Yucatec Maya medicinal plants versus nonmedicinal plants: Indigenous characterization and selection

Medicinal plants are an important part of the environment as it is perceive d by Mexican indigenous groups. The aim of this study, which was conducted over a period of 18 months in three Yucatec Mayan communities, is to better understand the selection criteria for medicinal plants. An important group of selection criteria are the flavor and aroma of plants. The absence of s mell or taste indicates that the taxon has no potential medical value. Medi cinal plants are more often considered to be sweet or aromatic (to smell go od) or astringent, while a similar percentage of medicinal and nonmedicinal plants are considered bitter, spicy, acidic, or bad smelling. The relation ship between the ethnobotanical data obtained for the individual plants and the secondary plant products (natural products) prominent in each species is specifically addressed in this paper. it shows that an understanding of the indigenous concepts used to distinguish medicinal from nonmedicinal spe cies has considerable heuristic value.