Using quantitative indices to evaluate the cultural importance of food and nutraceutical plants: Comparative data from the Island of Bali (Indonesia)

Different quantitative indices were proposed to determine the cultural importance of ethnobotanically valuable plants in order to develop a tool for the evaluation of immaterial cultural heritage. These indices were applied to an ethnobotanical survey of food and nutraceutical plants traditionally consumed in Bali, Indonesia. The uses of the plants were grouped into 6 use categories. The Cultural Food Significance Index (CFSI), use value (UV), relative frequency of citation (RFC), relative importance (RI), cultural value (CVs), and informant consensus factor (ICF) were calculated for a list of plants cited by fifty informants in different traditional villages on the island. This evaluation of the cultural importance of plants through different indices produced interesting variations. Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott came highest in the preference ranking for RFC, UV and CVs. Arenga pinnata (Wurmb) Merr. was in first place for CFSI and RI. Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet and Cinnamomum burmanni (Nees & T. Ness) Blume were also high in the CFSI, RI, and CVs. The ICF results revealed a well-defined food tradition. The combined use of these indices, as opposed to any single index, makes it possible to quantify the role that a given plant plays within a particular culture.