Ethnobotanical Knowledge in Sete Cidades, Azores Archipelago: First Ethnomedicinal Report

Abstract

Knowledge about folk medicines is limited to elder community members of remote communities, like Sete Cidades in the Azores. The Azores, 1300 km west of Portugal, are nine volcanic islands, totalling 2330 km² of land dispersed by 173,200 km² in the North Atlantic Ocean. The present study aims to scientifically document the uses of plant species for medicinal purposes, in the Sete Cidades. Twenty-eight community members from 40 to 84 years of age, of whom half were 55 to 64 years old, were interviewed. Twenty-nine taxa were reported as being used for medicinal purposes, ten of which have not been previously reported for ethnomedicinal use in Portugal, with a first record of the use of Morella faya. Leaves were the most used plant part (55%), and decoction the most common preparation mode. The five reported taxa with both the highest use value (0.71-0.25) and relative frequency of citation (0.14-0.11) were Clinopodium menthifolium subsp. ascendens, Aloysia citriodora, Mentha x piperita, Citrus limon and Rosmarinus officinalis. The traditional uses of some of the reported plants are supported by scientific studies, confirming their ethnomedicinal value and the need to preserve local knowledge of folk medicine practices.

Keywords: Azores; Clinopodium menthifolium subsp. ascendens; Morella faya; ethnobotany; ethnomedicine; medicinal plants; plant diversity; use value.

Figure 1

Photo of Sete Cidades village, its position on the map of São Miguel Island, Azores, and the relative position of Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean (Maps are not to scale).

Figure 2

Age and gender group distribution of the informants (F-female; M- male).

Figure 3

Use-reports of plant parts for herbal preparation in the Sete Cidades community.