- 글로벌메뉴
- KOREAN
Korea Biodiversity Information System > Plant Resource > Plant Classification > Folk Plants > Introduction to Folk Plants
There was discussion recently on the establishment of an international regime that carried legal binding force in the approach to genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
In various international organizations such as WIPO and FAO, discussion on the protection of traditional knowledge has also progressed actively.
This is because developments in biotechnology have sparked the desire of developed nations to secure traditional knowledge and genetic resources due to their societal and economic importance.
In particular, some multinational pharmaceutical companies have already invested massive amounts of research funds in securing information on folk plants to develop new drugs and materials.
Accordingly, the Korean National Arboretum and Korea Forest Service have been performing research projects to construct a database by investigating and collecting folk culture on plants and traditional technologies on plant use since 2005.
It is considered very important for applying genetic plant resources in a positive way to find and collect these rapidly decreasing folk plants, rediscover their value as a resource, and redevelop them to increase their added value.
Researchers on Korean resource plants reported in 1965 in the "Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fauna and Flora of Korea - Plants" that there were 3,051 species (Jeong, 1965), and 478 species of edible resources and 640 species of medicinal resources
in 183 families, and 4,594 species of vascular plants in 1969 (Lee, 1976).
The investigation on folk plants studied and organized ones that have been used in daily life for edible, medicinal, ornamental, and other purposes in 25 cities and counties in Jeonam and Jeonbuk, 39 islands in the Gyeongnam and Jeonnam districts,
such as Geojedo, Wando, Jindo, Gajodo, Bogildo, Heuksando, and Hongdo, and 36 sites in 12 regions of Jejudo from 2006 to 2009.
The parts and uses of the plants investigated in these areas are summarized as follows.
| Research area | Classification | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Jeolla-do | Usage | Classified as edible (48.5%), medicinal (39.6%), others (handcrafts, feed) (7.7%), fuel (1.4%), and spices (1.0%), and investigators found that they are used mainly for edible and medicinal purposes |
| Parts used | Various parts are used, such as leaves (30.1%), stems (18.5%), roots (16.9%), whole plant (13.3%), and fruit (12.1%) | |
| Use frequency | Five species, Artemisia princeps, Pinus densiflora, Kalopanax pictus, Plantago asiatica, and Cirsium japonicum, were found at more 40 sites, so these are the most frequently used plants in Jeolla-do | |
| Others | ||
| Southern islands | Usage | Mainly for medicinal (59.2%) and edible (37.2%) purposes, and for spices (0.2%) |
| Parts used | Various parts such as roots (32.3%), leaves (21.1%), fruit (13.1%), whole plant (12.7%), and stems (12.3%) | |
| Use frequency | Five species, Achyranthes japonica, Taraxacum platycarpum, Cirsium japonicum, Farfugium japonicum, and Atractylodes ovata, were discovered at more than 25 sites, and are the most frequently used plants in the Namhae islands. | |
| Others |
|
|
| Jejudo | Usage | Mainly for edible (44.4%) and medicinal (40.7%) purposes, but also for wood (5.3%), fuel (3.1%), dye (2%), oil (1.2%), forage (1%), as a nectar source (0.9%), spices (0.7%), and fiber (0.5%) |
| Parts used | Various parts, by amount: roots (19.2%), whole plant (19.1%), fruit (18.2%), leaves (12.7%), stems (9.5%), bulbs (4.5%), buds (3.8%), xylem (3.5%), seeds (2.8%), and flowers (1.7%) | |
| Use frequency | 14 species, Trichosanthes kirilowii, Aralia elata, Elaeagnus umbellata, Phryma leptostachya, Peucedanum japonicum, Leonurus sibiricus, Pueraria thunbergiana, Ipomoea batatas, Pinus thunbergii, Plantago asiatica, and Hordeum vulgare were found in at least 11 sites, while Artemisia princep and Scilla scilloides were found in at least 30 sites, so these are the most frequently used plants in Jejudo | |
| Others |
|
