EdibleWildFood.com is informational in nature. While we strive to be 100% accurate, it is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.
This text focuses on underutilized wild plants that can help to reduce food deficiency in developing nations. Edible wild plants are viewed as a potential solution for overcoming food insecurity for families in these regions, with a specific focus on sustainable production and conservation measures. Detailed analysis of specific wild plants is provided, including the nutritional contents of each plant. A full list of edible wild plants is included for the benefit of researchers, plus a pictorial guide for easy identification of these plants. Specific case studies are provided in which edible wild plants are used to reduce food insecurity, and the diversity of edible wild plants is studied from a global perspective.
Wild Plants Of Pakistan Pdf Free
In developing countries, a significant obstacle to human survival is the increasing gap between food availability and the growing human population. Food insecurity results in less consumption of fruits and vegetables and leads to mineral and vitamin deficiency for individuals in these regions. Edible Wild plants: An alternative approach to food security focuses on growing and using wild plants in order to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition. Wild edible plants are inexpensive and are a rich source of antioxidants, vitamins, fiber, and minerals. As the first book to specifically focus on edible wild plants and their vital role in food security and nutrition, this text is incredibly valuable to any researcher studying innovative potential solutions to food deficiency in the developing world.
A total of 90 plant species belonging to 45 families and 78 genera were edible and serve as wild phytofoods in the present study. Species richness of wild edible species was the maximum for vegetables (46 species) followed by fruits (37 species) and medicinal plants (36 species). Culturally (on the basis of CI), the most important vegetable and fruit species were Diplazium esculentum, Fumaria indica, Taraxacum campylodes, Urtica dioica, Phyllanthus emblica, Punica granatum, Cordia dichotoma, Syzygium cumini, Ficus palmata, etc. The highest use-report (626) was recorded for vegetables whereas the maximum mean use-report (14.8) was recorded for fruits. On an average, 20.7 wild edible species were used per informant. Informant consensus index (Fic) varied between 0.83 and 0.94 for raw vegetables and preserved vegetables, respectively.
Wild edible plants (WEPs) refer to plant species that are not cultivated or domesticated but are accessible from various natural habitations and used as food [1]. WEPs are generally gathered from diverse habitats, viz, forests, cultivable fields, and even anthropogenically disturbed zones like roadsides and wastelands by different traditions throughout the world. A huge number of ethnic communities and local populace residing in the developing countries draw a significant part of their subsistence and livelihood from wild plants [2]. Historically, humans may have utilized more than 7000 WEPs so far [3], but many such food resources and valuable plants are still to be explored [4].
District Udhampur, located in Jammu division of J&K state, is a hilly terrain and many villages of the region are cut off from the frequent visits of the town. Since antiquity, the rural populace of the district has been dependent on wild plants as food because of their free availability, effectiveness against a background of undeveloped infrastructure, cultural and religious preferences, and insufficient provision of primary services. The main occupation of the local populace is agriculture. But, due to possession of small land holdings and insufficient earning, the male folk work either as laborers or are engaged in small home run shops like blacksmith and cobbler whereas the womenfolk and children are engaged in livestock rearing. On their to-and-fro journey to forests, they also collect WEPs for self-consumption and for sale in local markets as a source of income generation. The usage of WEPs has generated among them a strong base of traditional knowledge regarding phytofoods which in turn is based on their needs, instinct, observation, trial, and error coupled with experiences and has been providing them food security since antiquity. This knowledge base has developed through age-old experience and has descended orally from one generation to another as a domestic practice. But, in the present scenario, this tradition and associated knowledge is dwindling owing to developmental activities, migration from rural to urban areas for occupation and education, changing cultural traditions, attraction towards western ways of life, temptation of fast foods, declining natural resources [37,38,39], changing environmental conditions, deforestation, etc. [40, 41]. Balick and Cox [42] have also stated that modernization of traditions often results in the alteration of native knowledge systems as the whole community moves away from their conventional ways and adopts untraditional foreign principles. So, it is the prime need of our generation to collect and document this valuable traditional knowledge for the betterment of humanity. The present study was therefore undertaken to (i) inventorize this rich legacy of traditional knowledge available with the villagers of Udhampur district, (ii) find the cultural significance of WEPs, and (iii) evaluate consensus among the locals for the traditional knowledge of wild edible plants.
The wild edible plants were classified into nine categories based upon the local usage and recipes (Table 1). The vegetable use category was further subcategorized as cooked (VegC), raw (VegR), and preserved (VegP). The vegetables which are consumed after cooking, grinding or boiling, and mixing with yogurt were categorized as cooked whereas preparations preserved in mustard oil and consumed as food during shortage period were classified as preserved and those consumed directly after washing or as salad were designated as raw. Fruit usage was subcategorized as raw (FrR) and processed (FrP). Due to less number of fruit species, both cooked and preserved subcategories were merged as processed. Other categories included spices (Sp), beverages (Bv), and medicinal plants (Med).
Wild edible plants remain a significant source of food and income for many countryside populations of the world. In the present study, the main occupation of the local populace is agriculture. But due to small land holdings, the male folk work either as laborers or are engaged in small home run shops, blacksmiths, cobblers, etc. Knowledge about wild vegetables and their recipes was mainly confined to women folk (86.4%). This unequal distribution of knowledge owes to the fact that collection of WEPs was mainly done by them during agricultural activities and on their to-and-fro journey to fields and forests for livestock-rearing activities. Gender is a crucial variable that influences the traditional knowledge of an area because it is highly correlated with numerous sociocultural factors like livelihood, education, accessibility to resources, status, and networking in the society [49]. Women of every society tend to have an edge over these sociocultural factors and hence their knowledge is much more than others [50]. As evident from the present study, women are usually unemployed in these far-flung areas and fully dedicate themselves to household and other cattle-related activities. They combine this day-to-day information with culturally attained knowledge to enhance their subsistence [51].
A total of 90 plant species (89 angiosperms and 1 pteridophyte, viz, Diplazium esculentum) belonging to 45 families and 78 genera serve as wild phytofoods in Udhampur (Table 1). Out of the 89 species of flowering plants, 95.5% (85 species) belong to dicots and 4.5% (4 species, viz, Commelina benghalensis, Tulipa clusiana, Colocasia esculenta, and Phoenix sylvestris) belong to monocots. Singh et al. [52] have reported 111 wild edible plants from Kashmir Himalayas whereas Thakur et al. [8] have recorded 50 phytofoods from tribal areas of Western Himalaya. Some other studies from different parts of the world have reported 49 to 173 wild edible plants [53,54,55]. The high usage of wild plants as vegetables and fruits, in the present study, is an indicator of rich diversity of plants, easy availability, deep knowledge of wild edible plants, day-to-day requirements, well-maintained forests, far-off residential places from the local markets, and/or poor economic status of the local populace.
Approximately, 20.7 wild edible species were used per informant in the present study. Highest value of usage was recorded for vegetable (mean 7.2), followed by fruits (mean 6.2), and food medicine plants (mean 5.0). Thakur et al. [8] have recorded 23.7 species per respondent in the tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh, India; Geng et al. [55] have recorded an average of 20.6 taxa per informant by the Naxi in northwest Yunnan, China; Kang et al. [56] have stated an average of 20.8 wild edible species per informant from Gansu province of China, and Dolina et al. [57] have reported a mean of 13.2 and 14.6 species per informant in Poljica and Krk areas of Croatia, respectively. In all these studies, the mean number of vegetable species per informant ranged between 7.1 and 13.2 and the mean number of fruit species per respondent between 6.3 and 6.9. The values reported in the present study are well within these ranges for total wild edible species, vegetable and fruit species.
The present study site is having rich diversity of vegetables, fruits, and medicinal plants (Table 2). Species richness of WEPs was the maximum for vegetables (46 species) followed by fruits (37 species) and medicinal plants (36 species). Vegetables were mainly consumed after cooking (93.5%) and fruits as raw (94.6%). Highest use-report (626) was recorded for vegetables whereas maximum mean use-report (14.8) was recorded for fruits. Edible value was not confined to one or more plant parts. Fruits were the edible part in majority of the cases (35.5%) followed by leaves (26.4%), seeds (10.0%), shoots (8.9%), flowers (5.5%), tubers (4.6%), roots (2.7%), and pods (1.8%) (Fig. 3). The wild edibles were mainly herbs (47.8%, 43 species) followed by trees (32.2%, 29 species), shrubs (14.4%, 13 species), and climbers (5.6%, 5 species) (Fig. 4). 2ff7e9595c
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