Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Chaoshan region in Lingnan, South China, is known for its dense festival calendars and household-based ritual practices in which plants serve both practical and symbolic roles. Plant-centered documentation of ritual practices in this Han Chinese setting remains limited. This study documents ritual plants used in Chaoshan festival practices and examines their cultural meanings and the transmission of knowledge. METHODS: We conducted ethnobotanical fieldwork between October 2023 and October 2025 across three Chaoshan cities, using semi-structured interviews and participatory observation. A total of 100 key informants were interviewed. Ritual plant importance and cultural salience were assessed using the Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) and the Cultural Importance Index (CII), and knowledge differences across demographic groups were tested statistically. RESULTS: We documented 25 traditional festivals spanning 11 months and recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families), with cultivated taxa dominating (58 species, 96.67%). Fabaceae and Poaceae were the most represented families (6 species each, 10%). Punica granatum and Citrus reticulata ranked highest in both RFC and CII. Six cultural connotations were identified, with prayer for well-being and prosperity being the most prevalent (41 species, 68.33%). Plant selection was primarily associated with biological characteristics (39 species, 65%) and homophony (27 species, 45%). Knowledge transmission was reported mainly through oblique pathways, and women were the principal practitioners and knowledge holders. Reported knowledge differed significantly across age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Ritual plant selection in Chaoshan follows shared local logics, especially homophony and salient plant traits. Transmission is closely tied to household participation and kinship roles, and the combination of low stated intention to pass knowledge to the next generation with clear-age differences suggests that continuity is under pressure.
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Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
Sixty ritual plant species were recorded in Chaoshan festival practices.
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
Claim · model-written summary
Cultivated taxa dominated the ritual plant species, at 58 species (96.67%).
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e1“with cultivated taxa dominating (58 species, 96.67%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Fabaceae and Poaceae were the most represented families, with 6 species each (10%).
Verbatim
e2“Fabaceae and Poaceae were the most represented families (6 species each, 10%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Punica granatum and Citrus reticulata ranked highest in both RFC and CII.
- Taxon
- Punica granatum and Citrus reticulata
Punica granatum.jpg?width=60)
Citrus reticulatae3 - Outcome
- RFC and CIIe3
- Direction
- higheste3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e3“Punica granatum and Citrus reticulata ranked highest in both RFC and CII”
Claim · model-written summary
Six cultural connotations were identified for ritual plants in Chaoshan.
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e4“Six cultural connotations were identified, with prayer for well-being and prosperity being the most prevalent (41 species, 68.33%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Prayer for well-being and prosperity was the most prevalent cultural connotation, for 41 species (68.33%).
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e4“Six cultural connotations were identified, with prayer for well-being and prosperity being the most prevalent (41 species, 68.33%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Plant selection was primarily associated with biological characteristics, for 39 species (65%).
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e5“Plant selection was primarily associated with biological characteristics (39 species, 65%) and homophony (27 species, 45%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Plant selection was associated with homophony, for 27 species (45%).
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e5“Plant selection was primarily associated with biological characteristics (39 species, 65%) and homophony (27 species, 45%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Knowledge of ritual plants was transmitted mainly through oblique pathways.
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e6“Knowledge transmission was reported mainly through oblique pathways, and women were the principal practitioners and knowledge holders”
Claim · model-written summary
Women were the principal practitioners and knowledge holders of ritual plant use.
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e6“Knowledge transmission was reported mainly through oblique pathways, and women were the principal practitioners and knowledge holders”
Claim · model-written summary
Reported knowledge of ritual plants differed significantly across age groups.
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e7“Reported knowledge differed significantly across age groups”
Claim · model-written summary
Stated intention to pass knowledge to the next generation was low, suggesting that continuity is under pressure.
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e7“the combination of low stated intention to pass knowledge to the next generation with clear-age differences suggests that continuity is under pressure”
Claim · model-written summary
Transmission of ritual plant knowledge is closely tied to household participation and kinship roles.
Verbatim
e0“recorded 60 ritual plant species (52 genera, 31 families)”
e7“Transmission is closely tied to household participation and kinship roles”