Abstract
BackgroundWild food plants (WFPs) contribute to the nutrition, economy and even cultural identity of people in many parts of the world. Different factors determine the preference and use of WFPs such as abundance, availability, cultural preference, economic conditions, shortage periods or unsecure food production systems. Understanding these factors and knowing the patterns of selection, use and cultural significance and value of wild food plants for local communities is helpful in setting priorities for conservation and/or domestication of these plants. Thus in this study knowledge of wild food plant use among four groups namely Dai, Lahu, Hani and Mountain Han in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve ((NRWNNR), Xishuangbanna were documented and analyzed to find the similarity and difference among their plant use.MethodsData on wild food plant use was collected through freelisting and semi-structured interviews and participatory field collection and direct observation. Botanical plant sample specimens were collected, prepared, dried and identified.ResultsA total of 173 species and subspecies from 64 families and one species of lichen (Ramalina sp.) are used as WFP. There were differences on the saliency of wild food plant species among four ethnic groups. Consensus analysis revealed that knowledge of wild food plant use for each ethnic group differs from others with some variation in each group. Among informant attributes only age was related with the knowledge of wild food plant use, whereas no significant relationship was found between gender and age*gender and informants knowledge of wild food plant use.ConclusionWild food plants are still used extensively by local people in the NRWNNR, some of them on a daily base. This diversity of wild food plants provide important source of nutrients for the local communities which much of their caloric intake comes from one or few crops. The results also show the role of ethnicity on the preference and use of wild food plants. There is a big potential for harvesting, participatory domestication and marketing of WFPs especially in the tourism sector in the area.
Highlights
Wild food plants (WFPs) contribute to the nutrition, economy and even cultural identity of people in many parts of the world
This study aims to inventory and document WFP use knowledge in the Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (NRWNNR) and to compare WFP knowledge and use among Dai, Lahu, Hani and Mountain Han ethnic groups in the area and measure their cultural importance using some importance indices
Wild food plant diversity and frequently utilized species A total of 173 species and subspecies belonging to 64 families and one species of lichen (Ramalina sp.) were mentioned by all four ethnic groups as WFP
Summary
Wild food plants (WFPs) contribute to the nutrition, economy and even cultural identity of people in many parts of the world. Different factors determine the preference and use of WFPs such as abundance, availability, cultural preference, economic conditions, shortage periods or unsecure food production systems. Understanding these factors and knowing the patterns of selection, use and cultural significance and value of wild food plants for local communities is helpful in setting priorities for conservation and/or domestication of these plants. Understanding patterns of WFP use and cultural significance and value is important from cultural and nutritional perspective and is helpful in setting priorities in conservation and/or domestication of these plants It has implications for rural development through marketing potential species and for people’s nutritional health by identifying nutritious species or promoting the use of wild food species. Elements of a particular cultural domain (here WFPs domain) can be recorded and analyzed through free-listing interview methods [5,6]
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