Useful Plants Within a Campesino Community in a Costa
Rican Montane Cloud Forest
Authors: Kappelle, Maarten, Avertin, Guillaume, Juárez, Marta E., and
Zamora, Nelson
Source: Mountain Research and Development, 20(2) : 162-171
Published By: International Mountain Society
URL: https://doi.org/10.1659/0276-
4741(2000)020[0162:UPWACC]2.0.CO;2
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Introduction
Most articles dealing with ethnobotany in tropical low-
lands stress the importance of tropical lowland flora
for the subsistence and survival of local populations
and their cultures. Similar data are available for high-
lands in subtropical regions such as the Himalayas. But
until now, hardly any ethnobotanical studies of the
upland tropics have been conducted, and there is an
almost complete lack of information on montane
forests and knowledge about how their populations use
these rich resources.
In an effort to begin filling this gap, the authors
made an inventory of useful plants in the upland belt of
the Costa Rican Los Santos Forest Reserve, a protected
area in which a large percentage of the surface is still cov-
ered by fragmented but mature tropical montane cloud
forest. This study aims to identify useful indigenous and
introduced plant species that are known to representa-
tives of a rural community of settlers. This community is
presently undergoing an abrupt change from traditional
subsistence agriculture toward a modern economy based
on fruticulture, trout export, and ecotourism.
Study Area
Topography and administrative status
The study area is located in the montane belt (from
2000 to 3000 m) of the Los Santos Forest Reserve (Chin-
chilla 1987), a protected area with a surface of 62,000 ha
in the Costa Rican Cordillera de Talamanca (Figure 1).
The reserve was established in 1975 (Meza and Bonilla
1990) and now serves as a buffer zone for the 612,570
ha of the Amistad Biosphere Reserve (Kappelle and
Juárez 1994). It has also been defined as a World Her-
itage Site and a Centre of Plant Diversity (Whitmore
1990; Groombridge 1992). Today this biosphere reserve
harbors the last large tract of undisturbed neotropical
montane forest in Central America. The area is adminis-
tered by MINAE and belongs to the Central Pacific Con-
servation Area (ACOPAC). At present, due to increasing
human pressure, only half of the reserve’s area is still
covered by dense natural oak forest. A study of a 1987
Landsat satellite image revealed that about 27,000 ha
(ie, 43.6%) of the reserve had been cleared by that year
(Diaz, personal communication).
Environmental setting
The study area is characterized by a rugged terrain with
a dendritic drainage pattern. Mean annual rainfall val-
ues range from 2000 to 3000 mm. A marked dry season
occurs between December and April. The mean annual
temperature is approximately 9
o
C on mountain peaks
(3200–3491 m) and about 16
o
C in the valley bottom at
2000 m. January is the coldest month. Soils (Incepti-
sols) are peaty and rocky on the peaks and clay with lit-
ter and humus on the slopes (Kappelle 1996).
Ecosystems in the upper watershed of the Savegre
River range from natural tropic alpine páramo bamboo
scrub on the summits, gnarled subalpine dwarf forests
along the upper slopes, and 30–35-m-tall mature mon-
tane oak forests on intermediate slopes to disturbed com-
munities (grasslands, fern brakes, scrub, successional
forests, agricultural lands; Kappelle et al 1994; Figure 2).
Botanical exploration over the past 12 years has
made it possible to produce a checklist for vascular
plant species that includes 590 species in 122 families
162
Useful Plants Within a Campesino Community
in a Costa Rican Montane Cloud Forest
Maarten Kappelle, Guillaume Avertin, Marta E. Juárez and Nelson Zamora
An ethnobotanical sur-
vey was carried out
among a campesino
community in a Costa
Rican montane cloud
forest. Campesino
families were inter-
viewed about how they
used indigenous and
introduced vascular
plants along an altitu-
dinal gradient (2000–3000 m). From a total of 590
species known in the area, 23.8% of 189 useful plant
species were used for medicinal purposes, 39.7% for
food, and 24.3% for construction (timber) or as com-
bustibles (fuelwood, charcoal). Less important uses
included dye, ornament (ecotourism), fodder, gum, oil, and
poison. A total of 61.9 % of the plants were used for one
purpose only. The introduced and exotic woody species
Cupressus lusitanica and Eucalyptus globulus showed
the highest diversity in types of use (7), together with the
native Alnus acuminata. Trunks (53%) and fruits (47%)
were the main plant organs used, followed by leaves
(33%) and branches (30%). Over 27.5% of all plants were
used on a daily basis, while 34.9% were used occasional-
ly. About 11.6% of the species were rarely used. At pres-
ent, use of indigenous species is becoming less common;
the trend is to favor introduced and economically impor-
tant species. In the short or medium term, local knowl-
edge of medicinal plants will probably disappear in this
rural community that is undergoing modernization, with a
focus on new undertakings such as fruticultural export,
rainbow trout hatcheries, and ecotourism.
Keywords: Tropical forests; montane cloud forest; ethno-
botany; mountain rural economy; campesino communi-
ties; plant resources; indigenous knowledge; Costa Rica.
Peer reviewed: November 1999. Accepted: February
2000.
Mountain Research and Development Vol 20 No 2 May 2000: 162–171
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for this watershed (Kappelle et al 2000). Species-rich
flowering plant families include Araliaceae, Asteraceae,
Ericaceae, Lauraceae, Melastomataceae, Myrsinaceae,
Poaceae, Rubiaceae, and Solanaceae. Most abundant
and dominant are Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Fagaceae.
The montane cloud forest is characterized by oaks
30–40 m tall, festooned with epiphytes. Bamboo thrives
in the understory, together with palms, tree ferns,
shrubs, and herbs. The structure and composition of
the major natural and human-induced vegetation types
have been described in previous studies (Kappelle et al
1994, 1995a,b).
Socioeconomy and land use history
The study area was colonized and greatly deforested by
coffee farmers who migrated southeastward in the 19th
century from Costa Rica’s Central Valley into Talaman-
ca’s montane forests (Rodríguez and Vargas 1988; Ureña
1990; Carrière 1991). Migrating campesinos in search of
land established small settlements (caserios), which in
the 1940s grew into villages (pueblos) as markets became
accessible due to the construction of the Inter-American
Highway (Schubel 1980). In the 1950s, more remote
areas were colonized, for example, the Savegre valley,
where San Gerardo de Dota is situated in the middle of
the Los Santos Forest Reserve (Siles de Guerrero 1980).
Forty years ago, the first settlers in this town (the
moradores) practiced slash-and-burn techniques. They
extracted timber for fence posts, fuelwood, and char-
coal and cultivated crops (maize, legumes) for domestic
use. They gathered blackberries and edible palm hearts
and raised dairy cattle and pigs (Chacón, personal com-
munication).
Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s,
uncontrolled clearing reached its peak in the area (Van
Omme et al 1997). Because the deforestation front was
moving westward at an alarming rate, the Costa Rican
government created the Los Santos Forest Reserve in
1975 with the aim of controlling the area’s natural
resources. As clearing of forested land became illegal,
loggers (madereros), charcoal producers (carboneros),
and cattle farmers (ganaderos) were forced to take up
other land use practices.
Only a few campesinos were able to successfully
develop new socioeconomic activities by growing apples,
peaches, and plums. Most other campesinos lacked the
technical knowledge and skills needed for alternative
land use practices, the capital needed for initial invest-
ment, and appropriate social networks to achieve their
goals. Today, the charcoal-producing campesinos in the
upper part of the watershed area are still seeking new
remunerative agricultural activities in order to improve
their standard of living (Kappelle and Juárez 1995).
Methods
Based on a study of the area’s agroecological zonation
by Kappelle and Juárez (1995), in 1996, we randomly
selected a total of 14 farms, stratified along a 1000-m
elevational gradient (at altitudes between 2000 and
3000 m) and parallel to the Savegre River in San Ger-
ardo de Dota. Two complementary survey methods
were employed to assess each farm, (1) interviews
using formal questionnaires addressed to each
campesino and their relatives and (2) informal visits in
the field with the same interviewees. Farms and
campesinos were visited several times (multivisit
approach, after Von Platen et al 1982). Often, as they
became more accustomed to the researchers’ visits,
campesinos shared more detailed knowledge of plant
use during one of the later visits.
Campesinos, their families, and the authors collect-
ed ethnobotanical plant specimens. Vouchers were
identified on the basis of Hammel et al (1994) and fer-
tile specimens stored at Costa Rica’s National Museum
and at INBio. Names of common species were annotat-
163
Research
FIGURE 1 Location of the Los
Santos Forest Reserve in
central Costa Rica (left) with
the reserve’s dense forest
cover as estimated in 1992
(right). The village of San
Gerardo de Dota is indicated
with a black dot.
FIGURE 2 Panoramic view of the valley of San Gerardo de Dota showing
natural oak forest (top), secondary forest, pastureland, and fruit tree
plantations (bottom). (Photo by M. Kappelle)
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Mountain Research and Development Vol 20 No 2 May 2000
ed and cross-referenced (Standley 1937–1938; Burger
1971–1996; Morales 1971; Fournier et al 1973; León
1987; Kappelle et al 1991; Ocampo 1994).
Ethnobotanical parameters of farms and campesinos’
households, that is, the effective social units, included
(1) useful plant species known, (2) the particular use of
plant species, (3) the species’ origins (indigenous and
introduced), (4) the species’ status (wild and cultivated),
(5) the plant organ used (root, tuber, shoot, stem/trunk,
bark, branch, leaf, flower/inflorescence, fruit, seed, exu-
date [sap, latex], entire plant), and (6) the actual state
of use (used in the past, still in use, used very recently).
The following 10 use categories were distinguished:
(1) combustible (fuelwood, charcoal, matches), (2)
construction (fence, fiber, handicraft, paper, rope, tim-
ber, work tool), (3) dye (color), (4) fodder (forage for
cattle), (5) gum, (6) medicinal (remedies, drugs, stimu-
lants), (7) nutritional (food, beverage, food colorant,
aromatic flavoring, antioxidant), (8) oil, (9) ornamen-
tal/ecotourism-related/scenic beauty (eg, attractive for
birds), and (10) poisonous (against rodents).
Subsequently, the data sets on useful plants were
analyzed and interpreted in order to reveal patterns in
plant species’ uses and origins, species’ status, plant
organs used, and actual use state. Results were then com-
pared with results from other ethnobotanical studies.
Results
A total of 189 vascular species were classified as useful
plants known by 14 families in San Gerardo. A full list
of these plants is provided in the appendix at the end
of this article. Over 95% of these species (ie, 180) were
identified taxonomically down to species level. The
plant families that had the greatest number of species
classified as useful plants were Poaceae (13 species),
Asteraceae (12), Rosaceae (9), Lauraceae (8),
Solanaceae (8), Apiaceae (6), Cucurbitaceae (6), Ver-
benaceae (6), Brassicaceae (5), and Fabaceae (5).
The number of useful plant species listed per farm
ranged from 22 to 117, depending mainly on the origin
of the campesino family, the age of the interviewees, and
the time elapsed since the family’s arrival in the Savegre
valley. In general, older campesinos who came from
neighboring valleys and had been living in the area for
several decades had a greater knowledge of useful
plants than recent and younger settlers who immigrated
from regions further away. Similarly, about 57% of the
useful plant species were known to only 1 or 2 campesino
families, while widely known species were few and cor-
responded mainly to introduced fruit trees (Figure 3)
and timber species.
Nutritional plants constituted the largest propor-
tion of plant species used in the area (39.7%), while
almost a quarter (24.3%) of the plant species were used
for medicinal purposes, half of which were locally intro-
duced and cultivated species (Figure 4). Another quar-
ter (23.8%) was used for construction (timber), and a
similar proportion was referred to as ornamental
plants. Other, less abundant uses of species included
combustion (fuelwood and charcoal species), dye (eg,
the tinctoreous Justicia; see Acuña and Rivera 1990),
fodder (graminoids for cattle), gum, oil (palm), and
poison. Among the plants used for nutritional purpos-
es, the largest proportion was made up of plants from
which beverages, edible fruit, vegetables, and aromatic
spices are derived. Only 15 plant species were used for
producing handicrafts. A total of 5 plants were men-
tioned as useful in killing rodents, a practice no longer
much applied. Over 12 species were particularly impor-
tant as ornamental plants and were cultivated for pur-
poses related to ecotourism. Other plants included the
trees Nectandra and Ocotea, which are planted because
their avocado-like fruit attracts the splendid quetzal.
A total of 117 plants, or 61.9% of the total number
of species, were used for only one purpose (Figure 5).
At the other end of the spectrum, 3 woody species
(0.02% of the total number) were each used for 7 dif-
ferent purposes: cypress, eucalyptus, and alder. Plant
organs from these multipurpose species were produced
in forest plantations (reforestation) and used for com-
bustion (fuelwood, charcoal), for construction (living
fences, handicraft, timber), and for medicinal purpos-
es. While cypress and eucalyptus are introduced species
used for reforestation, alder also flourishes as an
indigenous species along rocky river beds and on
recent landslides.
Figure 6 shows that over 50% of the useful plants
were used for their stems (mainly woody trunks), which
are gathered for construction (timber). Most of these
timber species have become locally rare and are out of
use (eg, Magnolia, Podocarpus). The second most impor-
tant plant organ was the fruit, which is used in 46 plant
164
Maarten Kappelle, Guillaume Avertin, Marta E. Juárez and Nelson Zamora
FIGURE 3 Peasant showing his
peach plantation to researcher
Marta E. Juárez. The peach is
an introduced useful plant
species of major commercial
value to the peasant commu-
nity. (Photo by M. Kappelle)
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species (47%). Many of these plants were introduced
for their sweet dessert fruit (apple, pear, peach, plum,
strawberry) or for their bitter fruit, which serves as a
vegetable (eg, cucumber, tomato). Blackberry (Rubus)
was one of the few native fruit species to be commer-
cially cultivated. Other species were used for their
leaves (33%), branches (30%), or other plant organs,
such as flowers (ornamental), shoots and, to a lesser
extent, tubers and bark. It appeared that different plant
organs (root, stem, bark, leaf, fruit) may be used from
merely one species. A total of 132 plant species had
only 1 useful plant organ, while 29 species had 2 or 3
different useful plant organs.
With regard to the frequency of use, it appeared
that most plant species were used on a daily basis
(27.5%) or occasionally, that is, less than once every 2
weeks (34.9%). The latter group comprised plant
species that are requested for construction (timber) or
when sick relatives are taken care of (medicinal plants).
About 11.6% of the species were rarely used. Some 23
species have been used in the past but are out of use
today. Among these were a number of medicinal plants,
which had been replaced by pharmaceuticals, as well as
a series of timber species that had become locally
extinct (Guatteria, Hyeronima). There is a small set of
native plant species that has never been used by San
Gerardo’s campesinos, although their usefulness is local-
ly well known (eg, the medicinal Wercklea lutea). Several
species of nutritious plants were harvested by a limited
number of campesino families for their own use. An
example is the wild variety of the native avocado species
Persea rigens (Lauraceae), which still grows under natu-
ral conditions but is also cultivated. The in situ conser-
vation of viable populations of this tree species in the
Cordillera de Talamanca, one of its centers of origin, is
of prime importance, as the species constitutes the
genetic resource base for the global avocado market.
Commercially cultivated plants made up 18.5% of
the total number of useful plants. Ten of these pro-
duced fruit, 10 were vegetables, and a few provided aro-
matic or medicinal products. Other commercial plants
included native tree species that are in strong demand
among the urban population because of their excellent
charcoal. Charcoal-producing campesinos (carboneros) in
San Gerardo usually maintain several pits at different
stages of burning in order to have continuous produc-
tion for the weekly pick-up by charcoal buyers. Charcoal
is mainly produced from three species of oak (Quercus).
According to CITES, trade in Quercus copeyensis, oaks
that are still abundant locally, “needs to be subjected to
strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompati-
ble with their survival” (Schouten 1990). At present, the
timber species in Savegre valley are not exploited com-
mercially, as most of Costa Rica’s timber still comes
from lowland rain forests.
In general, knowledge about useful plants appeared
to be inherited from the campesino families’ ancestors
and transferred from generation to generation
(Chacón, personal communication). Thirty-nine species
whose uses were formerly unknown turned out to be
165
Research
FIGURE 4 Relative distribution of 189 vascular plant species over 10
different use type categories.
FIGURE 5 Relative distribution of 189 vascular plant species according to
number of uses per plant species.
FIGURE 6 Relative distribution of 189 vascular plant species according to
11 different kinds of useful plant organs.
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