Wild vegetables used by Bodo tribe in Udalguri District of ...pleione.ehsst.org/journals/Pleione52/001 Wild... · Department of Botany, Gauhati University,Guwahati-780014, Assam,
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AbstractRecent survey in different villages of Udalguri district of Assam revealed that people of local communitiesused lots of wild plants for their daily livelihood. The paper deals with wild edible plants used as vegetablesby Bodo tribe living in this district. During investigation 80 species of wild plants belonging to 38 familiesand 65 genera have been collected. The collected plants are enumerated providing correct nomenclature,vernacular name and part(s) used, in view of the important role of wild plants as substituting food for theseforest dependent tribal people.
Key words: Wild vegetables; Bodo tribe; Udalguri; Assam.
INTRODUCTION
Udalguri district (26o46/ N – 26o77/ N & 92o08/ E – 95o15/ E) in lower Assam was newly created in2003 and covering an area of 1985.69 sq km. It is bounded by Bhutan on the North, Sonitpur districton the East, Darrang district on the South and Baksa district on the West. Bodo community utilizesvarious plants in their daily life to fulfil their multidimensional necessities e.g. religious rituals, medicinal,food supplements, handcrafts, dyes, house buildings, etc. They have rich traditional knowledgeabout wild plants (Baruah & Sarma 1984; Deka 2007; Patiri & Borah 2007).
The Bodo tribe represent the largest population (over 60%) in the district. Majority of thepeople are agriculturist, having rice the primary food. Mostly they depend on various wild plants,which supply necessary food values of a balanced diet. Every household collects wild vegetablesfrom the surrounding vegetation. The present study indicated the presence of a large number ofwild plants used by the tribe in the district to meet up their wide range of required elements forsurvival. However, the present communication enumerates plants those are used as vegetablesby the Boro people in Udalguri district of lower Assam.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Frequent field visits were paid to more than 20 villages of Udalguri district in different seasonsduring 2009 – 2010. Wide range of information on different types of uses of plants was collectedthrough direct interviews with people of different age groups of both sexes. The data collectedwas confirmed by discussion with respondents and also compared with existing literatures(Borthakur 1996; Patiri & Borah 2007). Plants were collected and prepared mounted herbariumspecimen following the standard Harbarium technique (Jain & Rao 1977) and identified by matchingwith pre-identified specimens in the Herbarium of the Department of Botany, Gauhati University,Flora of Assam (Kanjilal et al 1934-40), Flora of British India (Hooker 1872 - 1897), TheFlora of Eastern Himalaya (Hara 1966, 1971; Ohashi 1975) and Forest Flora of Meghalaya(Haridasan & Rao 1985, 1987). The voucher specimens were deposited in the Harbarium of theBotany department, Gauhati University.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the present study, total eighty (80) wild vegetable plants (Table-1, Table-2 & Table-3) have beenrecorded which are used by the Bodo tribe in Udalguri district. Out of 80 edible plant species onefamily belongs to Pteridophyte having one species; 31 families belong to Dicotyledons having 56genera with 67 species and 6 families of Monocotyledon with 8 genera and 15 species. Local peoplejudiciously utilize the available natural wild vegetables around them for sustainable living.
In view of the account presented, it is observed that the Bodo tribe have very uniqueknowledge on these wild vegetable plants. The plants are taken by preparing various preparationsof food items such as boil, curry, chutney, fry and sometimes as fermented food. Curry items,mostly are prepared by adding local Khar (alkali) instead of oils. The plant parts that are used asvegetables include leaf, flower, inflorescences, tuberous roots, tender shoot, fruit and whole plant.(Table-1, Table-2 & Table-3).
Table 1: Dicotyledonous wild vegetable plants list
Name of plant Local Name Plant parts used Mode ofpreparation
However, the new generation have very little knowledge of this valuable instinct so, theydo not try to conserve and domesticate the wild edible plants from their locality.
However, some of these plants are seen collected in large amount and sold in local marketsby local inhabitants (Table 4). The market price of the wild vegetables plant is determined on thebasis of availability, food value and other utilities (Borthakur 1996). It is observed that Bambusaspp., Musa spp. Ipomoea aquatica are comparatively costlier for their high food value andAdhatoda vasica, Moringa oleiffera due to their food value as well as medicinal importance.
So, it is desirable to undertake detailed ethnobotanical study of the district to find out theplant inventory used by the Bodo tribe. Emphasis must be laid on the conservation of theseplants’ habitat which is depleting everyday due to anthropogenic activities in extension of agriculturalland. Most recently, for the extension of small tea gardens in cleared forest areas are destroyingthe green wealth in the district. In view of this fact, it is highly desirable to undertake cultivationof the above mentioned plants, to meet the demands of the peoples and also to save the wildspecies in their natural habitat.
Acknowledgements
Authors are especially thankful to local Bodo communities of the Udalguri district for their valuablecontributions and support during the field study. Sincere thanks are also conveyed to Ministry ofEnvironment and Forest, Govt. of India for the financial assistance.
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