Ethnobotany for food security and ecological transition: wild food plant gathering and consumption among four cultural groups in Kurram District, NW Pakistan

Hussain et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2023) 19:35 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-023-00607-2 Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine Open Access RESEARCH Ethnobotany for food security and ecological transition: wild food plant gathering and consumption among four cultural groups in Kurram District, NW Pakistan Sayed Taufiq Hussain1, Sayed Muhammad1, Sheharyar Khan2, Wahid Hussain1* and Andrea Pieroni3,4 Abstract Background In traditional food systems, especially those of rural populations around the world, wild food plants remain crucial. These resources need to be urgently documented to lay the foundations for sustainable livelihoods and food security. Methods In the present field study, we gathered information about wild food plants and mushrooms consumed by four ethnic groups (Turis, Khushis, Hazaras, and Christians) living in Kurram District, NW Pakistan, by conducting semi-structured interviews and holding group discussions. Results A total of 57 wild edible plants and mushrooms were reported, with the documented taxa belonging to 50 genera and 34 families. Turis reported the highest number of wild food plants (41), followed by Hazaras (37), Khushis (35), and then Christians, who reported only 11 plants. The most dominant families were Rosaceae, followed by Polygonaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Moraceae, and Plantaginaceae. The comparative analysis we conducted with the pre-existing Pakistani ethnobotanical studies revealed that 23 wild edible plants have not been previously reported as food items in the area under study, which included Fragaria nubicola, Lepidium draba, Pinus wallichiana, Podophyllum emodi, Prunus jacquemontii, Sambucus nigra, Sideroxylon mascatense, and Thymus linearis. Four wild edible mushrooms are also reported for the area for the first time: Calvatia gigantea, Morchella esculenta, Pisolithus albus, and Tulostoma squamosum. The cross-cultural analysis of wild edible plants and their uses revealed remarkable similarity between Khushis and Hazaras. The overlapping pattern of wild edible plant use among these two groups, as well as Turis, confirms the existence of cross-cultural interactions among these communities, which have shared the same environmental and socio-cultural space for several decades. Food heritage and some unique dishes are linked to wild edible plants in the area, such as Zamda, prepared by Turis, and Saba, famous among Khushis and Hazaras. Conclusion This study suggests that some wild edible plants could be cultivated to protect a few threatened species from overexploitation, while the overall wild food plant heritage should be promoted and revitalized; for example, within educational platforms aimed at improving the wellbeing of local communities and the global ecological transition we must deal with. *Correspondence: Wahid Hussain Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Hussain et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2023) 19:35 Page 2 of 15 Keywords Ethnobotany, Wild food plants, Kurram, Pakistan, Food security Introduction Wild edible plants are those plant species, which are not cultivated by humans on farms but rather are collected from the natural habitats in which they are commonly found. The appeal of wild edible plants is considerable because these plants can be used during their active season as well as stored and used in other seasons, such as autumn and winter, when there is no plant growth [1]. Since ancient times, wild edible plants have played a crucial role in shaping human diets. People living in remote areas still use wild botanicals and mushrooms as a source of basic dietary supplements [2]. Functional foods, or foods that can provide not only essential nutritional and energetic needs but also an additional physiological advantage, have attracted increasing attention in recent years. Typically, a food’s functionality depends on some of its constituents, and consumers increasingly choose natural ingredients that are derived from plants. For example, beverages and fermented foods [3] that are preserved locally and also produced from wild edible plants are consumed throughout the world. Ethnobotanical studies in Europe (e.g., Poland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, France, and some Nordic countries) have provided an impressive overview of (still) existing ethnobotanical knowledge and practices concerning the use of wild edible plants. Many ethnobotanical studies, however, have shown a sudden or gradual decrease in traditional knowledge practices linked to wild foods all over the world [4, 5]. Several field studies that have been conducted during the past two decades in various mountainous regions have revealed that those areas often represent reservoirs of disappearing local plants for food security. Apart from industrialization and globalization, other factors have also detrimentally affected this heritage; the homogenizing effect of centralization in former Soviet territories has, for example, negatively influenced local knowledge linked to plants [6]. The collection and consumption of wild edible plants represent cultural practices which are still followed in many areas of the world and play an important role in food security [7, 8]. Throughout history, wild edible plants have played a crucial role in the human diet. Today, due to the development and advancement of modern agriculture, urbanization, and globalization, human populations are now becoming more distant from their environment. The loss of agricultural practices and wild edible plants have become risks to food security [9]. Recipes based on local plants differ from village to village, as the same species can be cooked in various ways. Some species are perhaps cooked by locals in the same way as in ancient times [10]. People living in developing countries are experiencing difficulty i (...truncated)