Plantas útiles del parque natural Chicaque y áreas aledañas

Abstract

The characterization of useful plants of the Chicaque natural park was carried out, understanding as "Useful plants" those goods that come from the forests, whether they are timber or non-timber. The information was captured through talks and walks with local community members. As a result, 152 species with a defined use were obtained, corresponding to 116 genera and 67 families. The families with the highest representation are: Asteraceae (10 species), Melastomataceae (8 species), Lauraceae and Rubiaceae (6 species). On the other hand, the genera with the greatest abundance were: Miconia (7 species), Myrcia, Piper and Solanum (4 species) that were found mainly in the busiest trails within the park. As for the categories of use, the most frequent are: medicinal, timber and food, which highlights species such as Quercus humboldtii, Juglans neotropica, Clusia multiflora, among others, for presenting the largest number of uses. Similarly, the correlations found in terms of use, habit and part used, allow to see that in the study area for medicinal use is often used the leaves of herbs and for timber use trees are used.