Local knowledge as a tool for prospecting wild food plants: experiences in northeastern Brazil

This study aims to provide a simple framework to identify wild food plants with potential for popularization based on local knowledge and perception. To this end, the authors also characterized the distribution of this knowledge in the socio-ecological system. The results indicate that there is a high variation in local knowledge on wild food plants, which suggests that some species are not frequently cited. The absence of age or gender-related knowledge patterns indicates that studies for prospecting wild food plants in similar socioecological contexts need to reach the population as a whole, rather than focusing on a specific group.