Favored plants of the Maya

The diversity of their lands provided the ancient Maya with access to a range of botanical species discussed in this chapter. In trees and herbs, the Maya found raw materials from which they produced food, clothes, inebriants, dye, fires, roofs, ritual paraphernalia, and many other items. From plants, the Maya also acquired stimulants, medicines, spices and psychoactive substances. The intensive knowledge of the natural world exhibited by the ancient Maya is evident in the careful section of specific wood species, roots, vegetables, fruits, and flowers for use in both secular and ritual life.