Abstract
The aims of this study was documenting and assessing the utilization of the food plants used by the Gumuz community in western Ethiopia. Informants were sampled from selected kebeles randomly. Semi-structured interview, questionnaires, focus group discussion and field observations were tools of data collection. Descriptive statistics, preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, and informant consensus were used to analyze the data. Total of 35 families, 49 genera with 60 species of wild edible plants were collected in the study area. Most of them are shrubs (36.67%) followed by trees and herbs with 28.33 % and 28.33% respectively. Oxythenantra abysinica was the most preferred species. Wild edible plants are threatened due to various human and natural causes. Thus, public awareness and community based management is need to be encouraged by government and Non Government Organizations at all levels.
Highlights
Different People of the world feed upon various types of food depending on their culture
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 preserved among the study communities
The preservation of this knowledge appears to be the result of continued reliance of local communities on the wild edible plants and it’s passed from elders to younger’s orally
Summary
Different People of the world feed upon various types of food depending on their culture. Wild edible plants (WEP) provide staple food for indigenous people, serve as complementary food for nonindigenous people and offer an alternative source of cash income for poor communities [1]. It is unclear how the current global food system will meet the growing demands of a population expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050 [2]. WEPs play a great role in ensuring food security and improve the nutrition in the diets of many people in developing countries [2]. In most cases rural communities depend on wild resources including WEPs to meet their food needs in periods of food crisis [4]
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