In Southwest Ethiopia, various plant species are coexisting in wild and cultivated forms. This provides an ideal setting for studying folk biosystematics of neglected species. One of such species is the Dioscorea species, in which we studied to assess the commonly applied folk wisdom of identifying, naming, and classifying yams by Sheko and Bench farmers. This study was conducted in Bench-Maji and Sheka Zones using 272 farmers. Data on the lists of local names and system of folk taxonomy; the inherent logic, etymons, and consistency of names; and the folk descriptors and other criteria involved in taxonomy were collected. Data were collected by establishing participatory research appraisal tools, i.e., informant interviews and researcher direct observation. The result suggests that there exists a well-developed folk taxonomic system in Sheko and Bench. This is evident in the recognition of four distinct folk ranks: sub-variety, variety, supra-variety, and folk generic. Taxa assigned to each ranks have distinct features that mark them as members of a separate categories. Farmers over-differentiate 58 individual taxa at the intraspecific levels. Of these, 37 represented varietal taxa while the rest are sub-varietal taxa. Structurally, over 78% of the varieties are labeled with unitary names while all the sub-varieties consisted of binomial names. Farmers used a total of 26 characters and 74 character states for identifying the different taxa. More than 84% of these refer to aspects of plant characteristics. Tuber characters played a key role in the local identification of varietal and sub-varietal taxa while contexts and gender played a key role in the recognition of supra-variety groups. This study documented a great wealth of knowledge on indigenous biosystematics of yams, constitutes an essential step towards setting development priorities aimed at in situ conservation. The study clearly demonstrated the value of folk biosystematics for assessing the actual extent and spatial dynamics of yam diversity in traditional farming.

中文翻译：

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埃塞俄比亚西南部山药（薯os）的土著生物系统：民间分类学，民族语言分析和民间描述语

在埃塞俄比亚西南部，各种植物物种以野生和栽培形式共存。这为研究被忽视物种的民间生物系统学提供了理想的环境。其中的一种是薯os（Dioscorea），我们在其中进行了研究，以评估Sheko和Bench农民对山药进行识别，命名和分类的普遍应用的民间智慧。这项研究是在Bench-Maji和Sheka地区使用272位农民进行的。地方名称和民间分类系统清单上的数据；名称的固有逻辑，词尾和一致性；并收集了与分类学有关的民间描述符和其他标准。通过建立参与性研究评估工具（即知情者访谈和研究人员直接观察）来收集数据。结果表明，Sheko和Bench存在着完善的民间分类系统。在认识到四个不同的民间等级时，这是显而易见的：亚变种，变种，超变种和民间通用。分配给每个等级的分类单元具有独特的功能，将它们标记为单独类别的成员。农民在种内水平上过度分化了58个个体分类群。其中37个代表品种分类，其余为亚品种分类。从结构上讲，超过78％的品种都标有单一名称，而所有子品种均由二项式名称组成。农民总共使用26个字符和74个字符状态来识别不同的分类单元。其中超过84％涉及植物特征。块茎字符在本地识别品种和亚品种分类中起关键作用，而背景和性别在识别超品种组中起关键作用。这项研究记录了关于山药本土生物系统学的大量知识，是朝着确定就地保护重点的发展重点迈出的重要一步。该研究清楚地证明了民间生物系统学在评估传统农业中山药多样性的实际范围和空间动态方面的价值。