Diversity And Indigenous Knowledge About The Use Of Wild Edible Plants As Food By The K'ho Community In Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, South Vietnam

Abstract

 

Wild edible plants are the primary food source used by communities in National Parks, Nature Reserves, and natural forests for their daily meals. Based on the combination of the household survey method with the Participatory Rapid Assessment (PRA) and a transect investigation, we discovered the knowledge about the use of wild edible plants of the K'Ho people in the Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lam Dong Province. A total of 73 species, 66 genera of 47 families belonging to three phyta, were used as food by the K'Ho people. Nine life forms and eight parts of edible plants have been identified, herbaceous and leave with the highest number of species used by the locals. These species were most commonly found in primary and secondary forests, while others were scattered in pine, swamp, and bamboo forests. The study showed that young people know little about edible plants, while middle-aged and older adults know much about them. The locals have used nine food type groups: soup and vegetable, cooking groups. Cooking soup, boiling, and eating fresh were the most common processing methods. Nine kinds of edible plants were planted in their home gardens.