Herbs of Southern Ecuador: A Field Guide to the Medicinal Plants of Vilcabamba (English and Spanish Edition) - Softcover

Bejar, Ezra; Bussmann, Rainer; Roa, Cruz; Sharon, Douglas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0971520402 ISBN 13: 9780971520400

Publisher: L H Pr, 2002

Synopsis

Secrets of Youth in Southern Ecuador?

Vilcabamba, (in the Quechua language “holly valley”) located in Southern Ecuador, is known to gerontologists as one of three places in the world with the largest population of elderly people. This valley is known as an "island of immunity and a pool of longevity." The favorable climate, water quality, proper nutrition and use of herbs allow inhabitants to survive to a high age in a remarkable state of fitness.

Until now the " herbal wisdom of the age" has not been documented. An international team of scientists (including medical anthropology, ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology) contacted the only elderly curandero living in San Pedro de Vilcabamba, Don Cruz Roa. After establishing a solid relationship with him, the team meticulously organized local herbal wisdom in a coherent and succinct manner for transmission to future generations.

For the first time the secrets of herbal wisdom of Vilcabamba are available to the public. Herbs of Southern Ecuador provides exciting information about the expedition to Ecuador, the field methodology, and complete ethnobotanical information on more than 140 herbs. It includes vernacular and scientific names, families and synonyms, illustrations, botanical descriptions, origins, geographic coordinates, as well as ecology, traditional classification, uses, preparation, parts used, and administration. The information is in Spanish and English, for easy cross-reference, containing excellent indices by scientific and vernacular names and a comprehensive bibliography.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Ezra Béjar is a pharmacologist, consultant and professor, who has directed numerous ethnobotanical expeditions in Latin America and is a consultant for the National Institutes of Health; Dr. Rainer W. Bussmann is a vegetation ecologist and ethnobotanist who specializes in the plants of Latin America and Africa and is an assistant professor at Bayreuth University; Mr. Cruz Roa Jaramillo is a farmer and herbalist from the community of San Pedro de Vilcabamba, Ecuador; and Dr. Douglas Sharon is director of the San Diego Museum of Man, who has published extensively on shamanism and produced an award-winning documentary film.

Review

"...A must for all people, scientists and libraries working on medicinal plant biodiversity." -- Steven R. King, Ph.D. Vice President of Ethnobotany and Conservation, Shaman Pharmaceuticals

"...An encyclopedic study to ensure the survival and wider dissemination of herbal knowledge..." -- Peter T. Furst, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology

"...The wisdom of empirical knowledge handed down for generations..." -- James A. Duke, Ph.D., author of The Green Pharmacy, 2001

Edition details

• Publisher: L H Pr
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0971520402
• ISBN 13: 9780971520400
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352