摘要：The problems of incompleteness and inconsistency of the data in ethnobotanical research are considered. Some inconsistency, such as that seen in the identification of plants, is unavoidable, but if care is taken, it can be reduced step by step. Some inconsistency, however, like variation in the ways plants are used, is intrinsic to ethnobotanical data, and must be recognized as such. Inconsistency does not mean uselessness so long as we recognize the characteristics of ethnobotanical data and use suitable methods for handling them.
