Current World Environment

Introduction

Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state of India, is known for its biodiversity as well as rich heritage of wild edible plants. Uttarakhand has a total area of 53,483 km² of which 86% is mountainous and 65% is covered by forest.¹ Forests play a very important role in the life of tribal as well as communities as they provide significant ecosystem services in the form of food, fodder, fruits, timber and medicine,^2,3,4,5,6,7 etc.

Wild edible plants are the major source of food for the tribal inhabitants and satisfy considerably the food requirements of the economically poor population in rural areas. Edibles parts of these plants (seed, fruits, flowers, leaves, delicate stems, roots and rhizomes) are the nature’s gift to human beings. The wild plants are not only delicious and refreshing but also the chief source of vitamins, proteins and minerals.⁸ They are easily available within forest habitat and most of the tribal and rural communities depend on these wild resources to meet their daily food requirements in the period of food scarcity as well as for food supplement.⁹ Other than this, in comparison of cultivated crop the taste of wild plants is natural and also free from toxic substances like pesticide and other hazardous chemicals generally used in cultivated crops.

Survey and documentation of wild edible plants and their use have been conducted in several parts of the country by various workers.^{10,11,12,13,14} and several others). In Uttarakhand,some attempt has also been done to explore the ethnobotany values of plants and the documentation of wild edibles by various scientist as well as researchers.^15,16,17,18 However, very little work has been done on wild edible plants used by Gujjar community.Gujjars are the forest dwellers frequently collecting woody and non woody wild products from the forest to sustain their life. Knowledge of non-domesticated food resources is a part of traditional knowledge and is largely transmitted through socialization and household context. Gujjars are considered as the storehouse of traditional knowledge about uses of plants for various purposes. Mostly the elders of the community have immense knowledge about the use of wild pants as fruits and vegetables but on the other hand, it was noticed that the younger generation showing very little interest in the tradition and culture and thus have a little knowledge about the traditional use of flora and fauna. To keep these things in view, the present study was carried out with the objectives to document the indigenous uses and availability status of wild edible plants used by the Gujjar community and also tries to conserve their traditional knowledge.

Materials and Methods

Study Area

The study area, Tarai West Forest Division Ramnagar(T.W.F.D.R), is situated in the foothills of Shiwalik Mountains of outer Himalaya near Corbett National Park, Ramnagar, Nainital. This division is sub-divided into seven ranges which include Aampokhra range, North Juspur Range, West Juspur Range, Kashipur Range, Bannakhera Range, Bailparav Range and Ramnagar Range (Fig.1). The study sites were located within the coordinates of 29^o 12’ 30” to 20^o 23’ 20” N and 78^o 47’ 30” to 79^o 19’40”E. Average elevation ranges from 221 to 385 mtrs msl. It covers 34807 hectares and blessed with diverse type of vegetation.

Data Collection

Regular field trips were made during 2015 to 2016 in order to collect the information about wild edible plants and their indigenous uses. Different ranges of the forest division were surveyed extensively in different seasons (i.e. rainy, winter, summer) with Gujjars to know the value of wild edibles. Due to poor literacy only the semi- structured interview were conducted. Photographic documentation was also helpful for long period conservation of knowledge of wild edibles. Members of the different age groups were interviewed. During survey not only plant phenology was studied but also availability status of plants (i.e. abundant, common and rare) also recorded. The plants pointed out by Gujjars were collected, identified botanically with the help of existing literature of T.W.F.D.R. and taxonomic experts of different institutions. To ensure the authenticity and reliability of primary data were also verified by informants (Gujjar) at different ranges of forest division.

Figure 1: Map of Study Area Click here to View figure

Results

In the present study,a total of 51 plant speciesbelongs to 46 genera and 33 families were used by Gujjar community (Table 1). Out of the total plants species 39% trees, 25% shrubs, 22% herbs and 14% were climbers (Fig.2). These plants have been arranged alphabetically and the information collected is divided into botanical name, name used by Gujjar, local name, family, parts used, uses and availability status. Gujjars generally used the fresh plant or plant parts but some time they store them in various forms and use throughout the year at the time of scarcity. Wild edibles diversity was recognised accordingly to their seasons of availability on the way of survey. Leguminosae and Moraceae are the most dominant families. The different wild edibles are used as in different forms like vegetable (26 plants),condiments (1plant), roasted seed (1plant), curries (2plants),beverages (2plants),soup (1plant),raitya (1 plant),chutney (1 plant) pickles(5 plants), ripe fruits (18plants), unripe fruits (3plants), seed pulp(1plant), juice(1plant), shikanji (1plant), kathha (1plant) and powder (3 plants) (Fig.3).It was also found that most of the wild edibles are used as vegetable (51%) and in the form of ripe fruits(35%).On the basis of the investigation made, wild edibles were categorized in abundant, common and rare categories, registering 13, 09 and 29 plants, respectively (Fig.4). During survey it was also noticed that the wild edibles were used in different categories like seeds, fruits, flowers, buds, woods, barks, leaves, tubers and rhizomes, of which fruits and leaves were eaten mostly (Fig.5).

Table 1: List of wild edible plants and their parts used by Gujjars Click here to View table

Figure 2 Click here to View figure

Figure 3 Click here to View figure

Figure 4 Click here to View figure

Figure 5  Click here to View figure

Figure 6 Click here to View figure

Table 2: Comparative study of wild edible used by the various communities Click here to View table

Discussion

The results dealwith 51 wild edible plants utilised by the Gujjar community. These wild edibles having natural taste and are free from pesticides. The floristic diversity of the study site offers variety in human diet.A comparative account of wild edibles used by the various communities is given(table 2). Present study have less reported plants as compare to other studies i.e.^20,21,22,25 while placed higher as reported by,^19,23,24,27 andmore or less similar as reported by.²⁶ According to the utilization pattern of the various parts of the plant, fruits and leaves were the extensively usedparts, showsimilarity as early reported.

Indigenous fruits play an important role in the nourishment of rural and ethnic communities from the very beginning.Mostly the elder Gujjars have vast knowledge about these wild plants as meal or food supplements.Moreover, due to over exploitation, the wild flora is declining very sharply. Other than this, unfortunately, the younger generation is also not taking any interest to maintain this traditional knowledge bank, hence resulting in the degradation of folk flora. Introduction of exotic fruit is also a big cause to decline the knowledge of wild edible in between the community. Therefore, it is recommended that specific attention should be paid to these wild edibles.By this study an attempt was also made to gather knowledge about the conservation status of wild plants. It was suggested by this study, that there are number of plants which are either rare or not abundant hence require significant attention before they become endangered or extinct. For this purpose such studies have always play an important role regarding the cultivation of traditionally used wild plants and also in maintaining the gene pool of rare plants.

Acknowledgement

The authors are thankful to the authorities of Government P.G. Colleges of Haldwani and Ramnagar for providing laboratory facilities. The Gujjar community and the staff of Tarai West Forest Division, Ramnagar are also acknowledged for their kind support and cooperation.

References
 

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