Edible wild plant species used by different linguistic groups of Kohistan Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan

Abstract

Background The mountainous territory of Kohistan shelters diverse food plant species and is considered one of the important hotspots of local plant knowledge. In the era of globalization and food commodification, wild food plants (WFPs) play an important role in supporting local food systems and related local knowledge is one of the important pillars of food sustainability across the region. Since the area is populated by different cultural groups and each culture has retained particular knowledge on the local plant species, therefore, to make a cross-culturally comparison, the study was planned to record and compare the local plants knowledge among three linguistic groups viz Gujjar, Kohistani and Shina in order to not only protect the local knowledge but to determine the food cultural adaptations among these groups looking through the lens of their food ethnobotanies. Methods Field ethnobotanical survey was carried out in 2020–2021 to gather the data on wild food plants. We used semi-structured interviews. Use reports were counted, and the results were visualized through Venn diagrams. Results In total, 64 plant species belonging to 45 botanical families were documented. Among these Ajuga integrifolia, Barbarea verna, Clematis grata, Impatiens edgeworthii, Ranunculus laetus (vegetables), Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana (fruit), Indigofera tinctoria (flower), Juniperus excelsa, Primula elliptica, P. macrophylla (flavoring agent), Leontopodium himalayanum (Chewing gum), and Juniperus excelsa (snuff) were reported for the first time. The highest use reports (≥ 90) were recorded for Mentha longifolia, Amaranthus hybridus, Quercus semecarpifolia, Solanum miniatum, Oxalis corniculata, Ficus palmata, and Urtica dioica. Maximum number of wild food plant species (WFPs) were reported by Kohistani, followed by Shinaki and Gujjari linguistic groups. The percentage overlap of traditional knowledge on WFPs was highest among Kohistani and Shinaki (56.0%), followed by Shinaki and Gujjars (17.0%), and Kohistani and Gujjars (15.0%). Kohistani and Shinaki groups exhibited maximum homogeneity in traditional knowledge. However, Gujjars had more knowledge on WFPs compared to Kohistani and Shinaki. In addition, some dairy products viz. Bhorus, Bagora, Bak, Cholam, Kacha, Gurloo and Poyeen were reported also reported that are consumed orally and used in traditional cuisines. Conclusions The study indicates that Kohistan is one of the important spots of biocultural diversity and could be recognized as biocultural refugia. WFPs have been an integral part of the traditional food systems among the studied groups, particularly the Gujjars have reported more distinct plant uses which could be referred to their distinctive ecological experiences among others. However, social change is one of the challenges that might lead to the erosion of local plant knowledge. Moreover, intercultural negotiations among the studied groups are also a matter of concern which could homogenize the local knowledge among them. Therefore, we suggest solid policy measures to protect the local knowledge and celebrate diversity across this mountain territory.

The importance of wild edible plant and macrofungi diversity to attain food security for the tribes of eastern India—a quantitative study

“…On the other hand, fruits of Ficus racemosa, Madhuca longifolia, Coccinia grandis, Neolamarckia cadamba, Ziziphus nummularia, and Artocarpus lacucha were informed as popular choices for the local people. Both the plant parts (leaves and fruits) were mostly utilized by the local tribes and in agreement with the current study, those edible parts were found as the main source of wild food in other areas of the Asian continent including India (Khan et al, 2015;Bhatia et al, 2018;Mallick et al, 2020;Cheng et al, 2022;Amin et al, 2023).…”

Standard medical ethnobotany of Kohistan, North Pakistan

“…Our research on food ethnobotany recorded substantial body of local plant knowledge among the different ethnolinguistic groups living across the Kohistan region [ 1 ]. The current ethnobotanical survey has primarily been guided by our food ethnobotanical research work in the region.…”

A quantitative ethnobotanical approach to assess knowledge richness on the use of plants among the Santal Medicine Men of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India

“…That is why a systematic data collection from authentic and knowledge-rich person and its logical interpretation is the keys to the desired outcome of the ethno-guided study of medicinal plants which has been followed in our present study on the medicinal plant use by the Santal tribal people of Birbhum district, West Bengal. Very recently, some interesting quantitative ethnobotanical research works have carried out from India (Haq & Singh 2020, Haq et al 2022, Laldingliani et al 2022, Hassan et al, 2022, Silambarasan et al 2023) and abroad (Umair et al 2017, Huang et al 2022, Amin et al 2023, Tahor et al, 2023. However, literature survey revealed that, till date, almost all of the studies made from the state of West Bengal including Birbhum district were focused on simple documentation of plant use knowledge emphasizing floristic studies (Sur et al 1992, Mondal & Rahaman 2012, Mondal & Rahaman 2013, Pradhan & Rahaman 2014, Das & Rahaman 2014, Konar and Mondal, 2022 and a few ethnomedicinal studies with application of some statistical tools (Mandal & Rahaman 2022, Subba et al 2023.…”