The ethnobotany of Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius SSP.Aconitifolius breckon): A nutritious Maya Vegetable

Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius ssp. aconitifolius Breckon) is a domesticated leafy green vegetable of the Maya region of Guatemala, Belize, southeast Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, and parts of Honduras. Though relatively unknown outside of this area, evidence suggests that chaya was of significant importance to ancient peoples of the Yucatán Peninsula and perhaps elsewhere within the Maya region. Here we review what little research has been done on this impressive plant, as well as recount our own ethnobotanical investigation into its use as a food plant and medicine, and discuss its botany, nomenclature, and agricultural use. Due to its ease of cultivation, potential productivity, and above all its substantial nutritional value, we propose chaya as a potential crop for areas outside Mesoamerica.ResumenLa chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius ssp.aconitifolius Breckon) es una verdura domesticada de la región Maya de Guatemala, Belice, el Sureste de México y la península de Yucatán, y partes de Honduras. Aunque es poco conocida afuera de esta región, la evidencia sugiere que la chaya era una planta importante para los antiguos Mayas de la peninsula de Yucatan, y tal vez en otras partes de la región Maya. A continuatión presentamos la poca investigation realizada sobre esta sorprendente planta, a la vez presentamos resultados de nuestra investigatión etnobotánica acerca de su uso como verdura y medicina, y discutimos su botdnica, nomenclatura, y su agricultura. Dada la facilidad de cultivarla, su productividad potential, y sobre todo su alto valor nutritivo, proponemos la chaya como cultivo potential para regiones afuera de Mesoamérica.

[1]  R. Mcvaugh.  The Genus Cnidoscolus: Generic Limits and Intrageneric Groups , 1944 .

[2]  F. Miranda.  La vegetación de Chiapas. , 1952 .

[3]  D. Seigler.  Phytochemistry and Systematics of the Euphorbiaceae , 1994 .

[4]  J. Hudson,et al.  Studies on the pharmacological activity of Amazonian Euphorbiaceae. , 1988, Journal of ethnopharmacology.

[5]  G. Webster,et al.  Systematic position of Cnidoscolus and Jatropha , 1962, Brittonia.

[6]  F. W. Martin,et al.  Vegetables for the hot, humid tropics : a newsletter and annual communication among research workers , 1977 .

[7]  J. Hudson,et al.  Alpha-(-)-peltatin, an antiviral constituent of Amanoa aff. oblongifolia. , 1988, Journal of ethnopharmacology.

[8]  J. Morton.  Atlas of Medicinal Plants of Middle America: Bahamas to Yucatan , 1980 .

[9]  Landa's Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan , 1942 .

[10]  R. Berry,et al.  Potential food uses for protein from tropical and subtropical plant leaves , 1978 .

[11]  K. Lorenz,et al.  Nutritional Profile of Some Edible Plants from Mexico , 1998 .

[12]  G. Webster.  CONSPECTUS OF A NEW CLASSIFICATION OF THE EUPHORBIACEAE , 1975 .

[13]  Ralph L. Roys.  The ethno-botany of the Maya , 1931 .

[14]  W. T. Peregrine.  Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius)—a potential new vegetable crop for Brunei , 1983 .

[15]  Dennis E. Breedlove,et al.  Principles of Tzeltal Plant Classification: An Introduction to the Botanical Ethnography of a Mayan-Speaking, People of Highland, Chiapas , 1974 .

[16]  A. Donkoh,et al.  Chemical composition of chaya leaf meal (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (Mill.) Johnston) and availability of its amino acids to chicks , 1990 .

[17]  R. Schultes.  Atlas of medicinal plants of middle America: Bahamas to yucatan: Julia F. Morton; published by Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1981; xxviii + 1420 pp.; price $147.50 , 1982 .

[18]  M. Alfaro.  Medicinal plants used in a Totonac community of the Sierra Norte de Puebla: Tuzamapan de Galeana, Puebla, Mexico. , 1984 .

[19]  A. Donkoh,et al.  The nutritive value of chaya leaf meal (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (Mill.) Johnston): studies with broiler chickens , 1999 .

[20]  Louise C. Schoenhals.  A Spanish-English glossary of Mexican flora and fauna , 1990 .

[21]  Dennis E. Breedlove,et al.  Principles of Tzeltal Plant Classification , 1975 .

[22]  P. C. Standley.  Trees and shrubs of Mexico , 2008, Brittonia.

[23]  M. Ríos,et al.  Pentacyclic Triterpenes from Cnidoscolus multilobus1. , 1994, Planta medica.

[24]  M. D. Chávez,et al.  Tablas de valor nutritivo de los alimentos de mayor consumo en Mexico , 1996 .

[25]  J. Kuti,et al.  Proximate composition and mineral content of two edible species of Cnidoscolus (tree spinach) , 1999, Plant foods for human nutrition.

[26]  Charles H. Miksicek.  6. Macrofloral Remains of the Pulltrouser Area: Settlements and Fields , 1983, Pulltrouser Swamp.

[27]  D. E. Breedlove,et al.  The Flowering of Man : A Tzotzil Botany of Zinacantan , 2000 .

[28]  J. Steyermark,et al.  Flora Of Guatemala , 1950 .

[29]  Ralph L. Roys.  The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel , 1968 .

[30]  F. G. Benedict,et al.  The food of the present-day Maya Indians of Yucatan. , 1936 .

[31]  J. Marcus.  The Plant World of the Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Lowland Maya , 1982 .