The Diversity of Leafy Vegetables used by the Meitei Community in Imphal East District of Manipur (India)

Manipur is a hilly state in the remote north-eastern corner of India. The state of Manipur is included under the “Indo-Burma Hot spot”. Manipur has a rich diversity of flora which includes a large number of economic and medicinal plants. The state of Manipur is inhabited by people of various ethnic groups and communities. The major inhabitants are the Meiteis an Indo-Mongoloid group speaking the Tibeto-Burman language. They constitute nearly 57% of the total population of the state. The Meitei community uses a wide variety of plant leaves as vegetable. The present study reveals that the Meitei community uses 120 plant species belonging to 88 genera which are distributed over 46 families. The use of wild vegetables by the community increases during famine and droughts which is an indication of the adaptability of the Meitei Community to the changing conditions of the environment Acacia pruinescens Kurz., Allium consanguineum Kunth, A. hookeri Thwaites, A. tuberosum Rottl. ex Spreng., Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb., A. sessilis (L.) R.Br. ex DC, Antidesma acidum Retz., Cardamine hirsuta L., Cissus adnata Roxb., Corchorus capsularis L., Elaeocarpus floribundus Blume, Eryngium foetidum L., Euphorbia hirta L., Ficus palmata Forssk., Meyna laxiflora Robyns, Neptunia prostrata (Lamk.) Bailey, Parkia timoriana (A. DC) Merr., Polygonum perfoliatum L., Solanum villosum Mill. ssp. villosum Edmonds, Trapa bispinosa Roxb., Vicia sativa L., and Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC are some of the more uncommon plants which are used as leafy vegetables by the Meitei community of Manipur.