Background:

Several ethnobotanical indices evaluate the importance of wild edible plants (WEPs), but most of them consider mainly anthropological/cultural information; thus, their appropriate use for selection of priority species for developing new crops is difficult. In Mexico, few ethnobotanical studies involve ranchers of non-indigenous communities and the distribution of their knowledge.

Hypotheses:

Application of a proper ethnobotanical index and taking account the plant culinary characteristics permit the selection of the most important WEPs for food security. Knowledge about WEPs is homogeneously distributed among the ranchers.

Study site and dates:

Fifty-three semi-structured interviews about the use of WEPs among the ranchers of Southern Baja California were conducted in 2015.

Methods:

Plant importance was determined by the Food Significance Index (FSI) and the Salience Index (SI). Priority species for food security were selected by analyzing the index values of plants and their culinary uses.

Results:

Fifty-one taxa of WEPs were recorded, mostly fruits and vegetables. FSI grouped a more diverse selection of plant-foods in the top rated species than SI; however, both identified almost the same priority species after considering the culinary prioritization of the analyzed species. The number of WEPs cites was higher for men (26) than for women (19).

Conclusions:

Analysis of WEPs using ethnobotanical indexes (FSI/SI) and culinary information permits the selection of food priority species reducing the bias of the index for one kind of food. Stenocereus thurberi, S. gummosus, Matelea cordifolia, and Cnidoscolus maculatus were the selected priority species with potential to be new crops.

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