Use of native tree species by an Hispanic community in Panama

We investigated the use of plants collected in the wild by a small farming community in Central Panama to document the importance of noncultivated pla nts by tropical, nonforest-dwelling, nonindigenous people. Ve visited the c ommunity to observe what wood was used to build houses and interviewed loca l people about medicinal and edible plants collected in the wild state. The community reported use of 119 noncultivated plant species, including 108 t ree species, three shrubs, two herbs, four lianas, and two vines. The major ity (71) of the species were used for building homes. Other products built with wood collected in the wild were diverse kinds of tools, containers, ca ges, and fences. The second most important use of wild plants, in terms of number of species, was firewood, for which 40 species were mentioned by the community. Other uses included fruit for human consumption (20 species). M ost of the species (82 of 119) were collected in secondary forests near the community, whereas another large group (47 species) were collected in matu re forest. Fewer species were harvested in shrubby regrowth or from isolate d trees in farm land. Nearly all the species (111 of 119) were native to th e area, and never cultivated locally, but 15 species were considered especi ally valuable, and were often protected when found as juveniles. Only six o f the species are commonly used in reforestation programs in Panama. We con clude that even hispanic communities in tropical Latin America, living outs ide the forest, with no Amerindian inhabitants, make frequent use of the gr eat diversity of trees native to the region.