Ethnobotany, Phylogeny, and 'Omics' for Human Health and Food Security

Trends Plant Sci. 2017 Mar;22(3):187-191. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2017.01.001. Epub 2017 Feb 11.

Garnatje T¹, Peñuelas J², Vallès J³.

Author information

1

Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB-CSIC-ICUB), Passeig del Migdia s.n., Parc de Montjuïc, 08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

2

CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Catalonia, Spain; CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain.

3

Laboratori de Botànica (UB), Unitat associada al CSIC, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l'Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII s.n., 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: joanvalles@ub.edu.

Abstract

Here, we propose a new term, 'ethnobotanical convergence', to refer to the similar uses for plants included in the same node of a phylogeny. This phylogenetic approach, together with the 'omics' revolution, shows how combining modern technologies with traditional ethnobotanical knowledge could be used to identify potential new applications of plants.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PMID:

28209326

DOI:

10.1016/j.tplants.2017.01.001