Diversity of plant uses in two Caicara communities from the Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil

Caicaras are native inhabitants of the Atlantic coast on southeastern Brazi l, whose subsistence is based especially on agriculture and artisanal fishi ng. Because of their knowledge about the environment acquired through gener ations, Caicara people can play an important role in Atlantic Forest conser vation. An ethnobotanical study was conducted within two Caicara communitie s (Ponta do Almada and Camburi beach, Sao Paulo State, Brazil), focusing on plant uses. In 102 interviews, 227 plant ethnospecies were quoted, mainly for food, medicine, handicraft and construction of houses and canoes. Peopl e from studied communities depend on the native vegetation for more than a half of the species known and used. Using diversity indices, plant uses are compared between studied communities and between gender and age categories within each community. We found quantitative differences in the knowledge about plants between gender categories for each kind of use (medicinal, foo d and handicrafts). Older and younger informants also have different knowle dge about plants for handicraft and medicine, but not for edible plants.