Knowledge and use of food and medicinal plants in Kasai

In this book I have the honor to present the results of my field research on the knowledge and use of food and medicinal plants in Kasai. I have targeted two communities: the pygmies, living in the equatorial forest near Lubunga, and the Bantus who represent the majority of the Kasai population. I listed about a hundred plants, giving them their scientific names and specifying their botanical families. Then I indicated in the different tables their uses. In the case of the medicinal uses, I also specified the part used as well as the disease to be treated. My concern is that the knowledge of these plants, especially medicinal ones, should not be the privilege of a few: I want everyone to know them in order to use them when necessary. My second concern is to plead for their protection and diffusion through the creation of small botanical gardens.