Ethnobotanical investigation of wild vegetables used among local communities in northwest Pakistan

Wild vegetables can contribute to people’s food security and health. In northwest Pakistan, almost 40% of the households are classified as food insecure, due to increasing population and natural and man-made catastrophes. There is an urgent need to get an overview of still existing practices of wild vegetable use and to incorporate such knowledge into agricultural policies. The present study, therefore, aims to collect and analyze information on the most widely and commonly used wild vegetables in northwest Pakistan. The results suggests that the most commonly used wild vegetables should be promoted to reinforce food safety and most of them may also be commercialized. Conservation priority has to be given to the commercially harvested Caralluma tuberculata, which is presently overexploited.