Medical Ethnobotany in the United States of America: The Experience from the Brooklyn Borough of New York City New York

Different age and immigrant groups of Brooklyn borough showed different knowledge in traditional use of plants. A field survey was conducted in 21 localities, and resulted in the collection of a total 88 species based on their usefulness as plants, as relayed by the local communities. The indigenous informants from six different immigrants’ viz.: Bangladeshi, Indian, Jamaican, Mexican, Nepali, and Pakistani were interviewed using open ended questionnaires for free listing plants. The sample included 248 men, and 124 women. Women knew more about daily use of plants used for common diseases such as colds, diarrhea, fever, flu, injuries, nausea, and pains such as arthritis and migraine. Although a significant difference was found for traditional knowledge of plants between old and young men, this was not the case with women. This finding was observed with different immigrant groups as well. A strong correlation between age and ethnobotany knowledge was also found.