The present article deals with the documentation of tribal knowledge on wild edible plants in Upper Eastern Himalayan Region of India. In total, 269 plant species belonging to 77 families were recorded in the study area of Upper Subansiri District of Arunachal Pradesh. Dioscoreaceae, Rutaceae, Cucurbitaceae and Arecaceae were the dominant families with 16, 13, 12 and 11 plant species, respectively, while Moraceae and Asteraceae followed with 10 species each. Four major life forms were trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers. Trees made the highest proportion of the edible species (81) followed by shrubs (74), herbs (71) and climbers (37). Availability of some of these species might be a serious constraint in near future due to various anthropogenic factors. Need for undertaking vigorous environmental awareness campaign among local tribes has been stressed upon in the article for conserving this valuable biological resource of Eastern Himalayan region of India.

Abstract:The present article deals with the documentation of tribal knowledge on plant species used by local tribes for dwelling purposes in Upper Eastern Himalayan region of India. In total, 46 plant species belonging to 19 families were recorded in the study area of Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. Arecaceae, Poaceae and Magnoliaceae were the dominant families with 7, 6 and 5 plant species respectively, while Moraceae and Dipterocarpaceae followed with 4 species each. Four major life forms recorded were trees, cane, bamboos and grasses. Two thirds of the plant species were of 'tree' life form providing valuable timber species for dwelling units. Converting forest area for raising commercial crop like tea and rubber is putting pressure on biodiversity of the state. Some significant issues which require state Government's immediate attention for overall management and conservation of forests of the region have been discussed in the article. Large scale conservation efforts, mainly forest protection and reforestation, are urgently needed to avoid further biodiversity loss. Based on age old experience and traditions involving local environment and biological resources, the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh have tremendous ecological knowledge available with them. State Government must include aspects of biodiversity conservation, traditional and heritage knowledge of tribe's culture in school curricula so that younger generation can take pride in their ancient culture and traditions.

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