Ethnobotanical Study of Wild Edible Plants in Pyuthan, Nepal

Abstract

Wild edible plants are those plants that are not domesticated and often neglected but have nutritional and medicinal value and can be used as a good source of diet. The study discusses and depicts the availability of wild edible plants, their taxonomical categories, species richness, distribution, preference, and their threat in the Gaumukhi area. Data were collected from 60 randomly selected wild edible plant consumers of Puja and Khung village using a semi-structured interview schedule. The study showed that 37 different species of wild plants are frequently used by respondents. It was found that the majority of the WEP’s used were trees followed by herbs and shrubs. It was found that majority of WEP's used were trees followed by herbs and shrubs. Regarding the plant parts used, most of the respondents (54%) use WEP’s in the form of vegetables followed by raw fruits (28%) users. The study revealed that the majority of WEP’s consumers (39%) were from other caste categories like Giri, Puri, Malla, etc. followed by Dalits (36%). Research indicated that most of the WEPs were collected from the forest area having an altitude of (1300-1500) masl. The major threat to wild edible plants was fuel wood collection followed by uncontrolled fire. Study preference of WEP’s among the respondents showed that Polystichumsquarrosum (Daude) was the highly preferred one followed by Diplaziumesculentum (Neuro) and Dendrocalamushamiltoni (Tama).