Diversity of useful plants in family garden and their use in Palenque Chiapas, México.

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The objective was to characterize the current condition of home gardens in the Ejido Nueva Esperanza 1st Section, Palenque, Chiapas. The methodology applied was a semi-structured interview, applied to 43 families to determine the socioeconomic conditions, the characteristics of the orchards, their floristic composition and their main uses. The orchards were grouped according by their size and location around de house.  Data were analyzed descriptively to obtain frequencies, percentages and averages. In addition, Shannon-Wiener (H') and Simpson (S) diversity indices were calculated. Results.  The families live below the poverty line, whose main activity is the agriculture. In general, 3,549 individuals were recorded and grouped in 46 botanical families, 82 genera and 89 species. The orchards keep 33 tree species, 33 herbaceous species, 15 shrubs, 5 rosettes and 3 arborescent species. The satisfiers registered were, edible fruits, medicinal, ornamental, horticultural, timber, condimental, fuel (firewood), condimental-timber and medicinal-horticultural. The highest number of individuals recorded were fruit trees with 28 species. The index was variable between orchards (H'=2.8, 2.6 2.6). Implications. This study allowed knowing the importance of the floristic composition and diversity of plant species in the orchards in relation to the satisfying uses given by the families. Conclusion.  The diversity and composition of plant species in home gardens is determined by their location and size and by their use value.

Key words: home garden; floristic composition; use of plants; family economy