandering in the heart of biodiversity and tradition of Morocco, to the discovery of living species, landscapes, practices, knowledges and beliefs observable in our beautiful country, I hope to have arrived to give a little visibility to some little known aspects of our nature and culture.


Cet ouvrage de près de 349 pages et 403 photos est le recueil d’une quarantaine de notices que j’ai publiées en 2017 et 2018 sur un réseau de partage, des notices traitant de divers sujets pouvant relever aussi bien de l’ethnobotanique que de l’histoire du Maroc, aussi bien de l’art que de la culture populaire,  aussi bien de la défense des droits de l’homme que de tout autre sujet que l’actualité du moment m’a inspiré.
Beaucoup de ces notices ont été écrites spécialement pour être publiées sur la toile, à l’occasion d’événements particuliers que j’ai voulu commenter à travers la relation d’un souvenir de jeunesse, d’une tradition ou d’un témoignage recueilli auprès des Anciens. D’autres, en revanche, proviennent de mes carnets de notes dont certains datent du tout début de ma carrière et dormaient tranquillement au fond de mes tiroirs jusqu’à ce que je décide de leur redonner vie sur des plateformes média.
Pour l’essentiel, la matière de ces notices provient des enquêtes de terrain que j’ai menées durant ma carrière, la toute première enquête dès ma sortie de l’Université, il y a quelques années de cela, la plus récente il y a moins d’une semaine.
Ce premier volume sera suivi d’un second de quarante  nouvelles notices d’ici quelques mois.
Au travers de ce vagabondage au cœur de la biodiversité et de la tradition marocaines, à la découverte des espèces vivantes, des paysages, des pratiques, des savoirs et des croyances observables dans notre beau pays, j’espère être parvenu, un tant soit peu, à donner une meilleure visibilité à quelques aspects peu connus de notre nature et de notre culture.

Abstract
The floral semantic field constitutes a privileged example to study the relation between cultural
symbols and figurative language from a cross-linguistic point of view. Following the main
guidelines of the Conventional Figurative Language Theory (Dobrovol'skij/Piirainen 2005)
this work compares the symbolic background of figurative motivation for three flowers : the
oleander blossom in Spanish, the lotus blossom in Chinese, and the Chrysanthemum in both
cultures, looking for the traces of floral semiotics in the lexicon, as well as idioms and proverbs.

This work concerns researches on flora uses in the Pre-Rif of Taza (North of Morocco). An inquiry conducted
among the local population and field surveys have raised real direct values of plant resources (food, traditional
medicine, etc.), and plead for the conservation of the local flora. The local plant diversity has been estimated at
140 species, corresponding to 55 botanical families, and represents 3.11% of the national specific richness. Fabaceae,
Lamiaceae, Rosaceae, Poaceae and Asteraceae are the most used, and constitute 43.6% of the inventoried species.
Aerial part, fruits, leaves and inflorescences are the most exploited with respective rates of 24%, 22%, 20% and 15%. A
high diversification of the social behaviors related to traditional medicine has also been underlined. Species with
therapeutic virtues represent 51.4% of the specific inventory, and of which 20.7% interest herbalism activity in the
region. Origanum compactum Benth. and Rosmarinus officinalis L. are the more used. The melliferous flora, generating
a profit for the local population, corresponds to 19.3% of the identified species.

This work aims to make an inventory of plants and their medicinal and cosmetic uses in the Pre-Rif (foothills of the Rif, a massif in Northern Morocco) of the province of Taza. Following ethnobotanical investigations, carried out with the local population and field surveys, 73 plant species used locally in traditional medicine have been identified, as well as six species which have ethno-veterinary properties. They belong to 39 botanical families and were collected essentially in the study area. Most remedies are prepared as decoctions (40 species) or with an aqueous base (infusion, aqueous macerate-8 species); more species are used for internal or oral administration (61 species) compared with external or local ones (27 species). These plants, 14.8% of which are central to herbalists’ activity in the region, are widely used in indigenous pharmacopoeia to treat common symptoms, such as gastrointestinal disorders (33 species), articular-system disruption, ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) diseases and headaches (24 species), and skin problems (11 species). Moreover, 13 species in particular are used by women for cosmetic purposes. The local population uses medicinal plant species for daily care which may increase the pressure on natural resources, e.g. vulnerable species such as Origanum compactum and Rosmarinus officinalis. Hence, the adoption of a sustainable-management approach to safeguard and preserve the local medicinal flora is urgent.

This work aims to make an inventory of plants and their medicinal and cosmetic uses in the Pre-Rif (foothills of the Rif, a massif in Northern Morocco) of the province of Taza. Following ethnobotanical investigations, carried out with the local population and field surveys, 73 plant species used locally in traditional medicine have been identified, as well as six species which have ethno-veterinary properties. They belong to 39 botanical families and were collected essentially in the study area. Most remedies are prepared as decoctions (40 species) or with an aqueous base (infusion, aqueous macerate-8 species); more species are used for internal or oral administration (61 species) compared with external or local ones (27 species). These plants, 14.8% of which are central to herbalists’ activity in the region, are widely used in indigenous pharmacopoeia to treat common symptoms, such as gastrointestinal disorders (33 species), articular-system disruption, ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) d...

Cette étude a été conduite à Zuénoula, dans le but d’évaluer la disponibilité et le niveau de connaissance des plantes sauvages comestibles pouvant servir d’alternatives aux populations locales et contribuer ainsi à leur valorisation. Pour cela, des investigations ethnobotaniques ont été réalisées à l’aide de fiches d’enquête dans 5 localités auprès de 368 individus. Les plantes et les organes comestibles récoltés ont été identifiés au Centre National de Floristique (CNF) d’Abidjan. Ainsi, les 76 espèces récensées appartiennent à 36 familles et 62 genres et représentent 32,34 % des plantes sauvages comestibles recensées en Côte d’Ivoire. Les Fabaceae (33,34 %) et les Malvaceae (22,23 %) sont les familles les plus rencontrées et sont majoritairement sous forme d‘arbres (38,16 %) et d‘herbes (26,32 %). Concernant les parties utilisées, ce sont les feuilles (38,85 %) et les graines (07,45 %) qui sont plus consommées en repas contrairement aux fruits (40,43 %) souvent consommés comme fr...

This work aims to make an inventory of plants and their medicinal and cosmetic uses in the Pre-Rif (foothills of the Rif, a massif in Northern Morocco) of the province of Taza. Following ethnobotanical investigations, carried out with the local population and field surveys, 73 plant species used locally in traditional medicine have been identified, as well as six species which have ethno-veterinary properties. They belong to 39 botanical families and were collected essentially in the study area. Most remedies are prepared as decoctions (40 species) or with an aqueous base (infusion, aqueous macerate-8 species); more species are used for internal or oral administration (61 species) compared with external or local ones (27 species). These plants, 14.8% of which are central to herbalists’ activity in the region, are widely used in indigenous pharmacopoeia to treat common symptoms, such as gastrointestinal disorders (33 species), articular-system disruption, ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) d...

This work aims to make an inventory of plants and their medicinal and cosmetic uses in the Pre-Rif (foothills of the Rif, a massif in Northern Morocco) of the province of Taza. Following ethnobotanical investigations, carried out with the local population and field surveys, 73 plant species used locally in traditional medicine have been identified, as well as six species which have ethno-veterinary properties. They belong to 39 botanical families and were collected essentially in the study area. Most remedies are prepared as decoctions (40 species) or with an aqueous base (infusion, aqueous macerate-8 species); more species are used for internal or oral administration (61 species) compared with external or local ones (27 species). These plants, 14.8% of which are central to herbalists’ activity in the region, are widely used in indigenous pharmacopoeia to treat common symptoms, such as gastrointestinal disorders (33 species), articular-system disruption, ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) d...