title: Food flora in 17th century Northeast region of Brazil in Historia Naturalis Brasiliae.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This article reports historical ethnobotany research conducted from a study of the work Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (Natural History of Brazil), authored by Piso and Marcgrave and published in 1648, with main focus on Caatinga of northeast region of Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focusing the content analysis on the section dedicated to plant species with multiple uses, Marcgrave's contribution to the aforementioned work, this research had the following objectives: the retrieval of 17th century knowledge about the food uses of the flora in the northeast region of Brazil, including the taxonomic classifications; the identification of plant parts, their modes of consumption and the ethnic group of consumers; and the verification of the use of these species over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The use of 80 food species at the time of the publication of the work is indicated, some of which are endemic to the Caatinga, such as "umbu" (Spondias tuberosa Arruda), "mandacaru" (Cereus jamacaru DC.) and "carnauba" (Copernicia cerifera Mart.). It is noticeable that among the species listed by Marcgrave, some species still lack current studies indicating their real nutritional value. The present study is an unprecedented work because it introduces, in a systematic way, the food plants described in a study of 17th century Brazil.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Finally, this study makes information about plants consumed in the past accessible, aiming to provide material for studies that could develop new food products today.
authors: Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Campus de Cuité, Centro de Educação e Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Educação, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Olho D´Água da Bica s/n, Cuité, Paraíba CEP: 58175-000, Brazil. mariaftm@hotmail.com.
authors: Maria Franco Trindade
authors: MF
authors: Medeiros
authors: Ulysses Paulino
authors: UP
authors: Albuquerque
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D019448:Ethnobotany / Q000266:history*; D049670:History, 17th Century; D010945:Plants, Edible