title: Ethnobotany of wild plants used for starting fermented beverages in Shui communities of southwest China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Shui communities of southwest China have an extensive history of using wild plants as starters (Xiaoqu) to prepare fermented beverages that serve important roles in interpersonal relationships and cultural events. While the practice of using wild plants as starters for the preparation of fermented beverages was once prevalent throughout China, this tradition has seen a decline nationally since the 1930s. The traditional technique of preparing fermented beverages from wild plant starters remains well preserved in the Shui communities in southwest China and provides insight on local human-environment interactions and conservation of plant biodiversity for cultural purposes. The present study sought to examine the ethnobotany of wild plants used as starters for the preparation of fermented beverages including an inventory of plants used as a starter in liquor fermentation and associated knowledge and practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  Field surveys were carried out that consisted of semi-structured surveys and plant species inventories. One hundred forty-nine informants in twenty Shui villages were interviewed between July 2012 and October 2014 to document knowledge associated with wild plants used as a liquor fermentation starter. The inventories involved plant voucher specimens and taxonomic identification of plant collections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 103 species in 57 botanical families of wild plants were inventoried and documented that are traditionally used as starters for preparing fermented beverages by Shui communities. The majority of the species (93.2%) have multiple uses in addition to being used as a starter with medicinal purposes being the most prevalent. Shui women are the major harvesters and users of wild plants used as starters for preparing fermented beverages and transfer knowledge orally from mother to daughter.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings from this study can serve as a basis for future investigation on fermented beverages and foods and associated knowledge and cultural practices. However, with rapid development, utilization of wild plants and the cultural systems that support them are at risk of erosion. Cultural preservation practices are necessary in Shui communities for the continued use and transmission of this ethnobiological knowledge as well as associated biodiversity.
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China. hongliyalm@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Liya
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, People's Republic of China. 339689934@qq.com.|School of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, People's Republic of China. 339689934@qq.com.
authors.forename: Jingxian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.affiliation: School of Environment & Life Science, Kaili University, Guizhou, 556011, People's Republic of China. leiqiyi@126.com.
authors.forename: Qiyi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: School of Environment & Life Science, Kaili University, Guizhou, 556011, People's Republic of China. kxky2012@126.com.
authors.forename: Jiangju
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Health & Human Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA. selena.ahmed@montana.edu.
authors.forename: Selena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Life Science, Guizhou Normal College, Guiyang, 550018, People's Republic of China. gywcy@163.com.
authors.forename: Chaoying
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Guizhou Institute for Advanced Study in Anthropology & Ethnology, Guizhou Normal College, Guiyang, 550018, People's Republic of China. longyuxiao1@163.com.
authors.forename: Yuxiao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China. lifeifei30761@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China. long@mail.kib.ac.cn.|Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, People's Republic of China. long@mail.kib.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Chunlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Long
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D002681:China; D003469:Culture; D005006:Ethnicity; D019448:Ethnobotany / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005285:Fermentation; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010945:Plants, Edible; D055815:Young Adult