Ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants in Chirone District, Sidama Region, Ethiopia,

Abstract

An ethnobotanical study was conducted on wild edible plants in the Chirone district of Sidama region of southern Ethiopia, between April to August 2023. This study aimed to identify and document indigenous ethnobotanical knowledge of the use and management of wild edible plants by Sidama ethnic groups. Ethnobotanical information was gathered from 152 informants (115 males and 37 females) through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion, observation, market surveys, and key informant discussions in the local language. Descriptive and inferential statistics, such as direct matrix ranking (DMR), pairwise ranking (PWR), and Spearman rank correlation, were used to analyze the data. This study identified and documented 47 WEP species belonging to 44 genera and 31 families. Of the recorded edibles, 82% had more than one usage category. Moreover, 10 species (21.3%) were used to fill the seasonal food shortage, 17 species (36.2%) had socioeconomic roles, and 20 species (42.6%) had medicinal value. DMR results showed that people harvest 11 WEP species for seven common purposes (i.e., medicinal usage, fodder, construction, charcoal production, fencing, furniture making, and firewood value) in the study area. PWR results revealed that WEPs were mostly threatened by the collection of firewood and construction materials, expansion of agriculture, charcoal production, construction of new roads, overstocking and overgrazing, and drought. The Spearman rank correlation test results revealed that there was a strong positive relationship (rs = 0.326, p < 0.001) between the age of informants and their indigenous knowledge, and a strong negative relationship (rs = -0.360, p < 0.001) between the educational level of informants and their indigenous knowledge. The findings also recommend (i) encouraging society to use and be aware more about wild edible plants; which would help bring people into a greater awareness of the wild ingredients available in their region; (ii) efforts should be made to promote the use of some of the reported wild edibles that have been diminished through genetic and nutritional studies and by developing appropriate processing methods; and (iii) incorporating wild food plants in agricultural development programs, placing special emphasis on their nutritional value and production potential.