Wild Vegetables

Morphology, Phytochemistry and Utility

Ganesh Chandrakant Nikalje, Apurva Chonde, Sudhakar Srivastava

• Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
• Year: 2025
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9789815313116
• Subtopic: Botany
• Index: Biological Sciences

This handbook presents a detailed exploration of wild edible plants, focusing on their botanical characteristics, phytochemical composition, medicinal value, and culinary applications. Centered on the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats in India, the book documents around 120 species of wild vegetables, many of which have traditionally supported local diets and healthcare practices.
Organized into chapters by plant family, each entry provides information on plant morphology, edible parts, phytochemical constituents, traditional uses, and medicinal relevance. The book aims to highlight the importance of these underutilized plant resources at a time when globalization has narrowed dietary diversity, leading to the decline in consumption and awareness of traditional species.

Key Features:
- Provides detailed documentation of the morphology, phytochemistry, and uses of approximately 120 wild vegetable species, organized alphabetically by plant family.
- Focuses on plant resources native to the Western Ghats of India, a recognized biodiversity hotspot.
- Provides ethnobotanical details, culinary notes, and medicinal applications for each species.
- Includes a detailed list of references for researchers
- This part covers 23 families, from Acanthaceae to Euphorbiaceae.

This multidisciplinary resource is intended for botanists, ethnobotanists, agricultural scientists, nutritionists, and students, as well as readers interested in plant-based nutrition, indigenous knowledge systems, and sustainable food sources. It offers both academic insights and practical information, supporting efforts to conserve, study, and reintegrate wild vegetables into contemporary food and healthcare practices.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title
• BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD.
• FOREWORD
• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• KEYWORDS
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Acanthaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Aizoaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Amaranthaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Anacardiaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Apiaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Apocynaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Araceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Asparagaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Asteraceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Basellaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Bignoniaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Burseraceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Capparaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Caricaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Cleomaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Commelinaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Convolvulaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Cordiaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Costaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Cucurbitaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Dilleniaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Dioscoreaceae
• Wild Vegetables of the Family Euphorbiaceae
• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES