Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County
Wild food plants are important resources for people living in dry areas of Kenya. A botanical inventory of vascular plants of Kitui county was compiled from specimens collected during field investigations in Kitui county, at the East African (EA) herbarium and from literature reporting on plants of...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-08-01
|
| Series: | Plants |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/8/1017 |
| _version_ | 1797558634797858816 |
|---|---|
| author | Fredrick Munyao Mutie Peninah Cheptoo Rono Vivian Kathambi Guang-Wan Hu Qing-Feng Wang |
| author_facet | Fredrick Munyao Mutie Peninah Cheptoo Rono Vivian Kathambi Guang-Wan Hu Qing-Feng Wang |
| author_sort | Fredrick Munyao Mutie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wild food plants are important resources for people living in dry areas of Kenya. A botanical inventory of vascular plants of Kitui county was compiled from specimens collected during field investigations in Kitui county, at the East African (EA) herbarium and from literature reporting on plants of Kitui county. To obtain an inventory of wild edible plants found in Kitui county, literature reporting on wild edible plants of Kenya were searched and combined with the use reports obtained from field surveys in Kitui county. A total of 199 wild plants found in Kitui county have the potential of being utilized as foods in different ways. Plant species growing either as trees or shrubs (83 species) and herbs (36 species) are the dominant life forms while the best represented plant families are Leguminosae (25 species) and Malvaceae (17 species). Fruits (124 reports) and leaves (56 reports) are the common plant parts collected for food. Fruits (120 species) and vegetables (44 species) are the common wild food types in Kitui county. Further studies on species distribution are necessary to address conservation concerns that may threaten such plants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:34:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-170ff7993cd348b0975d51b2bc6e83b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:34:12Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-170ff7993cd348b0975d51b2bc6e83b92023-11-20T09:54:34ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472020-08-0198101710.3390/plants9081017Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui CountyFredrick Munyao Mutie0Peninah Cheptoo Rono1Vivian Kathambi2Guang-Wan Hu3Qing-Feng Wang4CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Speciality Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Gen, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Speciality Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Gen, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, ChinaNational Museums of Kenya, East African Herbarium, P.O. Box 40658, Nairobi 00100, KenyaCAS Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Speciality Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Gen, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Speciality Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Gen, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, ChinaWild food plants are important resources for people living in dry areas of Kenya. A botanical inventory of vascular plants of Kitui county was compiled from specimens collected during field investigations in Kitui county, at the East African (EA) herbarium and from literature reporting on plants of Kitui county. To obtain an inventory of wild edible plants found in Kitui county, literature reporting on wild edible plants of Kenya were searched and combined with the use reports obtained from field surveys in Kitui county. A total of 199 wild plants found in Kitui county have the potential of being utilized as foods in different ways. Plant species growing either as trees or shrubs (83 species) and herbs (36 species) are the dominant life forms while the best represented plant families are Leguminosae (25 species) and Malvaceae (17 species). Fruits (124 reports) and leaves (56 reports) are the common plant parts collected for food. Fruits (120 species) and vegetables (44 species) are the common wild food types in Kitui county. Further studies on species distribution are necessary to address conservation concerns that may threaten such plants.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/8/1017climate changeconservationcrop wild relatives (CWR)drylandsKitui countywild food plants |
| spellingShingle | Fredrick Munyao Mutie Peninah Cheptoo Rono Vivian Kathambi Guang-Wan Hu Qing-Feng Wang Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County Plants climate change conservation crop wild relatives (CWR) drylands Kitui county wild food plants |
| title | Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County |
| title_full | Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County |
| title_fullStr | Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County |
| title_short | Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County |
| title_sort | conservation of wild food plants and their potential for combatting food insecurity in kenya as exemplified by the drylands of kitui county |
| topic | climate change conservation crop wild relatives (CWR) drylands Kitui county wild food plants |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/8/1017 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fredrickmunyaomutie conservationofwildfoodplantsandtheirpotentialforcombattingfoodinsecurityinkenyaasexemplifiedbythedrylandsofkituicounty AT peninahcheptoorono conservationofwildfoodplantsandtheirpotentialforcombattingfoodinsecurityinkenyaasexemplifiedbythedrylandsofkituicounty AT viviankathambi conservationofwildfoodplantsandtheirpotentialforcombattingfoodinsecurityinkenyaasexemplifiedbythedrylandsofkituicounty AT guangwanhu conservationofwildfoodplantsandtheirpotentialforcombattingfoodinsecurityinkenyaasexemplifiedbythedrylandsofkituicounty AT qingfengwang conservationofwildfoodplantsandtheirpotentialforcombattingfoodinsecurityinkenyaasexemplifiedbythedrylandsofkituicounty |