Ethnobotany of exotic weeds in China

摘要

Exotic weeds have caused serious damage to agriculture, aquiculture and transportation all over the world. They are also a crucial threat to biodiversity. However, lots of exotic weeds have important economic and other values, such as uses for medicinal, ornamental and ecological purposes. China is affected seriously by exotic weeds. It is reported that there are 108 exotic weed species belonging to 76 genera and 23 families in China. There is correspondingly abundant folk knowledge on the usage of these weeds. Based on literature survey and field investigation, ethonobtanical knowledge about exotic weeds in China and their potential role in weed control practices has been discussed in this paper for providing information to researchers engaged in weed management. Results show that 8 types of folk and industrial usages of these taxa have been documented; medicinal plants (36.11%) and forage (31.48%) are the main use types. Cannabis saliva, Eichhornia crassipes, Alternathera philoxeroides, Eupaturium odoratum, Trifolium repens, Spartina anglica, and Amaranthus caudatus have a high UI (e>4). The significance of ethnobotanical knowledge for weed management is emphasized.