Over the millennia all the major food plants of the world have come almost exclusively from traditional cultures. In addition, the majority of medicines came from the experiences of our ancestors, and even today, components for 25% of the prescription drugs in the U.S. are plant derived. Thus, it is critical to study the plants utilized by less known indigenous groups before acculturation leads to the loss of the centuries of accumulated experience and experimentation. Such ethnobotanical studies are invaluable as well to the native groups studied because most have nor poor written records, and once western customs, foods, and medicines are adopted, traditional practices are rapidly lost. The indigenous groups of eastern Nicaragua, the Miskitu, Sumu, and Rama, have long been protected from western incursion by lack of access. Recently, however, new logging roads have been built into this area. Thus, it is imperative for both humankind in general, and for these groups in particular, that studies of medicinal and food plants be initiated immediately. One shaman in the region, for instance, claims cures using native plants for 139 poisonous snake bites. This study will focus on the practices and plants used by the shamans, and those more likely to follow traditional practices, i.e., older persons and those in the most remote regions.
