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Online ISSN : 2349-8080 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorinchiefijcrbp@gmail.com |
Present study deals with survey and documentation of wild edible plants (WEPs) in Dhadgaon/Akrani region of Nandurbar district. Present paper is the first documentation of WEPs used by local communities in Nandurbar district. Data on about 91 wild edible plant species in 69 genera of 40 families was recorded. Majority of WEPs belongs to family Fabaceae (11 species), Araceae (7), Asparagaceae (6), Malvaceae (6), Amaranthaceae (5), Apocynaceae (5), Asteraceae (4), Dioscoriaceae (4), Rubiaceae (4) and Cucurbitaceae (3). The genera represented by the highest number of species are Chlorophytum (5 species) followed by Dioscorea (4), Amaranthus (3) and 2 species each from Amorphophallus, Arisaema, Bauhinia, Cassia, Launea, Moringa, Smithia, Sterculia, Vigna and Ziziphus. Most of the species were consumed as leafy vegetable (46 species) or fruits (34 species). More than one plant part is used from 14% of the species. These wild edible plants are sources of food security for local people, especially those living in remote rural areas. Some species are wild relatives of crops that could be used for crop improvement program in future. Several species have potential values for further domestication and commercial exploitation which will help in biodiversity conservation and sustainable utility.
