Folk taxonomy and quantitative ethnobotany of Loranthaceae in northern Benin

Dègninou Yélognissè Innocent Ahamidé; Gbèwonmèdéa Hospice Dassou; Sfich Thibaut Bidossèssi Ahouandjinou; Gbèdomèdji Hurgues Aristide Houénon; Hounnankpon Yédomonhan; Gbèkponhami Monique Tossou; Aristide Cossi Adomou; Akpovi Akoègninou

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22958

Folk taxonomy and quantitative ethnobotany of Loranthaceae in northern Benin

Heliyon. 2023 Nov 30;10(1):e22958. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22958. eCollection 2024 Jan 15.

Authors

Dègninou Yélognissè Innocent Ahamidé¹, Gbèwonmèdéa Hospice Dassou¹, Sfich Thibaut Bidossèssi Ahouandjinou¹, Gbèdomèdji Hurgues Aristide Houénon¹, Hounnankpon Yédomonhan¹, Gbèkponhami Monique Tossou¹, Aristide Cossi Adomou¹, Akpovi Akoègninou¹

Affiliation

¹ Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 4521, Cotonou, Benin.

Abstract

Loranthaceae are parasitic plants whose management remains a challenge. This study aimed to record Loranthaceae species and their local names, assess their use diversity and cultural importance, identify the socio-demographic groups with the highest levels of knowledge about Loranthaceae uses, and analyze the variation of Loranthaceae utilization between and within ethnic groups. Ethnobotanical data were collected in northern Benin from March 2015 to February 2017 through semi-structured interviews and show-and-tell method with 240 informants. We assessed Loranthaceae use diversity and cultural importance using the Relative Frequency of Citations (RFC), Number of Uses (NU), Use Value (UV), Number of Use Categories (NUC), and Cultural Importance Index (CI). Poisson's regression and Jaccard's Similarity Index were used to identify the socio-demographic groups with the highest levels of knowledge about Loranthaceae uses and evaluate the similarity of Loranthaceae uses between ethnic groups. Results showed 15 local names used to designate four Loranthaceae species namely Agelanthus dodoneifolius, Tapinanthus globiferus, Phragmanthera kamerunensis, and T. ophioides. Loranthaceae were involved in 113 uses gathered in six categories namely human medicine, magic, veterinary, fodder, food, and cosmetic. Human medicine was the most important category with 0.825 as RFC, 61.10 % of the uses, and 100 % of Loranthaceae species involved. A. dodoneifolius was the most important Loranthaceae species regarding its RFC, NU, UV, and NUC of 0.938, 95, 2.296, and 6 respectively. CI showed A. dodoneifolius and T. globiferus were mainly used in human medicine with 0.729 and 0.458 respectively. Bariba, traditional healers and breeders, old people, and animists presented the highest levels of knowledge about Loranthaceae uses. Loranthaceae utilization varied according to ethnic groups and Bariba and Yom presented a similarity in Loranthaceae uses. Loranthaceae valorization in the production of improved traditional medicines, animal feed, soap, and green fertilizers will contribute to the biological control of these plants.

Keywords: African mistletoes; Agelanthus dodoneifolius; BENIN; Cultural importance; Improved traditional medicines.