ABSTRACT
The people using the plants in Morocco cannot disregard their vernacular names, as they are related to a plurality of ethnic groups, or integrated with numerous historical and economic factors. These vernacular names are also of a particular importance to researchers, managers, and traders with a special interest in the wild plants of Morocco. Unfortunately, the use of systematic botany to identify plants, to be valued and/or marketed, is not customary, and in most cases the focus is operationally diverted to their vernacular names. A total of 1,218 species, subspecies, and varieties of vascular plants have 3,466 common names, including 147 ethnotaxa. About 24% of the total recorded vernacular names refer exclusively to toxic taxa. The diversity of vernacular names of spontaneous, cultivated, and commercialized plants in Morocco is emphasized. Based on a number of specific examples, the potential risks of using and exploiting plants, based on their vernacular names, are underlined according to the non-exclusive correspondence of these ethno-names with their scientific ones. The risks of plant use and valorization, in traditional medicine in particular, invoke need to set up of an adequate traceability in this respect.
