Are Famine Food Plants Also Ethnomedicinal Plants? An Ethnomedicinal Appraisal of Famine Food Plants of Two Districts of Bangladesh

Table 2

Reported food uses of the famine food plants.

Species	Use as food plant
Abroma augusta L.	Leaves are considered edible in Papua New Guinea [24] and seeds in Sikkim, India [25].
Alternanthera sessilis (L.); R. Br. ex DC.	Leaves are considered as wild edibles in Papua New Guinea [24].
Amaranthus spinosus L.	Consumed as leafy vegetable in Assam (India) [26].
Amaranthus tricolor L.	Considered an edible vegetable in North India [34].
Amaranthus viridis L.	Consumed as leafy vegetable in Assam (India) [26].
Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.	Fruits and seeds consumed in Malaysia [35].
Bombax ceiba L.	Flowers eaten as vegetable in Arunachal Pradesh of India [27].
Caryota urens L.	Pith used as famine food in South India [36].
Centella asiatica (L.) Urb.	Considered a leafy vegetable in Assam (India) [26].
Chenopodium album L.	Considered a leafy vegetable in Assam (India) [26].
Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott.	Considered a leafy vegetable in Assam (India) [26].
Corchorus capsularis L.	Leaves are eaten in the cooked form in some Asian countries [37].
Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.); Burkill	Tubers are reported as wild edible in the islands of Remote Oceania [38].
Diplazium esculentum (Retz.) Sw.	Leaves consumed in Yunnan, China [39].
Ehretia acuminata R. Br.	Fruits are eaten raw by aboriginals in Australia [40].
Enhydra fluctuans Lour.	Leaves and stems consumed as leafy vegetable by ethnic communities in Tripura, India [41].
Ficus hispida L.	Fruits are eaten raw in Arunachal Pradesh of India [27].
Glinus oppositifolius (L.); A. DC.	Young leaves and stems consumed as vegetable in West Bengal, India [42].
Ipomoea aquatica Forssk.	Leaves and stems are cooked and consumed in Malaysia [35].
Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.	Leaves and stems are cooked and consumed in Malaysia [35].
Leucas aspera (Willd.) Link	Young leaves consumed during famine in Kurigram district, Bangladesh [10].
Malva verticillata L.	Young leaves consumed as soup in Korea [43].
Marsilea minuta L.	Leaves and stems consumed as vegetable in Jharkand, India [44].
Moringa oleifera Lam.	Leaves, fruits, flowers consumed in the cooked form in many countries of South Asia and Africa [45].
Musa paradisiaca L.	Fruits consumed in the unripe state in tropical countries [46].
Musa sapientum L.	Ripe fruits consumed throughout the world [47].
Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.	Consumed as vegetable in various parts of India [48].
Nymphaea pubescens  Willd.	Roasted endosperm consumed by rural communities in Assam, India [49].
Oxalis corniculata L.	Consumed by tribal communities of Central India during times of food scarcity [50].
Raphanus sativus L.	Dietary vegetable in Asian countries, particularly China, Japan, and Korea [51].
Saccharum spontaneum L.	Stems used to mitigate thirst or hunger by tribes in Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala, India [52].
Scoparia dulcis L.	Consumed as vegetable in northeastern Thailand [53].
Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers.	Flowers and buds consumed as vegetable in India [54].
Spilanthes paniculata Wall.; ex DC.	Special food item prepared from the plant during religious festivals by the Mising community; of Assam, India [55].