Wild contributes zing to mountain economy, lifestyle

The cold desert climate of Ladakh is marked by scant rainfall, thin atmosphere, intensive sun radiation, and harsh winters. In the backdrop of barrenness, wild edible greens have survived, adapting to endure characteristics like waxy or hairy leaves that check transpiration loss and impart hardness, to eke out this high-altitude terrain at 2,800–5,500 m above mean sea level.

"The climatic factors favor a short growing season when feral plants like seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), wild rhubarb (Rheum australe), and mountain herbs such as caraway (Carum carvi) and somlata (Ephedra gerardiana) contain good quantities of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals. In an agriculture-poor nation, these wild edible plants are human, animal, and identity lifesavers," says Bilal Mir, senior assistant professor, Department of Botony, University of Kashmir.

 The study documented 52 wild food plants in 25 plant families and 40 genera, 288 for the various purposes which the plants serve among people. Most used were Himalayan thyme (Thymus linearis) for medicinal and culinary purposes and Caperbush (Capparis spinosa) as a flavor food.

As per IUCN Red List and North-Western Himalayan database, of the food plants documented in the study, one was a critically endangered, two were endangered, and three were vulnerable species. Pink arnebia (Arnebia euchroma), Himalayan thyme (Thymus linearis), and garlic (Allium carolinianum) were the most endangered ones.

Describing the results of the study, Ladakh senior author and research scholar, CSIR–Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu, Zohra Batool says, "The most common (plant) families were Brassicaceae, followed by Polygonaceae and Asteraceae. Most of the wild edible plants were used as vegetables, followed by use as ingredients in local foods, spices, and tea."

The local traditional knowledge of the safe and sustainable use of wild plants has been passed on traditionally by Amchi healers and elders who work in a traditional Himalayan system of medicine.

Threats to wild edible plants

The major threats to Ladakh's wild edible plants are reduction in knowledge about the plants, unscientific utilization, overgrazing, natural calamities, road construction, and being excavated for fuel.

"Destructive harvesting is draining natural stocks, and troops, tourism, and roads are destroying alpine pastures and river valleys," Mir says, and he is not associated with the study.

Climate change is also altering snowfall distribution and lowering cold habitats, compelling high-altitude organisms such as Ladakh onion (Allium przewalskianum) to move to even greater altitudes. Overgrazing by animals hinders regeneration of wild greens such as Himalayan nettle (Urtica hyperborea).

With indigenous knowledge loss among younger generations, there is a greater risk of neglect mixed with overuse. Commercialization of species like seabuckthorn also adds pressure to ecosystems, with non-native species competing out against alpine plant species under threat.