Filipino communities use vast variety of endemic plants for health: Study

Filipino communities use vast variety of endemic plants for health: Study

In the forested highlands of Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines, Mingay Dakias knows exactly where to find medicine — not in modern health clinics but in the leaves, roots and vines that grow wild around his community. Taught by his father, who learned from the elders before him, Dakias brews certain plants into teas to treat stomachaches and mixes others with coconut oil to treat wounds and rashes. “For many common illnesses, these tra…