Table 1.

Kinds of vendors of medicinal plants and their role in traditional markets at Loja province

Vendor	Definition
Rural harvesters	Individuals who come from the rural areas surrounding the main cities of Loja province, bringing fresh medicinal plants produced and/or collected by them in nature and/or their homegardens. They always trade plant bunches in large quantities to formal vendors or small quantities to customers. They operate at open markets and/or established markets.
Small retailers	Individuals who come from rural areas surrounding the main cities of Loja province, bringing fresh medicinal plants harvested from nature or gathered from their homegardens. They occasionally go to the cities to trade plant bunches to the customers and/or to formal vendors in small quantities at open markets.
Formal vendors	Individuals who legally hold an operating license from the province government to rent a stall in the established market for trading legumes, fruits, vegetables and bunches of dry or fresh medicinal plants.
Informal vendors	Individuals who come from rural or metropolitan areas of Loja province, and are market vendors on foot. They are public resellers of fresh specific medicinal plant bunches in small quantities at established and/or open markets.