Abstract:
The local inhabitants of Malakand and Hazara divisions (Shangla, Batagram, Swat, Dir, Chitral, Buner, Kohistan, and Manshera districts) residing in mountainous forested valleys consume a variety of wild food plants (WFPs) as part of their diet during growing seasons of the year. This tradition is centuries old and is attributed to the agro-pastoralist life style, poverty, lack of agricultural land and lack of diversity in agriculture-based food. Traditional knowledge of WFPs is of vital significance in the context of food security, erosion of genetic diversity, climate change, agricultural expansion, and change in socio- economic setup of the rural communities. In order to explore the possible role of WFPs in future food security and increasing magnitude of options choices broadening of food basket Therefore an ethnobotanical study was conducted during spring 2025 in selected districts to document the botanical diversity, habitat, seasonality, traditional methods of recipes, and threats to WFPs. In total 50 key informants were interviewed using semi structured interviews, walk in the wood and focus group discussions. In total 60 WFPs species belonging to forty-five genera and thirty families were documented. These included two ferns, two mushrooms and 56 angiosperm species. Rosaceae was the dominant family with twelve species, followed by Fabaceae (5 species), Moraceae and Lamiaceae (4 species, each), and Polygonaceae (3 species). Rubus (3 species), Berberis, Lathyrus, Vicia, Rumex, Pyrus, Prunus, Malva, and Ziziphus with 2 species each were dominant genera in the area. The WFPs on the basis of habit were categorized as 27 herbs, 15 trees, 11 herbs, 2 mushrooms and 2 ferns. Fruits were the most consumed part (47%), followed by leaves (19%) and whole plant (9%). The most highly cited wild food plants included Drypteris juxtaposita (Kwanjay), Nasturtium officinale (Thalmerra), Diplazium esculentum (Ladora), Medicago polymorpha (shpeshtay), Rubus ellipticus (Goraj), Berberis lycium (kwaray). The folk knowledge attached to them is remarkable in the region, although declining among the younger generations. The recorded species needs to be re-evaluated in local projects aimed at fostering indigenous strategies of food security, as well as re-evaluating cultural heritage and sustaining smallscale food market circuits. These WFS are further recommended for nutritional and elemental analysis for the safety and efficacy of utilization.
Page(s):
3-3
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: 4th International Conference of Sciences “Revamped Scientific Outlook of 21st Century, 2025” , November 12,2025, Volume: 1, Issue: 1, Year: 2025
Keywords:
Conservation
,
Documentation
,
Indigenous strategies
,
Future food security
,
Wild Food Plants