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Food plants of the Luo of Siaya district, Kenya

Les plantes comestibles du peuple Luo, district de Siaya au Kenya

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Abstract

Plants used for food by the Luo-speaking people of Siaya District, Kenya, were surveyed as part of a comprehensive ethnobotanical study. Fifty-two crops were observed under cultivation in the district; 69 species are gathered from the wild. Wild fruits, underground portions, leaves, and fungal fruiting bodies are probably important in Siaya as dietary supplements. These non-cultivated resources, particularly important in the driest areas of the district, warrant evaluation for their role as a buffer against periods of food shortage.

Resumen

Dans le cadre d’une etude ethnobotanique importante, nous avons repertorie les plantes utilisees dans I ’alimentation du peuple Luo du district de Siaya (Kenya). Bien que nous ayons observe la culture de 52 especes de plantes dans ce district, quelques 69 plantes sont cueillies a I’etat sauvage. Les fruits sauvages, les racines, les feuilles et les champignons constituent done probablement un important complement au regime alimentaire du peuple de Siaya. Ces ressources alimentaires non cultivees sont particulierement importantes dans les parties les plus arides du district et meritent une evaluation plus approfondie quant a leur role lors de penurie alimentaire.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Macdonald College of McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, H9X ICO, Quebec, Canada

    Timothy Johns

  2. Department of Botany, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya

    John O. Kokwaro

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  1. Timothy Johns
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  2. John O. Kokwaro
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Johns, T., Kokwaro, J.O. Food plants of the Luo of Siaya district, Kenya. Econ Bot 45, 103–113 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02860055

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02860055

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