Beyond plant awareness disparity: Exploring intangible relationships with plants in the Catalan Pyrenees

Societal Impact Statement: The phenomenon of “Plant Awareness Disparity”—often defined as people s inability to notice, recognize, and appreciate plants and their significance—has been described as one of the greatest challenges that botanists face in our joint mission to address the social-ecological crisis of our time. Encouraging plant awareness will entail a transformative and sustained shift across sectors in how plants and their multiple contributions to humans are recognized, affirmed, and valued. Working with traditional knowledge holders in rural areas offers an opportunity to explore pathways through which the nexus between people and plants can be nurtured and strengthened. Summary: This study explores the intangible relations between local ethnobotanical knowledge holders and plants at three levels—communal, familial, and individual—by considering diverse aspects of expressive culture such as stories, songs, and personal recollections anchored in lived experiences. We propose a methodological approach to document and characterize these intangible connections with plants and recognize them in the study of plant awareness disparity (PAD). In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 recognized ethnobotanical knowledge keepers in the Alt Ter valley (Catalan Pyrenees, northeastern Spain). Exhibiting high plant awareness, local knowledge keepers reported myriads of cultural, familial, and individual expressions of their bonds with the collective botanical heritage of the valley, including 36 distinct sayings, 53 narratives, 27 traditions, and 30 family customs about plants. Our findings cast light on the intricate relations between humans and plants in rural communities, underpinned mainly by strong emotional connections and a shared sense of cultural identity. These findings hold significant implications for studies aimed at gauging plant awareness and quantifying PAD levels, as they underscore the breadth and depth of humans intangible relationships with the plant worlds around them. © 2024 The Author(s). Plants, People, Planet published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd on behalf of New Phytologist Foundation.