Читать книгу Fundamentals of Conservation Biology - Malcolm L. Hunter Jr. - Страница 68

Wheat, corn, rice, potatoes – many species of plants have been profoundly important to the welfare of humanity. Indeed, some scholars have argued that one of the key defining events in western civilization was the hybridization, about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East, of two species to produce a form of wheat amenable to cultivation. From a historical perspective, at least one animal might rival these plants in its value: the horse, backbone of early transportation, exploration, and, too often, war. When we consider species in terms of the diversity of their instrumental values, not many species equal the neem tree, a member of the mahogany family from southern Asia (Fig. 3.14).

Figure 3.14 The neem tree provides an extraordinary array of useful products ranging from medicines to insect repellants, livestock fodder, and building material.

(StockImageFactory.com/Shutterstock)

The most remarkable thing about the neem is the myriad ways it is used as a health product. People use neem products to treat boils, burns, cholera, constipation, diabetes, heat rash, indigestion, malaria, measles, nausea, parasites, pimples, rheumatism, scorpion stings, sleeplessness, snake bites, stomach aches, syphilis, tumors, and ulcers, and they drink neem tea as a general tonic. They clean their teeth with neem twigs and neem‐derived toothpaste and make a disinfectant soap with the oil of neem seeds. Some research suggests that neem products may work as a spermicide and provide the basis for a birth‐control pill for men.

These marvelous features may account for the spiritual importance of neem as well. It is considered sacred by many Hindus, and its leaves are hung in the doors of a house and burnt as an incense to ward off evil spirits. Some Hindu holy men place neem twigs in their ears as a charm. The wood of the neem, attractive, strong, and durable, is one of few types used for carving idols. Returning to secular uses, neem wood is also used for fuel, furniture, and house building; neem foliage and seeds are used as livestock fodder; and neem seed oil is used as lamp fuel and to make lubricants and disinfectants. Neem trees grow well on marginal sites, making them appropriate for reforestation, and they produce a deep shade that is especially valued in hot climates. People place neem leaves in their cupboards, grain bins, beds, and books to repel insect pests. Various neem extracts are also effective as repellents and antifeedants for insects and nematodes that are agricultural pests.

The qualities of the neem are well known among millions of people in the Indian subcontinent, where it is often called the “village pharmacy,” and it has attracted attention beyond the borders of India as well as being evidenced in three volumes (Vietmeyer 1992; Schmutterer and Wilps 1995; Ferlow 2016) that provided the basis of this account.