Medicines in the forest: Ethnobotany of wild medicinal plants in the pharmacopeia of the Wichí people of Salta province (Argentina)

Author’s Accepted Manuscript Medicines in the forest: ethnobotany of wild medicinal plants in the pharmacopeia of the Wichí people of Salta province (Argentina) María Eugenia Suárez www.elsevier.com/locate/jep

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S0378-8741(17)33968-5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2018.10.026 JEP11565

To appear in: Journal of Ethnopharmacology Received date: 30 October 2017 Revised date: 20 October 2018 Accepted date: 20 October 2018 Cite this article as: María Eugenia Suárez, Medicines in the forest: ethnobotany of wild medicinal plants in the pharmacopeia of the Wichí people of Salta province (Argentina), Journal of Ethnopharmacology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2018.10.026 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting galley proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Medicines in the forest: ethnobotany of wild medicinal plants in the pharmacopeia of the Wichí people of Salta province (Argentina). María Eugenia Suárez1,2* 1

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Grupo de Etnobiología. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2 CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Micología y Botánica– CONICET (INMIBO). Buenos Aires, Argentina. * Laboratorios 8-9, 4ºpiso, Pabellón 2, Ciudad Universitaria, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, C1428EGA, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tel. +54-11-4576-3300 ext. 202 / +54-11-4787-2706. [email protected]

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance: This article presents the results of a study on wild plant pharmacopeia and medical ethnobotany of the Wichí people of the South American Gran Chaco region, where native forest still persist. Few previous works on the former subjects exist, with only partial information. Traditionally, shamans are in charge of healing serious diseases and wild plants are used for treating minor problems. Some ethnobotanists believe that much of the present pharmacopeia of native peoples of the Gran Chaco comes from the Criollos (local non-native people) and that medicinal plants and uses would have been much fewer in the past. Aims of the study: The study aims to: a) document the wild medicinal plants used by the Wichís and the associated ethnobotanical knowledge, b) discuss the use of medicinal plants in the current sanitary, epidemiological and ethnomedical context of the Wichís, and c) analyse the similarities between the medicinal plants and uses of the Wichís and those reported for the Criollos of the study area, for the We’enhayek (Wichís of Bolivia) and for other indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco. All of them will help to answer a general research question: are medicinal wild plants of the Wichís present pharmacopoeia long-dated or are they relatively new adquisitions? Materials and methods: Original data were obtained between 2005 and 2017 from 51 informants through open and semi-structured interviews, participant observation, “walks-through-the-forest” technique and gathering of plant vouchers. Consensus of Use (CU) per species, use, ailment and use-category were calculated. Species and uses of the Wichís and those reported for other groups of the region were compared confronting the data, a similarity index (Sorensen) was calculated and a cluster anaylsis was carried out. An interpretative analysis of the results was performed. Results: Original data consist of 408 applications for which 115 plants of 48 botanical families are used for treating 68 ailments or symptoms. Species are mainly used for treating prevalent health disorders in Wichí epidemiological context (skin and digestive disorders, fever, respiratory affections) and feminine issues. Conclusions: The similarity of the current Wichí pharmacopoeia with the other ethnic groups of the region seem to respond more to a geographical proximity than to cultural affinity. Much (but not all) of their pharmacopoeia seem to be novel, resulting from a permanent seek for solutions to both old and new health problems in the native forests. Many medicinal

plants, but not specific uses, seem to come from the neighbouring Criollos, whilst traditional remedies seem to be simultaneosly preserved. Hence, I propose that the ethnobotanical “diversification hypothesis”, slightly modified, applies in the case of wild medicinal plants of the Wichís, as new wild medicines are being added to the old ones to fill therapeutic vacancies that for several sociocultural and historical reasons appear in their traditional pharmacopoeia. Altogether, results provide novel information of interest for ethnopharmacology, medical ethnobotany and related disciplines, expand the knowledge of Wichí pharmacopoeia and contitute a baseline for future diachronic and cross-cultural studies in the Gran Chaco region.

Graphical abstract

Keywords Medicinal plants, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, indigenous people, biodiversity, Gran Chaco 1. Introduction The Wichís are one of the several indigenous peoples that live in the South American Gran Chaco region (Fig. 1A). In essence, they are nomadic hunters-gatherers-fishers, although for several decades they have been forced to live sedentarily and to gradually add to their traditional activities new forms of subsistence according to the capitalist production system (Arenas, 2003; Montani, 2017; Suárez, 2014). At the present, the Wichí population is approximately 55.000, and although they are considered to be a single ethnic group, they are traditionally organised into groups that present marked cultural differences, including idiomatic dialects and ethnobotanical knowledge (Arenas, 2003; Braunstein, 1978/79; Palmer, 2005; Suárez, 2014). The Wichís are of an oral tradition; their native language, Wichi-lhamtes or Wichí, has a high vitality, but the majority are today bilingual Wichí-Spanish (Golluscio and Vidal, 2010; Suárez, 2014). The Wichí people live in Salta, Formosa and Chaco provinces in the North of Argentina, and in a small fringe of South East Bolivia (Fig. 1B, 1C), where native forests still persist, despite the massive deforestation that has been taking place for a long time now and that is intensifying every day (Hansen et al., 2013; INDEC, 2012; INE, 2014; Leake, 2010). In these, their ancestral territories, the Wichís are neighbours to other native peoples of the Gran Chaco (Choroti, Pilagá, Toba, Chiriguano, Tapieté, Nivaclé) and

since the end of the 19th century at least (depending on the Wichí group and its ancestral location) they have coexisted with the Criollos (locally-born settlers of Hispanic heritage, most of them mestizos, who see themselves as being different from South American indigenous peoples) (Alvarsson, 2012; Arenas, 2003; Palmer 2005).

Figure 1. A) The Gran Chaco region in South America; B) The study area in Argentina; C) Map of the study area with the current approximated distribution of the Wichí people (outlined in grey) and localisation of the other indigenous groups mentioned in the study. Beyond the North limit of the map are the Ayoreos in Paraguay and the Izoceño-Guaraní (Chiriguano) in Bolivia. Criollos are everywhere; only the Criollos with whom Scarpa (2012) worked are located in the map.

There are many ethnographical and anthopological studies that provide information on Wichí ethnomedicine, their concepts and practices concerning health, disease and death, and shamanism (e.g. Alvarsson, 2012; Barúa and Dasso, 2001; Califano and Dasso, 1999; Dasso, 2010a; Dasso and Barúa, 2006; Lorenzetti, 2011, 2013; Métraux 1943), but their ethnobotanical value is limited, as plants are not usually mentioned or identified. In contrast, Wichí pharmacopoeia and medical ethnobotany are practically unknown (Arenas, 2000, 2009). Only a few studies provide partial information on those subjects: Alvarsson (2012), Chifa and Ricciardi (2011), Marzotto (1989), Quiroga et al. (2009), Suárez (2014) and Torres (1975). Of these, the works of Torres and Chifa and Ricciardi do not clearly differentiate between the data provided by the Wichí people and those provided by other ethnic groups with which the authors also worked. Botanical

identifications in Alvarsson’s and Marzotto’s studies are not so reliable, as they were not identified by botanists or specialists in local flora and have no associated vouchers in any official herbaria (Alvarsson, pers. com., 2012; Marzotto, 1989). Therefore, only the studies by Quiroga et al. (2009) and Suárez (2014) present reliable identifications and vouchers of the medicinal plants used by the Wichís. The first one focused on the diversity of medicinal flora and its uses among the We’enhayek (a Wichí group living in Bolivia). In the previous work of the author of this article (Suárez, 2014), data on Wichí medicinal plants and uses come from a more extensive ethnobotanical research, not focused on pharmacopoeia or medical ethnobotany. Both studies found an interesting number of medicinal species (66 and 86 respectively); additionally, Suárez found that plants are mostly used for medicinal purposes among other categories of use. However, ethnobotanists who work with different indigenous peoples in the Gran Chaco region agree that the number of medicinal plants (and their uses) would have been much fewer in the past, and that they were used only for minor health problems (cf. Arenas, 2000, 2009; Filipov 1994, 1997; Scarpa, 2013; Schmeda-Hirschmann, 1994). They make this claim on the basis of their large experience in the field and on their original data (some of which date back to the end of the 1970s), and especially refer to the fact that the cure for health disorders focused on the figure of the shaman (who did not base his therapies on plants or other natural resources). They add that the number of medicinal plants and applications known and used by Chaco indigenous peoples increased after constant contact with the Criollos, who have a rich pharmacopeia that is a fundamental part of their health system and a particularly lively interest in the topic. Although there are no old sources providing specific ethnobotanical data on Wichí medicinal plants to allow an accurate diachronic study, the partial results obtained so far (Suárez, 2014) led to the hypothesis that the same thing, or something similar, could be happening among the Wichís, considering that the arguments put forward by said authors can also be applied to the latter. Bearing all the above in mind, an ethnobotanical study focused on Wichí pharmacopeia and medical ethnobotany was carried out. The aims of the present study are: a) to document the wild medicinal plants used by the Wichís and the associated ethnobotanical knowledge, b) to discuss the use of medicinal plants in the current sanitary, epidemiological and ethnomedical context of the Wichís, and c) to analyse the similarities between the medicinal plants and uses of the Wichís and those reported for the Criollos of the study area, for the We’enhayek of Bolivia and for other indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco. In turn, all of them will contribute to answer a general research question: are medicinal wild plants of the Wichís present pharmacopoeia long-dated or are they relatively new adquisitions? 2. Materials and Methods 2.1 Study area and cultural-environmental context The Gran Chaco is a biogeographical region in South America of around 1.000.000 km2 (Fig. 1A), being forests, woodlands and savannas the typical vegetation. The majority of Wichí territories are in the Dry Chaco ecoregion, which is extensive and internally heterogeneous, and contains a rich biodiversity in a landscape formed by a matrix of

xerophytic forests, interspersed with patches of grasslands and crossed by palaeochannels and palaeolevees with different vegetation (Prado, 1993; Torrella and Adámoli, 2006). Primary data was collected by working with people living in eight communities in the Semiarid Chaco, in Rivadavia Department, Salta province, Argentina: La Represa, La Primavera, La Cortada, El Chañar II, Cacique Catán (located on the outskirts of Coronel Juan Solá, known as Morillo), La Esperanza (in the town Los Blancos), and in the Wichí villages of Misión El Chañar and Misión Los Baldes. Other sites were also visited in the company of the interviewees, such as El Colgado, La Entrada and Embarcación (Fig. 1C). Unlike other Wichí communities (e.g., those located to the west, in the north-south line drawn from Embarcación, Fig. 1C), these are places and communities away from large urban centres, and their neighbours are Criollos or other Wichí communities (no other ethnic groups from the Chaco adjoin them). Besides, the communities where work was undertaken are located in, or are surrounded by native forests, like their Criollo neighbours, although they are increasingly being enclosed by large landowners who choose to clear the land for production purposes. In fact, the original landscape has been drastically transformed since the eighteenth century especially, by systematic and selective logging and the introduction of exotic livestock. However, more recently (particularly in the last two decades) massive deforestation associated with the expansion of industrial monoculture farming, led by soy (Glicine max (L.) Merr.) and related to the use of agrochemical products, is advancing relentlessly into native forests and indigenous and Criollo land, with the resulting loss of biodiversity, resources and associated ethnobotanical knowledge (Arenas, 2003; Hansen et al., 2013; Leake, 2010; Leake et al., 2016; Morello et al., 2006; Suárez, 2014; TNC et al., 2005; Torrella and Adámoli, 2006). This is one of the reasons why wild and non-cultivated plants exclusively are studied in this paper: there is a pressing need to document knowledge on the use of plants from native forests and the benefits they bring the local communities, and thus help towards their conservation. Moreover, the number of plants cultivated by the Wichís has always been low, mostly for their use as food (Arenas, 2003; Maranta, 1987). Medicinal plants are basically obtained from the forest, and today just a few women grow certain medicinal species in pots or near the houses (e.g. Aloe spp. or Ocimum basilicum L.). The rest are obtained in exchanges with the Criollos, with other Wichís or in local or regional markets, a subject which exceeds the aims, scope and possibilities of this study. For the same reasons, a few naturalised species are included, like Ricinus communis and Datura spp., because they grow spontaneously in the surrounding environment, where people collect them. 2.2 Health care options and ethnomedical background Natural resources, including plants, have always been used by the Wichís to treat ailments or disorders not considered to be serious, to prevent a complaint from becoming serious, to deal with symptoms of diseases, or to alleviate general malaise (Alvarsson, 2012; Arenas, 2000, 2009; Suárez 2014). Long ago, the treatment of disease (conceived by the Wichís as serious health problems that could cause death) was exclusive to the hiyawus, i.e. shamans, or “brujos” (wizards) in local Spanish. This is so, because the Wichí people believe that diseases, oytes (= pains) or t’ihnayajay, are always caused by spirits. Illness is a consequence of the loss of the husek (soul or goodwill) from the body

(t’isan), or else of the progressive damage or displacement of the husek from the body, due to the introduction of a disease. Hence, it is only the shaman who can heal them. Plants are present in their therapies (e.g. they smoke tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum L., with cebil -Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil (Griseb.) Altschul in wood pipes and shake squash rattles, Lagenaria siceraria Molina Standl.), but they are not used as medicines themselves (Califano and Dasso, 1999; Dasso, 2010a; Dasso and Barúa, 2006; Montani, 2017; Palmer, 2005). The number of shamans has fallen over time for diverse historical and ethnohistorical reasons (Dasso, 2010a; Montani, 2017; Suárez, 2014). In this context, Wichí people also resort to the healing practices and medicines of “curanderos” (Criollo spiritual healers), of Christian religions and of biomedicine, especially when they think health disorders are serious, when they affect children and/or when the symptoms become very bothersome or even unbearable. People’s access to biomedicine is mainly through the government’s official health system. There are hospitals in the cities and in certain towns where people go if they are nearby or seriously ill. Moreover, sanitary agents periodically visit remote communities to monitor health, and in some Criollo villages there are small health centres (“puesto sanitario”) where Criollo nurses provide medicines and primary care (and sometimes spiritual healing). However, this system leaves much to be desired: hospitals lack proper material and human resources, there is a clear lack of mutual understanding between Wichí patients and health agents (e.g. physicians, nurses, administrative or technical staff), most of whom are not Wichí (Dell’Arciprete et al., 2014; Lorenzetti, 2013; Suárez, 2014), and the mistreatment and contempt towards indigenous peoples are common currency. Besides, and in accordance with the public policies implemented, gaining access to medicines very often requires money that people don’t usually have (original data; Alvarsson, 2012; Dasso, 2010a; Lorenzetti, 2011; Suárez, 2014). 2.3 Epidemiological situation The Wichís claim that people were more vigorous and had a much better (more balanced) state of health in the past, which they largely attribute to their diet (Arenas, 2003; Dasso, 2010a, 2010b; Suárez, 2014). The loss of both their territories and regional biodiversity, sedentariness and the adoption of customs of the industrial society have led to a gradual impoverishment of their nutrition, leaving behind plenty of wild food. Today their diet mainly consists of refined wheat flour, maize flour (“polenta”), refined sugar, salt, sodas, animal fat and “yerba mate” (a popular infusion of Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil.) (Arenas, 2003; Daquino, 2016; Dasso, 2010b; Lorenzetti, 2013; Suárez, 2014), principally in towns, where animal and plant resources are less available than in rural areas. Some health problems like hypertension, diabetes and high colesterol are relatively new disorders in Wichí ethnomedical context, closely linked to the present diet. Statistics on certain specific disorders, such as Chagas, hypertension, HIV or infantile diarrhoea, and general statistics from the provinces, not disaggregated by human group, are available (e.g. Coghlan et al., 2005; Rojas, 2016; Sotelo et al., 2004; UNICEF, 2009), but there are no official statistics on the general epidemiological status and the prevalent diseases of the Wichís in particular. From the information collected by the author over the years among Wichí people and health agents (see section 2.4 below), it is clear that dermatological, respiratory and digestive system disorders are the most frequent health

problems along with hypertension, Chagas disease and diabetes. This is without considering undernourishment and malnutrition, which despite being specific health problems, are one of the causes, if not the leading cause, behind the other health disorders. In Bolivia, Quiroga et al. (2009) report the same situation among the We’enhayek. Regarding pregnancy and female health, traditionally, Wichí midwives look after childbirth and any problem or concern the pregnant woman may have, during pregnancy and postpartum period. Nowadays the institutionalisation of childbirth has pushed into the background traditional midwives, who at times still manage to accompany the mother during labour. For other aspects of specifically women’s health (e.g., menstrual cycle, miscarriages, breastfeeding), all adult women teach the girls in their family about these conditions and how to deal with them. 2.3 Data and voucher collection Original information was gathered by the author during 14 field expeditions made between 2005 and 2017, with each visit lasting a month on average. During all the field expeditions, many aspects of Wichí ethnobiology were studied, including ethnomedicine and medicinal plants. However, during five expeditions (carried out between 2014 and 2017), greater emphasis was placed on the study of those topics for the purposes of this particular research paper. Data and materials were obtained through open-ended and semi-structured interviews, the “walk-through-the-forest” technique, observation and participant observation. Data was always recorded in fieldwork books, and at times photographs and video records were taken with the permission of the interviewees. On several opportunities, the author participated in the treatment of diseases, and in the preparation and administration of natural medicines. A total of 51 Wichí adults (30 women and 21 men) were interviewed. In addition, several medical agents were interviewed: 2 physicians, 1 nutritionist and 4 nurses (all of them Criollos) who work at the hospital in Morillo; 1 Wichí sanitary agent; 4 physicians (a clinician, a pediatrician, 2 obstetricians) and 3 nurses from other parts of Argentina who have worked all over the study area in the last 3 years. They all provided information on the sanitary and epidemiological situation of the Wichís in the study area from their perspective. 2.4. Ethics and research permits In all cases, prior informed consent was obtained orally from the community authorities and from each interviewee, in accordance with the suggestions and principles of the ISE Code of Ethics (ISE, 2006). Before undertaking the research in each community and with each interviewee, the aims, implications and productions coming from it were explained in detail. As part of the devolution to the society agreed upon and at the request of the Wichís, in 2015 each of the interviewees, the community leaders and various local institutions were given books containing partial information on the subject (Suárez, 2014). It was agreed that we would hold together participatory workshops on food and traditional medicine (interrelated subjects), the first of which was already held in Morillo in 2016. A bilingual handbook on Wichí medicinal plants is currently being compiled. Permissions to collect plant vouchers were granted by the Environment and Sustainable Development Secretariat of the Province of Salta, Argentina (Files Nº 227-114960/11 and 227-198440/12-0).

2.5. Plant vouchers Plant vouchers were kept inside plastic bags with alcohol during fieldwork (Schweinfurth method). In the laboratory, plant species were pressed, dried and identified, and voucher plant specimens were deposited in different herbaria of Argentina (BA, CTES, SI). Taxonomic identification has been checked with The Plant List (2013). 2.6 Data analysis Following the proposals of Staub et al. (2015), ailments, symptoms and diseases that were reported as being treated with medicinal plants by the interviewees were classified by the author in etic ad-hoc use-categories using the ICPC-2 (International Code of Primary Care, second edition; http://www.kith.no/upload/2705/ICPC-2-English.pdf) as a template1, in order to discuss the results further and to allow future comparisons. A use-report (UR) is defined at a species level, that is, an individual report of a species being useful for a certain ailment, disease or symptom. A Consensus of Use (CU) was calculated: a) for each species (CUsp), defined as the number of interviewees that mentioned the species as medicinal (nsp) over the total number of interviewees (N) x 100, giving an indicative value of the intensity or frequency of use/knowledge of each species with medicinal applications (cf. Ladio and Lozada, 2008; Richeri et al., 2013); and b) for each use or remedy (i.e. ailment treated by a single species) (CUuse), defined as the number of interviewees that mentioned the use (nuse) over the total number of interviewees (N) x 100. The number of UR per ailment (nail) was calculated, defined as the number of interviewees that mentioned the ailment as being treated with medicinal plants; the number of UR per use-category was also calculated by summing the nail belonging to the same category. In the case of nail, if one interviewee mentioned the same ailment more than once, it was only counted once (nail =1). In the case of nuse, if one interviewee mentioned the same use more than once, it was only counted once (nuse=1). In the case of nsp, if one informant reported more than one use for the species, it was counted as just one (nsp=1). Apart from that, the versatility of the species was established through the total Number of Uses (NU) per species. A Spearman’s correlation test was calculated to measure the strength and direction of association between NUsp and CUsp (Conover, 1980; Höft et al. 1999). Secondary data comes from the ethnobotanical bibliography consulted and was used for comparing primary data on medicinal uses, species and use-categories, with those reported for the Criollos of the study area, for the We’enhayek and for other Chaco ethnic groups. For this purpose, only studies with reliable identifications and vouchers were used. For the We’enhayek the data supplied by Quiroga et al. (2009) and Quiroga (2017)2 are used. For the Criollos those of Scarpa (2012). For other Chaco indigenous peoples those of: a) Arenas (1981) for the Lengua-Maskoy; b) Scarpa (2013) for the Chorotes; c) Filipov (1994, 1997) and Filipov & Arenas (2008) for the Pilagás; d) Bourdy (2002) and Bourdy et al. (2004) for the Izoceño-Guaraní; e) Martínez (2007, 2010a, 2010b, 2011), Martínez and Barboza (2010) and Martínez Crovetto (1964) for the Tobas; f) Martínez 1

In order to bring use-cateogires closer to a nativ perspective, a “Mouth-throat” category is added, although the ICPC-2 considers these problems within the “Digestive” category. 2 In 2017, Quiroga published a little book on We’enhayek medicinal plants written for the general public, which contains a few more details on species and uses than his previous paper of 2009 (Quiroga et al., 2009). Therefore, they were both considered.

Crovetto (2014) for the Mocoví; g) Schmeda Hirschmann (1993, 1994) for the Ayoreo; and h) Arenas (1987) for the Maká. Other papers reviewed by the cited authors whose data are included in the ones that are mentioned have been omitted. Considering the aims of the study, only the book of Scarpa (2012) is considered in the case of the Criollos, because they are at close proximity with the Wichís of the study area: an analysis of the similarities between Wichí pharmacopoeia and that of other Criollo groups of the Gran Chaco (e.g. those of Córdoba and Santiago del Estero provinces in Argentina, or those of the Paraguayan Chaco) exceeds the aims and possibilities of the study. In order to find intercultural consensus and similarities in medicinal uses and species recorded in the field, a first comparison was made simply by confronting uses and species (wild species) with those recorded for other groups, in order to analyse the identity of those with highests consensus. Besides, a Sorensen similarity index (Is) (Moreno, 2001) was calculated, in order to find similarities among the Wichís and the other ethnic groups, as other ethnobotanical studies have applied for similar purposes (Carrió & Vallès, 2012; de Boer, 2012; Vandebroek, 2016): Is = 2A/(B+C), where A is the number of shared medicinal species (or uses) between the Wichís and another ethnic group, B is the total number of medicinal species of the Wichís and C is the total number of medicinal species (or uses) of the other ethnic group. Cluster analysis sorting ethnic groups by medicinal species and by medicinal uses were also performed using the Statistica 7.0 program to add information to the Sorensen’s index results. The discussion of all the results consists in a contextualised holistic interpretation of the quantitative and qualitative information, and includes analyses based on the calculated indices, the corporal systems to which the medicines are applied, the specific ailments treated, the epidemiological context and similarities of uses and species between original and bibliographic data.

3. Results and discussion 3.1. Wild medicinal plants During fieldwork, a total of 408 medicinal applications could be recorded for 115 wild plant species, corresponding to 48 botanical families (Table 2). Of the botanical families recorded, the most representative is Fabaceae, with 21/115 medicinal species (18.3% of the total). It is followed by Asteraceae and Solanaceae with 8/115 species (6.9%), Euphorbiaceae, Apocynaceae and Bromeliaceae with 6/115 (5.2%), and Cactaceae with 5 (4.3%). The remaining families are represented by just 3 to 1 species. With a total of 51 interviewees, the species with higher values of CUsp are: Acacia aroma Hook. & Arn. (51.0%, 26/51), Ziziphus mistol Griseb. (47.1%, 24/51), Pectis odorata Griseb. (43.1%, 22/51), Nicotiana glauca Graham (41.2%, 21/51), 35.3% for Geoffroea decorticans (Hook. & Arn.) Burkart (35.3%, 18/51) and Cheilanthes obducta Mett. ex Kuhn (29.4%, 15/51), Capparicordis tweediana, (Eichler) Iltis & Cornejo, Pluchea microcephala R.K. Godfrey, P. sagittalis (Lam.) Cabrera, Prosopis ruscifolia Griseb. (27.4%, 14/51), Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb. (25.5%, 13/51), Cyclolepis genistoides D. Don (25.5%, 13/51) (Table 2). Of these 12 species, 8 belong to one of the first three most representative families. With the exception of Ch. obducta, C. tweediana and C.

genistoides, the rest of those species are also among the 13 most versatile species (highest NU): Pectis odorata (17), Ceiba chodatii Hassl. Ravenna (14), Pluchea microcephala (14), P. sagittalis (14), Bulnesia sarmientoi (11), Ziziphus mistol (11), Acacia aroma, Geoffroea decorticans (10), Prosopis ruscifolia (10), Acanthosyris falcata Griseb. (9), Caesalpinia paraguariensis (Parodi) Burkart (9), Nicotiana glauca (8), Petiveria alliacea L. (8) (Table 2). Again, 8 of them belong to one of the first three most representative botanical families. Quiroga et al. (2009) report a similar situation among the Wichís of Bolivia (We’enhayek): Fabaceae (14%), Solanaceae (8%), Asteraceae, Cactaceae and Euphorbiaceae (6%) are the most representative in their medicinal flora. In a comparative study of the medical ethnobotany of four ethnic peoples from the Bolivian lowlands (Izoceño-Guaraní, We’enhayek, Chiquitano and Guarayo), Quiroga et al. (2013) also find that Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae are the most representative families. These results are in line with what happens in Argentina in general terms: in a review of the country’s medicinal plants, their phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology, Barboza et al. (2009) found that Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Solanaceae, in that order, are the most representative of medicinal flora. As the authors point out, these are families well known as having a great variety of secondary metabolites with known pharmacological actions, so this partly explains that many of the most versatile species correspond to one of these three families: a broad range of metabolites allows for a great diversity of applications. The 15 species with highest NU and/or CUsp are widespread all over the study area (Prado, 1993; Zuloaga et al., 2008) and excepting Pectis odorata, which is an annual herb, the rest are perennial species, available all year (excepting P. odorata, Pluchea spp. and Petiveria alliaceae, that are herbs, the rest are srhubs or trees). Most of these species are very well known as medicinal plants in Argentina and the region, but for almost all of them, none or few pharmacological or phytochemical analysis have been performed until now (Alonso and Desmarchelier, 2015; Barboza et al., 2009). 3.2. Ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal plants Regarding intracultural consensus, CUuse values do not exceed 25.5% (13/51). The uses with highest values of CUuse are: Geoffroea decorticans-postpartum hemorraghes (25.5%, 13/51), Nicotiana glauca-headache, Synandrospadix vermitoxicus (Griseb.) Engl.-myasis, Ziziphus mistol-indigestion (23.5%, 12/51), Capparicordis tweediana-diarrhoea, Cheilanthes obducta-postpartum hemorraghes (21.6%, 11/51), Acacia aroma-scabies, Cyclolepis genistoides-kidneys (19.6%, 10/51), Geoffroea decorticans-cough, Geoffroea decorticans-oxytocics, and Ruellia hygrophila Mart.-trauma (17.6%, 9/51). With the exception of S. vermitoxicus and R. hygrophila, the remaining species are also those with the highest CUsp and/or NUsp (Table 2). Generally speaking, results show that the species mentioned by most people as medicinal are also the most versatile, i.e., those plants with a variety of uses are the most commonly known: only 12/115 species (mentioned in section 3.1) have 8 or more uses. But they also show that 98.2% (103/115) of the species have values of CUsp lower than 24.0% (Fig. 2, Table 2).

Figure 2. Relationship between consensus of use of species (CUsp) and the number of uses (NUsp) of medicinal plants (Spearman Correlation Test, r=0.79, n=115, p<0.01).

Besides, in the previous study of the author on Wichí ethnobotany (Suárez, 2014), in which 29 people were intervieweed, of a total of 183 plant species, 86 had medicinal applications, for which 211 uses were recorded. Adding 22 interviewees in the following years, the number of medicinal species increased by 29 and the number of uses almost doubled (they are now 408). In other words, when a higher number of people are intervieweed, the number of uses and/or medicinal species also grows. Until this point, altogether results show a pattern in which knowledge/use of medicinal plants (which wild plants are medicinal) is dispersed among the population and not widely shared between the interviewees (Fig 3, Table 2). Which cultural characteristics may be operating behind this pattern of use/knowledge? On the one hand, the ethnobotanical data gathered in the field indicate that knowledge of medicinal plants is shared among the whole population, i.e. it is not specialised knowledge exclusive to shamans, sorcerers or other local experts, or to women or men. Of course, some people are more interested in natural medicine than others, and hence they have further, more precise information. Since their field of action is health, shamans are logically included among those people, as well as traditional midwives in their sphere of influence. This is not exclusive to the Wichís; on the contrary, it is a common factor among different cultures of the Chaco region (Arenas, 2000, 2009). In addition, women in general usually have more precise knowledge about medicines made from wild plants. This may be as a result of their principal role in the care of children together with the fact that in the domestic life of the Wichís gathering is principally a woman’s job (Arenas, 2003; Montani, 2017; Palmer, 2005; Suárez, 2014). So if medicinal knowledge is not restricted to some people, why do results indicate that it is dispersed and not widely shared among people? Wichí people are keen on any new information on medicinal plants, and permanently experiment and incorporate new resources into their previous wealth of knowledge. They say all information on natural medicines is particularly useful today when shamans no longer hold the importance they had in the past, most people cannot afford access to proper biomedical treatments and

medicines, and new diseases have emerged. At this point, it should be mentioned that the interviewees, especially women, frequently clarify that they learnt certain medicinal uses from neighbouring Criollos. In line with this, and even when the origin of the knowledge of a use or medicinal plant cannot be recalled, interestingly, several recorded recipes say that there should be 3 (sometimes 5 or 7) plant parts and/or doses; additionally, for certain remedies, the plant part must be extracted from the side of the plant that faces East if the medicine is to be useful or more effective. Those are all powerful numbers in Christian religions that frequently appear in Criollo practices (cf. Scarpa, 2012), so in those cases, even when the origin of the knowledge is unclear, it is likely to have come from the Criollos. We might suppose that if, just as other ethnobotanists claim, the use of medicinal plants by the ethnic groups in the Chaco was much lower in the past (Arenas, 2000, 2009), then the lack of general consensus on medicinal species and uses is due to the fact that the knowledge was not handed down from generation to generation, but comes from new knowledge acquired with the emergence of new ailments and needs, different to those of the past. This also means they are able to adapt their knowledge to novel situations, such as their relatively new lifestyle since they recently became sedentary, which is in line with the diverse strategies, integration of therapies and adaptation to new offers (biomedicine, new religions) that Wichís develop when seeking health (cf. Dell’Arciprete et al., 2014, Lorenzetti, 2011, 2013; Dasso, 2010a; Suárez, 2014). But in this case, how to explain that traditional remedies (those which according to older Wichís are of long standing) like Geoffroea decorticans for different moments in childbirth3, do not have a higher consensus value? Perhaps all said is true, and the latter is due to the growing loss of knowledge of ethnobotany among the younger generations, and to the fact that biomedicine is gaining ground in various aspects of health (Dasso, 2010a; Lorenzetti, 2011, 2013; Suárez, 2014). In this case, there are now much fewer Wichí midwives, and the institutionalisation and medicalisation of deliveries have eroded ancestral practices, which may be affecting the knowledge of useful plant species for this purpose. Or maybe some people prefer other natural remedies as effective as these ones for the same purposes, hence the dispersion of knowlede on remedies for female issues, and the same may be applying for other categories. Future studies on inter and intragenerational transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge as well as on individual preferences for using different remedies for the same therapeutic use, will bring light to this question. 3.3. Uses of medicinal plants in the epidemiological and ethnomedical context of the Wichís Medicinal plants are used by the Wichís for treating 68 disorders that affect different corporal systems (Table 1), for which a total of 893 URail were recorded. Whatever the ailment is, the medicine is used until the pain or discomfort passes, but if the ailment lasts several days without improvement, the remedy is considered to be inappropriate or inadequate, so a shaman, a sanitary agent, a nurse and/or a biomedical physician is consulted. Alternatively, if the problem persists but is not considered to be of gravity, another natural medicine is used. On some occasions, prescribed pharmaceutical 3

For details on long-term or short-term use of some specific medicinal species/uses see Suárez (2014).

medicines are combined with medicinal plants, as optional and complementary forms of healing ailments and/or alleviating symptoms. According to the ICPC-2 classification, most of the registered disorders (Table 1) fall into “Symptoms/complaints” or “Injuries” greater categories. Apart from that, results show that ailments with the highest number of URail are pimples/rash (58), stomachache (56), fever (46), diarrhoea (43), indigestion (30), headache (29), postpartum hemorrhages (27), menstruation (28), vomiting (26), kydney symptoms (25), cough, trauma and hypertension (24), abortion, myasis (23), conjunctivitis (21), and flu/cold (20) (Table 1). Most of them are common symptoms that appear in several conditions or non-serious disorders that don’t compromise life. Looking at the results at a use-category level, and “Digestive” and “Skin” are the categories for which more species are used (41 and 55, respectively) and with the highest values of URs (229 and 209). The next categories with more intracultural consensus are “Pregnancy, birth and postpartum” (88 URs), “Respiratory” (77 URs) and “General and unspecified” (75 URs) (Fig. 3). High UR values at both levels (ailment and use-category) are an indication of prevalence of these disorders and/or the necessity to use wild medicinal plants to use them. Figure 3. Number of plant species and URs per use-category.

These results coincide with what has previously been found among the Wichís and with the claims of other ethnobotanists working in the region: medicinal plants are principally used by the Wichís and the indigenous peoples of the Chaco in general to heal slight wounds, pains and other lesser disorders (Arenas, 2000, 2009; Filipov, 1994, 1997; Scarpa, 2013; Schmeda-Hirschman, 1994; Suárez, 2014). Besides, results are coherent with the epidemiological, ethnomedical, social and environmental context. As said before in section 2.2, skin, digestive and respiratory seem to be the most common among the Wichís (original data; Quiroga et al., 2009). The physicians that were intervieweed in the field claim that many skin problems are due to the poor quality of drinking water, the latter being a fact that is widespread over the region (Arenas, 2003; Daquino, 2016;

Leake, 2010). Water is very scarce in the region, and with the sedentarization many Wichí people don’t have access or regular access to the rivers, streams or other natural water sources, apart from rain. Thus, some communities have deep wells to extract some water (around 80m deep), where arsenic is abundant, an element thay may cause not only cause skin problems but also respiratory and others (Bonafina and Ratto, 2009; Galindo et al., 2005; Ng et al., 2003). Besides, lack of water also affects hygiene practices, as has been shown in several studies around the world (Jiménez et al., 2014). In turn, this probably also causes dermatological problems, as well as digestive disorders (e.g. due to microbiological contamination through water or for not washing hands properly). The appearance of kidney problems as one of the most important/prevalent problems is surely linked to the poor quality of water too. Digestive problems, at least their prevalence, are no doubt mostly a direct consequence of their current diet, and the high URs values for said disorders reveal a permanent need for relief. Actually, changes in Wichí diet, which include a great reduction in wild food and its replacement for few industrialised-refined products (Arenas, 2003; Suárez, 2014) may explain, at least partially, many of the present health problems and/or their prevalence. Wild gathered food is known for having beneficial pharmacological activities (Guarrera and Savo, 2013; Leonti and Casu, 2013), and a lowly varied diet is associated with a deficience in nutrition, hence affecting the inmunitary system (Arimond and Ruel, 2004; Chandra, 1997). The prevalence of respiratory disorders and high UR values for ailments that fall into this category are probably also explained by the latter statement (Nova et al., 2004; Wypych et al., 2017). As said before, “Pregnancy, birth and postpartum” is the third category in importance for the Wichís (revealed by 88 URs). Disorders that fall into this category are conceived as intrinsecaly linked by the interviewees with those that fall into the category “Female genital” (menstruation and pre/menstrual pains), that has 33 URs. Together both categories account for just 25 species, given that 9 species are the same in both (Fig. 3, Table 2). The relevance of these categories for the Wichís is explained by native concepts on menstruation and bleeding in general, by applications of wild plants in childbirth, and by taboo situations such as intentional abortions or the use of contraceptives without their partners knowing, which women usually seek to resolve with natural remedies. In the case of the use of plants for inducing abortion (which are taken in secret), the high UR values found is evidently linked to the fact that abortion is prohibited nowadays by official laws and social standards. The fact that menstruation and postpartum heamorrhages appear among the problems with highest UR (anti-emmenagogue remedies are used to stop the bleeding) is not surprising if the ethnographical background of the Wichís is considered: haemorrhages are particularly avoided and carefully treated by the Wichís. They explain that an entity or being that inhabits the cosmos, Lawu or Lawo (Rainbow), hates to see blood polluting the earth, and especially the water (where menstrual blood falls). If this were to happen, terrible consequences would befall the individual responsible for the pollution, or sometimes the whole community (Califano and Dasso, 1999; Palmer, 2005; Suárez, 2014). Finally, it is worth stressing that the fact that the “General and unspecified” category is in fifth place, with 75 UR and 28 species (Fig. 3) is explained because it includes fever, for which 20 different wild species are used (Table 2). Other infectious diseases, such as measles, chickenpox, Chagas and tuberculosis, can also be found in that category. But as explained above in section 2.2, they are diseases that the Wichís consider to be serious,

and are therefore not treated with medicines, but by shamanic therapies, biomedicine and religion. Their symptoms are usually treated with plants, but many interviewees tended to refer to them separately; hence few species are mentioned for treating these diseases and fall into this category (Table 2). Regarding hypertension, a new disease in the ehnomedical context of the Wichís, and not a minor disorder, the local epidemiological context and the changes in the diet of the Wichís also explain these findings. As said before, although official information on the prevalence of hypertension among the Wichís is practically non-existent (Carbajal, 2013), fieldwork data indicates that it is one of the most prevalent health disorders since traditional nutrition changed. The present diet, with refined sugar and salt being most consumed, explains the findings on hypertension (DiNicolantonio and Lucan, 2014; He and McGregor, 2015). Being one of the most prevalent and a serious ailment, and traditional and biomedical methods not being sufficient, the Wichís also resort to natural medicines as new possible solutions. 3.4. Comparison of wild medicinal plants and uses of the Wichís with those of the Criollos and other indigenous groups of the Gran Chaco Results of the cluster analysis reveal six groups each. Sorting by species, they are: Izoceño, Toba, Mocoví, Wichí, Criollo and a group that includes the rest of the peoples (Fig. 4A). The Wichí and the Criollo aren’t grouped together for a very small difference in the linkage distance with the media value. Sorting by uses, they are: Toba, Izoceño, Criollo, Wichí, Pilagá and a group that includes the rest of the peoples (Fig. 4B). Again, the Pilagá and the group of the remaining peoples aren’t grouped together by a minimmun difference in the linkage distance with the media value. At a species level, medicinal plants of the Wichís are more similar to those of the Criollo than to those of the other ethnic groups. At a use level, medicines of the Wichís are more similar to those of the six ethnic groups (Pilagá, Chorote, Mocoví, We’enhayek, Lengua and Maká) than to those of the remaining peoples. Figure 4. Similarity between the wild plant pharmacopoeias of the ethnic groups of the Gran Chaco region according to the results of the cluster analysis. A) Sorting by species, media = 10,39. B) Sorting by uses, media = 18,54.

Considering the cluster analysis results, medicinal plants and uses don’t seem to completely follow neither a geographical (Fig. 1) nor a cultural pattern. As whole crosscultural study of the Gran Chaco pharmacopoeia is not the purpose of this study, the interpretation of this apparent lack of pattern will be not addressed here but in a future study, as a detailed floristic analysis should be performed, in order to see which particular species are present or not in each part of the region, and because the particular cultural contexts of each ethnic groups must be discussed. However, analysing them from a Wichí perspective, results suggest that Wichí pharmacopoeia is unique, different from all other pharmacopoeias of the region, including that of the Criollos. These results are consistent with those presented in a previous section (section 3.2) while discussing intracultural consensus: Wichí people are keen on any new information on medicinal plants, and permanently experiment and incorporate new resources into their previous wealth of knowledge. The fact that medicinal plants -but not uses- are closer to the medicinal flora of the Criollos may be explained as they observe and incorporate knowledge on potential medicinal plants of the study area from their Criollo neighbours, but adapt them to their own cosmology, health needs and ethnomedical practices and concepts. Appart from that, a comparison in uses and species between Wichí medicinal plants and uses and those recorded for other ethnic groups by means of the Sorensen’s similarity index reveal that the major coincidences in Wichí wild medicinal uses and species are with the Criollos, followed by the Chorote and the Pilagá, while minor coincidences are with the Mocoví, the Ayoreo, the Maká and the Lengua-Maskoy. The remaining groups constitute an intermediate group, alternating their similariy with the Wichís either in medicinal plants or uses (Table 3). Hence, a tendency towards a higher similarity in the medicinal plants and uses of the Wichís with those groups that are closer in geographical proximity (Fig. 1) or with whom they have more frequent contact is observed. In this sense, although the major coincidences with Criollos may be explained considering the statement of other ethnobotanists that affirm that most of the present pharmacopoeia of Chaco indigenous people come from the Criollos, it may also be explained by the fact that the Wichís of the study area are neighbours only with them and thus have permanent and daily contact, far more than with the other ethnic groups. If instead of Criollos, other ethnic groups were in daily contact with the Wichís, maybe the results would be different. The Ayoreo, the Maká and Lengua-Maskoy, all ethnic groups of the Paraguayan Chaco, living far from the study area; besides, data on the ethnobotany of these groups were gathered long ago and authors state that the number of medicinal plants and uses wasn’t large (Arenas, 1981, 1987; Schmeda-Hirschmann, 1993, 1994). These facts may explain the few coincidences. Regarding the remaining ethnic groups, in principle it is expected to find more similarities with the We’enhayek that with the other indigenous groups, considering that the former are also Wichís. Results, however, do not validate this prediction (Fig. 4, Table 3). What could possibly be working here againts the We’enhayek is, perhaps, the existence of a strong political barrier between the Wichís of Bolivia and Argentina (the international border) that affects what are closely related groups. The long-dated differences among Wichí groups, including ethnobotanical knowledge and practices (Arenas, 2003; Palmer, 2005; Suárez, 2014), may also help explain these results. Altogether, results suggest that in the current regional context, in which interethnic contact is both frequent and pleasant (without major/serious conflicts), ethnic or linguistic proximity/affinity does not define in itself a greater transmission of

knowledge (e.g. Chorote are of the same linguistic family than the Wichí, but the Pilagá and the Tobas belong to the Guaycurú family; Golluscio and Vidal, 2010). Regarding the corporal systems involved, analysis of the original data showed that wild plants are mostly used to treat digestive and skin disorders (Fig. 3, section 3.3). Other authors found the same results among other ethnic groups of the region: e.g. Bourdy et al. (2004) among the Izoceño-Guaraní, Martínez (2010b) among the Tobas, Scarpa (2012) among the Criollos. Martínez (2010b) also found that the third group of most common uses of natural remedies is for gynaeco-obstetric problems, a category that also appeared among the most important in the results of the present study. This category is also reported as one of the most relevant among the We’enhayek (Quiroga et al. 2009), as well as among the Chorote (Scarpa, 2013) and the Criollos (Scarpa, 2012). The authors base their analysis on the number of species they recorded for each category, and they don’t provide data on UR, so unfortunately a comparison is impossible in that sense. The intercultural consensus on Wichí’s medicinal species and uses is established according to how many of the 10 ethnic groups of the region that were considered in this study consider those species as medicinal and use them for the same purpose. In Table 2 coincidences in species and uses are indicated in detail. At a species level, those with the highest intercultural consensus are: Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants (100.0%, 10/10); Euphorbia serpens Kunth (90.0%, 9/10); Sapium haematospermum Müll.Arg., Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco Schltdl., Capparicordis tweediana, Bulnesia sarmientoi, Solanum sysimbriifolium Lam. (80.0%, 8/10); Geoffroea decorticans, Heimia salicifolia (Kunth) Link, Salta triflora (Griseb.) Adr. Sanchez, Clematis campestris A.St.Hil., Ziziphus mistol, Caesalpinia paraguariensis, Acacia aroma, Nicotiana glauca (70.0%, 7/10). Of these 15 species, almost half of them (7, 46.7%) are among the most versatile species (highest NU) and/or with the highest CUsp, according to the Wichís (see section 3.1). Wichí uses with highest intercultural consensus (Table 2) are: Acacia aroma-wounds, Dysphania ambrosioides-indigestion (70.0%, 7/10); Geoffroea decorticans-cough; Prosopis ruscifolia-conjuctivitis; Nicotiana glauca-headache, Bulnesia sarmientoi-digestive discomfort, Caesalpinia paraguariensis-cough (50.0%, 5/10); Pluchea sagittalis-stomachache, Cyclolepis genistoides-kidneys, Dysphania ambrosioides-flu/cold (40.0%, 4/10). Of these 10 uses, only 2 (20.0%) (G. decorticanscough and N. glauca-headache) are also uses with the highest intracultural consensus. Similar to what has been found in section 3.2, the most intraculturally known Wichí medicinal species -but not uses-, are also medicines among other regional ethnic groups. Despite the species involved, all of the ailments with the highest intercultural consensus are minor prevalent disorders. Excepting Pluchea spp.-stomachache, all of them are mentioned by the Criollos, which are the common factor between all those uses, besides the Wichís. Altogether, results suggests that the ailments that most preoccupy or affect people in the Gran Chaco region are the same, which is very likely considering the similarities in the social and environmental context of all those peoples. However, they also suggest that Wichís adapt the medicinal flora present in the region to their own specific ways of attending those health needs, coherent with their own ethnomedical practices and concepts. They may be also indicating that wild native plants are particularly useful for those problems, at least those with high intracultural and/or intercultural consensus. To confirm this latter statement, further study is necessary,

including ethnopharmacological research of active compounds, as relatively few studies were made so far in that respect (Alonso and Desmarchelier, 2015; Barboza et al., 2009). 3.5. Wichí medicines through time and promising species Results support the statement of other authors (Arenas, 2000, 2009; Filipov, 1994, 1997; Scarpa, 2013; Schmeda-Hirschmann, 1994) and confirms the previous hypothesis of the author (Suárez, 2014) that medicinal plants are traditionally used by Gran Chaco peoples, including the Wichís, to heal minor problems. But, what do they indicate regarding the claims of those authors to the effect that the number of plant medicines among indigenous people of the region must have been lower in the past and that much of today’s Chorote pharmacopeia comes from the Criollos? Putting all the information together and attending at the following facts, the results seem to be partially supporting that statement in the case of the Wichí people: a) interviewees occasionally explicitly mentioned that they had learned certain uses from a Criollo, or they provided details of the recipes that suggested it (extraction of raw material from the side of the plant that faces East; numbers 3, 5 and 7 in the dose); b) none of the CUuse is higher than 25.5% and the majority of species (103/115) have CUsp lower than 24.0%, i.e. knowledge on most medicinal uses and species is dispersed among the Wichís, which suggests most of their pharmacopoeia it is not transmitted from previous generations and thus is relatively new; c) the cluster analysis show that Wichí pharmacopoeia is, in general terms, quite different from that of the other ethnic groups, suggesting that it is the consequence of a permanent seek for solutions coherent with traditional conceps, practices and cosmology; d) the highest coincidences between original data on species and uses are with the Criollos of the study area (86 uses, 68 spp., Table 3), and Wichí pharmacopoeia is more similar to Criollo pharmacopoeia than to the others (Sorensen index, Table 3); e) similarities in pharmacopoeias (Sorensen index) and coincidences of species and uses with the Wichís of Bolivia (We’enhayek) are less that with other ethnic groups with whom the Wichís of the study area have more contact (e.g. Criollo, Chorote, Pilagá) (Table 3), suggesting that the present medicinal plants and uses of the Wichís respond more to a geographical proximity between groups (real/frequent possibility of knowledge interchange) than to cultural affinity; f) in a difficult social and epidemiological context, where shamans seem to be not as efficient as in the past and biomedicine remedies and practices are not so accessible for the Wichís, wild native plants are a permanent source of medicines for treating new and old minor health disorders; g) despite the dynamics and sincretism in knowledge, in general terms, cultural interchanges in the Gran Chaco region tend to have a more intense direction from the Criollos to the indigenous peoples and many modern practices and elements of their material culture such as houses, clothes and food have been adopted from the Criollos and white people (Arenas, 2003; Montani, 2017; Scarpa, 2013; Suárez, 2014), so natural medicines should not be an exception. In conclusion, it seems that, at the present, many wild medicinal plants known and/or used by the Wichís come from their neighbouring Criollos and that in the past the number of medicinal species was much lower. However, it must be stressed that specific uses of those medicinal plants seem to be quite different from the uses that the Criollos (as well as other ethnic groups), so they wouldn’t have been learnt from the Criollos; instead, the Wichís adapt the Criollo medicines to their own needs and ethnomedical-ethnographical concepts and practices.

Despite the above, altogether, results show that there is a small group of 12 wild species (highest CUsp) that many Wichís consider to be useful for medicinal purposes (section 3.1). Half of them (6) also have the highest intercultural consensus (section 3.4). According to the Wichís, almost all of them are also the most versatile species regarding medicinal uses (section 3.2). Looking in detail, the 15 species with highest intracultural consensus and/or most versatile appear as particularly useful for certain specific ailments or use-categories (Table 2, sections 3.2 and 3.4) that are prevalent health issues in the study area (section 3.3). In this way, Ruellia hygrophila is special for trauma; Synandrospadix vermitoxicus for myasis; Cyclolepis genistoides for kidney problems; Capparicordis tweediana for digestive disorders, Geoffroea decorticans for respiratory problems and female issues; Cheilanthes obducta for female issues; Ziziphus mistol for digestive and skin disorders; Nicotiana glauca for headache, fever, sunstroke and skin issues; Acacia aroma for skin issues; Prosopis ruscifolia for conjuctivitis; and Acanthosyris falcata for skin and musculo-skeletal ailments; Pectis odorata and Pluchea spp. for digestive and other minor problems; and Petiveria alliacea, Bulnesia sarmientoi, Ceiba chodatii, and Caesalpinia paraguariensis for diverse common ailments. Is probable that these species (the ones with highest intracultural consensus), or at least some of them, belong to the corpus of traditional medicines that were used in the past for solving minor common problems and persist until now. Taking into account that none or few ethnopharmacological of phytochemical analysis have been performed so far on most of these plants (Alonso and Desmarchelier, 2015; Barboza et al., 2009), and considering results on versatility and both intracultural and intercultural consensus, attention should be paid to them (especially to those six that also have the highest intercultural consensus), as they are promising for future ethnopharmacological and ethnomedical studies. As a final statement and considering all the above, I propose that the diversification hypotheses, proposed by Albuquerque (2006) to explain the incorporation of exotic plants in traditional medicines, may be applied to the Wichís to explain the overall results of this study, even when wild species, and not exotic, are considered here. This hypothesis states that exotic plants species are selected consciously and actively by a specific culture to fill therapeutic vacancies in an ethnopharmacopoeia, and that they amplify the spectrum of alternatives for treating specific ailments, enriching the traditional pharmacopoeia rather than eroding traditional knowledge or being a sign of acculturation, processes that are sometimes raised in the literature to explain the presence of those plants in a culture’s medical system (Albuquerque, 2006; Gaoue et al., 2017). In the case of the Wichís, results show a permanent seek for solutions in wild plants of their surrounding forests, both for novel and old ailments, especially in a context in which traditional methods of curing and biomedicine aren’t sufficient. The new medicinal plants and uses that they learn from the Criollos (or from other ethnic groups) are adapted to their own needs and cultural practices and concepts, and as far as the results of this study reveal, they do so without leaving behind what interviewees described as old/traditional remedies (see Suárez, 2014), which also appear among the original data. In other words, the incorporation of new remedies and medicinal knowledge don’t seem to be erasing the old ones; instead, they are included as a strategy for diversifying the local pharmaceutical stock. Future ethnobotanical studies focused on inter and intragenerational transmission of medicinal knowledge, on redundancy (analogous medicinal function) in the medicinal plants repertoire and on individual preferences and their underlying causes for using

different remedies for the same therapeutic use (Albuquerque, 2006) must be performed in order to see if, effectively, knowledge on old traditional remedies is being adquired by the youngest people, and if the low intracultural consensus and dispersion of knowledge on medicinal species and uses found in this study is due, maybe, to preferences of remedies among a real stock of different possibilities to treat a specific ailment, which could explain the observed pattern. 4. Conclusions The results of this study include novel information and primary data on Wichí pharmacopoeia and a first regional comparison of medicinal species and uses among the Wichís and other related ethnic groups. It also constitutes a baseline for future diachronic and cross-cultural studies. A total of 115 wild species, corresponding to 48 botanical families, were recorded as medicinal, for which 408 uses were found. Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Solanaceae are the most representative families. A small group of around 15 species arise as interesting and significant medicinal wild plants, all of them used to treat minor disorders or common symptoms, while they appeal to biomedicine and/or to the shaman when a serious problem appears. Results suggest that in general terms, many of the wild medicinal plants and uses that are known by the Wichís are relatively new medicines in their culture, that would have been gradually incorporated mostly as a consequence of the decline of shamanism, the poor quality of regional biomedicine and the permanent contact with the Criollos, from whom many medicinal species might have been learnt. Specific medicinal uses of the Wichís appear to be quite unique, and may be the result of adapting the knowledge on wild medicinal plants of other peoples of the Gran Chaco region to their own ethnomedical context, practices and health needs, while seeking solutions for old and new health problems. The comparison of the Wichí pharmacopoeia with other ethnic groups suggests that similarities in the present wild medicinal plants and uses of the Wichís seem to respond more to a geographical proximity between groups than to cultural affinity, with the highest similarity found with the Criollos. I propose that, although future studies with formal tests are needed to prove this statement, the ethnobotanical “diversification hypothesis” (Albuquerque, 2006) may be applied, with a slight modification, to explain the overall results of this study on the present wild pharmacopoeia of the Wichís. This is so because new information on wild medicinal plants seems to be consciously incorporated to their long-term corpus of natural medicines to fill therapeutic vacancies that for several sociocultural and historical reasons appear in their traditional pharmacopoeia, without leaving old remedies behind. Original information on the epidemiological situation, people’s common concerns and wild plants they use for treating prevalent ailments may serve to official health agents and institutions to improve their understanding of Wichís actions and needs regarding health. In line with this, results point out that species with the highest intracultural consensus and versatility, which have not been or not much studied phytochemically, are promising species for future ethnopharmacological and ethnomedical studies, and may be old remedies among the Wichís that persist until now. Acknowledgments

To my Wichí friends and colleagues of the Gran Chaco, to whom I owe this great learning experience and with whom I share hopes and struggles. To the members of the Tepeyac team, who always help me with logistics and companionship in the field, especially to Nelly Alderete, whose knowledge of health problems of the Wichís and on medicinal plants is simply amazing. To Anahí Herrera Cano, Florencia Otegui, Roberto Bó and Pastor Arenas for their invaluable suggestions about the manuscript. To Lawrence Wheeler for the correction of the English translation (any error is the responsibility of the author). This work was partially supported by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina [PIP112-201101-00554]; the Agencia Nacional de Promociones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina [PICT-2013-2190; PICT2013-1633]; and the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina [UBACYT-201620020150200191BA].

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Ailment (URail)

Cardiovascular

Hypertension (24); Hypotension (1)

Digestive

Eye

Diarrhoea (43); Digestive discomfort (16); Digestive parasites (8); Gallbladder disorders (2); Gastroenteritis (17); Indigestion (30); Lack of appetite (17); Liver disorders (14); Stomachache (56); Vomiting (and nausea) (25) Cataracts (1); Conjunctivitis (21); Ocular contusions (3)

Ear

Otitis (4)

Female genital

Menstruation (presence of) (28); Pre/menstrual pains (5)

General and unspecified Male genital

Chagas disease (4); Chicken pox (3); Fatigue (3); Fever (46); Malaria (2); Measles (2); Sunstroke (9); Tuberculosis (6) Prostate (symptoms/disorders) (1)

Mouth-throat

Hoarseness (2); Oral thrush (2); Throat problems (2); Toothache (12)

Musculoskeletal

Myalgias (10); Rheumatism (pain in the whole body or in most of it) (11); Skeletal-articular pain (in specific parts of the body) (2); Trauma (sprain, fracture, luxation) (24) Headache (29)

Neurological Pregnancy, delivery and postpartum

Respiratory Skin

Abortion (unwanted pregnancy) (23); Birth/Postpartum pains (2); Contraception (contraceptive medicines) (18); Complicate or long labour (to ease labour) (9); Placenta delivery (to ease delivery) (9); Postpartum (or postabortion) hemorrhages (27) Chest pain (9); Cough (24); Dyspnoea (1); Flu / Cold (20); Heartache (acute chest pain) (16); Whooping cough (7) Acne (2); Alopecia (1); Blisters (2); Boils (4); Callouses (4); Chloasma (8); Contusions (5); Dandruff (12); Dog bite (8); Embebbed thorn (12);

Urological

Excrescences (warts, raised moles) (2); Insect stings (1); Myiasis (23); Pediculosis (18); Pimples / Rash (58); Scabies (29); Snake bite (3); Wounds (17) Dysuria (8); Kidneys symptoms (25)

Table 2. Medicinal wild plants and uses: vernacular and scientific names of the species, voucher specimens data (all of them correspond to M.E.Suárez, unless otherwise indicated), ailment treated, plant parts employed, forms of preparation and administration, number of citations per use (nuse), values of the consensus indices (CUuse, CUsp and NU), and coincidences in the species and the uses with species and uses reported among the We’enhayek, the Criollos of the study region and other ethnic groups of the region. When species but no uses coincide, the name of the people is placed next to the voucher data. Peoples: WE’EN: We’enhayek, CRI: Criollos, AYO: Ayoreo, CHO: Chorote, IZO: Izoceño-Guaraní, LEN: Lengua-Maskoy, MAK: Maká, MOC: Mocoví, PIL: Pilagá, TOBA: Toba. Plant parts: Bu: Bulb, Co: Cortex, Du: Duramen, Ent: Entomocecidium, FF: Foliar fibers, Fl: Flowers, Fr: Fruits, La: Latex, Le: Leaves, Mu: Mucilage, NS: New shoots, Pr: Prickles, Re: Resin, Ro: Roots, Se: Seeds, St: Stems, Tu: Tuber, WP: Whole plant, Wo: Wood. Form of preparation: Cru: Crushing, Dec: Decoction, Gra: Grate, Gri: Grinding, Heat: Heating, Inc: Incineration, Inf: Infusion, Mac: Maceration, Noth: Nothing, Sco: Scorch, Toa: Toast. Form of use: Ba: Bath, Ch: Chew, Com: Compress, DA: Direct administration, Ing: Ingestion, MR: Mouth rinses, Pl: Plaster, Wa: Wash. Family, Species // Wichí name; Criollo name // Vouchers (Herbaria) Part Ailment nuse NU CUuse CUsp Prep. Acanthaceae Ruellia hygrophila Mart. // T'ukwua-chal // 14, 606, 649 (BA) // CRI WP / Le Trauma 9 5 17,65 23,53 Dec or Cru Le Callouses 1 1,96

Applic.

Other groups

Wa or Pl DA (in shoes) Pl Ing MR

PIL

Le Insect stings 1 1,96 Cru Le / Ro Malaria 1 1,96 Inf Le Toothache 1 1,96 Dec Achatocarpaceae Achatocarpus praecox Griseb. // Sipup-lhäk // 68 (BA, CTES, SI) // PIL, CHO, MOC Co Myalgias 1 2 1,96 1,96 Gri + Mac Com Co Pimples / Rash 1 1,96 Gri + Mac Com Amaranthaceae Amaranthus standleyanus Parodi ex Covas // K'astak-lhäk; Ataco // 608 (BA) Le Indigestion 1 1 1,96 1,96 Inf Ing Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants // Wahat-t'ekw; Paico // Maranta 115 (BA) // MAK, LEN Le Indigestion 7 5 13,73 15,69 Inf Ing CRI, CHO, PIL, IZO, AYO, TOBA, MOC Le Stomach ache 6 11,76 Inf Ing IZO, TOBA Le Lack of appetite 3 5,88 Inf Ing TOBA Le / Fl Flu / Cold 1 1,96 Inf Ing PIL, CRI, CHO, WE’EN Le / Fl Cough 1 1,96 Inf Ing PIL, WE’EN Amaryllidaceae Habranthus saltensis Ravenna // Sitälh; Cebolla del monte // 89 (BA, SI); 226 (BA) Bu Pimples / Rash 7 4 13,73 17,65 DA CHO Bu Chloasma 4 7,84 DA Bu Boils 3 5,88 DA CHO

Bu Acne 2 3,92 DA CHO Anacardiaceae Schinopsis lorentzii (Griseb.) Engl. // Chelhyukw; Quebracho colorado // 172 (BA) // WE’EN, CRI Re Excrescences 2 2 3,92 3,92 DA Le Contraception 1 1,96 Inf Ing CHO Anemiaceae Anemia tomentosa (Savigny) Sw. // Ch'ehnu-lhup; Doradilla // 119 (BA) // MAK, CRI Le Menstruation 6 5 11,76 21,57 Inf Ing Le Abortion 4 7,84 Inf Ing Le Contraception 4 7,84 Inf Ing Le Placenta 2 3,92 Inf Ing delivery Le Postpartum (or 1 1,96 Inf Ing postabortion) hemorrhages Apocynaceae Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco Schltdl. // Isteni; Quebracho blanco // 36, 163 (BA, CTES) // PIL, IZO, CHO, MOC Co / Se Pimples / Rash 6 4 11,76 19,61 Dec Wa TOBA, CRI, AYO Co / Se Scabies 5 9,80 Dec Wa WE’EN, TOBA, AYO Co / Se Dandruff 3 5,88 Dec Wa CRI Co / Se Pediculosis 3 5,88 Dec Wa Aspidosperma triternatum N.Rojas // Isteni-tas // 38 (BA, CTES) // MOC Co / Se Pediculosis 2 3 3,92 3,92 Dec Wa Co / Se Pimples / Rash 2 3,92 Dec Wa Se Whooping 1 1,96 Inf Ing cough Mandevilla angustifolia (Malme) Woodson // Hayäj-ka-pohnon // 37 (BA) Ro / Fr Hoarseness 2 1 3,92 3,92 Ing Morrenia odorata (Hook. & Arn.) Lindl. // Jwalawukw; Doca // 191 (BA, CTES); 402 (CTES) // TOBA, PIL, IZO, WE’EN, CRI NS / Fl / Hypertension 6 1 11,76 11,76 Dec Ing Se Morrenia variegata (Griseb.) T. Mey. // Sahayo // 403 (CTES) NS Throat problems 1 1 1,96 1,96 Dec Ing Vallesia glabra (Cav.) Link // Tsamanukw; Ancoche // 60, 61 (BA, CTES); 228 (BA) // CHO, IZO Le Pimples / Rash 7 6 13,73 19,61 Dec Wa TOBA, WE’EN, CRI Le Scabies 4 7,84 Dec Wa TOBA Le Pediculosis 2 3,92 Dec Wa TOBA Le Abortion 1 1,96 Inf Ing Le Sunstroke 1 1,96 Mac Com Co Myasis 1 1,96 Gra DA CRI Araceae Synandrospadix vermitoxicus (Griseb.) Engl. // Sihnyoj // 92 (BA, CTES) // CHO Le / Tu / Myasis 12 1 23,53 23,53 Gri Pl Fl (spathe) Asteraceae Acanthospermum hispidum DC. // Tolo-lhetek // 2 (BA, CTES, SI) WP Fever 2 4 3,92 9,80 Dec Ba WE’EN, CRI Fr Dyspnoea 1 1,96 Gri + Dec Ing Fr Flu / Cold 1 1,96 Gri + Dec Wa Le Pimples / Rash 1 1,96 Dec Wa WE’EN Baccharis salicina Torr. & A.Gray // Jwitsonaj; Suncho // 479 (BA, CTES) // CRI Le Hypertension 1 1 1,96 1,96 Inf Ing Cyclolepis genistoides D.Don // Palo azul // Maranta 790 (BA); Maranta & Arenas 227 (BA) St Kidneys 10 6 19,61 25,49 Dec Ing CHO, PIL, CRI, MOC St Liver 6 11,76 Dec Ing CRI St Diarrhoea 5 9,80 Dec Ing TOBA

St

Digestive 2 3,92 Dec Ing CHO discomfort St Fever 1 1,96 Dec Ing CRI St Premenstrual 1 1,96 Dec Ing pains Pectis odorata Griseb. // Pëntsaj-ka-haläy; Manzanilla del monte // 1 (BA, CTES, SI); 412, 447 (CTES) WP Flu / Cold 6 17 11,76 43,14 Dec Ing WP Digestive 3 5,88 Inf Ing IZO, WE’EN discomfort WP Cough 2 3,92 Dec Ing CHO, PIL WP Menstruation 2 3,92 Dec Ing CRI WP Stomach ache 1 1,96 Dec Ing CRI, CHO, WE’EN WP Indigestion 1 1,96 Inf Ing CHO, WE’EN WP Diarrhoea 1 1,96 Dec Ing CRI, CHO WP Digestive 1 1,96 Dec Ing CHO parasites WP Abortion 1 1,96 Dec Ing CRI WP Postpartum (or 1 1,96 Dec Ing CRI postabortion) hemorrhages WP Contraception 1 1,96 Dec Ing WP Gastroenteritis 1 1,96 Dec Ing WP Headache 1 1,96 Inf Ing WP Hypertension 1 1,96 Inf Ing WP Lack of appetite 1 1,96 Inf Ing WP Myasis 1 1,96 Cru Pl WP Scabies 1 1,96 Dec Wa Pluchea microcephala R.K.Godfrey // Wahat-ts'ukw; Cuatro cantos // 414 (BA) Pluchea sagittalis (Lam.) Cabrera // Wahat-ts'ukw; Cuatro cantos // Arenas 2159 (BA), Maranta & Arenas 260 (BA) // IZO Le Stomach ache 5 14 9,80 27,45 Inf Ing TOBA, PIL, WE’EN, MOC Le Chest pain 3 5,88 Inf Ing Le Diarrhoea 2 3,92 Inf Ing TOBA WP Contusions 2 3,92 Dec Wa CHO Le Headache 2 3,92 Dec Wa + TOBA Ing Le Kidneys 2 3,92 Inf Ing Le Liver 1 1,96 Dec Ing CRI, CHO, PIL Le Fever 1 1,96 Inf Ing PIL Le Lack of appetite 1 1,96 Inf Ing TOBA Le Vomiting (and 1 1,96 Inf Ing TOBA nausea) Le Cough 1 1,96 Inf Ing CHO, PIL Le Trauma 1 1,96 Dec Wa CHO Le Pimples / Rash 1 1,96 Dec Wa TOBA Le Hypertension 1 1,96 Inf Ing CRI Verbesina encelioides (Cav.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex A.Gray // 647 (BA) // CRI Le Pimples / Rash 1 2 1,96 1,96 Crushing Com Le Boils 1 1,96 Crushing Com Xanthium spinosum L. // Tolo-yilek; Sop'antas // 302 (BA); 419 (CTES) // TOBA, PIL, MOC Ro Fever 1 2 1,96 1,96 Dec Wa Ro Dysuria 1 1,96 Dec Wa CRI, LEN Bignoniaceae Amphilophium cynanchoides (DC.) L.G.Lohmann // Tsona-la'aj-lhich'u; Sulaj-la'aj-lhich'u // 4 (BA, CTES, SI); 3, 225 (BA); 480, 490 (CTES) // IZO, CRI Le Alopecia 1 4 1,96 3,92 Infusion Wa Le / Fl Blisters 1 1,96 Maceratio Wa n Le / Fl Callouses 1 1,96 Maceratio Wa (analgesicn emolient)

Le Lack of appetite 1 1,96 Infusion Ing Brassicaceae Lepidium didymum L. // Toka-cha; Quimpe // Costa BACP 2558 (BA); Sturzenegger BACP 3111 (BA) // CRI WP Indigestion 3 3 5,88 9,80 Dec Ing WP Stomach ache 3 5,88 Dec Ing WP Lack of appetite 2 3,92 Dec Ing Bromeliaceae Bromelia hieronymi Mez // Chitsaj; Chagua; Cháguar // 76, 296 (BA, CTES) FF Wounds 2 1 3,92 3,92 Sco DA Bromelia urbaniana (Mez) L.B.Sm. // Äletsaj; Chaguarillo // 152 (BA, CTES) FF Wounds 1 1 1,96 1,96 Sco DA Tillandsia duratii Vis. // Hotoni-lhok; Sajasta // 200 (BA) // IZO, CHO Le Trauma 1 2 1,96 3,92 Cru Pl Le Abortion 1 1,96 Cru + Dec Ing TOBA Tillandsia funebris A.Cast. // Hotoni-lhok; Sajasta // 185 (BA) Le Abortion 1 2 1,96 3,92 Cru + Dec Ing Le Trauma 1 1,96 Cru Pl Tillandsia recurvifolia Hook. // Hotoni-lhok; Sajasta // 186, 187 (BA) // PIL WP Abortion 1 2 1,96 3,92 Cru + Dec Ing Le Trauma 1 1,96 Cru Pl CRI Tillandsia streptocarpa Baker // Hotoni-lhok; Sajasta // 102, 103, 104, 188 (BA) // CHO, PIL Le Abortion 1 2 1,96 3,92 Cru + Dec Ing Le Trauma 1 1,96 Cru Pl CRI Cactaceae Cereus spegazzinii F.A.C.Weber // Nop'et // 210 (BA); 493 (CTES) // MAK, CHO St Snake bites 2 4 3,92 3,92 Sco + Gra Com St Wounds 2 3,92 Sco + Gra Com St Chest pain 1 1,96 Sco + Gra DA St Myalgias 1 1,96 Sco + Gra DA Harrisia bonplandii (Parm.) Britton & Rose // Ch'utan-lhile; Pasacana // 131 (BA) St Chagas disease 1 1 1,96 1,96 Mac or Ing / Ing Noth (peeled) Harrisia pomanensis (F.A.C. Weber ex K. Schum.) Britton & Rose // Ch'utan-lhile; Pasacana // 212 (BA) St Chagas disease 1 1 1,96 1,96 Mac or Ing / Ing Noth (peeled) Opuntia quimilo K. Schum. // Tsowayukw; Quimil // 132 (BA); 297 (CTES) Mu (cl.) Embebbed thorn 3 6 5,88 11,76 DA CRI Mu (cl.) Wounds 3 5,88 DA CRI Mu (cl.) Snake bites 3 5,88 DA CRI Mu (cl.) Pimples / Rash 1 1,96 DA CRI Mu (cl.) Boils 1 1,96 DA Mu (cl.) Stomach ache 1 1,96 Dec Ing Quiabentia verticillata (Vaupel) Borg // Hëyukw; Sacha rosa // 74 (BA, CTES) // CHO Mu (Le) Pimples / Rash 2 1 3,92 3,92 DA IZO, CRI Cannabaceae Celtis chichape (Wedd.) Miq. // Ch'ëmokw; Tala // 66, 224 (BA, CTES) // MOC Le / Fl Fever 4 6 7,84 17,65 Inf Ing CRI Le Lack of appetite 3 5,88 Inf Ing Le Gastroenteritis 3 5,88 Inf Ing CRI NS Stomach ache 2 3,92 Inf Ing CRI Le Vomiting (and 2 3,92 Inf Ing nausea) Le Fatigue 1 1,96 Inf Ing Celtis iguanaea (Jacq.) Sarg. // Ch'ëmokw; Tala; Tala guiador // 460, 503 (CTES) // TOBA, PIL, CRI, MOC, IZO Le / Fl Fever 4 6 7,84 17,65 Inf Ing Le Lack of appetite 3 5,88 Inf Ing Le Gastroenteritis 3 5,88 Inf Ing NS Stomach ache 2 3,92 Inf Ing Le Vomiting (and 2 3,92 Inf Ing nausea) Le Fatigue 1 1,96 Inf Ing

Capparaceae Anisocapparis speciosa (Griseb.) Cornejo & Iltis // Atsukw; Bola verde // 118 (BA, CTES) // MAK, AYO, CHO, IZO Le / Co Myasis 5 5 9,80 15,69 Gri / Gri Pl / DA WE’EN or Ro or Gra Le Diarrhoea 2 3,92 Inf Ing CRI Le Vomiting (and 2 3,92 Inf Ing nausea) Fr Dandruff 1 1,96 Cru Wa Fr Pediculosis 1 1,96 Cru Wa Capparicordis tweediana (Eichler) Iltis & Cornejo // Ahät-ts'ukw; Hoja redonda // 19 (BA, CTES, SI); 156 (BA, CTES) // MAK, IZO, MOC Le / Fl Diarrhoea 11 6 21,57 27,45 Inf Ing TOBA, CHO, WE’EN Le Stomach ache 4 7,84 Inf Ing TOBA, WE’EN Le / Fl Vomiting (and 4 7,84 Inf Ing TOBA nausea) Le Indigestion 3 5,88 Inf Ing CRI Le Gastroenteritis 3 5,88 Inf Ing CRI Fl Conjunctivitis 1 1,96 Inf Wa PIL and/or DA Celastraceae Maytenus scutioides (Griseb.) Lourteig & O'Donell // Wosa-t'okwitek // 86 (BA) // IZO, CRI Le Myalgias 1 2 1,96 1,96 Cru Pl (with oil) Le Skeletal1 1,96 Cru Pl (with articular pain oil) Maytenus vitis-idaea Griseb. // Jwit'i; Sal de indio // Maranta 793 (BA); Maranta & Arenas 228 (BA) // TOBA, CRI St Wounds 1 1 1,96 1,96 Inc Com Cleomaceae Cleome tucumanensis H.H.Iltis // Wuk-yaj; Kahemnatsetaj // 15 (BA, CTES, SI) Le Fever 1 1 1,96 1,96 Infusion Wash Dactylaena pauciflora Griseb. // Yaphina-lhiley // 17 (BA) Le / Ro Headache 1 2 1,96 1,96 Inf Ing Le / Ro Vomiting (and 1 1,96 Inf Ing nausea) Commelinaceae Commelina erecta L. // Inote-lhäk // 122 (BA); 123 (BA, SI) // LEN, TOBA, PIL Mu (in Conjunctivitis 6 2 11,76 11,76 DA MOC, IZO, CRI spathe) Mu (in Cataracts 1 1,96 DA spathe) Convolvulaceae Ipomoea carnea Jacq. ssp. fistulosa (Mart. ex Choisy) D.F. Austin // Lawu-k'os // 178 (BA, CTES) // PIL, CRI Le Rheumatism 3 1 5,88 5,88 Dec Ba IZO Ipomoea cheirophylla O'Donell // Sinäj-chänis // 548 (BA) Tu Chloasma 4 1 7,84 7,84 DA Euphorbiaceae Croton hieronymi Griseb. // Hotantas // 145, 236 (BA) Le Digestive 4 3 7,84 9,80 Inf Ing CRI discomfort Le Headache 1 1,96 Inf Ing Le Rheumatism 1 1,96 Inf Ing Euphorbia serpens Kunth // Tsionataj-lhäk; Chilayi-lhäk; Yerba de la golondrina // 607 (BA) // MAK, WE’EN, LEN, PIL, IZO, CRI, MOC La Conjunctivitis 3 3 5,88 9,80 DA CHO La Pimples / Rash 1 1,96 DA TOBA La Wounds 1 1,96 DA Euphorbia thymifolia L. // Yaphina // 140 (BA) Le Headache 1 2 1,96 1,96 Inf Ing

Le

Vomiting (and 1 1,96 Inf Ing nausea) Manihot guaranitica Chodat & Hassl. // Kwataj // 139 (BA) Ro Boils 1 1 1,96 1,96 Ricinus communis L. // Etek-äytaj; Pelhay-lhichyey; Tártago // 134 (BA, CTES); 278 (BA) // TOBA, CRI Se (oil) Headache 3 6 5,88 5,88 Toa Pl IZO, WE’EN, CRI Se (oil) Toothache 1 1,96 Gri Pl PIL (externa l, over the skin of the jaw) Se (oil) Wounds 1 1,96 Sco DA Se (oil) Scabies 1 1,96 Sco DA Se (oil) Otitis 1 1,96 Toa DA Se (oil) Boils 1 1,96 Sco DA PIL Sapium haematospermum Müll.Arg. // Satukw; Lecherón // 237, 301 (BA, CTES) // MAK, CHO, LEN, IZO, CRI, MOC La Toothache 2 2 3,92 5,88 DA TOBA, PIL Le Fever 2 3,92 Dec Wa Fabaceae Acacia aroma Hook. & Arn. // Natek; Tusca // 8 (BA, CTES, SI); 217 (BA, CTES) Co / Le Scabies 10 10 19,61 50,98 Dec Wa Co / Le Stomach ache 5 9,80 Dec Ing CHO, WE’EN Co / Ro Wounds 4 7,84 Gri / Gri Pl / Pl TOBA, CRI, CHO, or Mac + or Wa PIL, IZO, WE’EN, Dec MOC Co / Le Myalgias 4 7,84 Dec Wa + Ing Co Hypertension 3 5,88 Dec Ing CRI Le / Ro Flu / Cold 3 5,88 Dec Ing CRI, CHO Co / Le Trauma 3 5,88 Dec Wa PIL Co / Le Liver 1 1,96 Dec Ing CRI, CHO Co / Le Chicken pox 1 1,96 Dec Wa + Ing Co / Le Oral thrush 1 1,96 Dec Ing (mostly in babies) Acacia caven (Molina) Molina // Nachitek; Churqui // 149, 219, 218 (BA); 353 (CTES) // PIL Le Pimples / Rash 2 3 3,92 3,92 Dec Wa TOBA Le Wounds 1 1,96 Dec Wa MOC Fl Cough 1 1,96 Inf Ing Acacia furcatispina Burkart // Tsote-los; Quietín // 9 (BA, CTES); 220 (BA); 445, 449 (CTES) // CHO NS / Le Boils 1 3 1,96 1,96 Dec Com / Fl NS / Le Headache 1 1,96 Dec Com / Fl NS / Le Myalgias 1 1,96 Dec Com / Fl Acacia praecox Griseb. // Hëtenukw; Garabato // 51 (BA, CTES, SI); 167 (BA, CTES); 293 (BA) // IZO Le / Fr Flu / Cold 1 1 1,96 1,96 Dec Ing Albizia inundata (Mart.) Barneby & J.W.Grimes // Watujw; Palo flojo // 197, 299 (BA, CTES) Le Pimples / Rash 1 3 1,96 1,96 Dec Wa TOBA Le Dandruff 1 1,96 Dec Wa Le Pediculosis 1 1,96 Dec Wa Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil (Griseb.) Altschul // Hataj; Cebil // 304 (BA, CTES) Se Dog bite 5 2 9,80 11,76 Toa + Gri DA WE’EN Se Conjunctivitis 1 1,96 Gri DA Bauhinia argentinensis Burkart // Weyis-payul; Tulu-payul; Pata de buey; Pata de toro // 98, 198 (BA); 446 (CTES) Ro Embebbed thorn 5 5 9,80 15,69 Gra Pl (with grease)

Le Kidneys 2 3,92 Dec Ing LEN, PIL, CRI Le Liver 1 1,96 Ch PIL, CRI Ro Headache 1 1,96 Dec Ba + Ing Le Toothache 1 1,96 Ch Caesalpinia paraguariensis (Parodi) Burkart // Wäch'äyukw; Guayacán // 48 (BA, CTES, SI); 154 (BA, CTES) // MAK Co Rheumatism 4 9 7,84 19,61 Dec Ing Co Diarrhoea 2 3,92 Dec Ing CHO, IZO Co Chest pain 2 3,92 Dec Ing Co Cough 1 1,96 Dec Ing TOBA, MOC, PIL, CRI, CHO Co Contraception 1 1,96 Dec Ing TOBA, PIL Co Chicken pox 1 1,96 Dec Ing Co Gallbladder 1 1,96 Dec Ing Co Heartpain (chest 1 1,96 Dec Ing pain) Co Hypertension 1 1,96 Dec Ing Caesalpinia stuckertii Hassl. // Katukwetaj-cholhtsaj // 49 (BA, CTES, SI) // CRI Ro Contusions 1 5 1,96 7,84 Gri Pl (with oil) Ro Cough 1 1,96 Inf Ing Le Embebbed thorn 1 1,96 Mac Pl Ro Pimples / Rash 1 1,96 Gri Pl (with oil) Ro Wounds 1 1,96 Gri Pl (with oil) Geoffroea decorticans (Hook. & Arn.) Burkart // Letsenukw; Chañar // 157 (BA) Co / Ent Postpartum (or 13 10 25,49 35,29 Dec Ing CRI postabortion) hemorrhages Co Cough 9 17,65 Dec Wa + PIL, IZO, TOBA, Ing MOC, CRI, WE’EN Ent Oxytocics to 9 17,65 Dec Ing ease labour Co / Ent Placenta 5 9,80 Dec Ing CRI delivery Co / Ent Menstruation 4 7,84 Dec Ing TOBA, PIL Co / Ent Gastroenteritis 4 7,84 Dec Ing CHO Co Flu / Cold 3 5,88 Dec Ing CHO, CRI Co Digestive 1 1,96 Dec Ing parasites Ent Hypertension 1 1,96 Dec Ing Co Contraception 1 1,96 Dec Ing CHO Lophocarpinia aculeatifolia (Burkart) Burkart // Tani-kweyey // 94 (BA) Le Fever 1 2 1,96 1,96 Cru + Dec Ing Le Headache 1 1,96 Cru + Dec Ing Mimosa detinens Benth. // Not'ot-ka-haläy // 53 (BA, CTES); 54 (BA, SI, CTES); 451, 452 (CTES) // CHO Le Headache 1 2 1,96 1,96 Inf Wa + Ing Le Throat problems 1 1,96 Inf Ing Parkinsonia praecox (Ruiz & Pav.) Hawkins // Asnaj-lhäk; Brea // 42 (BA, CTES) // CHO, WE’EN Le / Ro Liver 2 4 3,92 11,76 Inf Ing Re Premenstrual 2 3,92 Inf Ing pains Fl / Re Vomiting (and 2 3,92 Inf Ing nausea) Co Flu / Cold 1 1,96 Inf Ing CRI Prosopis alba Griseb. // Jwaayukw; Algarrobo blanco // 64 (BA, CTES, SI); 85, 289, 288, 290 (BA, CTES) // TOBA, PIL, WE’EN Re Conjunctivitis 1 2 1,96 3,92 CRI, CHO Co / Re Postabortion 1 1,96 Dec Ba pain

Prosopis nigra Hieron. // Wosochukw; Algarrobo negro // 79, 83 (BA, CTES) // TOBA Re Ocular trauma 3 2 5,88 7,84 DA Re Conjunctivitis 1 1,96 DA CHO Prosopis ruscifolia Griseb. // Atek; Vinal // 65, 216 (BA, CTES) // WE’EN Le Conjunctivitis 7 10 13,73 27,45 Dec Wa + CRI, CHO, PIL, DA TOBA, MOC Le Stomach ache 4 7,84 Inf Ing TOBA, CRI Le Pimples / Rash 4 7,84 Dec Wa + Ing Le Scabies 4 7,84 Dec Wa + Ing Le Callouses 3 5,88 Dec Wa Le Fever 2 3,92 Dec Wa + Ing Le Birth/Postpartu 1 1,96 Dec Wa m pains Le Diarrhoea 1 1,96 Inf Ing Le Pediculosis 1 1,96 Dec Wa Le Otitis 1 1,96 Cru + Com Mac Pterogyne nitens Tul. // Wesajtek; Jwelhek-lhile; Tipa, Palo mortero // 91 (BA, CTES) // TOBA, IZO, CHO Le Toothache 1 1 1,96 1,96 Dec MR Senna chloroclada (Harms) H.S.Irwin & Barneby // Pichana //6 (BA, CTES, SI) // LEN, IZO Fl Heartpain (chest 1 1 1,96 1,96 Inf Ing pain) Senna morongii (Britton) H.S.Irwin & Barneby // Mawo-ka-jwaay-lhile // 52 (BA, CTES); 462 (CTES) // PIL, IZO NS / Le Stomach ache 4 5 7,84 17,65 Dec Ing CRI, CHO / Ro Le Fever 4 7,84 Dec Wa + CRI Ing NS / Le Vomiting (and 3 5,88 Dec Ing / Ro nausea) Le Scabies 2 3,92 Dec Wa CHO Le Dysuria 1 1,96 Dec Wa + Ing Senna occidentalis (L.) Link // Kajwe-lhiley; Café; Cafecillo // 63 (BA, CTES, SI); 501 (CTES) // IZO, CRI, LEN Le Vomiting (and 1 1 1,96 1,96 Dec Ing nausea) Senna pendula (Willd.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby // Mawo-ka-jwaay-lhile; Pitacanuto // 463, 465, 467 (CTES); 150 (BA) // IZO NS / Le Stomach ache 5 5 9,80 19,61 Dec Ing / Ro Le Fever 4 7,84 Dec Wa + CRI Ing NS / Le Liver 3 5,88 Dec Ing CRI Le Scabies 2 3,92 Dec Wa Le Dysuria 1 1,96 Dec Wa (genitali a) + Ing Loranthaceae Struthanthus uraguensis G. Don // Natsiyukw; Liga // 70 (BA, CTES, SI) //MAK, TOBA Le Placenta 5 3 9,80 9,80 Dec Ing CRI delivery Le Menstruation 3 5,88 Dec Ing CHO, PIL Le Wounds 2 3,92 Dec Wa Tripodanthus acutifolius (Ruiz & Pav.) Tiegh. // Natsiyukw; Liga // 170 (BA, CTES); 169 (BA); 455 (CTES) // TOBA, CRI WP Scabies 2 3 3,92 7,84 Dec Wa WP Contraception 1 1,96 Dec Ing WP Chest pain 1 1,96 Dec Ing

Lythraceae Heimia salicifolia (Kunth) Link // Wajsati; Quebrarao; Guaycurú // 113 (BA, CTES, SI); 112 (BA, CTES); 511 (CTES) // MAK, WE’EN, PIL, MOC Ro Diarrhoea 1 1 1,96 1,96 Gri + Inf Ing CRI, IZO, TOBA Malpighiaceae Aspicarpa sericea Griseb. // Wiye-lhäk // 20 (BA, CTES, SI) NS / Le Conjunctivitis 1 1 1,96 1,96 Dec DA Janusia guaranitica (A.St.-Hil.) A.Juss. // 551 (BA) // IZO Le Flu / Cold 4 1 7,84 7,84 Dec Ing Mascagnia brevifolia Griseb. // Ch'ehnu-ch'otey // 21 (BA, SI, CTES); 313 (BA); 315 (CTES) // IZO Le Menstruation 1 3 1,96 3,92 Inf Ing Le Myalgias 1 1,96 Dec Ba Le Stomach ache 1 1,96 Dec Ing Malvaceae Ceiba chodatii (Hassl.) Ravenna // Tsemlhäkw; Yuchán // 171, 273 (BA) Fl Cough 6 14 11,76 23,53 Inf Ing CRI Wo / Le Pimples / Rash 5 9,80 Inc / Dec DA / Wa Fl Whooping 4 7,84 Inf Ing cough Pr Heartpain (chest 4 7,84 Inf Ing pain) Wo Wounds 3 5,88 Sco + Gra DA Fl Chest pain 3 5,88 Inf Ing Le Headache 2 3,92 Mac or Com CHO Dec Pr Chagas disease 2 3,92 Inf Ing Le Dandruff 2 3,92 Mac Wa Fl Tuberculosis 2 3,92 Inf Ing Le Fever 1 1,96 Dec Wa Le Toothache 1 1,96 Dec MR Le Hypertension 1 1,96 DA (on head) Le Pediculosis 1 1,96 Mac Wa Corchorus hirtus L. // Mawo-ka-jwaay-lhile // 576, 613 (BA) Le Vomiting (and 1 1 1,96 1,96 Inf Ing nausea) Martyniaceae Ibicella parodii Abbiatti // Kalap'i-päset // 55, 56, 625 (BA) Le / Fr Dog bite 3 3 5,88 9,80 Gri DA Le / Fr Kidneys 1 1,96 Dec Wa Le Otitis 1 1,96 Inf DA Moraceae Maclura tinctoria (L.) D.Don ex Steud. // Halä-lhokwetaj; Mora // 22 (BA, CTES, SI) // CHO Re Toothache 1 1 1,96 1,96 DA IZO, WE’EN Olacaceae Ximenia americana L. // Alhu-lhäk; Pata pata // 67 (BA) // MAK, CRI Le Diarrhoea 2 2 3,92 5,88 Inf Ing IZO, WE’EN Co Fever 1 1,96 Dec Wa Onagraceae Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) P.H.Raven // Samukw; Ajwtintsetaj // 515 (CTES) // IZO Le / Ro Flu / Cold 1 1 1,96 1,96 Dec Ing Orchidaceae Cyrtopodium punctatum (L.) Lindl. // Tekw; Chacra del monte // 162 (BA) Bu Hypertension 2 4 3,92 9,80 Inf Ing CRI, CHO (pseudo bulb) Le Skeletal2 3,92 Inf Ing articular pain (lumbagoarthritis) Bu Kidneys 1 1,96 Inf Ing CRI

(pseudo bulb) Bu Pimples / Rash 1 1,96 Gri DA TOBA (pseudo bulb) Passifloraceae Passiflora mooreana Hook. f. // Wänlhäj-tihmay // 486 (CTES) // TOBA, MOC Fl Hypertension 4 1 7,84 7,84 Inf Ing CRI, CHO Phyllanthaceae Phyllanthus niruri L. // Rompepiedras // 610 (BA) WP Gallbladder 2 1 3,92 3,92 Dec Ing CRI Phytolaccaceae Petiveria alliacea L. // Teye-ka-haloy // 231 (BA); 488 (CTES) // MAK, TOBA, PIL, IZO WP Fever 1 8 1,96 11,76 Dec Wa CRI Ro Rheumatism 1 1,96 Dec Ba WP Abortion 1 1,96 Dec Ing Le Hypertension 1 1,96 Dec Ing Le Hypotension 1 1,96 Dec Ing Le Stomach ache 1 1,96 Dec Ing WP Dysuria 1 1,96 Dec Ing Le Chicken pox 1 1,96 Dec Wa Polygonaceae Salta triflora (Griseb.) Adr. Sanchez // Tsinukw; Duraznillo // 31 (BA, CTES, SI) // MAK, TOBA, WE’EN, CRI Co Menstruation 2 6 3,92 9,80 Dec Ing Wo Wounds 2 3,92 Sco Com Co Toothache 1 1,96 Inf Ing AYO Co Digestive 1 1,96 Inf Ing IZO, CHO discomfort Co Postpartum (or 1 1,96 Inf Ing postabortion) hemorrhages Le Abortion 1 1,96 Inf Ing Pteridaceae Cheilanthes notholaenoides (Desv.) Maxon ex Weath. // Ch'ehnu-lhup; Doradilla // 116 (BA) Le Menstruation 6 4 11,76 11,76 Inf Ing Le Contraception 4 7,84 Inf Ing Le Abortion 4 7,84 Inf Ing Le Placenta 2 3,92 Inf Ing delivery Cheilanthes obducta Mett. ex Kuhn // Ch'ehnu-lhup; Doradilla // 577 (BA) Le Postpartum (or 11 4 21,57 29,41 Inf Ing postabortion) hemorrhages Le Menstruation 8 15,69 Inf Ing CRI Le Abortion 5 9,80 Inf Ing CRI Le Contraception 4 7,84 Inf Ing Ranunculaceae Clematis campestris A.St.-Hil. // Chiwato-päsey; Kayla-päsey // 233, 234 (BA, CTES); 311, 312 (CTES) //MAK, CHO, TOBA, WE’EN, IZO, CRI, MOC Fr Acne 1 1 1,96 1,96 Gri Pla Rhamnaceae Ziziphus mistol Griseb. // Ahäyukw; Mistol // 90 (BA, CTES); 276 (BA) // PIL Le Indigestion 12 11 23,53 47,06 Inf Ing CRI Le Diarrhoea 8 15,69 Inf Ing TOBA, IZO Co Pediculosis 8 15,69 Dec Wa Co Dandruff 5 9,80 Dec Wa TOBA, CRI Le Pimples / Rash 5 9,80 Dec Wa WE’EN, CHO Le Vomiting (and 4 7,84 Inf Ing CRI nausea) Le Fever 2 3,92 Inf Ing MOC Le Stomach ache 2 3,92 Inf Ing Le Cough 1 1,96 Inf Ing MOC, CRI

Le Measles 1 1,96 Dec Wa Le Myalgias 1 1,96 Inf Ing Rubiaceae Mitracarpus megapotamicus (Spreng.) Kuntze // Halä-watsan // 71 (BA); 72 (BA, CTES) Le Headache 2 4 3,92 5,88 Inf Ing Le Stomach ache 2 3,92 Inf Ing NS Conjunctivitis 1 1,96 Dec Wa NS Pimples / Rash 1 1,96 Staelia virgata (Link ex Roem. & Schult.) K.Schum. // Kooleni-lhäk // 569, 409 (BA) WP Digestive 1 1 1,96 1,96 Dec Ing discomfort Santalaceae Acanthosyris falcata Griseb. // Jwitenukw; Sacha pera // 281 (BA, CTES) Se (oil) Wounds 2 9 3,92 11,76 Sco DA PIL (analgesichealing) Se (oil) Pimples / Rash 1 1,96 Sco DA CHO, PIL Le Headache 1 1,96 Cru + Inf Ing PIL Se (oil) Myalgias 1 1,96 Sco DA PIL Se (oil) Rheumatism 1 1,96 Sco DA PIL Le Cough 1 1,96 Cru + Inf Ing Se (oil) Embebbed thorn 1 1,96 Sco Pl Se (oil) Otitis 1 1,96 Sco DA Se (oil) Toothache 1 1,96 Sco DA Sapindaceae Cardiospermum corindum L. // Hota // 115, 316 (BA); 444 (CTES) Le Pimples / Rash 2 2 3,92 3,92 Dec or Gri Wa or Pl Le Fever 1 1,96 Dec Wa Urvillea chacoensis Hunz. // Hota // 114, Maranta & Arenas 568, Maranta 1105 (BA) // IZO Le Pimples / Rash 1 1 1,96 1,96 Cru Pl Sapotaceae Sideroxylon obtusifolium (Roem. & Schult.) T.D.Penn. // Hiknak; Molle // 99 (BA, CTES, SI) // IZO, CHO, CRI Co Fever 1 3 1,96 3,92 Dec Ing Le Stomach ache 1 1,96 Inf Ing Co Myalgias 1 1,96 Dec Ing PIL Selaginellaceae Selaginella sp. // Woyis-cha; Pusey-pä // 124 (BA) WP Menstruation 1 1 1,96 1,96 Inf Ing Simaroubaceae Castela coccinea Griseb. // Jwiskokw; Meloncillo // 280 (BA, CTES); 158 (BA) NS or Diarrhoea 5 3 9,80 9,80 Inf / Gra + Ing IZO, CRI Le / Ro Inf Le / Ro Stomach ache 4 7,84 Inf / Gra + Ing TOBA, MOC Inf Le Indigestion 1 1,96 Inf Ing MOC Solanaceae Capsicum chacoense Hunz. // Pohnon; Ají del monte // 205, 221, 624 (BA) // TOBA, CRI Fr Digestive 6 2 11,76 11,76 Ing PIL parasites Fr Myasis 1 1,96 Cru Wa Datura ferox L. // Jwilotaj; Jwenataj-jwus-t'ojes // 207 (BA); 483 (CTES) Ro Headache 3 2 5,88 7,84 Gri + Dec Com CRI Le Embebbed thorn 1 1,96 Cru DA Datura innoxia Mill. // 587 (BA) Ro Headache 3 2 5,88 7,84 Gri + Dec Com Le Embebbed thorn 1 1,96 Cru DA Lycium nodosum Miers // Tsojwa; Tsojwatukw // 40 (BA) Le Sunstroke 1 1 1,96 1,96 Gri + Mac Ing Nicotiana glauca Graham // Etek-oytahitaj; Palán palán // 23 (BA, CTES, SI) Le Headache 12 8 23,53 41,18 Cru DA or CRI, CHO, PIL, Com IZO, WE’EN

Le

Fever

7

13,73

Cru

Le

Sunstroke

7

13,73

Cru

Le

Pimples / Rash

5

9,80

Cru

Le

Boils

3

5,88

Cru

Le Le Le

Trauma Embebbed thorn Toothache

2 1 1

3,92 1,96 1,96

Heat Cru Cru

DA or Com DA or Com DA or Com DA or Com DA Com DA or Com

IZO, CRI WE’EN, CRI MOC, CRI TOBA, MOC CRI IZO

Nicotiana longiflora Cav. // Wahat-ts'ukw // 601 (BA) WP Digestive 2 1 3,92 3,92 Dec Ing discomfort Solanum argentinum Bitter & Lillo // Sitojweta-lhäk; Cabrayuyo // 155, 166, 277 (BA); 58 (BA, CTES, SI), CHO NS Digestive 4 4 7,84 15,69 Inf Ing discomfort Ro Toothache 2 3,92 Dec MR TOBA, IZO Le Rheumatism 1 1,96 Cru Wa IZO, CRI Le Fever 1 1,96 Dec Wa CRI Solanum sisymbriifolium Lam. // Jwilotaj; Vila vila // 26 (BA, CTES, SI); 208 (BA, CTES) // TOBA, WE’EN, MOC Ro Kidneys 7 5 13,73 23,53 Dec Ing LEN, IZO, CRI Ro Dysuria 3 5,88 Dec Ing CRI, CHO, PIL Ro Excrescences 1 1,96 Gri + Dec Wa Ro Boils 1 1,96 Gri + Dec Wa CRI Ro Prostate 1 1,96 Dec Ing Verbenaceae Aloysia gratissima (Gillies & Hook.) Tronc. // Tsetuwu-ka-haläy // 144 (BA, SI) // TOBA, CRI, MOC, LEN Le Wounds 1 1 1,96 1,96 Gri Pl Lippia turbinata Griseb. // Hotantas // 142 (BA, CTES, SI); 143 (BA) // TOBA Le Rheumatism 1 1 1,96 1,96 Inf Ing Viscaceae Phoradendron liga (Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.) Eichler // Natsiyukw; Liga // 168 (BA) // TOBA, IZO Le Placenta 3 3 5,88 5,88 Dec Ing CRI delivery Le Menstruation 2 3,92 Dec Ing Le Wounds 1 1,96 Dec Wa Vitaceae Cissus palmata Poir. // Olaj // 229, 230 (BA) // IZO, CRI Ro Contraception 1 2 1,96 3,92 Inf Ing Ro Kidneys 1 1,96 Dec Ing Zygophyllaceae Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb. // Hukw; Palo santo // 33 (BA, CTES, SI) // MAK Dur Heartpain (chest 5 11 9,80 25,49 Dec Ing CHO, PIL, CRI pain) Co Chest pain 3 5,88 Dec Ing CHO, PIL, CRI Le Pimples / Rash 2 3,92 Dec Wa CRI, CHO, PIL Le Scabies 2 3,92 Dec Wa CHO Co Contusions 2 3,92 Dec Ing PIL Dur Hypertension 2 3,92 Dec Ing CRI, WE’EN Co Abortion 2 3,92 Inf Ing TOBA Co Premenstrual 2 3,92 Inf Ing pains Co Digestive 1 1,96 Dec Ing LEN, PIL, CRI, discomfort CHO, IZO Dur Cough 1 1,96 Dec Ing PIL Co Dysuria 1 1,96 Dec Ing

Table 3. Total number of wild medicinal species and uses reported for the different ethnic group of the region, number of coincidences (shared species and uses) with the Wichís, and Sorensen’s similarity index (Is) values compared with the Wichís. Is species Is uses Ethnic N species Species N uses Uses group shared shared Criollo Chorote Pilagá Toba We’enhayek Izoceño Mocoví Ayoreo Lengua Maká

136 69 89 179 56 165 109 8 39 35

68 43 36 42 27 46 27 4 11 15

478 206 217 490 117 422 167 15 45 47

86 47 39 38 24 23 16 4 4 0

0,541 0,467 0,353 0,286 0,316 0,328 0,241 0,065 0,143 0,2

0,194 0,153 0,125 0,085 0,091 0,055 0,055 0,019 0,017 0