Knowledge and Use of Wild Food Plants in Areas of Dry Seasonal Forests in Brazil

Abstract

The investigation aimed to compare the knowledge about food plants in rural communities of the Caatinga. The study was conducted in two rural communities in northeastern Brazil. Data collection utilized different ethnobotanical methods, including free listing, semi-structured interviews, and recall. Native species are less frequently consumed as food in both locations. Fruits are the most frequently cited wild resource, but in practice, most of this food availability potential is wasted. Despite community knowledge about wild species with potential food, few species are actually utilized, and thus, many plants are not included in the diets of the populations studied.

Keywords:

• Caatinga
• ethnobotany
• local knowledge
• rural communities
• wild food plants

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank the communities of Carão and Cachoeira for this study; our friends from the Laboratório de Etnobotânica Aplicada (LEA) for their assistance in ethnobotanical data collection; the Mayor's Office of the municipality of Altinho for logistic support, especially the Secretary of Agriculture Mr. Miguel Andrade, Jr.; the community health workers in Carão, Mrs. Inaldo and Mrs. Alexandre; and the CNPq for financial support (“Edital Universal”) and productivity grant awarded to Dr. U. P. Albuquerque.