2009, Issue 1 & 2, Volume 1

Wild edible plants of sewa catchment area in Northwest Himalaya

Mahroof Khan, Satish Kumar, Irshad Ahmed Hamal and Sanjeev Koul, Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu-180006, India.

Abstract: The food habit of people has developed on the basis of experience and survival through successive generation. Primal man learnt that certain nuts, fruits, berries, leaves, roots, grains, mushrooms etc. could cause many ailments and even death. Presently they are thoroughly acquainted with the methods of excluding the harmful floristic elements growing in the wild. In view of the population in general and remote, hilly and inaccessible terrain in particular, wild edible plants of the Sewa catchment
area has been surveyed. Extensive field survey has brought to light more than ninety plant species are used as edible. The paper discusses various categories of wild edible plants used by local inhabitants in different climatic regions of catchment area.

Key words: Edible plants, Northwest Himalaya, Sewa catchment

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