Ethnobotanical notes on some potential wild edible fruits used by the Bhotia community of Niti Valley, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

The present study deals with the diversity, distribution and ethnobotany of wild edible fruits consumed by the Bhotia tribe of Niti valley, Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India. Most of these valuable resources fulfil the nutritional, health and economic requirements of Bhotia community up to a large extent. Though the wild edible fruits have great socio-economic significance in sustenance of many tribal/rural communities but due to the increasing trends of modernized agriculture, climate change and various natural and anthropogenic hazards, a large number of genetic resources of wild edible fruits are under severe threat, hence warrants immediate attention for their conservation, domestication and utilization through improvement/selection. Keeping this in view, ethnobotanical knowledge and diversity distribution patterns of 27 potential wild edible fruits consumed by Bhotia tribe in Niti Valley have been recorded with their botanical names, family, local names, uses and indigenous processing methods.