Aspect of ethnobotany of traditional leafy vegetables utilized as human food in rural tropical communities

Abstract

The ethnobotanica survey of traditional leafy vegetabes of Izzi clan in Ebonyi State oNigeria was investigated. Twenty-five traditional eafy vegetabes belonging to eighteen plant families were identified and documented with their habits/forms. Majority of these vegetables were from the families of Pipilionaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Tiliaceae and Moraceae. Sixty percent (60 %) of the identified vegetabe species werecultivated, while 40 % were collected from the wild or semi-wild. Fifty-two percent (52%) of the eafy vegetables were tree species, while 4 % were shrubs and 44% were herbs (and or herbaceous climbers) Thirty-two percent (32 %) of these species wereavailabe during the dry season while 68 % were rainy season species. The need for conservation and sustainability of these bioresources are stressed, in order to safeguard them for future generatons and avoid their genetic erosion.