Ethnobotanical Study of Wild Edible Plants in Abay Chomen District, Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

An ethnobotanical study was conducted to identify and document wild edible plants in and around Abay Chomen District, Horo Guduru Wollega Zone of Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The study was conducted using a combination of household semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, guided field visits and field walk observations. A total of 99 households/ informants/ were selected by quantitative methods, and 12 key informants from the district were selected for interview by purposive sampling method. Each respondent was asked about wild edible plants. According to results, about 37 species of wild edible plants commonly eaten in the study area, belonging to 34 genera and 28 families were recorded. Different wild edible plants make important contributions to the lives of local communities. They play an important role in a wide range of agricultural systems as a source of wild food and fuel wood, and play an important socioeconomic role through their use in medicines, dyes, poisons, shelter, fibers, and religious and cultural rituals. Dependence on these plants has gradually declined due to deforestation of natural habitats and modernization. Some of the edible plants in the study area were Syzygium guineense subspecies afromontante F. White, Syzygium guineense (Wild.) DC. subspecies Guineense and Ficus sur Forssk. The most preferable wild edible plants were Syzygium guineense subspecies afromontane F. White, Syzygium guineense (Wild.) DC. Subspecies Guineense and Rubus steudneri Schweinf. Agricultural expansion, overgrazing and urbanization are the most distracting factors. Rising community awareness of the value of wild food plants and the need to ensure alternative sources of income is essential in any rural development program aimed at ensuring food security and maintaining the area’s resources.