BULLETIN FLORIDA MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY VOL. 35(4)


 Before either of us had read the Berlin et al. (1973) article, and while
field collections were being made, it seemed that a pattern of similarity and
variation in plant names between these Tupi-Guarani languages was at least
partly a function of degree of human management of plants (Bal6e 1987,
1989a). Patterns of plant nomenclature appear to segregate traditionally
cultivated and non-cultivated plants. These patterns may be summarized as
follows: (1) life-form heads (for example, K mira, ka'a, sipo) are not
incorporated into names for traditional cultigens; (2) animal morphemes are
incorporated into names for traditional cultigens only when the animals are not
ecologically associated with the plants themselves; (3) "obscure" plant names
(i.e., names that do not incorporate plant morphemes, such as K akusi-nami
'agouti-ear,' which refers to a rubiaceous forest herb) do not denote traditional
domesticates; (4) morphemes referring to divinities (such as K kurupir) and to
the state of being 'false' (or 'similar') (K -ran, Ar -rT, As -rana, T -ran, W rd)
are only incorporated into words that do not refer to traditionally cultivated
plants (Bal6e 1989b).
 Three basic kinds of plant species can be identified in terms of
management. These are non-domesticates, semi-domesticates, and
domesticates. Non-domesticates typically occur in primary well-drained forest,
archaic vine forests, or swamp forests. These are zones where contemporary
human interference in species composition and dominance is, or recently has
been, negligible. Well-known non-domesticates from Table 1 include wild
cashew (Anacardium giganteum Hancock ex Engl.), Conceveiba guianensis
Aubl., and Capparis. Although some non-domesticates may sporadically occur
in zones of recent human interference, such as swidden fallows, they do not
appear to gain dominance other than in fairly undisturbed forests.
 Semi-domesticates, in contrast, do not generally appear to become
ecologically dominant without human interference, usually by horticultural
fires and/or the seemingly random tossing away of viable seeds. A few of
these species (such as Annona montana Macf. var. marcgravii 'araticum' and
Theobroma grandiflorum Schum. 'cupuagu'--see Table 2) are deliberately
planted and carefully protected, by one or more of the five groups, but without
cross-cultural regularity and only sporadically. As such, the category of semi-
domesticates corresponds very well with that of "protected plants" in Berlin et
al. (1973:146). Most of the semi-domesticates in Table 2 are disturbance
indicators as well. By their presence and/or dominance, they tend to indicate
former sites of human habitation and horticultural fields. These species are
also extremely efficient in dispersing themselves and are thus widely
encountered throughout the Amazon basin. Disturbance indicators include
Spondias mombin L. 'hog plum', Jacaratia spinosa A.DC., 'wild papaya'
(Lisboa et al. 1987:55), Didymopanax morototoni (Aubl.) Decne. & Planch
'morotot6' (Huber 1909:161), Maximiliana maripa (Corr. Serr.) Drude 'inaji'
(Pesce 1985:66; Schulz 1960:222), several species of Inga, specifically, Inga alba