Traditional leafy vegetables in Benin: folk nomenclature, species under threat and domestication

Dansi, Alexandre; Adjatin, Arlette; Adoukonou‐Sagbadja, Hubert; Faladé, V.; Adomou, Aristide Cossi; Yédomonhan, Hounnankpon; Akpagana, Koffi; Foucault, Bruno de

doi:10.1080/12538078.2009.10516150

Cited by 39 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Each village seems to have its own series of vernacular names. These findings which are common in folk nomenclature have already been reported on many crops, including yam (Dansi et al 1999), cassava (Sambatti et al 2001, fonio (Adoukonou-Sagbadja et al 2006), sorghum (Mekbib 2007) and traditional leafy vegetables (Dansi et al 2009). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Diversity, conservation and related wild species of Fonio millet (Digitaria spp.) in the northwest of Benin

Dansi

Adoukonou‐Sagbadja

Vodouhè

2010

Genet Resour Crop Evol

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Fonio (Digitaria exilis (Kipp.) Stapf, white fonio; Digitaria iburua Stapf, black fonio), is one of the oldest native, but neglected, cereal crops of cultural, nutritional and economic importance of West Africa. To gather key information that will help to preserve its diversity in Benin and develop modern and welladapted varieties that could meet both farmers' and consumers' needs, a participatory research appraisal survey was conducted in 15 villages randomly selected in the fonio production zone of Benin. Altogether 15 farmer-named landraces were recorded and further grouped into five morphotypes of which four belong to D. exilis and one to D. iburua. The number of landraces inventoried varied from one to five per village (three on average) and from one to three per household. Their distribution and extent are presented and their importance in terms of genetic resources conservation is discussed. Farmers' preferences for fonio varieties were assessed and eight preference criteria (earliness, culinary characteristics, ease of processing, productivity, facility of harvesting, grains size, storability, and drought tolerance) were identified and prioritised according to the gender. The traditional seed supply system and on-farm seed maintenance were investigated. Two plant species (Digitaria horizontalis Willd. and Digitaria longiflora (Retz.) Pers.) were reported by farmers as putative parents of cultivated fonio. Of these, only Digitaria longiflora has interesting agronomic traits (erect habit; stem long, big, strong and resistant to lodging; panicle long and rich in grains; large sized seeds) that are useful for the improvement of cultivated fonio. In the entire study area, the crop is under threat. Therefore, concerted efforts should be deployed to preserve its diversity and increase its use to combat food insecurity and malnutrition in Benin.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Diversity, conservation and related wild species of Fonio millet (Digitaria spp.) in the northwest of Benin

Dansi

Adoukonou‐Sagbadja

Vodouhè

2010

Genet Resour Crop Evol

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“…Among these, the slimy texture of the sauce is the most important (Table 3). The meanings of the vernacular names also revealed the existence of some scenario (unexplained names, synonym, homonym, semantic, same name across ethnic zones) specific to folk nomenclature reported by Mekbib (2007) on sorghum and by Dansi et al (2009) on leafy vegetables. According to many authors (Hiepko 2006;de Haan et al 2007) the understanding of folk nomenclature of a species helps in assessing its importance and distribution and consequently in developing appropriate in situ conservation strategies.…”

Section: Folk Nomenclaturementioning

confidence: 94%

“…Across the various villages and ethnic groups surveyed, 38 vernacular names were recorded among which 14 were already reported by Dansi et al (2009). The meanings of these names are compiled in Table 3.…”

Section: Folk Nomenclaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Black benniseed (Sesamum radiatum Schum. et Thonn.) cultivated as leafy vegetable in Benin

Dansi

Etèka

Adéoti

et al. 2012

Genet Resour Crop Evol

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Sesamum radiatum is a nutraceutical traditional leafy vegetable highly consumed in Benin. In spite of its importance for food security, nutrition and income generation, very little is known about in the scientific community and it falls into the group of socalled neglected and underutilised species. In order to document the diversity and the various traditional cultural practices associated with the production of this species and assess its ''bringing into cultivation'' levels across zones, a survey was conducted in 10 villages randomly selected from different agroecological and ethnic zones of both northern and central Benin. Data were collected in the different sites through application of Participatory Research Appraisal tools and techniques and analysed using both simple descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis. The study revealed a rich folk nomenclature essentially centred on the slimy texture of the sauce. No apparent intraspecific diversity was reported within S. radiatum at village level but the agromorphological characterisation of 18 accessions collected from different regions of the country revealed the existence of clear and well-structured intraspecific diversity exploitable in breeding for the development of new varieties with the potential to attract premium prices in local markets. In most of the households surveyed S. radiatum was found at the steps 1-4 in the ''bringing into cultivation process''. The production of S. radiatum is still traditional and biologic (no fertilisers, no pesticides). The cultural practices used vary with the producers and are grouped into four categories. Further agricultural experiments are needed to identify appropriate cultural practices for the large production of this species for food, nutrition and income generation. Strengthening the existing germplasm of this species with additional collection from more agroecological zones is proposed for thorough genetic characterisation.

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“…It is important to conduct microbial analysis in order to determine the conservation' length of the powder. Also for sanitary reasons and to accelerate the drying process in order to help the communities in increasing this vegetables' quantity they usually conserve, it is necessary to improve the methods of drying using solar driers as proposed by Dansi et al (2009). All the interviewees reported that Lippia multiflora has a lot of medicinal values and its different parts even have specific medicinal properties ( Table 2).…”

Section: Utilization and Medicinal Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnobotanical Investigation of Lippia multiflora Moldenke, a Local Aromatic Leafy Vegetable under Domestication in Benin

Djengue¹,

Dansi²,

Adjatin³

et al. 2017

Int. J. Curr. Res. Biosci. Plant Biol.

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Article InfoLippia multiflora is one of the widely known and used aromatic and medicinal leafy vegetable in central Benin. Because very little research is done on this almost wild species, it is classified among the so called neglected and underutilised species of Benin. To fill the gap of scientific knowledge on this species, an ethnobotanical survey has been conducted in 38 villages randomly selected in central Benin using participatory research appraisal. The study revealed that Lippia multiflora is located in central Benin. Its vernacular names vary across ethnic groups. It is called aklala, kanwun, tchagara, kuinwounkuin and yinyan with the Mahi, Idasha, Ifè, Tchabè and Fon ethnic groups respectively. In Benin the domestication of Lippia multiflora has started and the species was found at level 1 of the plant domestication process in 55.55% of villages surveyed. The leaves (60% of respondent), flowers (25% of respondents), roots (10% of respondents) and stems (5% of respondents) of the plant are used for various medicinal purposes. Lippia multiflora is mostly (76.92% of interviewees) consumed as leafy vegetable. Its consumption frequency and method vary throughout ethnic areas. Lippia multiflora was found to have a lot of medicinal value and is therefore a good nutraceutical.

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Traditional leafy vegetables in Benin: folk nomenclature, species under threat and domestication

Cited by 39 publications

References 18 publications

Diversity, conservation and related wild species of Fonio millet (Digitaria spp.) in the northwest of Benin

Diversity, conservation and related wild species of Fonio millet (Digitaria spp.) in the northwest of Benin

Black benniseed (Sesamum radiatum Schum. et Thonn.) cultivated as leafy vegetable in Benin

Ethnobotanical Investigation of Lippia multiflora Moldenke, a Local Aromatic Leafy Vegetable under Domestication in Benin

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