Wild edible plants diversity and indigenous knowledge in Farta District, Ethiopia

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

IK:

Indigenous knowledge

WEPs:

Wild and semi wild edible plants

JSI:

Jaccard Similarity Index

The authors sincerely acknowledge the communities of Farta District for their willingness to share valuable indigenous knowledge on wild edible plants and for their hospitality and cooperation throughout the fieldwork. We also express our gratitude to the Farta District administrative offices and experts from the Agriculture and Rural Development, Health, and Tourism and Culture offices for their constructive support, guidance, and facilitation, which greatly contributed to the successful implementation of the study.

Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Biology, University of Gondar, P.O. Box 196, Gondar, Ethiopia

   Mekie Kassaw & Getinet Masresha

2. Department of Biology, Mizan-Tepi University, P.O. Box 121, Tepi, Ethiopia

   Muluye Asnakew & Ashebir Awoke

Corresponding author

Correspondence to
Ashebir Awoke.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

This study involving human participants was conducted following ethical approval from the University of Gondar Institutional Review Board (IRB), University of Gondar, Ethiopia. Permission to conduct the field study was also obtained from the relevant administrative authorities in Farta District before commencement of data collection. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles governing research involving human participants and applicable institutional and national requirement.

Informed consent

Free, prior, and informed consent was obtained from all participants before their involvement in the study. Verbal informed consent was obtained because the study involved community-based ethnobotanical interviews and participatory activities, and because some participants had limited formal literacy. The consent procedure was approved by the relevant ethics committee/IRB. Participants were also asked for permission to record ethnobotanical information and, where applicable, to take photographs. No personally identifiable information was disclosed in the manuscript or associated publications. Information obtained from participants was treated confidentially and used exclusively for scientific research purposes.

Consent for publication

All participants gave informed consent for the use and publication of anonymized data generated during the study.

Ethical principles and compliance

The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant general ethical guidelines for research involving human participants. Participation was entirely voluntary, and no participant was subjected to any form of coercion or undue influence. Before each interview, focus group discussion, guided field walk, or other participatory activity, the purpose, procedures, potential benefits, and voluntary nature of the study were explained to participants in a language they could understand. Participants were informed that they could decline to answer any question or withdraw from the study at any time without providing a reason or experiencing any adverse consequences.

Plant sources and collection

The wild edible plants (WEPs) documented in this study were obtained exclusively from naturally occurring populations within Farta District, Ethiopia. Plant materials were collected during guided field walks conducted with knowledgeable local informants and trained field assistants. Specimens were collected from forests, shrublands, grasslands, fallow lands, riverbanks, agricultural fields where plants occurred spontaneously, and other uncultivated habitats. Intentionally cultivated food crops were excluded from the study. Plant collection was limited to the material required for taxonomic identification and preparation of voucher specimens.

Permission for plant collection

Prior permission to conduct the ethnobotanical fieldwork and collect plant specimens was obtained from the Department of Biology, University of Gondar, together with authorization from the Farta District Administration and relevant local authorities before commencement of field activities. Plant materials were collected solely for scientific identification, documentation, and herbarium deposition. No plant material was exported outside Ethiopia.

Compliance with conservation guidelines

Plant collection and field activities were conducted in accordance with applicable institutional and national regulations governing biological-resource collection and ethnobotanical research. The study was undertaken with due consideration of the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and the principles of responsible and sustainable collection. Where applicable, relevant provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) were respected. No species known to be threatened or at risk of extinction was intentionally subjected to destructive or excessive sampling. Collection was restricted to the minimum amount necessary for taxonomic verification and voucher preparation.

Plant identification and taxonomic verification

Voucher specimens of all documented WEP species were collected, pressed, air-dried, labeled, and preserved using standard herbarium procedures, including heater-drying and deep-freezing where necessary to prevent deterioration and infestation. The specimens were initially identified by Dr. Getinet Masresha using the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea and relevant taxonomic keys. Taxonomic identities were subsequently verified at the National Herbarium (ETH), Addis Ababa University, through comparison with authenticated herbarium specimens and consultation of relevant taxonomic literature. Scientific names and taxonomic classifications were standardized primarily using World Flora Online (WFO), with the African Plant Database, Plants of the World Online (POWO), and JSTOR Global Plants used as supplementary sources for checking nomenclature, synonymy, and distribution.

Voucher specimen deposition

All voucher specimens collected during the study were deposited at the Mini Herbarium of the University of Gondar (UoG), a public university institutional herbarium, under collection code UoG0240026, ensuring traceability and facilitating future taxonomic verification. The voucher collection was intended exclusively for scientific documentation and reference. No plant material was exported outside Ethiopia.

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