**1.**Characteristicsofthevisitedmountainvillagesandstudied

Prior to each interview, verbal consent was obtained from the participants and the Code of Ethics adopted by the International Society of Ethnobiology [52] was followed. Semistructured interviews were conducted both in the Urdu language, as well as in the local language (with the help of a local translator). The interviews were focused on gathered and consumed wild food plants used as cooked vegetables, raw in salads, as snacks, as seasoning or for recreational teas. Specific questions were also asked concerning wild plants possibly used in dairy products or in lactic fermented foods, as well as the consumption of edible mushrooms. Moreover, we recorded information on some cultivated species, which locals considered "wild" or whose culinary use was unusual. For each of the free listed plants recorded during the study, the local name, gathering period and local food uses were documented. Additionally, qualitative ethnographic information was gathered via open-ended questions and participant observation. The quoted wild food taxa were then collected from the study area (Figure 3).

**Figure 3.** (**A**): A few flowering specimens collected for the herbarium; (**B**): *Morchella esculenta* hanging by a string at a local shop in Imit village and (**C**): *Rheum* sp.

Collected plant taxa were identified by the third author using the Flora of Pakistan [53–56], and voucher specimens were deposited at the Herbarium of the Department of Botany, University of Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Identification of the few wild plants for which it was not possible to collect vouchers was made on the basis of the folk name and detailed plant description only. Nomenclature followed The Plant List database [57] for each plant taxon and the Index Fungorum [58] for the mushroom taxon, while plant family assignments were consistent with the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website [59].

#### *2.3. Data Analysis*

Ethnobotanical taxa and their uses were compared among different community groups through proportional Venn diagrams, which were drafted using free software (http://bioinformatics.psb.ugent. be/webtools/Venn/). Data analysis was also carried out by calculating the Jaccard index (for each pair of considered communities), used for gauging the similarity and diversity of sample sets, following the application that González-Tejero et al. [60] designed for the use of this ecological index in the

ethnobotanical domain. Moreover, for national data comparison, a detailed literature survey on the ethnobotany of wild food plants of Pakistan and Pamir was also conducted [26,37–40,61–75].

#### **3. Results**

#### *3.1. Food System of the Studied Communities*

The traditional food system of the studied communities was based on ingredients obtained from seasonal crops, as well as dairy products and the meat of sheep, cow and goat, as these communities have historically been attached to small-scale horticulture and livestock rearing. Almost every household in the study area had a small piece of land where the family cultivated different crops and vegetables. Cultivated crops contributed to the management of the traditional food system, which primarily consisted of consuming corn, wheat, buckwheat, pearl millet, barley and potatoes. Some important vegetables grown by locals in their home gardens or fields included cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, turnips, carrots, radishes, amaranth and lettuce. In the past, primary orchard foodstuffs, such as apricots and mulberry, were also supplemented with grains like barley, foxtail millet, buckwheat, fava bean and amaranth. Apart from these products, the most culturally salient customs of the people living in the area, and for which they are famous, are the frequent culinary uses of potato and rye. Different homemade food products were preserved and used at different times throughout the year. Some important dishes recorded in the study area include: Dawdoo, which is a famous noodle soup used especially in winter (Figure 4), Makoti (wheat flour combined with ground nuts and almonds and then cooked together), Terbat (wheat flour mixed with walnuts, almonds, and vegetable oil), Gyal (prepared by mixing wheat flour with butter and eggs), Chahn (wheat grain cooked with meat), Bappa (cooked wheat flour), Paqo (cooked wheat flour), Brat tiki (made by mixing wheat flour with butter and eggs), Chalpak (made by mixing local herbs with dough and oil), Mul (wheat flour combined with butter and then cooked), Molida (wheat flour mixed with milk and butter), Bayo-Cha or Trup Cha (salty tea mixed with milk) and Sharbat (wheat flour mixed with butter and then cooked).

All the above mentioned traditional dishes contained ingredients or products obtained from local small scale family-run horticultural and pastoralist activities, while the consumption of wild plants was considerable for those families living in the most isolated locations of the valleys.

#### *3.2. Wild Food Plant Uses*

The survey recorded forty plant and fungal taxa, which were used in the traditional food system across the two valleys (Table 2).


**2.**Gatheredwildfoodplantsrecordedinthestudy










Valley; ISI: food use recorded among Ismaili Shina in the Ishkoman Valley; IWI: food use recorded among Ismaili Wakhis in the Ishkoman Valley; SBY: food use recorded among Sunni Burusho in the Yasin Valley; SKI: food use recorded among Sunni Kho in the Ishkoman Valley; SKY: food use recorded among Sunni Kho in the Yasin Valley; SSI: food use recorded among Sunni Shina in the Ishkoman Valley; +: food use quoted by less than 50% of the study participants; +: food use quoted by 50% or more of the study participants; *Dawdoo:* noodle soup traditionally consumed in the winter season.

Among the thirty-nine reported botanical taxa, thirty-eight were taxonomically identified. The recorded taxa also included one fungal taxon. In addition, the plant taxa included a few cultivated food plants that were considered by locals to be "wild", and/or they were used in unusual ways (these taxa are also included in Table 2). In the same table we also indicated the most quoted taxa for each considered religious and ethnic group. Among the recorded wild food plants, twenty-one taxa were cooked and consumed as vegetables. Some of the most frequently used plant species cooked as vegetables were *Allium carolinianum*, *Allium fedtschenkoanum*, *Amaranthus cruentus*, *Artemisia annua*, *Capparis spinosa*, *Eremurus himalaicus*, *Iris hookeriana*, *Lepidium didymium*, *Lepyrodiclis holosteoides*, *Taraxacum campylodes* and *Urtica dioica*.

Furthermore, thirteen taxa were consumed raw as snacks and a few plants were used in recreational herbal teas and as seasonings. Wild plant taxa used in herbal drinks or seasonings that were frequently mentioned included the seeds of *Carum carvi,* the bark of *Elaeagnus angustifolia* and the aerial parts of *Thymus linearis*. Wild food plants from the study area, which were rarely quoted included: *Medicago sativa, Ribes* spp., *Rubus fruticosus, Rumex dentatus*, *Saussurea lappa*, *Silene conoidea*, *Silene vulgaris*, *Sorbus* sp. and *Tulipa* sp. It is worth mentioning that only two plants, namely *Allium carolinianum* and *Allium fedtschenkoanum*, were frequently quoted by all the investigated groups.

During the course of the ethnobotanical survey, local communities did not mention any wild plants used in fermentation. Study participants stated that there are certain plants that were mainly collected during the late spring, including *Allium carolinianum, Allium fedtschenkoanum, Bergenia stracheyi, Capparis spinosa, Carum carvi, Eremurus himalaicus*, *Rheum* spp. and *Thymus linearis*. Some of the study participants also mentioned that *Capparis spinosa*, which could usually be found near houses in villages where it was mostly gathered by women and children, was also sold in the market as it was an important medicinal plant. Study participants described certain plant species, which were collected in the mountains when needed for mainly medicinal purposes. An important spot for the collection of wild plants is represented by pastures located at higher elevations to which animals are taken to graze (called "Nalla"). Some wild food plants are collected there and later brought home (Figure 5).

**Figure 5.** Locals and the first author after having gathered wild food plants in *Nalla*.

After a detailed literature survey, we found some food uses of certain plant taxa, which were quite new and have not been mentioned, to the best of our knowledge, in any previous wild food ethnobotanical reports in Pakistan and surrounding Pamir areas. These plants included: *Artemisia annua*, *Berberis parkeriana*, *Hedysarum falconeri, Iris hookeriana*, *Lepidium didymium* and *Saussurea lappa.*

#### *3.3. Cross Cultural Analyses*

In the Yasin Valley, comparative assessment of wild plant uses among Ismaili Kho, Sunni Kho, Ismaili Burusho and Sunni Burusho indicated that the largest number of plant taxa was reported by Sunni Kho, and a large majority of wild food plant taxa were shared, apart from a few, minor divergences (Figure 6A). The greatest similarity was observed between Ismaili Kho and Sunni Burusho for recorded wild food plant uses.

**Figure 6.** Venn diagrams showing the Jaccard indexes and overlap of (**A**) overall recorded wild food plants and (**B**) the most frequently reported wild food plants (quoted by more than 50% of the informants) among the four studied groups (IB: Ismaili Burusho, IK: Ismaili Kho, SB: Sunni Burusho, SK: Sunni Kho) in the Yasin Valley.

In order to specify more precisely the effect of language and religion on traditional knowledge of wild plant uses, we also compared the most frequently quoted plants among the groups. It was noted that half of the frequently reported taxa were common to all the studied groups and the majority of these plants were reported by Ismaili Burusho (Figure 6B).

In the Ishkoman Valley, cross-cultural comparison of wild food plant uses among Ismaili Kho, Sunni Kho, Ismaili Shina, Sunni Shina and Ismaili Wakhi demonstrated that of the total reported taxa half were common among the groups (Figure 7A).

The largest number of wild plant taxa was reported by Sunni Kho, while Sunni Shina reported the lowest number of wild food taxa. The greatest similarity was observed between Ismaili Kho and Sunni Kho, whereas the least similarity was recorded between (a) Sunni Kho and Sunni Shina, and (b) Ismaili Kho and Ismaili Wakhi. Furthermore, in the valley, approximately one third of the frequently quoted plant taxa were used by all the studied groups (Figure 7B). Similarly, we also found great overlap of wild food taxa reported from both valleys, and approximately 90% of the plant uses were the same (Figure 8).

**Figure 7.** Venn diagrams showing Jaccard indexes and the overlap of (**A**) overall recorded wild food plants and (**B**) the most frequently reported wild food plants (quoted by more than 50% of the informants) among the five studied groups (IK: Ismaili Kho, IS: Ismaili Shina, IW: Ismaili Wakhi, SK: Sunni Kho, SS: Sunni Shina) in the Ishkoman Valley.

**Figure 8.** Venn diagram showing the overlap among the studied groups in both valleys for the recorded wild food plants.

#### **4. Discussion**

#### *4.1. Ismailism and Its Cultural Pluralism: A Homogenizing Factor for LEK and LFK?*

The cross-cultural ethnobotanical analysis has shown that remarkable commonalities among the selected studied groups and the overlapping pattern of wild plant uses confirms some form of cross-interaction among communities, which shared the same environmental and sociocultural space for a few centuries. Our main finding suggests that the heritages of LEK and LFK concerning WFPs of the considered groups have not remained distinct and this could be due to intense social exchanges, which possibly the dominant Ismailism in the area could have allowed across history [76]. Moreover, in other works we have suggested that intermarriages between different cultural groups may lead to the homogenization of traditional knowledge, since most LEK and LFK are shaped by transmission passing from one female generation to the next [23–25,30]. In order to better evaluate the impact of this variable on the transmission of this knowledge system, we also qualitatively addressed kinship relationships among individuals of the studied groups. While study participants confirmed that—as nearly everywhere in the world—the transmission of LEK and LFK systems regarding food plants (and especially wild vegetables) passes mainly from mothers to daughters, they did not openly recognize the presence of endogamic rules. We often noticed the presence of intermarriages among the

different cultural groups; for example, during the field research in the Ismaili community we found that a Burusho man married a Kho woman and a Shina woman married a Kho man. However, it was not uncommon to observe Sunnis that intermarried with locals having perhaps a different language but sharing the same faith. We also found families in which some members belonged to the Ismaili faith of Islam while others converted to the Sunni faith. These observations suggest a possible trend among Sunnis, which contradicts the historical cultural pluralism forged over centuries by Ismailism.

However, study participants confirmed us in their narratives that knowledge on WFPs goes beyond linguistic and religious boundaries and they have the perception that they all follow the same food patterns. During the survey, participants did not report any WFPs, which were exclusively consumed during specific food events or religious festivities of individual communities.

It is worth mentioning that among all the studied groups, Burusho was the only autochthonous linguistic group in the area, which is considered an isolated language group; Burushaski speakers used some WPFs that were very frequently reported within their group and hardly used by the other groups. This confirms the peculiar position of this group within the study area, where historically diverse invaders pushed the Burusho into the most remote and highest areas of the valley. Burushaski speakers were originally isolated, and yet the fact that they share qualitatively (but not quantitatively and in their frequency) the same wild food plants gathered by the other groups shows that after the arrival of other groups into the area they possibly generated complex cultural adaptation and negotiation processes. The crucial role of these negotiations among diverse ethnic pastoralist groups in the mountains of NW Pakistan was superbly described by Fredrick Barth (1928–2016) half a century ago [77].

Kassam has analyzed how adaptation is fundamentally linked to indigenous cultural values and local wisdom, and despite the fact that local communities in the neighboring Pamir Mountains have been subjected to dramatic changes within the last century (colonization, the Cold War, penetration of the market system, civil war and, lastly, dramatic climate change), their survival and continued existence speaks to their amazing capacity to adapt, demonstrating cultural and ecological pluralism, and highlighting the importance of "keeping all the parts" [78,79].

On the other hand, in another study we pointed out that selective convergence in wild food ethnobotanical knowledge could occur between ethnic groups during periods of food insecurity, and may leave a lasting mark on the body of orally transmitted LEK and LFK [28]. This could have also happened in the study area considered here.

Moreover, LEK and LFK may have been influenced by a specific linguistic adaptation as well. For instance, it was observed that the local names of certain WPFs are common to all the different communities: *Capparis spinosa* is known as Kaveer by the Kho and Shina, *Carum carvi* is referred to as Hojooj by the Burusho, Kho and Shina, *Chenopodium album* is called Konakh by both the Burusho and Kho and *Eremurus himalaicus* was described as Laqa by the Burusho, Kho and Shina. This linguistic adaptation was possibly linked to a broader cultural adaptation that minority groups underwent toward the majority groups or the groups speaking the lingua franca (Kho in our study area, [49]).

#### *4.2. Dynamics of Change of Local Knowledge: Nalla and Its Vanishing Role*

LEK and LFK regarding WFPs has gone through remarkable changes in the past few decades, not only in terms of the frequency of gathering, but also generational dynamics in WFP gathering. For instance, participants frequently mentioned that in the past wild garlic (*Allium fedtschenkoanum* and *A. carolinianum*) was used in traditional cooking instead of onions bought from the market, but now no one uses this ingredient on a daily basis anymore. Similarly, *Urtica dioica* was formerly used as a common vegetable, but study participants claimed that the plant is no longer used very often in this manner. Participants also frequently claimed that the consumption of wild food plants has reduced with the passage of time due to certain factors including the availability of cultivated vegetables both from the market and fields. Some participants mentioned that most of the wild plants are not available near houses or within the village. In the study area, especially in the Yasin Valley, the Burusho community retains extensive knowledge of wild food plants. People living in Nalla, which still

represent the core environment of the original pastoralist socioecological system, have broad skills in recognizing and gathering WFPs, but there is also a threat to this knowledge as they have begun to move down to the plain areas of the valleys in search of jobs and business opportunities. The majority of the visited local communities no longer pay attention to their wild food resources, apart from those community members still living in Nalla during the summer.

One of the study participants (71-year-old man) from the Yasin Valley mentioned his views using these words:

"My father and grandfather used wild food plants in the old days when we were children and we also used the mountain, taking our animals to graze over there. When I was young I could walk and I was able to go to the mountains but now I can't climb them. As you ask about the degradation of wild food plants, I am not sure whether wild food plants are increasing or decreasing. I am old and my legs don't allow me to go there and see over there. Our younger generation is not interested in such cultural things because they have facilities and can get a modern education in cities. But I think that wild plants are still available in Nalla, but who among us is going to Nalla? Of course no one goes there because we don't need wild food plants anymore and the consumption of wild food plants is a story of former times when my father and forefather were poor and wild plants were easily available".

During the survey we also observed that some locals gathered WPFs at different locations across the region (Figure 5) because they also recognize their medicinal value and thus their practical and economic importance. Some locals mentioned that previously these plants were collected for food purposes but now they were collected for mainly medicinal use only; this was the case, for example, for *Allium carolinianum, Capparis spinosa* and *Bergenia stracheyi*.

*Allium carolinianum* is generally preferred by elderly people for treating joint pain. *Capparis spinosa*, which is found near the houses within villages, is frequently gathered in order to obtain an extract from its flowers; this extract, which was found in many homes, is famous for treating liver problems, as well as diabetes, hepatitis, cough, cold, fever and malaria. Similarly, in some households we also found the dried rhizomes of *Bergenia stracheyi*. Participants used to prepare an herbal tea of these rhizomes, but now they mainly utilized them for gastric problems. Local inhabitants also go to *Nalla* to gather these wild food plants for medicinal purposes and if they find them easily then the plants are cooked and eaten as a meal as well. During the course of the study, we recorded an interesting local perception about a wild plant, which is well known in mountain areas of Central Asia as an important, but threatened medicinal plant: *Saussurea lappa*, which is locally known as "Minal". Participants reported that in the past this plant was added to milk or yogurt in order to increase the amount of fat in yogurt or butter, respectively; this species was only been used within some specific families locally known as "Khandani Khalaq". It was believed that if a household used Minal this would have automatically reduced the amount of butter in the nearby houses, which was morally unacceptable and not allowed from a religious point of view. This suggests how certain food taboos in the study area may have been associated to the use of rare natural resources such as *Saussurea*. Similar patterns were recently observed in the gathering of ritual plants in Benin [80] and were especially well described by Alpina Begossi in her pioneering work on the coevolutive significance of fishing rare species in Brazil [81].

Moreover, in the study area locals mentioned that now Minal is used only for medicinal purposes in the Ghizar region and in other areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, as also well described in recent ethnobotanical literature [67].

This shift from ofWFPs into the medicinal domain may have different reasons: the gathering of wild medicinal represents a good source of cash, while the resilience of folk medicinal practices seems to find wider social acceptance than that of WFPs, which often represent symbols of economic marginalization.

#### *4.3. Strategies for the Future: Revitalizing the Wild Food Cultural Heritage and Nalla*

In the study area, transformation of subsistence economies has led to market dependency, which has greatly affected local food systems. Due to this change, local knowledge systems are facing critical problems, which in turn are posing biocultural conservation problems and need critical attention from stakeholders. People living in Nalla still retain an important portion of LEK, but this heritage is threatened, since the Nalla-centered socioecological system is vanishing as a result of the increasing migration to the plain areas of the valleys for employment. In order to dynamically preserve the biocultural heritage and foodscape and to empower local subsistence economies, it is urgent that measures be put in place in order to revitalize Nalla. Policy makers and various stakeholders should also pay attention to the issue of how local knowledge systems, especially those circulating around Nalla, could be promoted and further transmitted. For fostering the resilience of LEK, it may be necessary to incorporate it into the existing school curricula with the help of traditional knowledge holders. This would not only possibly further transform LEK, but would also increase awareness of the need to preserve the local natural resources and especially the complex socioecological systems attached to it.

Revitalizing and increasing the appreciation for local wild plant resources could have a positive impact on the promotion of sustainable rural development. The entire area could become a hotspot of ecotourism, improving the economic condition of the local people by honoring their local culture. Ecotourism in the region could also alleviate the social isolation of some local groups and provide additional awareness of their traditional food cultural heritage, which could help to prevent the further erosion of LEK. However, promoting wild species could also have a negative impact on available genetic resources (over-exploitation) and therefore it would be crucial to frame this strategy within the larger picture of environmental education. Designing community-centered biocultural diversity conservation projects based on LEK could possibly generate better outcomes than traditional biodiversity conservation strategies. Nalla could become the center of these bio-cultural initiatives, in which local communities could engage with urban civil societies and visitors to also foster virtuous social exchange and internal social cohesion. It would be equally interesting to examine how younger generations of the area re-articulate this knowledge related to wild plant taxa as younger individuals are more exposed to "modernization" and are less interested in maintaining this biocultural heritage.

#### *4.4. Food Security in Rural Areas of Pakistan: Quo Vadis?*

In mountainous areas of Pakistan, as in other developing areas, livelihoods were based mainly on subsistence horticulture, livestock rearing and the use of common pastures, rangeland and forests. However, in recent times, governmental wheat subsidies and facilitated access to city markets have led to a profound transformation of livelihoods and farming systems, as in other communities of the region [34]. Until the 1980s, farming was mainly subsistence-oriented and modern technologies were largely absent, with dominant crops being wheat, barley, millets, buckwheat, maize, alfalfa and apricots. Over the last four decades, new technologies have been adopted, traditional crops have been replaced by potatoes and other cash crops, and small-scale family agriculture has lost its prominent importance in the diversified livelihoods of the village population [82]. Obviously these changes have also improved access to food supplies beyond local production. However, the aforementioned socioeconomic changes have led to a loss of food sovereignty as well, i.e., the self-sufficiency of local communities has decreased, posing new risks related to market dependency and also environmental hazards [83,84]. For instance, in Gilgit-Baltistan, a recent historic event has been critical for subsequent changes in local food systems: the catastrophic Attabad landslide in 2010 cut off a large populated area from access to down country Pakistan and posed serious economic threats for local communities across the area. This raises the question of whether the developments since the 1970s have actually reduced the ability of local food systems to cope with emerging economic, political and environmental risks and challenges [85]. Ultimately, food security issues in mountainous and rural areas of Pakistan still largely need to be addressed from a broader perspective, since food vulnerability is not only a matter

concerning agroecosystems, supply chains, and even the resilience of LEK and LFK regarding WFPs. In particular, food insecurity in Pakistan also involves a complex interplay in which diverse factors are determinant: environmental change and degradation, cultural changes, gender issues (i.e., the still largely invisible social and economic role of women [86]), as well as the overall governance of food policies and economies at both the regional and national level [87,88].

#### **5. Conclusions**

The field study conducted among the different linguistic and religious groups living in the Ishkoman and Yasin valleys revealed a considerable, but possibly eroded, LEK and LFK concerning the folk use of wild botanical and mycological taxa. The finding showed that the studied groups of both valleys are currently mainly attached to horticultural food ingredients and dairy coming from livestock rearing, yet only partially still rely on wild food plant taxa. More than half of the wild food plant reports referred to vegetables that are cooked, while snacks roughly represented one third of the recorded botanicals. Comparative analysis of wild plant uses among the different groups in the two valleys showed no significant variation among the diverse visited groups. The conducted literature review demonstrated that some wild food plant taxa recorded in the current field study were not reported in any previous ethnobotanical food studies from the region. It is important to note that in this study there were some plant taxa recorded with past uses, while others switched from being food species to medicinal species. This study addressed also the complex transformations LEK and LFK systems underwent during the past decades and the possible strategies that are needed for revitalizing the complex wild food biocultural heritage, as well as for better implementing the future food security in mountain areas of Pakistan.

Further cross-cultural and possibly cross-temporal food ethnographic studies among different groups living in other areas of the Hindukush range could be vital for contributing to a better understanding of the dynamics of change in ethnobotanical knowledge and foodways in disadvantaged mountain areas.

**Author Contributions:** A.P. designed the theoretical framework of the research, and, together with M.A.A., planned the methodology and the field study. M.A.A. carried out the field study. Z.U. identified the ethnobotanical taxa. A.P. and M.A.A. analyzed the data and provided the cultural interpretation of the findings. M.A.A. drafted the first version of the manuscript, which was later commented on by A.M.A. and thoroughly revised and finalized by A.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy.

**Acknowledgments:** Special thanks are due to all study participants of the different groups who generously shared their knowledge. We also thank Asad Rahman and Saleem Khan for their logistic support during the field study.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest

#### **References**


© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

### *Article* **Gathered Wild Food Plants among Diverse Religious Groups in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan**

**Muhammad Majeed 1, Khizar Hayat Bhatti 1, Andrea Pieroni 2,3 , Renata Sõukand <sup>4</sup> , Rainer W. Bussmann <sup>5</sup> , Arshad Mahmood Khan <sup>6</sup> , Sunbal Khalil Chaudhari 7, Muhammad Abdul Aziz <sup>2</sup> and Muhammad Shoaib Amjad 8,\***


**Abstract:** Recent ethnobotanical studies have raised the hypothesis that religious affiliation can, in certain circumstances, influence the evolution of the use of wild food plants, given that it shapes kinship relations and vertical transmission of traditional/local environmental knowledge. The local population living in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan comprises very diverse religious and linguistic groups. A field study about the uses of wild food plants was conducted in the district. This field survey included 120 semi-structured interviews in 27 villages, focusing on six religious groups (Sunni and Shia Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis). We documented a total of 77 wild food plants and one mushroom species which were used by the local population mainly as cooked vegetables and raw snacks. The cross-religious comparison among six groups showed a high homogeneity of use among two Muslim groups (Shias and Sunnis), while the other four religious groups showed less extensive, yet diverse uses, staying within the variety of taxa used by Islamic groups. No specific plant cultural markers (i.e., plants gathered only by one community) could be identified, although there were a limited number of group-specific uses of the shared plants. Moreover, the field study showed erosion of the knowledge among the non-Muslim groups, which were more engaged in urban occupations and possibly underwent stronger cultural adaption to a modern lifestyle. The recorded traditional knowledge could be used to guide future development programs aimed at fostering food security and the valorization of the local bio-cultural heritage.

**Keywords:** ethnobotany; wild food plants; traditional food; religious diversity; bio-cultural heritage; local resources

#### **1. Introduction**

Wild food plants have remained an important ingredient of traditional food basket systems especially in remote communities around the globe [1]. However, due to dramatic socio-cultural shifts local communities are facing and global climate change, dependence on wild food plants has drastically decreased in many areas. Food industrialization and globalization have severely impacted traditional food systems, especially in rural

**Citation:** Majeed, M.; Bhatti, K.H.; Pieroni, A.; Sõukand, R.; Bussmann, R.W.; Khan, A.M.; Chaudhari, S.K.; Aziz, M.A.; Amjad, M.S. Gathered Wild Food Plants among Diverse Religious Groups in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan. *Foods* **2021**, *10*, 594. https://doi.org/10.3390/ foods10030594

Academic Editor: Marcello Iriti

Received: 5 February 2021 Accepted: 4 March 2021 Published: 11 March 2021

**Publisher's Note:** MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

**Copyright:** © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

communities [2]. Consequently, traditional/local environmental knowledge (TEK) linked to wild food plants is becoming more and more endangered, and in some places of the world, it has already disappeared [3]. In recent decades, scientists have recorded several complex TEK systems associated to wild food plants, especially in marginalized areas. However, very few ethnobotanical field studies have focused on the cross-cultural and cross-regional comparison of TEK associated to wild food plants, despite the fact that cultural diversity shapes TEK [4–9].

In many regions of the world, inhabitants of rural areas depend on wild plants as food [10] and a large number of wild plant species occurring in a great variety of habitats are consumed [11,12]. Recent works have addressed the role that religious affiliation may play in shaping folk wild food plant uses and cuisines, since this factor shapes in many areas of the world kinship relations and the vertical transmission of plant and gastronomic knowledge [13–15]. However, all over the world wild plants have been more frequently consumed in the past [10]. There are over 20,000 species of wild edible plants in the world, yet fewer than 20 cultivated species now provide 90% of our main staples [16].

The collection and culinary use of wild plants for food are part of the bio-cultural heritage of local communities and therefore can foster their future sustainability [17,18]. During the last decades, a large number of publications have documented the ethnobotany of wild food plants, but only sporadically scholars have tried to articulate the evaluation of socio-cultural and economic factors possibly influencing foraging [19–32]; simultaneously, research on specific domains of the plant foodscape, such as that of fermentation of local plants (sometimes wild) is exponentially growing [33–45].

Pakistan comprises remarkable natural resources, and a large variety of religious faiths and linguistic communities using a wide range of wild food plants [46]. Many rural communities in Pakistan live closely attached to their natural resources [47] and wild food plants are often consumed for food [48]. A few comparative studies have very recently addressed the cross-cultural dimension of wild food plants gathering and use in Pakistan, and highlighted the role of diverse linguistic and religious groups [49–51].

In order to further evaluate this trajectory, the current study focused on six religious groups (Sunni and Shia Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis—also named Qadiani in official Pakistani documents, despite this term is considered sometime derogatory by the community), speaking eleven different languages (Urdu, Punjabi, Phtohari, Gojri, Pahari, Hindko, Saraiki, Sindhi, Pashto, Kashmiri, and Hindi) in Jhelum District, Punjab, NE Pakistan.

The main aim of our research was to record local knowledge related to wild food plants and also to provide baseline documentation to help local stakeholders revitalizing their food traditions. We particularly explored the impact of religious and linguistic affiliation on the gathering, utilization and consumption of wild food plants in 27 villages in Jhelum district, Punjab, Pakistan, hypothesizing that there could be some differences between different faiths.

The specific research objectives of this study were:


#### **2. Materials and Methods**

#### *2.1. Study Area*

The study area of Jhelum district is located North of the river Jhelum and is bordered by Rawalpindi district in the North, Sargodha and Gujrat districts in the South, Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the East, and Chakwal district in the West [52,53]. The population of the district is 1.22 million, and 71% of the population lives in rural areas, while the

remaining 29% are urban [54]. The climatic conditions are semi-arid, warm-subtropical, characterized by warm summers and severe winters. Jhelum is a semi-mountainous area (Figure 1), with a mean annual rainfall of 880 mm. The annual average temperature reaches 23.6 ◦C. Jhelum is home to the world's second largest salt mine (Khewra) covering about 1000 ha [53,55]. The people of Jhelum have a diverse culture with distinct modes of life, traditions, and beliefs [56]. The ethnic groups of the area show a strong connection to wild plants which often have cultural and medicinal significance [57].

**Figure 1.** Diverse landscapes of Jhelum study area, NE Pakistan; (**a**–**d**): landscape depicting leading plant species associations (indicator species: *Acacia modesta, Acacia nilotica, Prosopis juliflora, Ziziphus numularia, Justicia adhatoda* and *Dodonea viscosa*); (**e**–**g**): exposed sedimentary bedrock stratification (age: Pre-Cambrian to Pliocene; composition: limestone, sandstone, shale, and dolomite) and sandy loam textured soil; (**h**): rangeland for livestock grazing.

The study was conducted in 27 remote villages (Figure 2), all of which contained rivers, mountains, forests, salt mines, and valleys. Some typical and important attributes including landscapes, vegetation, geology and soil, and rangeland are shown in Figure 1.

#### *2.2. Field Study*

The ethnobotanical field research was conducted from March to November 2020. Study participants were selected through snowball sampling focusing on middle-aged and elderly inhabitants (range: 40–90 years old), especially farmers, herders, and housewives. Selected interviewees belonged to different religious faiths and different language groups. Twenty participants (men and women) from each religious group were selected and participated in the survey. The characteristics of the study participants from the 27 visited villages and their different socio-cultural and economic attributes are reported in Table 1.

**Figure 2.** The map of the study area displaying the studied sites/village locations.

Prior to starting an interview, oral informed consent was obtained, and the Code of Ethics of the International Society of Ethnobiology [58] was followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the national language, Urdu, and some local languages (Punjabi, Saraiki, Pothohari, Gojri, Hinko, Pahari, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Hindi) with the help of translators. The information collected focused on the gathering and consumption patterns of wild plants as cooked vegetables, raw snacks, salads, herbal drinks, recreational herbal teas, jams, and for fermentation following Kujawska and Łuczaj [59]. Particular questions were focused on the use of wild plants in daily food habits or in food fermentation, and the consumption of edible wild food plants [49]. Local names of collected taxa were recorded in eleven different local languages.

During the interviews qualitative ethnographic data was documented following Termote et al. [60]. The recorded wild food plants were collected from the study area and were identified using the Flora of Pakistan [61–63]. After correct identification, each taxon was given a voucher specimen number and deposited in the Herbarium of the Department of Botany, University of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan. For nomenclature, the Plant List database [64] was followed for plants, and the Index Fungorum [65] for the single recorded mushroom taxon. The plant family nomenclature follows the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group [66].


#### **Table 1.** Characteristics of the study participants.

#### *2.3. Data Analysis*

The documented data was stored in two main binary data spreadsheets (1. Species gathered for any use; 2. Species gathered for specific use) across the six local religious communities and compared through Venn diagrams and pairwise Jaccard's dissimilarity using the R Statistical Package [67–69].

The Jaccard Index (JI) was calculated as:

$$\mathcal{J}(\mathcal{X}, \mathcal{Y}) = |\mathcal{X} \cap \mathcal{Y}| / |\mathcal{X} \cup \mathcal{Y}|$$

X = Individual set of plant usages documented by group X Y = Individual set of plant usages documented by group Y

By using JI, Jaccard's distance (JD) was calculated as:

D(X,Y) = 1 − J(X,Y)

Moreover, a qualitative comparison with other studies on wild food plants carried out in Pakistan [49–52,70–72] was conducted.

#### **3. Results and Discussion**

*3.1. Reported Wild Food Plants and Their Uses*

A total of seventy-eight taxa (77 vascular plants and one mushroom) were gathered and consumed in different ways in the study area (Table 2). The most commonly used wild food plant species were native, with the exception of *Agave americana*, *Amaranthus spinosus*, *Sonchus oleraceus*, *Tephrosia purpurea*, *Trigonella corniculata*, *Salvia moorcroftiana*, *Salvia nubicola*, *Solanum incanum*, *Chenopodium album*, and *Portulaca quadrifida*, which were grown as herbs or grew wild as weeds in anthropogenically disturbed locations. A total of nine different typologies of food preparations were identified: chutneys (a family of spicy condiments and sauces prototypical of South Asian cuisines); cooked vegetables; fermented preparations; herbal drinks (plant material infused in cold water); herbal teas (plant material infused in hot water); jams; raw snacks (consumed singly, mostly in the field at the collection site); salads (raw plants consumed at the dining table as a starter and/or in conjunction with other food items); and seasoning/spices.


**Table 2.** Recorded wild food plants and their local uses.





**Table 2.** *Cont.* **Plant Species, Family, and Voucher Specimen Number Local Names Parts Used Gathering Area and Season Local Culinary Uses and Quotation Frequency Frequency of Consumption** *Lepidium draba* L.; Brassicaceae; 459/MM//2020 SennaUR Suchi SennaPN, PH, GJ, PT Koori SanaSR Ghora WalSN DadhwalSN Leaves, Seeds DL, FO, GR; April–July Raw snacksQA\*, SI\* SaladHN\*, SN\* Very commonSN CommonQA RareHN Very rareSI *Malva neglecta* Wallr.; Malvaceae; 665/MM//2020 Sitara SunchalPN, SR TikalayPS Jungali SoxalKM SonchalUR, HN, PT, PH KhubasiHI Leaves AL, DL, FO, GL, GR, RS, SH, WP, WL; March–April CookingSN\*\*, SH\*\*\*, SI\*, QA\* Very commonSI CommonQA RareSN Very rareSH *Malva parviflora* L.; Malvaceae; 510/MM//2020 Jangli SonchalUR, PN, PT, HN Jungali SoxalKM Jangli KhubasiHI Fruits AL, DL, FO, GL, GR, RS, SH, WP, WL; March–April CookingSH, QA\* Herbal teaCR\*, SN\*\* Very commonSH CommonQA RareCR Very rareSN *Malva sylvestris* L.; Malvaceae; 564/MM//2020 Jamni PhoolUR MethraiPN, PS, SR KhawazamaryPS SamchalPT, PH, KM KhabaziHN Leaves RS, SH; April–May CookingSH\*\*, SI\*\*\*, QA, SN\*\* Very commonSN CommonSI RareSH Very rareQA *Mentha arvensis* L.; Lamiaceae; 693/MM//2020 PodinaUR, PN, PT, PH PodnaSR ShinshobaiPS PodinaGJ, HN Leaves AL, GL; March–April, August– September ChutneySH\*\*\*, SN\*\*\*, SI\*\* CookingSH\*, SN\*\*, SI\*\*, CR\* Herbal teaHN\*\*, SI\*\* SpiceCR\*\*, SH\*, SN\* Very commonHN CommonCR, SI RareSI Very rareSH *Mentha longifolia* (L.) L.; Lamiaceae; 698/MM//2020 Jangli PodinaUR, PN, KM Chita PodnaSR, HN, PT, PH VaylanaiPS ShinshobaiPS BareenaSN Leaves FO, GL, HS, SL, SH, WL; May–June, August– September ChutneySN\*\*, SH\*\* CookingSN\*, SH\* Herbal teaSI\*\*\*, CR\*\* SpiceCR\*, SI\*\*, QA\*\* Very commonSI CommonCR RareQA Very rareSN *Mentha pulegium* L.; Lamiaceae; 659/MM//2020 Jamni PodinaUR, PN, PT, PH Desi PodnaSR PudinaKM Leaves AL, FO, GL, HS, RS, SL, SH, WL; March–April, August– September ChutneyHN\*, SI\*\* Herbal teaQA\*\*, SN\*\* Very commonHN CommonSN RareSI Very rareQA *Mentha royleana* Wall. ex Benth.; Lamiaceae; 631/MM//2020 Sofaid PodinaUR, PN, PT, PH Chitta PodnaSR, HN Jangli PodinaKM Leaves AL, FO, GL, HS, RS, SL, SH, WL; March–April ChutneySH\*\*, SN\* CookingSH\*, SN\* Herbal teaCR\*\*\*, HN\* Very commonSN CommonSH RareHN Very rareCR *Olea europaea* subsp. *cuspidata* (Wall. & G. Don) Cif.; Oleaceae; 746/MM//2020 KahouUR, PN, PT KaoGJ, KM, PH, SR ShwawanPS KhunaPS KaowHN KahoHN Fruits AL; August– September Raw snacksQA\*\*, SH\*\*, SI\*, HN\* Very commonSH CommonSI RareQA Very rareHN


**Plant Species, Family, and Voucher Specimen Number Local Names Parts Used Gathering Area and Season Local Culinary Uses and Quotation Frequency Frequency of Consumption** *Portulaca quadrifida* L.; Portulacaceae; 753/MM//2020 Lornak BootiUR, PN LorankiPT, GJ, PH LonakSR WakhoraiPS PakharaiPS LoonkSN LunakKM KolfaHN Leaves, Stems FO, GL, GR, HS, MS, RS, SL, SH, WP; August– September CookingSH\*\*, SN\*, CR\*, QA Very commonCR CommonSN RareSH Very rareQA *Prosopis cineraria* (L.) Druce; Leguminosae; 745/MM//2020 JandUR, PN, PT, PH, KM JandiSR KandiSN Jangli MatarKM JhandHI KhejriHI Gum, Pods DL, FO, GR, HS, RS, SP, SL, WP; August– September FermentationSN\*, CR\*\* JamQA\*\*, SH\* Very commonQA CommonSH RareCR Very rareSN *Prosopis juliflora* (Sw.) DC.; Leguminosae; 547/MM//2020 KikarUR Phari KikarPN, PT, GJ, KM, SR Sindhi KikarPH KikarPS Angrezi BaburSN Velayti KikarHN Jungli KikarHI Gum, Pods AL, FO, GR, HS, RS, WP; August– September FermentationSI, HN\*, CR JamSH\*\*, SN\* Very commonSH CommonSN RareHN Very rareSI, CR *Rhynchosia minima* (L.) DC.; Leguminosae; 855/MM//2020 Jangli LobiaUR, PN, PH, KM Jangli ArwanPT HerdalSR Pods AL, FO, HS, RS, WP, WL; March–April CookingSN, SH\*, SI\*\*, CR Very commonCR CommonSI RareSN Very rareSH *Rumex dentatus* L.; Polygonaceae; 812/MM//2020 KhatkalPN, PT, PH, KM Jangli PalakUR, GJ, SR Sarkari PalakPS ZamdaPS Jangli PalakSN HullahHN OlaHN Leaves AL, FO, GL, HS, RS, SL, SH, WP, WL; March–April CookingSN\*\*, SH\*\*, SI\*\*, HN Very commonSI CommonHN RareSH Very rareSN *Salvadora oleoides* Decne.; Salvadoraceae; 690/MM//2020 JallUR VanGJ, KM JhalPT, PH PiluPN,SR KhabbarPS KhabarSN KallijariHN Fruits DL, FO, GR, HS, SP, WP; August– September ChutneyHN\*, CR\* FermentationSH\*, SN\*\* JamSH\*, HN\*, CR\* Very commonSH CommonSN RareCR Very rareHN *Salvadora persica* L.; Salvadoraceae; 747/MM//2020 PeloUR, SR, GJ KhabarSN PiluPN, PT, PH, KM DiyarSN KallijariHN JaalHI Fruits DL, GR, RS, SP, SL, WP; August– September FermentationSH\*, SN\* JamSI\*, HN\*\* Very commonSH CommonSN RareSI Very rareHN




Gathering areas: AL: arable land, DL: dry land, FO: forest, GL: grassland, GR: graveyard, HS: hilly slopes, MS: mountain summits, RS: roadside, SP: sandy places, SL: scrubland, SH: shady places, WP: paste places, WL: wet land; Local Languages: UR: Urdu, PN: Punjabi, PT: Pothwari, PH, Pahari, GJ, Gojri, HN: Hindko, SR: Saraiki, SN: Sindhi, PS: Pashto, KS: Kashmiri, HI: Hindi; Religious faith: SN: Sunnis, SH: Shias, SI: Sikhs, HN: Hindus, CR: Christians, QA: Ahmadis (Qadiani); Quotation frequency in percent: 1–25% = without asterisk, 26–50% = \*, 51–75% = \*\*, 76–100% = \*\*\*.

> The most commonly quoted wild food plants and the typologies of their food preparations are reported in Figure 3.

**Figure 3.** Most commonly used wild food plants and their uses.

The most important site for the gathering of wild food plants were grasslands, found sometimes at high elevations, where people normally bring animals for grazing. Summer herders were the most knowledgeable ethnobotanical informants and this show the importance of the link between resilience of wild food plant knowledge and the survival of pastoralist activities. However, the transmission of ethnobotanical practices from elders to the younger generation is continuously decreasing due to the generation gap and fast changing lifestyle. With the modernization of life, the younger generation is moving towards cities for education and business opportunities, which is one of the major reasons for the decline of TEK described in many ethnobotanical studies.

Some important wild food plants (Figure 4) and dishes prepared by the visited communities were available for photographing (Figure 5). Traditional culinary processing included cooking the plants as vegetables (43 mentions), followed by raw snacks (33), confirming what documented in other ethnobotanical studies too [73–75]. Raw snacks were eaten especially by transhumant herders, and it has been shown that herding develops specific linkages between humans and their surrounding ecosystem [76–79]. Herding is also linked to the use of particular types of wild food plants: for example, in Iraq and Kurdistan shepherds consumed more raw snacks than nearby horticulturists [9,76]. Moreover, pastures have been documented as very important gathering habitats of wild food plants [80,81].

Leaves were the most used plant part (38 times used), especially in salads, herbal teas, herbal drinks, as raw snacks, in chutneys, and as cooked vegetables. One third of the reported plants (27 taxa) were only gathered during the spring season.

It was noted that sweet fruits in particular were consumed as raw snacks especially by local communities with a herding lifestyle. Thirty wild food plants were consumed as raw snacks by all religious faith groups, especially *Capparis decidua*, *Caragana ambigua, Cucumis melo*, *Lathyrus aphaca*, *Lathyrus sativus*, *Phoenix sylvestris*, *Salvadora persica*, *Solanum americanum*, *Solanum incanum*, *Solanum villosum*, *Ziziphus jujube*, *Ziziphus nummularia*, *Ziziphus oxyphylla*, and *Ziziphus spina-christi*, many also earlier reported by Sõukand and Kalle [82]. Although *Solanum americanum* was recognized as containing toxic alkaloids [83], especially in its fruit [84], informants used fruits as raw snacks without reporting any toxic effects. Similarly, some other important food preparations in the study area were herbal drinks, salads and chutney (Figure 5).

**Figure 4.** Some examples of wild food plants of Jhelum district: (**a**) *Solanum surattense*; (**b**) *Agave americana*; (**c**) *Solanum incanum*; (**d**) *Rumex dentatus*; (**e**) *Solanum americanum*; (**f**) *Tribulus terrestris*; (**g**) *Cucumis melo*; (**h**) *Acacia modesta*; (**i**) *Sonchus asper*; (**j**) *Fagonia indica*; (**k**) *Capparis decidua*; (**l**) *Ziziphus jujuba*; (**m**) *Oxalis corniculata*; (**n**) *Amaranthus spinosus*; (**o**) *Chenopodium murale*; (**p**) *Rhynchosia minima*; (**q**) *Opuntia dillenii*; (**r**) *Convolvulus arvensis*; (**s**) *Citrullus colocynthis*; (**t**) *Gisekia pharnaceoides*; (**u**) *Lathyrus sativus*; (**v**) *Withania coagulans*; (**w**) *Trigonella corniculata*; (**x**) *Phoenix sylvestris*.

**Figure 5.** Traditional culinary uses of wild food plants by different linguistic and religious communities reported from the study area: (**a**) mixture of black pepper and *Mentha royleana*; (**b**) mixture of chilies and *Mentha pulegium*; (**c**) powdered *Citrullus colocynthis*; (**d**) powedered *Mentha arvensis* in yogurt; (**e**) bread made with rice flour with *Opuntia dillenii* pulp; (**f**) rice cooked with *Amaranthus viridis* seeds and *Cucumis melo* as salad; (**g**) herbal drink made with *Cannabis sativa*; (**h**) jam made by *Prosopis cineraria* fruits.

On a global scale, it has been found that folk knowledge has been decreasing, mostly due to modern lifestyle changes and urbanization [50,71,85–90]. Gathering wild food plants is linked to local biodiversity and especially local cultural practices [91] and in our field study wild plant knowledge among younger informants was limited, similar to what was found in many other studies, for example, Kalle and Sõukand [92].

#### *3.2. Cross-Religious Comparison*

Cross-religious comparison of the used wild food plants (Figure 6) shows a remarkable homogeneity and the absence of any plant cultural markers (i.e., plants used by one group only); at the same time, however, not a single taxa is used by all the six considered groups and the majority of recorded wild food plants are used by three to four groups.

**Figure 6.** Venn diagram showing the overlaps of the recorded wild food plants among the six considered groups.

However, the Jaccard's distance heat map (Figure 7) shows high dissimilarity between some groups. While both Muslim groups, Shias and Sunnis, appeared to be closest in their selection of the wild food plants, Hindus and Christians are the most distant.

**Figure 7.** Hierarchical clustering tree coupled with heat map depicting Jaccard Dissimilarity Indices calculated by comparing the wild food plants quoted by the six considered groups.

The heat map (Figure 7) allows us to distinguish two easily comparable clusters within the six religious groups: a subgroup of Shias, Sunnis, and Sikhs, which used the highest number of plants (from 56 to 73) and a subgroup using far fewer taxa (Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadis (from 34 to 47). Bearing in mind that Shias and Sunnis together used all 78 listed taxa, there is a clear pattern of dissimilarity among the second subgroup (Figure 8).

Sunnis, using a slightly higher number of taxa than Shias, had more similarities with all the other groups. This could be due to the fact that the Sunni faith is the dominant one in the study area.

Figure 9 shows the comparison among the six groups in terms of specific food uses of the recorded wild food plants; the diagram shows a high diversity as well as a few specific cultural markers.

The similarity heat maps on the typology of wild plants food uses (Figure 10) demonstrates similar tendencies, outlining even greater differences between Christians and Ahmadis compared to Hindus, and also showing more divergences even among Sunnis and Shias. This suggests that there is a higher similarity in the used wild food plants than the way taxa are actually consumed in the study area; moreover, each considered group retains unique wild food plant utilizations.

**Figure 8.** Intuitive best fit Venn diagrams comparing the recorded wild food plants among the six religious groups divided into two clusters.

**Figure 9.** Venn diagram showing the number of overlaps of the recorded wild food plant uses among the studied religious groups; the diagram shows also the food uses uniquely recorded within each group.

**Figure 10.** Hierarchical clustering tree coupled with heat map depicting Jaccard Dissimilarity Indices calculated by comparing the actual food utilizations of the recorded wild food plants among the six considered groups.

While our results show remarkable social and cultural exchanges between the different religious groups (sharing the same repertoire of plants), we can also see clear differences among the ways local food plants are actually used. This may to be linked to the different exposure the diverse religious groups have to traditional rural lifestyles and to nature. Nowadays, only Shias, Sunnis and Ahmadis have for example retained traditional livelihood practices (farming), while the local community members belonging to the three other faiths (Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs) are partially employed in city jobs, and some of them even practice as professional herbalists. The different relationships to farming that shape the differences in wild food plants-centered TEK among the groups may also be due to diverse levels of land access and land ownership.

While members of the different religions in the study area generally do not intermarry, they very regularly interact in urban settings and this, over centuries, may have contributed to a homogenization of TEK and cultural adaptation to the dominant groups.

The study participants confirmed that the use of wild plant species as daily food has significantly decreased, as well as the use of wild food plants on special occasions and religious festivities. This may be due to the fact that study participants perceive nowadays foraging (collecting wild food plants) as very time consuming, while cultivated plants are relatively easy to purchase in the immediate vicinity, and especially in bulk if and when required on special occasions. These trends may further lead to rapid TEK erosion in the near future, and further ethnobotanical works documenting local uses of wild food plants could be crucial for the food security and the preservation of the bio-cultural heritage of rural communities [93,94].

Food taboos restricting the consumption of some plants and fruits under certain conditions have been described from many regions of the world, involving followers of various religions including Hindus [95]. Similarly, in this study, some Hindus participants

reported that the fruits of *Ziziphus oxyphylla* and *Ziziphus jujuba* were gathered only in mountain areas, hilly slopes and scrubland in time of need as famine foods only. Hence, the Hindus, but others possibly as well, follow the specific rules in what they consume, especially like when pregnant or menstruating. Food taboos might influence the uses of certain wild plants with regard to seasons or a consumer's health condition, gender or age [95]. The participants pointed out a few other idiosyncratic food uses of wild plants within specific groups as well; these uses mostly included *medicinal foods*, i.e., food preparations considered consumed for counteracting specific diseases or health conditions, or ritual uses linked to specific cultural beliefs. For example, the gum of *Acacia modesta* and *Acacia nilotica* is added in "halwa" (a local sweet prepared by using clarified butter and wheat bran), and recommended to women after childbirth to avoid general weakness and back pains among the Muslim participants. Similarly, Sikhs conveyed that a limited dosage (about 250–300 mL) of a herbal drink made with *Cannabis sativa* can induce activeness; the informants claimed that their ancestors use the same preparation during battles in the 19th and 20th century. The herbal tea prepared by using fruits of *Tribulus terrestris* is drunk by Hindu women in order to improve lactation. Finally, Muslims add leaves of *Ziziphus jujuba* and *Ziziphus numularia* in boiling water, and use them for bathing dead persons, as they perceive that would delay their decomposition until burial. The rest of documented wild edible plant species as food in this study may applicable to all gender, religion and age groups equally, and no associated food taboo is mentioned by any participant.

#### *3.3. Comparison with the Pakistani Food Ethnobotanical Literature*

The comprehensive comparison with the Pakistani wild food ethnobotanical literature [49–52,70–72] of Pakistan showed that a remarkable number of species were documented as wild food plants, for the first time, in the study regions: *Acacia modesta, Acacia nilotica, Agave americana, Boerhavia repens, Capparis decidua, Chenopodium murale, Chenopodium vulvaria, Coprinus comatus, Corchorus depressus, Corchorus tridens, Cucumis melo, Dysphania ambrosioides, Fagonia indica, Gisekia pharnaceoides, Indigofera hochstetteri, Lathyrus sativus, Lepidium apetalum, Mentha arvensis, Mentha pulegium, Olea europaea, Phoenix sylvestris, Pistia stratiotes, Prosopis cineraria, Prosopis juliflora, Rhynchosia minima, Salvadora oleoides, Salvadora persica, Senna italica, Senna occidentalis, Solanum incanum, Tephrosia purpurea, Tribulus terrestris, Trigonella anguina, Trigonella corniculata,* and *Withania coagulans*.

Despite the fact that in our study three quarters of the wild food plants were reported also in other areas of northern Pakistan [50,52], pairwise Jaccard's distance between our findings and those arising from field studies recently conducted in various regions of Pakistan shows little similarity and a very large diversification of wild food plant uses within the country (Figure 11). This may be explained by the very diverse geography and natural environments, as well as a remarkable cultural diversity, which ultimately and most importantly affect the diversity of food customs of the country.

Based on a comprehensive literature review, we found that some wild food plant species recorded in the current study have rarely been documented as food ingredients elsewhere in Pakistan and its neighboring countries. These include *Aerva javanica*, *Agave americana*, *Amaranthus spinosus*, *Boerhavia repens*, *Caragana ambigua*, *Commelina benghalensis*, *Convolvulus arvensis*, *Corchorus depressus*, *Corchorus tridens*, *Gisekia pharnaceoides*, *Indigofera hochstetteri*, *Lathyrus aphaca*, *Lepidium apetalum*, *Mentha royleana*, *Opuntia dillenii*, *Oxalis corniculata*, *Physalis divaricata*, *Pistia stratiotes*, *Polygonum plebeium*, *Rhynchosia minima*, *Trigonella anguina*, *Trigonella corniculata*, and *Veronica anagallis-aquatica.*

**Figure 11.** Pairwise Jaccard Dissimilarity Indices calculated by comparing the current study with other wild food ethnobotanical field works previously conducted in Pakistan.

#### **4. Conclusions**

Our study reported seventy-seven plant taxa and one mushroom used as cultural foods among six different religions. The cross-religious comparison showed high overlap in the used taxa between Shias and Sunnis, who together used all listed taxa in the study region and contributed the most detailed information about specific, commonly used wild food plants. Comparison of the other four religious groups showed much less overlap between the groups and greater variation in the numbers of used plants. Urban Hindus and Christians used the least number of plants, followed by rural Sikhs and urban Ahmadis. A comparative analysis with the wild food plant literature of Pakistan showed a high diversification of wild plant uses in the study region, due to both environmental and cultural factors. This study also concluded that there is relatively higher homogeneity in use of plant species as food compared to method (preparations) of use of the same among the religious groups. Therefore, if one religious group prepares herbal drink of a plant species, the other might prefer to prepare jam of the same, depicting possession of unique recipes.

The inherited cultural knowledge of wild food plants of Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Ahmadis, in particular, faces the greatest challenges, as these groups have apparently undergone cultural adaptation to an urban, "modern" lifestyle. The present study may provide a foundation for the promotion of eco-tourism and for supporting sustainable development programs. Several of the recorded wild food plants are still sold in local markets (e.g., *Capparis*, *Mentha*, *Olea*, *Phoenix*, *Rhynchosia*, *Salvadora*, *Salvia*, *Senna*, *Solanum*, *Trigonella*, *Vicia*, and *Ziziphus* spp.) and this could represent the basis of wild food plant-centered local projects, aiming to revitalize TEK and generate small-scale economies providing some cash-income for rural communities.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, M.S.A., A.P., and M.M.; methodology, A.P. and M.S.A.; validation, K.H.B. and S.K.C.; formal analysis, A.M.K. and R.S.; investigation, M.M.; resources, M.M., R.S., M.A.A., and A.P.; data curation, M.M.; writing—original draft preparation, M.M. and M.S.A.; writing—review and editing, A.M.K., R.W.B., A.P., and R.S.; supervision, M.S.A. and K.H.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This study has not been financially supported by any funding agency/organization.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of Department of Botany, University of Gujrat, Pakistan (protocol code 2019-12A; date of approval Wednesday, 16 January 2019)

**Informed Consent Statement:** Prior informed consent was verbally obtained from all the study participants and Code of Ethics of the International Society of Ethnobiology (http://www.ethnobiology. net/what-we-do/core-programs/ise-ethics-program/code-of-ethics/, accessed on 6 March 2020) was strictly followed.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to avoid any inter-controversies among the studied religious groups.

**Acknowledgments:** We are thankful to all the study participants who generously shared their traditional knowledge on wild food plant uses.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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