Study Of Wild Edible Plants & Their Dietary Uses.

1. Study Of Wild Edible Plants & Their Dietary Uses. A Project By Miss. Nagarkar Rina Dilip. Miss. Kolhe Smita Ramnath. (Academic Year:2010-11.)

2. The Wild Edible Plants • Botanical Name • 1. Agave americana L. • 2. Amaranthus spinosus L. • 3. Bombax ceiba L. • 4. Caralluma adscendens R.Br. • Local Name • 1. Ghayapat • 2. Kate Math • 3. Kate Saver • 4. Shindadmakad

3. Botanical Name 5. Celotia argentea L. 6. Launaea procumbens (Roxb) 7. Tribulus terrestris L. 8. Chlorophytum tuberosum(Roxb.)Baker Local Name 5. Kurdu 6. Pathari 7. Sarata 8. Kolu

4. Agave americana L. Amaranthus spinosus L. Bombax ceiba L. Caralluma adscendens R.Br. Celotia argentea L. Chlorophytum tuberosum(Roxb)Baker Tribulus terrestris L. Launaea procumbens(Roxb)

5. Botanical Name: Agave americana L. Family: Agavaceae Local Name: Ghyapat Parts Used: Flowers General Habit: Plant under shrubs, leaves in a rosette, oblong –lanceolate, gray, prickly on the edges. Flowers yellowish- greenish, in a bracteate scape or stalk, fruits oblong clavate. Flower and fruits: October –December Tribal Use: Flowers are cooked as vegetables.

6. Botanical Name:Amaranthus spinosus L. Family: Amaranthaceae Local Name: Kate math Parts Used: Leaf General Habit: Plant herbs, erect. Leaves, ovate, rhomboid or oblong .Spikes green, simple or branched Utricles conical, thicked at top regose.Seeds shining discoid. Flower and fruits: July-February. Tribal Use: Leaves are cooked as vegetables along with ingredients.

7. Botanical Name:Bombax ceiba L. Family: Bombacaeae Local Name: Kate-saver Parts Used: Flower General Habit: Plant tall tree, leaves 5-7-foliolate; leaflets caudate cuspidate or acuminate base acute, entire. Flowers red solitary paired or clustered near ends of leaflets branch lets. Capsules ovoid –oblong, loculicidal, 5-locular. Seeds numerous ovoid, packed in white cotton. Flower and fruits: February-June Tribal Use: Flowers are cooked as vegetables.

8. Botanical Name: Caralluma adscendens R.Br. Family: Asclepidaceae Local Name: Makadsing or Shindamakad Parts Used: Shoots/Stem General Habit: Plant herbs, dwarf, succulent, perennials and sap watery. Leaves sessile, scale like structure, deltoid-ovate, ciliate. Flowers solitary, axillary, at upper nodes, hairy; calyx glandular within; corolla rotate, lobes valvate, copiously hairy, corona biseriate. Follicles, paired lanceolate, tapering to sharp point .seeds brown oblong coma silky. Flower and fruits: June-September. Tribal Use: Shoots are cooked as vegetables, also eaten as raw.

9. Botanical Name:Celotia argentea L. Family: Amaraanthaceae Local Name: Kurdu Parts Used: Leaf General Habit: Plant herbs, erectorprocumbent; leaves broadly ovate, lanceolate, elliptic or linear. Inelegances of dense, terminal spikes flowers white pink Utricles ellipsoid, tapering at apex into style. Flower and fruits: August –February Tribal Use: Leaves and twigs are cooked as vegetable .

10. Botanical Name:Launaea procumbens L. Family: Asteraceae Local Name: Pathari Parts Used: Leaf General Habit: Plant annual herbs; leaves mostly radical, sessile, obovate-oblong, pinnatifid.Heads yellow, terminals, in long branched or unbranched racemes, pappus copious,multiseritate ,caduceous. Achenes brown. Flower and fruits: August-October Tribal Use: Leaves are cooked as vegetable.

11. Botanical Name: Tribulus terrestris L. Family: Zygophyllaceae Local Name: Sarata Parts Used: Whole plant General Habit: Plant is prostrate or suberect silky-pubescent herbs. Leave paripinnate; leaflets 4-8 pairs, elliptic-oblong,appressed hairy. Flowers yellow, solitary, axillary or leaf opposed. Fruits glaborus.Seeds minute, oblong. Flower and fruits: Almost through the year. Tribal Use: Whole plant iscooked as vegetable.

12. Botanical Name: Chlorophytum tuberosum (Roxb.)Baker Family: Liliaceae. Local Name: Kuli / Kolu Parts Used: Leaf/root General Habit: Plant herbs, c 30 m high, root-fibres, cylindric,with euip soid tubers hanging from them.leaves 6-12,membranous,sessile,15-30*1. 2-2.5cm,acuminate,margins unclulate.scape terete,vauled .racemes 5-10cm long .flowers white capsules obovoid,c 1.0*0.6cm ,shining-lransversely veined,emarginated,cells 4-6-seeded seeds irregularly,orbicular, c 0.3cm in diameter; black. Flower and fruits: June –September Tribal Use: Leaves are cooked as vegetable; also roots eaten as raw.

13. Usability of plants to our Health • The leaves of Amaranthus spinosus, Celotia argentea, Chlorophytum tuberosum, Launaea procumbens are mostly used as vegetables for cooking. Moreover species like Chlorophytum tuberosum bears a tuber which provides hefty minerals and also most of them having medicinal importance.

14. Locality of plants • During the ethnobotanical survey, the wild plants used as food was carried out in different localities and market places of Akole and Sangamner tahasil. The information/ data on properties of plants used as a wild food against are recorded.

15. Reason behind study • During the survey, it was revealed that the tribals and villagers of Akole and Sangamner have much faith in using the less known and wild plants as a food. The indigenous people of specially Akole talukas are dependent on forests food for their daily livehood. They frequently visit forests to collect their necessary food supplements and other materials. Thus, those people have described into two classes- vegetables and raw food. The vegetable plant materials are used for coocking,and the raw food is directly eatenafterWashing.

16. Summary • Moreover, wild food plants are used as common household food and make a substantial contribution to food security of the tribals and villagers in theses areas. Therefore, steps are needed to undertake extensive education about their importance as a nutritional balanced food as a direct and indirect source of income particularly for the resources poor family. These may bring to light one or other new food plants from wild resources for increased population of our country.