The ethnobotanical studies of the three remaining indigenous groups of Coastal Ecuador, the Colorados, the Cayapas and the Coaiqueres were initiated in 1982. The projecr had the following objectives: -to undertake a description of the ethnobotanical practices throughout Coastal Ecuador to compare plant usage patterns across linguistic and cultural boundaries in Coastal Ecuador to detect possible exchanges of plant knowledge at a regional level. A comparative method was chosen because it would allow us to discuss human use of plants as a cultural feature in the sense that closely related indigenous groups also share many elements of their ethnobotany. This paper gives for the first time a comprehensive presentation of all data collected durirg repeated visits to the three indigenous communities in the coastal lowlands of Ecuador between 1982 and 1987