“I eat the manofê so it is not forgotten”: local perceptions and consumption of native wild edible plants from seasonal dry forests in Brazil

Abstract

BackgroundThere is little information available on the factors influencing people’s selection of wild plants for consumption. Studies suggest a suitable method of understanding the selection of edible plants is to assess people’s perceptions of these resources. The use and knowledge of wild resources is disappearing, as is the opportunity to use them. This study analyzes people’s perceptions of native wild edible plants in a rural Caatinga (seasonal dry forest) community in Northeast Brazil and the relationships between the use of these resources and socioeconomic factors.MethodsSemi-structured interviews with 39 people were conducted to form a convenience sample to gather information regarding people’s perceptions of 12 native wild edible plant species. The relationships between variables were assessed by simple linear regression analysis, Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses, and in the case of nominal variables, contingency tables. The discourse of participants regarding their opinions of the use of wild plants as food was analyzed through the collective subject discourse analysis technique.ResultsPerceptions were classified into 18 categories. The most cited category was organoleptic characteristics of the edible part; more specifically, flavor. Flavor was the main positive perception associated with plant use, whereas the negative perception that most limited the use of these plants was cultural acceptance. Perceptions of the use of wild edible plants were directly correlated with both interviewee age and income.ConclusionWithin the studied community, people’s perceptions of native wild edible plants are related to their consumption. Moreover, the study found that young people have less interest in these resources. These findings suggest that changing perceptions may affect the conservation of plants, traditional practices and the associated knowledge.

Knowledge and use of wild edible plants in rural communities along Paraguay River, Pantanal, Brazil

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The Traditional Knowledge of Quilombola About Plants: Does urbanization matter?

“…A positive association between age and traditional ethnobotanical knowledge can be expected (Cruz et al 2014, Lepofsky 2009). People from Aldeia reported the importance of some community elders for the valorization of plant knowledge, and we observed a higher proportion of elders in this community, when compared with the other two.…”

The Consumption of Wild Edible Plants

“…Surveys from Brazilian dry forest (Cruz et al 2014;Nascimento et al 2012 The last five years have been quite prolific in terms of wild food species research within the different Asian regions, providing interesting and significant information about species, distribution, and availability, as well as plant uses and knowledge (Boesi 2014;Ghorbani et al 2012;Hong et al 2015;Ju et al 2013;Kang et al 2012Kang et al , 2013Kang et al , 2014Li et al 2015;Panda 2014;Uprety et al 2012).…”

“…• Cruz et al (2014), through 12 species in a rural area of the Caatinga, Brazil, evaluated people's perceptions regarding the use of wild edible plants and found that cultural acceptance, flavor, and emergency food were significantly associated with consumption.…”