<b>Documentation of folk knowledge on edible wild plants of North Karnataka</b>

Abstract

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In North Karnataka, fifty-one species of wild plants belonging to forty-six genera are edible. Local people use leaves, stem, flowers, fruits, seeds and roots as a part of their diet. Of the fifty one species, twenty-seven species belonging to twenty four genera produce edible fruits (eaten raw or cooked), sixteen species belonging to fourteen genera produce edible leaves and stem, four species belonging to four genera produce edible flowers, three species belonging to three genera produce edible seeds. The root extract of one species (<i style="">Hemidesmus indicus)</i> was used to prepare soft drink. Some of these species serve as food during famine. It is necessary to preserve the diversity of wild edible plants, as they possess an immense nutritional and medicinal value.

Present study reveals the importance of twenty-two species of plants as they are eaten substantially by village folk as well as by city dwellers. It is desirable to bring these plants under organized agriculture as new crops to increase their production and utilization.<i style=""></i>

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