BackgroundThe NE region of India falls in the global hotspot of biodiversity. Wild edible plants (WEPs) are widely consumed in the daily diet of the local people. WEPs are critical for the sustenance of ethnic communities and also as a source of income. However, WEPs received a little attention in research activities, economic development, biodiversity conservation and sustainable management. Many are largely ignored and remained unexplored. With a view of reducing the gap in traditional knowledge and tapping the hidden potential resources for proper utilization, exploitation, and sustainable management of WEPs are crucial.MethodsSurveys were conducted at 20 major markets in all districts of Manipur throughout different seasons from August 2012 to March 2014. A total of 154 avid plant collectors and sellers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire, formal, informal and extensive interactions to gather detailed information about these species. An integrated assessment of 68 wild leafy vegetables was also carried out to prioritize them for proper exploitation, conservation, and sustainable management.ResultsA total of 68 wild edible vegetables belonging to 42 families were documented which are being used by indigenous communities for nutritive and therapeutic purposes. Of these species, 54 are perennial (79 %) while others are annual (19 %). Herbaceous plants make up the highest proportion of edible plants. Leaves are dominant edible part followed by shoot and stem, and most are consumed through cooked food. Further, 57 species (84 %) are commonly available, and 11 (16 %) are rare. According to integrated assessment, 2 species have highest integrated value, 26 species have high value, 31 species have general value and 9 species are of low value. The majority of the species have a high or general value.ConclusionManipur has rich wild vegetable resources. However, many of them are seldom collected or cultivated given their importance in sustaining and diversifying diet. A comprehensive assessment indicated that majority of these plants have high value. Priority species require further research into their nutritional components to understand the potential as a source of future food and nutritional security. They should be promoted for integration into the agricultural system and income generation for local sustenance.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13002-016-0080-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
The genus Piper is well known for their medicinal and economic potentials and is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Majority of the taxa under the genus Piper are morphologically confusing because of the wide range of variations within the vegetative characters. A total of 22 morphological characters, including both vegetative and reproductive characters were studied at a mature stage in 35 accessions of Piper taxa collected from North East India representing 12 species. The morphometric variables were analyzed using variance and Principal Component Analysis. It was carried out to identify the useful characters that can contribute to distinguish various species. The Unweighted Pair Group Method and Arithmetic Average clustering method for the vegetative traits and reproductive traits show two principal clusters. The present study revealed the importance of the morphological characters in delimitation of taxonomic grouping of the confusing species.
Chenopodium album belongs to the complex genus Chenopodium of the family Amaranthaceae. It is an economically and medicinally important plant. We report here the first complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. album from northeastern India. This study shall add extensive information on the evolutionary relationships of the genus Chenopodium.
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