Preliminary study of ethnobotany in Xishuang Banna, People's Republic of China.

Xishuang Banna, a particularly rich area for ethnobotanical research, borders on Burma and Laos, and contains some of the last undisturbed tropical rainforests in China. Xishuang Banna is ethnically very diverse; the largest group is the Dai followed by the Hani (Aini) and various smaller national minorities. Since the various groups inhabit different parts of the environment (from river valleys to steep mountain slopes) their awareness of, and use of plants varies considerably. The Dai people for example, have a tradition of forest preserves for each village as well as family home gardens around each house. This study lists 218 plant species that are frequently used by the various nationalities included in the survey.