Comprehensive dataset of the medicinal plants used by a Tashelhit speaking community in the High Atlas, Morocco

Irene Teixidor-Toneu; Gary J Martin; Ahmed Ouhammou; Rajindra K Puri; Julie A Hawkins

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2016.05.079

Comprehensive dataset of the medicinal plants used by a Tashelhit speaking community in the High Atlas, Morocco

Data Brief. 2016 Jun 7:8:516-9. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2016.05.079. eCollection 2016 Sep.

Authors

Irene Teixidor-Toneu¹, Gary J Martin², Ahmed Ouhammou³, Rajindra K Puri⁴, Julie A Hawkins¹

Affiliations

¹ Section of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), Harborne Building, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AS, UK.
² Global Diversity Foundation, Marrakech, Morocco.
³ Department of Biology, Laboratory of Ecology and Environment, Regional Herbarium MARK, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, PO Box 2390, Marrakech 40001, Morocco.
⁴ Centre for Biocultural Diversity, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK.

Abstract

This dataset describes medicinal plants used in a poorly studied area of Morocco: the High Atlas mountains, inhabited by Ishelhin people, the southern Moroccan Amazigh (Berber) ethnic group, "An ethnomedicinal survey of a Tashelhit-speaking community in the High Atlas, Morocco" (Teixidor-Toneu et al., 2016) [1]. It includes a comprehensive list of the plants used in the commune, as well as details on the plant voucher specimens collected and a glossary of Tashelhit terminology relevant to the study. To collect the data, semi-structured and structured interviews were carried out, as well as focus group discussions. Free prior informed consent was obtained for all interactions. A hundred and six adults were interviewed and 2084 use reports were collected; a hundred fifty-one vernacular names corresponding to 159 botanical species were found.

Keywords: Berber; Ethnomedicine; Medicinal plants; Tashelhit; Traditional knowledge.