QUELITES OF VERACRUZ’S BIOCULTURAL REGIONS, FOCUSING ON THE NUNTAJIIYI (POPOLUCAS) AND NAHUAS OF THE SIERRA DE SANTA MARTA

Abstract

Quelites are of great nutritional, cultural, and economic importance in Mexico. The first objective of this contribution was to carry out a bibliographic review to compile, systematize and analyze the species of quelites consumed in Veracruz, for which the state was divided into three zones -north, center, and south- each with a Priority Biocultural Region. Secondly, the diversity of quelites and their preparation forms among the Nuntajiiyi (Popolucas) and the Nahuas of the Sierra de Santa Marta was compiled based on primary and secondary sources, fieldwork, and herbarium consultations. In Veracruz, 176 species of quelites are used, 163 are prepared in stews, and 34 are eaten raw; 83 are collected in the wild, 57 are cultivated, and 36 are incipiently managed; 137 are of American origin, 27 are introduced, and 12 are endemic to Mexico. The most used plant structures are leaves (95 species), flowers (49), stems (36) and apical meristems (14). We recorded 114 species in the north, 69 in the center, and 89 in the south. The consumption of petioles of Gunnera mexicana and seedlings of Inga inicuil is reported for the first time. In the Sierra de Santa Marta, 75 species are collected and cultivated; 15 are exclusively for local consumption, six of which are palm hearts and inflorescences of Arecaceae. Due to their high demand, two species of Chamaedorea, two Allium, and two Crotalaria and Solanum americanum are cultivated and marketed. A total of 153 names of 73 species of quelites were documented in Indigenous languages and their local variants. The quelites face several challenges, including declining availability due to changes in eating habits, loss of traditional knowledge, herbicide application on crops, and deterioration and decline of vegetation.