Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of an ethnobotanical survey of geophytes used in 15 selected districts of Malawi. The survey was initially driven by the need to assess the conservation status and use of Lilioid monocots of the family Hyacinthaceae. Altogether, 49 geophytes were documented as useful for food (24%), medicine (58%) and other purposes (18%). The most commonly reported species was Dioscorea odoratissima Pax. (Dioscoreaceae). Monocots represented 45% of the total. Members of the family Hyacinthaceae were only represented by 3 (6%) species Albuca abyssinica Jacq., Ledebouria cordifolia (Baker) Stedje & Thulin and Ledebouria revoluta (L.f.) Jessop. The study has further explored six alternative methods of evaluating sampling effort and estimating species richness. Michaelis-Menten Means estimator appeared to be the best estimator of species richness but was not able to accurately predict species richness for all the data combined. A bootstrap estimator was found to be more accurate. It was also apparent from the survey of geophytes that species in the Asteraceae and Fabaceae are more sought after for food and medicine than hyacinthoide monocots evidenced by fewer representatives mentioned by respondents.