Wild Edible Plant Resources in Guangua and Banja Districts and Contribution for Food Security
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Date
2018-08-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Wild edible plants (WEPs) are commonly used to meet food requirements of rural people, especially during periods of food shortage. An ethnobotanical study of WEPs was conducted in Guangua and Banja districts of the Awi zone, Northwest of Amhara, Ethiopia. A total of 95 informants (78 males & 17 females) have involved in this study and help with the documentation of relevant ethnobotanical information about WEPs. Data collection and analyses employed simple statistics in ethnobotanical methods. The study resulted in documentation of 33 WEP species growing and utilized in the study area. These species are distributed in 28 genera & 22 families. Fruits were the most commonly used plant parts in the community (63.6%; 21 species) and most of them are eaten fresh as raw (78.8 %; 26 species). The result of preference ranking indicated that Rosa abyssinica is the most preferred wild fruit followed by Mimusops kummel. This was also supported by the pair-wise comparison. Direct matrix ranking analyses for the multipurpose species showed that Cordia africana, Syzygium guineense & Mimusops kummel as the most cited species used for different purposes. The informant consensus analysis showed that Cordia africana and Rosa abyssinica are the most threaten species due to diverse uses. Although informants listed Mimusops kummel, Syzygium guineense, Ximenia americana & Cordia africana as marketable food plants, it was Syzygium guineense & Ximenia americana that were available in the market. This might be due to availability of sufficient food resources in the season or could be loss of the resource and the associated knowledge.
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Ethnobotany, Indigenous Knowledge, Wild Edible Plant