No pharmaceutical companies 2000 years ago. The Maya, Xinca (and Aztec, Toltec, Zapotec, etc) had plenty of medicine from local plants. Much of our modern medicine also comes from plants, of the Middle East, Asia, Africa and EU (of course most is now chemicals, manufactured in factories).
This attractive white lily, Eucharis bouchei, is the wild native Guatemalan relative of the garden plant Eucharis amazonica from Peru). Eucharis bouchei has medicinal properties. Would be helpful if more modern medicine could learn from the over 500 native medicinal plants of the Maya (potentially over 600). FLAAR Mesoamerica notes every medicinal plant that are teams find. We will be exploring remote areas of the Municipio of Livingston later in March.
Pokomchi Mayan plant scout Norma Estefany Cho Cu found these Eucharis bouchei lily flowers in the forests near the home of her parents, Caserio Chilocom, Municipio Santa Cruz Verapaz, Alta-Verapaz, Guatemala, on Feb. 25, 2020. FLAAR (USA) provided a Google Pixel 3XL smart phone camera to FLAAR Mesoamerica (Guatemala) so the plant scouts can take better photos out in the field.
Posted March 03, 2020
