Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotanical studies involve the investigation of biocultural diversity and thus the interactions between plants and people. Foremost among these are the management of plant diversity by indigenous communities and the traditional use of medicinal plants, which are considered an important component of the world’s cultural heritage. Furthermore, this kind of knowledge plays a crucial role in various applied fields such as biodiversity conservation and primary health care.
Ongoing projects:
- People and plants in Southwest China
- Non-timber forest products and related conservation issues in Southwest China
- Continuum between ritual and medicinal plant use
- Ethnobotany in Switzerland - Traditional and contemporary use of (medicinal) plants
Recent Publications
- Liriopogons (Genera Ophiopogon and Liriope, Asparagaceae): A Critical Review of the Phytochemical and Pharmacological Research
Lei, Feiyi; Weckerle, Caroline S.; Heinrich, Michael
Frontiers In Pharmacology 10.3389/fphar.2021.769929 DEC 3 2021 - Local plant knowledge and its variation among farmer's families in the Napf region, Switzerland
Poncet, Anna; Schunko, Christoph; Vogl, Christian R.; Weckerle, Caroline S.
Journal Of Ethnobiology And Ethnomedicine 10.1186/s13002-021-00478-5 SEP 3 2021 - Traditional medicinal knowledge and practices among the tribal communities of Thakht-e-Sulaiman Hills, Pakistan
Ahmad, Khalid; Ahmad, Mushtaq; Huber, Franz K.; Weckerle, Caroline S.
Bmc Complementary Medicine And Therapies 10.1186/s12906-021-03403-1 SEP 13 2021 - Ethnobotanical investigation of wild vegetables used among local communities in northwest Pakistan
Ahmad, K; Weckerle, CS; Nazir, A
ACTA SOCIETATIS BOTANICORUM POLONIAE, 88 (1):10.5586/asbp.3616 2019 - Quality control of goji (fruits of Lycium barbarum L. and L. chinense Mill.): A value chain analysis perspective
Yao, Ruyu; Heinrich, Michael; Wang, Zigui; Weckerle, Caroline S.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY, 224 349-358; 10.1016/j.jep.2018.06.010 OCT 5 2018 - Quality Variation of Goji (Fruits of Lycium spp.) in China: A Comparative Morphological and Metabolomic Analysis
Yao, Ruyu; Heinrich, Michael; Zou, Yuanfeng; et al.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY, 9: FEB 26 2018 Article (Details) - The genus Lycium as food and medicine: A botanical, ethnobotanical and historical review
Yao, Ruyu; Heinrich, Michael; Weckerle, Caroline S.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY, 212: 50-66 10.1016/j.jep.2017.10.010 FEB 15 2018 - Recommended standards for conducting and reporting ethnopharmacological field studies
Weckerle, Caroline S.; de Boer, Hugo J.; Puri, Rajindra K.; et al.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY, 210: 125-132 10.1016/j.jep.2017.08.018 JAN 10 2018 - Reverse ethnopharmacology and drug discovery
Leonti, Marco; Stafford, Gary; Dal Cero, Maja et al.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY, 198: 417-431 10.1016/j.jep.2016.12.044 FEB 2017 - Plant names as traces of the past in Shuiluo Valley, China
Chirkova, Katia; Huber, Franz K.; Weckerle, Caroline S.; et al.
OURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY, 36 (1): 192-214 10.2993/0278-0771-36.1.192 MAR 2016

PD Dr. Caroline Weckerle
University of Zurich
Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany
8008 Zurich
Tel: +41 (0)44 634 83 52
Research topics
- Human plant interactions
- Local plant knowledge
- Incense analysis
- Chinese Medicine
- Taxonomy
Interdisciplinary
- Human livelihoods and conservation
- Human ecology
- Access and benefit sharing
- Phytochemistry
- Complementary medicine