Traditional ecological knowledge of Palmae by Quilombolas, brazilian afro descendant people in Amazon forest, Brazil

The Amazon forest are habitat for  147 Palmae species, that are used or have potential for many use by indigenous people, traditional communities and quilombolas. This research studied the traditional ecological knowledge and use of Palmae species by quilombolas in the Vila Bela da Santissima Trindade Municipality, Mato Grosso State, frontier zone between Amazon Forest and Brazilian Cerrado. The methods used in this study were snow ball and free listing.The afro descendants know 18 Palmae species, with the follow frequency of citation: Attalea speciosa Mart.ex  Spreng (100%), Euterpe precatoria Mart. (94%),Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq) Lodd. ex Mart. (81%), Attalea phalerata Mart. ex Spreng. and Mauritia flexuosa L.F. (78% ) and Astrocaryum huaimi Mart.(75%). The interviewed used 17 species,  for food (61%),handcraft (50%), building house (44%),fertilizers (11%). The use of these species can be an economic alternative complementary to cattle ranching, in such way to connect them to a regional market.