CHAPTER NO.VT CLASSIFICATION OF WILD FOOD PLANTS ACCORDING TO THEIR EDIBLE PARTS 'm^: •i- -•?^""'*^--i-"--" :••.>• •.i . •-' -i- •> • - -- f. "•^- V'* ;^." > I '^^ri>m,- -407- CHAPTER VI CLASSIFICATION OF WILD FOOD PLANTS ACCOmiNG TO THEIR EDIBLE PARTS SUCH AS UNDERGROUND PORTION ROOTS.TUBERS. RI-ilZOMES. SHOOTS. STEMS.. LEAVES. FLOWERS. FRUITS AND SEEDS. NUTS. KERINIELS ETC. An over all survey of the use of wild plants in the Indian sub-continent has revealed that about 600 species of flowering plants and ferns of the total wealth of about 20,000 species of higher plants are used by the tribal and poor people(Singh et al.,1978). Several of these plants cater to basic human needs such as food, including drinks, masticators, tonics, animal stupifiers etc. The primitive man, through a process of trial and error, screened in his ov/n way, the wild growing plants that gave edible plant parts, and domesticated most of them. In recent times man has neither domesticated theLleft :bver nor has he identified any new } food plants, which would be widely acceptable. The wild edible plants are particularly useful during famine and under similar scarcity conditions. Even during normal times, they provide articles of diet to the tribal population who generally inhabit the hilly and other less accessible areas in both the developed an^l developing countries. In India, approximately 7 percent of the population is constituted of the tribal people. From about 300 plants listed, at least 42 wild plant species, of which roots, tubers, rhizomes, corms, bulbs :. •' are eaten in various parts of the hilly region of the Western -408- Ghats. These areas belong to different climatic regions. The giant surans and yams are eaten raw or cooked after repeated washings to get rid of the bitterness and pungency, or in some cases ground to flour for cakes and puddings, I) PLANTS WITH EDIBLE UNDERGROUND PARTS : The underground parts of many wild plants fort)m an important source of starchy foods consumed by the tribal inhabitants living nearer to the forest tracts where such edible kinds occur. Dioscoreaceae and Araceae supplying wild edible yams and surans are more important because of the hugeness of their tubers and of their wider -: occurrence and availability, particularly in the humid tropical^subtropical tracts. As compared with these plants groups like Cypepaceae (Cyperus spp,), Asclepiadaceae(Ceropegla spp,) and F V\ ^(V <-&-^ fe- (Vigna spp. and Puparia spp,) possess much smaller tubers. Different from these starchy types are the rhizomes of some Zingiberaceae which are usually hard and fibrous and there are some of the aquatic types like Nymphaeaceae and Alismaceae which though fibrous are often porous and pithy. All these kinds are, however, eaten. Though widely distributed in different regions of the country, much varied types in these starchy foods occur particularly in the humid parts of Western Ghats, Goa etc. The wild edible types in genera like Dioscorea, Alocasia, Colocasia, Vi^ia, Ceropegia, Curcuma, Zingiber and other occur in abundance while most of these occur widely, Cerope^ia types are mainly found in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and -409- further southwards, the tubers of Vigna capensis(L), Pueraria tuberosa Roxb., Curcuma pseudomontana Grah.;? Curcuma zedoria Rose, Hitchenia caulina Baker, Curculigo orchioides Fract. are eaten. Dioscorea. Colocasia,Alocasia spp, are eaten more often after boiling and cooking as vegetable. This is largely practised because of the presence of calcium oxalate crystals in these tuberous forms. Boiling removes acridity and renders the tubers edible as a vegetable. Occasionally the tubers of some types are also pickled or canned. Curcuma. Asparagus racemosus var..iavanicus Baker, sometimes these are also made into preserves as the rhizomes of Costus speciosus Koenig, Another use to which some of these forms are put in as condiments. The thick underground rhizomatous stocks of Curcuma, Zingiber species are consumed in this way. Processing of dry tubers to extract starchy content in which these forms are rich is also carried on. Thus edible flour is sometimes prepared from the starchy tubers of Dioscorea hispida Denn. In Cyperus bulbosus Vahl, the dried tubers are pounded into flour and baked into bread or even cooked as pudding. Another category is of the less starchy types which is also consumed as vegetable. More prominent among these are the rhizomes of Nelumbo spp., Pteridium aquilinum Linn., Angiopteris erecta Forst., Alocasia indica Schott, which are eaten cooked. Nelumbo spp. appears to be a favourite plant particularly of the North Indian people. Apart from being eaten -410- raw or cooked as vegetable, occasionally the tubers of some esculent types like Cyperus esculentus L.are ground to powder and used as a substitute for coffee or cocoa (Singh _et_ al. ,1973) The tubers of Vigna capensis L, have been found to be rich in phosphorus and calcium. Some of the promising: species of this g:roup wortK : trying for cultivation are(Underground parts roots, tubers rhizomes etc.) 1. Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn, Syn. Nelumbium speciosum Willd., Mymphaea nouchali Burm., Nymphaea pubescens V/illd. - All these are aquatic herbs found throughout monsoon ponds of the Western Ghats. Mostly rhizomes of these are consumed as main vegetable food. They are very nutritive. In addition to rhizomes, leaves, flowers, buds, fruits, and seeds are also eaten. Many tasty dishes are prepared out of these parts. 2. Amorphophallus cowxwwjoHc-HA-sC'^chfttf.jj A stout herb found wild in humid parts of Western India. Underground corms after washing and prolonged cooking are used as vegetable. Though it is a wild form,some less acrid varieties are cultivated as staple food. 3. Ceropegia tuberosa Roxb., Ceropegia hirsuta Wt.& Am. Ceropegia attenuata Hook., Ceropegia indicus R.Br., Ceropegia oculata Hook., Ceropegia media(Huber) Ansari; Most of the Ceropegias are climbers or twiners, few are erect herbs with tubers of various sizes. All the species are edible. Though found in small quantity it is a favourite food of tribals. If it could be grown on large scale, it may give very nutritious food. -411- 4, Costus speciosus Koenig.: A tall herb found in the humid tropical and subtropical tracts. The rhizome, is edible and favourite among local people. 5. Dioscorea in general are very promising plants, A large genus of annual twining herbs, distributed throughout the moist tropics of the world. About 50 species are found in India. A large number among them occur in the v/ild state. A few are cultivated for their edible tubers; the true yams. There is still confusion relating to the identity and the nomenclature of many of the Indian species. Particularly of the cultivated species has been largely resolved by the work of Prain and Burkill. These authors have classified the genus into 2 broad divisions: (1) those with stems twining to the right and (2) those with stems twining to the left. In the former,^ D.alata Linn., D.oppositifolia L. Iflie second division is sub-divided into sections according to morphological characters. Economically important species included in this division are D.esculenta Burkill; D.bulbifera L,, D.pentaphylla L. D.hispida Dennst. Dioscoreas(yams) form a cheap source of carbohydrate food and are extensively used by hill tribes. They are of inestimable value during periods of scarcity. For use as food, they are washed, either whole or in slices, and cooked or baked to eliminate alkaloids or other poisonous principles present in most of them. The acridity is due to crystals of calcium oxalate. Some of the species of Dioscorea are reported to be rich in Vitamin B1, B2 and B6 and also in other members of |3cm i: ^^^ Remusatia vivipara Scht. tI/»*»Q/»! «»ii m r\-{nAa FlalX. Pl.No. 6-2 E> cpoR? 30 -^fu^ ^ Hanger depressing Plant Colocasia esculenta Sch. Snsete superbum.cheesm. tt sr^ ^Jt#5[T^25 Poisonoas edible plant Sweet edible tuber Arisaema murrayl Hk» 0 Dloscorea peataphylla L. B *jfL l^'- '•. •' * Tit f^23 Mature tuber of Vendor selling wild Vigna Vexillata. L. edible plants. t^sror Young plant Puararia tiitifixosa DC. Vigna Vexillata L, D P'.No. 6-4 PI.No.1 6-5 f^^>4iob Zanthoxylum rhetsa DC, The ripe seed and leaves are used as a condiment Piper nigrum. L. A branching,climbing perennial shrub. Fruits used as whole or?*^*^^^^ \ -413- Shatavari. 3) BoerhT^via diffusa Linn. (Punarnava-) 4) Careya arborea Roxb, 5) Borassus flabellifer L. 6) Chlorophytum tuberosum Baker. 7) Curcuma zedoria Rose 8) Calonvction muricatum G.Don. 9) Ipomoea eriocarpa R.Br. 10) Leea edgeworthii Santapau, 11) Meloth-^ria heterophvlla Lour. II. PLANTS vaTH EDIBLE SHOOTS VIHICH ARE PROMISING AND WORTH FOR CULTIVATION : There are about 35 plants, of which young shoots are eaten. as vegetable, ^ut of 35 plants 5 to 6 plants from the family Amarantaceae. Polygonaceae. Portulacaceae . Cqjralluma. n Dendrocalamus t Commelina (SK''°+s a-Ae- e-ot+en- 1. Amaranth is a multipurpose crop. It is said to be the native of S.America, now growing wild in India. It is the most common indigenous leafy vegetable in this country. This crop requires a warm weather and hence it is primarily a summer crop in the plains, although it grows well in rainy season. It grows in every type of soil but the best crop is harvested from loamy soils. Besides, Amaranths are capable of producing several generations in one year. The duration being 45 to 90 days. The nutritive value of Amaranthus viewed in terms of protein vitamins A^ C and iron. Amaranthus is one of the vegetable rich in above components, •'•^lis is a :::- rich but cheap source of proteins and minerals which could be valuable in the under-nourished areas of world. Amaranthus blitum L., Amaranthus polYgamous.