Traditional Food Plant Resources of the Mountain Ranges in the Indo-Pak Subcontinent

The mountainous range of the subcontinent of Indo-Pak, and specifically, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and the neighboring hill systems is a significant hub of agrobiodiversity and traditional ecological knowledge. These mountains harbored 190 wild edible plant species distributed in 78 families, reflecting a rich agrobiodiversity and traditional ecological knowledge hotspot. Rosaceae, Asteraceae, Apiaceae, and Lamiaceae were the most important families contributing wild food plant species, indicating broad botanical knowledge. Leaves (35.48%) and fruits (29.03%) are the most used plant parts, followed by aerial parts, seeds, and roots. Geographically, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounts for nearly half of all records, followed by Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab, with the Western Himalayas and Hindu Kush showing transboundary species sharing. Cooked vegetables (49.48%) and raw fruits (30.73%) are the primary food categories, with herbal teas (7.81%) serving both nutritional and medicinal purposes. Among the 190 species, 87 (45.8%) show cross-regional consensus (e.g., Chenopodium album, Mentha longifolia, Oxalis corniculata, Portulaca oleracea), while 103 species (54.2%) are single reference, single territory records, highlighting localized knowledge and risk of loss. New territorial records (Apteranthes tuberculata, Diplazium esculentum, Notholirion thomsonianum) and novel preparations (e.g., Cannabis sativa seeds with sugar) extend previous national inventories. These wild food resources are vital for food security, dietary diversity, and climate adaptation in one of the world’s most vulnerable mountain regions. Conservation priorities include in situ and ex situ protection, systematic documentation in under-surveyed areas (Waziristan, Chitral, Upper Kohistan), and integration into national food and climate policies.