Ethnobotany of Moraceae in Meghalaya North-East India

Abstract

Indigenous people of Meghalaya have ethnobotanical utility of 19 species of plants belonging to 3
genera; Artocarpus, Ficus and Morus under the family Moraceae. Fruits of all these plants are eaten
raw or cooked or pickled. Young vegetative shoot of Ficus virens sre eaten as vegetable. Woods are
used as fuel woods and timber. Leaves and young shoots are lopped as fodder for stallfed cattle to
supplement paddy straw during winter. Young leaves of Morus australis and M. serrata are used for
rearing silkworms. Children in the village use latex from the fruits of Artocarpus heterophyllus to
make sticky gum for hunting birds.

Keywords: Ethnobotany; Moraceae; Meghalaya

DOI: 10.3126/kuset.v6i1.3301

Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Vol.6(1) 2010, pp 5-10