Caption: Child representing two species of Malagasy endemic tree with very precise details such as the variation in leaf colour, the morphology and position of the fruit on the tree and the interactions with different species of birds and lemurs.
Credit: Vincent Porcher

By Vincent Porcher, Sandrine Gallois, Victoria Reyes-García, Sitrakinaina Clara Raketabakoly, Santiago Alvarez-Fernández, and Stéphanie M. Carrière.

Read the full paper here.

In small-scale societies, people learn to identify plant species during childhood. This ability is crucial for avoiding the risk of intoxication resulting from misidentification. Moreover, plant recognition serves as a fundamental component of broader local ecological knowledge, which is essential for preserving biocultural diversity. Despite numerous studies on folk classification, our understanding of the specific criteria employed locally for species identification remains limited, particularly concerning children’s methods.

In this study, we investigated the criteria employed by Betsileo children and adolescents to identify wild edible plant species. To do so, we developed a child-adapted method involving drawings and follow-up interviews. Our findings indicate that teenagers utilize a diverse range of visual criteria to identify plants, aligning with documented botanical and ecological knowledge.

Interestingly, we found that 35% of the identification criteria utilized were non-morphological, such as phenology and biotic interactions, indicating a profound ecological understanding among the participants. On average, teenagers employ over nine distinct criteria per plant species, enabling them to achieve a high level of precision in species identification. Additionally, the precision level increases with age for boys but remains consistent for girls, suggesting differential dynamics in the acquisition of plant identification knowledge between genders. Moreover, our research unveiled gender-specific differences in identification criteria, with girls primarily focusing on morphological features while boys incorporate ecological aspects like landscape features and biotic interactions. These results underscore the intricate nature of teenagers’ plant knowledge and emphasize the influence of ecological context and gender on knowledge acquisition.

This early childhood acquisition of plant knowledge forms the foundation for future interactions with nature and warrants attention in biocultural interactions studies and collaborative knowledge production initiatives aimed at addressing socio-ecological concerns. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the methodology employed in our study, coupled with a transdisciplinary approach, taps into various knowledge dimensions beyond cognitive aspects, highlighting the need for further exploration using innovative, child-adapted methods and sensory approaches in environmental education programs.