Los usos no leñosos de los encinos en México

A review based on literature and herbarium voucher information on the non-wood uses of oaks in Mexico is presented. Fifty-five species of Quercus are gathered and used for different purposes, mainly in those states located in the central and south regions of the country. No relationship was found between species diversity by state and number of useful species. Five different uses were recorded: (1) medicinal, related mainly to digestive apparatus sicknesses: (2) food, including consumption of different structures, both fresh and processed; (3) handcraft, to elaborate different manufactured crafts, like rosaries and toys; (4) fodder, for goats and pigs; (5) tannins and dyes, to turning raw skins into leather and to act like mordant and to dye fibers. There is a relationship between the presence of ethnic groups and the use of the oaks in a given region, indicating the cultural value of these species in addition of their importance as a complementary plant resource.