Levantamento de plantas tóxicas e potencialmente tóxicas cultivadas no município de Cuité - PB.

Abstract

Toxic plants are called the species, usually, used to decorate that when they are grown or handled with an inappropriate way, can trigger cases of intoxication, making the alive organism to different biological reactions. The potentially toxic plants are the medicinal and alimentary that can have the objective to decorate or not, when used with the wrong way can cause damage in the health and vitality of the person. A lot of medicinal species, nutritive and ornamental have the potential of cause intoxication even unknown becomes necessary that this species go through a process of divulgation more long. Once that the work was developed for objective of perform a survey of toxic plants and potentially toxic plants grown at Cuité (Paraíba) with the intention of correlate the common knowledge and scientific, to rate the common knowledge about the plant species that grow or use, as well to establish possible risk behaviors and accidents prevention. The survey had exploratory character, descriptive and fieldwork, being performed through of the questionnaire to 31 dwellers‟ Cuité that keeping contact frequently with the plants at their houses or other public places, like squares and schools. The fieldwork survey showed us that the majority of individual that grow plants at the city are elderly, prevailing the feminine sex, they perform this practice more ten years ago and the interest in the cultivation appeared through the ancestors. The survey allowed the botanical identification of 19 toxic species and 18 potentially toxic at the city. Among the botanical families registered, Euphorbiaceae, Apocynacea and Araceae, stood out between the others for present the bigger number of species identified. The plants that predominate in the houses were the ornamental plants, followed of the medicinal and nutritive. In the cases of the intoxication reported were incidental in the majority. The survey performed demonstrated that the majority of the people interviewed unknown the toxic potential of the plants presented, what indicates the need of to perform educational works and preventive with the population.