1 Kalay University Research Journal, Vol.9, No.1, 2019 AN ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY ON SOME EDIBLE PLANTS IN NORTHERN CHIN STATE, MYANMAR Kyaw Kyaw Lwin* ABSTRACT Plant produces mainly from the cultivated or wild plants grown in Chin State were thoroughly studied with the ethnobotany. The present study included the economically important ( 5 ) species belonging to ( 5 ) genera of ( 4 ) families. These are ( 5 ) species are cultivated plants in this study. Edible plant parts are mature seeds, young pods, fruits and grains. Plant parts are eaten raw, cooked, salad and boiled. The outstanding features of source plants, parts used and traditional preparations, and uses of a traditional food are also presented with photographs. Keywords: Ethnobotany, Northern Chin State, Myanmar. INTRODUCTION Human being survives by using the material from his natural environment since human being is evolved on the earth. The plant plays one of the supporting roles on the survival of man from that time to present day. Ever since his appearance on the earth, man used plants as food, medicines, fibres, clothes and shelter, etc. For their basic needs, man obtained from wild plants from flora in his early life, before civilization is appeared. Then man domesticated wild plants to produce the food called agriculture. It has been estimated that about 3,000 species of plants have been used as food by human being throughout history and that about 200 species have been domesticated as food crops. Today plants are not only cultivated for food, but also for other man‟s requirements, such as fibres, latexe and resins, dyes, tannin and drugs, etc. Since the prehistoric time man is always dependant upon the plants for his food, shelter and health. So the relationship between man and plants is as old as history of mankind and indigenous knowledge about the plants is as old as human civilization. The study of direct interaction between human and plant population through its culture, each human population classified plants, develops attitude and beliefs and learns the use of plants, while human behavior has a direct impact on the plant communites with which they interact, the plant themselves also impose limitations on human, these mixture interactions are the focus of ethnobotany. However the botanical systematic record of economically important plant in study area is not available. Therfore, a survey on cultivated plants and plant products which are thrived on Chin State has done with the scope of ethnobotany. The plant products produced from cultivated or wild species of this township are as many as counting by numbers. But some are minors for local only. The cultivated or wild species thrived in Chin State are Canavalia gladiata, Cyphomandra betacea, Parkia speciosa, Setaria italica and Zea mays. Therefore, this study * Lecturer, Department of Botany, Kalay University 2 Kalay University Research Journal, Vol.9, No.1, 2019 emphasized on plant products and their source plants in Chin State, in connection with ethnobotany. The aims and objectives of this paper are to inform the loss of traditional uses of wild plants, to present an inventory of the plant used by Chin State for food in cultural relationships and to study inter-connection of ethnobotanical knowledge among the villagers. LITERATURE REVIEW 'Ethno' is a popular prefix in these days, because it is a short way of saying that's the way other people look at the world. When used before the name of an academic discipline such as botany or pharmacology, it implies that researchers are exploring local people's perception of cultural and scientific knowledge (Saklani and Jain, 1994). Ever since his appearance on the earth, man has tried to live in harmony with nature. Besides providing his basic needs such as food, fodder and fuel the plants also cater to men's requirement of medicinal, fibres, tannins, gums, etc.. This intimate interrelationship between human beings and plants has always intrigued mankind. It has copelled scientists to dead with as an interdisplanary subjects involving not only the botanical but also the anthropological, historical, geographical and social aspects, which is now understood as ethnobotany. Ehtnobotany is the study of the interaction between plants and people with a particular emphasis on traditional tribal cultures. Ethnobotany is a branch of botany, the study of plants and is closely related to cultural anthropology, the study of human societies. An important branch of ethnobotany called economic botany focuses on the commercial use of plants especially in industrialized societies (Saklani and Jain, 1994). Vegetables are generally low in energy and dry matter content but most important as sources of protective nutrients, especially vitamins and minerals. Vegetables (together with fruits) are the most important of vitamin A. Vegetables also provide fibre in the form of cellulose which aids the digestion of the other foods and stimulates and cleans the intestinal canal (Siemonsma and Piluek, 1994). The grain is very nutritious, with a high percentage of carbohydrate, fats and proteins. It is used for making various alcoholic beverages. The glucose is also manufactured from the grain.Vegetables from a large and diverse commodity group. They are considered a distinct group, but largely because of the way in which they are grown and their produce is used. Vegetables are usually cultivated intensively in “gardens" and consequently are part of horticulture (Siemonsma and Piluek, 1994). The grain of foxtail millet is used for human food in Asia, South-Eastern Europe and northern Africa. It may be cooked and eaten like rice, either entire or broken. The flour is also used to make porridge and puddings. In northern China it is part of the staple diet and usually mixed with pulses and cooked or the flour is mixed with pulses and cooked or the flour is mixed with flour of other cereals in the preparation of dough for bread and noodles. In India foxtail millet grain is prized as a eood and considered as a “holy” dish in religious ceremonies. Burma (Myanmar), for the preparation of beer and alcohol and in China also for vinegar and wine. Foxtail millet is an important fodder crop and in the United States it is grown for hay and silage (Grubben and Partohardjono, 1996). 3 Kalay University Research Journal, Vol.9, No.1, 2019 The need for a complete work on flora of Myanmar has never so recenly been felt as now when the forestry world is rapidly moving on toward the ideal of close and complete utilization on every constituent species under the integration of forest industries (Hundley and Chit Ko Ko, 1987). Sword bean is used as vegetable cover crop, forage and green manure. The young green pods are extensively eaten in tropical Asia, served as a boiled green vegetable similar to common bean. Sword bean is not a popular pmlse because of the strong flavous and the thick, tough seet-coat. Dry fully mature seeds should be eaten with caution as they may be somewhat poisonous. Both the flowers and young leaves are used steamed as a flavouring. The urease extracted from sword beans is used in analytical laboratories (Siemonsma and Piluek, 1994). The seeds of Parkia speciosa eaten as a vegetable, usually raw, cooked or roasted. Also eaten are the young leaves, immature pods and flower stalks. The seeds are used in traditional medicine to treat liver diseases, oedema kindey inglammation, diabetes and to expel interstinal worms. The leaves are used against jaundice. The timber can be used for the making of boxes and cabinets. The trees cna be used as shade plants in coffee nursers (Chong, et al. 2009). The fruit of Cyphomandra betacea is used in a variety of ways, including savoury as well as sweet dishes. The unripe fruit can be used for chutney, curry and sambal (hot, chilli-based condiment), the mature fruit for stews, soups, stuffings and salads. Halves may be seasoned and baked or grilled for use as a vegetable. Only mature tree-ripened fruits grown under favourable conditions develop the full flavour and aroma. Properly ripened fruits is also essential for good quality stews, jellies, jams, desserts and ice-cream toppings. The hard seeds may be strained out ofter boiling. Lime juice and sugar can be added to taste (Verheij and Coronel, 1992). Maize also known as Indian corn or simply as corn or simply as corn is a food crop of considerable important in many parts of the world (Pandey, 1999). Maize grain is prepered and sonsumed in a multitude of ways. For human consumption it is usually ground ir pounded and the meal may be boiled, roasted or fermented. The main industrial products are strach, oil syrup, organic liquids and alcoholic beverages. Maize also has a great number of subsidiary uses. Mature plants are used for animals feed. Crop residues such as the stalks are used for fuel or compost. The inner husks of the ear and the fibre in the stems have been used for making paper. Unripe ears can be consumned as a vegetable (Grubben and Partohardjono, 1996). MATERIALS AND METHODS Field study has done to some villages lived Chin tribes in Chin State during 2018. Information concerning ethnobotanical uses of Chin tribes are recorded by interviewing with Chin families. The source plants are collected and identified ( Lawrence (1964) and Pandey (1999)). All the collected specimen were recorded with color photographs. The local names, scientific names were checked by Hundley and Chit Ko Ko (1987), Kress, et al. (2003) and Pandey (1999). The families were arranged by the classification system of Cronquist (1981). 4 Kalay University Research Journal, Vol.9, No.1, 2019 RESULTS Food is a major requirement for life. The Chin people have taken their meals twice or thrice a day.