A comparative analysis of five medicinal floras

ABSTRACf.We report a striking similarity in the selection of medicinal plants by widely separated non-western peoples. People across the northern hemisphere (in Chiapas, North America, Korea and Kashmir) have selected similar plant species members of the same plant families for medicinal usc; the sunflower family (Asteraceae), for example, ranks first in 3 of 4 regions and second in the fourth. Only 9 plant families are needed 10 delineate the 5 most important medicinal plant families in these 4 regions. Likewise, there is striking similarity in theplants neglected for uS(' as medicine: the grass family (poaceae) ranks last in 3 of 4 regions and se<ond in the fourth. These patterns may be due to the relatedness of the northern floras and to the cultural transmission of knowledge throu.gh time and space; they may demonstrate the existence of a global pattern of human knowledge.