Abstract
The study discussed ethnobotany of and threats to wild edible plants in Derashe and Kucha Districts, South Ethiopia. Semi-structured interview, field observation, group discussion, market survey, and pair wise ranking were employed to gather ethnobotanical data. The information was collected from informants of three ethnic groups namely, Kusume, Derashe and Gamo people. The study documented 66 edible plant species belonging to 54 genera and 34 families. Of the reported edibles, 83.3% have more than one use categories. Food, medicine, construction/technology, and fuel wood had contributed 79% of the total uses. Of the recorded wild edible plant species, 78.8% were reported to be edible both in normal and food shortage times. Procurement and use of most edibles were found to be age and gender specific. However, species use under various use categories does not vary among the communities (X2 = 3.89, df = 6, α = 0.05 and 1-α = 12.6). The study showed that the majority (62.1%) of the species were collected from wooded grassland/or bush land vegetation type. Pair wise ranking results indicated that agricultural expansion, over stocking/overgrazing, fuel wood collection, and uncontrolled fire setting as principal threats to wild edible plants in the study areas. The findings suggest that (i) Public awareness and community based management need to be encouraged at all levels in order to overcome the threats; (ii) further investigation into nutritional properties of all the species reported; and (iii) Since the species are also nutraceutical, study on the pharmacological attributes would help to understand their medicinal applications. Furthermore, urgent collection of germplasm from areas under human pressure is recommended.
Highlights
Millions of people in many developing countries do not have enough food to meet their daily requirements and a further more people are deficient in one or more micronutrients [1]
The result of the study revealed that knowledge about the edibility, habitat distribution, harvesting time and uses of most wild edible plant species is still maintained among the study communities
Utility of the wild edible plants especially by younger community members ensure the maintenance of indigenous knowledge associated with the species
Summary
Millions of people in many developing countries do not have enough food to meet their daily requirements and a further more people are deficient in one or more micronutrients [1]. In most cases rural communities depend on wild resources including wild edible plants to meet their food needs in periods of food crisis. The diversity in wild species offers variety in family diet and contributes to household food security. Numerous publications provide detailed knowledge of edible wild plants in specific locations in Africa [e.g. All showed that wild plants are essential components of many Africans' diets, especially in periods of seasonal food shortage. A study conducted in Zimbabwe revealed that some poor households rely on wild fruits as an alternative to cultivated food for a quarter of all dry season's meals [5]. In Northern Nigeria, leafy vegetables and other bush foods are collected as daily supplements to relishes and (page number not for citation purposes)
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