Extinction threatens exotic Ilocos Norte food plants

BATAC, Ilocos Nort, Philippines  – They are eaten in times of famine and hunger, which usually precede harvests, and are part of the daily diets of the rural poor.

Here in Ilocos Norte, wild edible plants continue to sustain the food requirements of many upland villagers and tribal groups.

And yet, says Menisa A. Antonio, despite their potential to improve nutrition and create rural income, indigenous food plants are threatened by extinction.

In a survey and scientific characterization of indigenous food plants in Ilocos Norte, Antonio and researchers at the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) collected 46 specimens of indigenous vines or lianas, shrubs and undershrubs, herbs, trees, grasses and palms, the majority  gathered from the wild; some were cultivated in small plots.

Most of these are eaten as vegetable dishes, salad, sauteed, cooked with fish paste or as stand-alone viands.

The study was conducted in 24 barangays of Vintar, Adams, Carasi, Nueva Era, Pagudpud, Bangui and Dumalneg, many of them in remote mountainous municipalities that still cling to traditional farming practices without much chemical input or use of machinery.

 The land use patterns have not changed much in a land with minimal development projects, according to the study funded by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

With a Prior Informed Consent certificate from the communities, researchers interviewed villagers and looked at the ethnobotany of the plants, how they are used in a particular area as food, feed and so on; none were actually used for ritual. Plants were collected from their natural settings, in farmlands, in backyards and home gardens and the village markets.

“The 46 indigenous food plants collected and characterized reflect the richness of these genetic resources,” says Antonio. “Preserving these plants is tantamount to preserving the cultural milieu of the various tribal groups in Ilocos Norte.”

Pannalayapen, imbabao or alokon.

“Who knows what other treasures await in other regions,” she adds, pointing out the balbalosa, for  example, as a wild eggplant that appears to be a hybrid: its leaves, stems and flowers are similar to the eggplant while its fruits look and taste like tomato.

The greatest diversity in terms of species richness was in Adams town where 80 percent of the 46 plants were found. Next were Bangui and Nueva Era with almost the same number of edible food plants, followed by Vintar, Pagudpud, Dumalneg and Carasi.

“Most of the plants do not require specific sites or soils and thrive in any level, from stony soils and rolling topography to cliffs,” Antonio says. “They can be domesticated and propagated in other areas of the province. This would broaden the food base for increased food sufficiency and improved health.”

The plants are nutritious. The tapsuy, a local watercress, is blanched for salad, mixed with tomato or vinegar and fish paste. The aquatic herb, with hollow stems and small leaves, is a source of vitamins C, B1, B6, K, E, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and potassium.

The fruits of the liana sugod-sugod (a relative of the ampalaya or bitter gourd) are rich in lycopene and beta-carotene. It is cooked as a viand while the tops are served as salads. Its lycopene content is almost 70 times that of tomato and its beta-carotene content is up to 10 times that of carrot or sweet potato.

There is a great diversity. The wild bilagot is more astringent in aroma and taste than its domesticated sistser lanipao. The taro or gabi tuber are in varying colors of white, yellow, purple, white with purple streaks, yellow with purple streaks and light purple with blackish streaks.

The tuber of the lampakan, an upland taro, is used as a viand; the leaves and stalks are boiled for  feed. The same goes for tigue, the young unopened leaves served as a viand and the mature leaves and stalks as feedstuff.

Many ferns are edible, the tops from the more familiar pako; to the pusa-pusa (tree fern) served as salad or cooked in coconut milk; and the ubog (young heartwood) cooked with other vegetables or mixed with canned sardines.

Many ferns are edible, like the tops of the familiar pako; its relative the pusa-pusa (tree fern) is served as salad or cooked in coconut milk.

“Familiarity with the plants dating back since the time of their forefathers, the long history of continued utilization, and the development of recipes, preparing and cooking methods – all indicate they have become an integral part of the daily diet,” Antonio says.

Extra care is made in eating some plants, like the local karot (D. hispida) which, when not properly cooked, may cause nausea or vomiting due to the presence of a toxic alkaloid. A processing technique uses tubers that have been peeled and sliced thinly, then soaked in running water or salt water for several days. They are then squeezed, followed by repeated soaking and squeezing until there is no milk to left.

In the case of the pannalayapen tree (also called banitog or apeng), those with big, broad leaves are safe and edible while those with small leaves can cause diarrhea. Young leaves or tops from this  small tree are used for salad or added to pinakbet and vegetable dishes.

Of the 46 plants identified, 33 species are consumed mainly as vegetable dishes, either as salad, sauteed dish or viand cooked with fish paste. These include the indigenous rabanos, parangipang and barangbang.

Plants such as the palali, rosel and ariwat (orro) were used as secondary ingredient, flavoring spice or as garnishing to vegetable, fish or meat. Root crops like the kamangeg, buga, karot and pannarien are prepared into delicacies, either boiled or cooked with coconut milk. The ripe fruits of the agimet (or barinit, a wild strawberry) and the tarosi are eaten.

Farmers in Masasabug-Bucarot in Adams and Du-malneg towns listed 18 kinds of traditional upland rice that differ in grain color (from off-white to different shades of purple or black), aroma, glutinous character and maturity.

Apart from home consumption, food plants collected from the wild or grown in home gardens are sold, augmenting meager incomes.