Identification of Wild Edible Fruit Tree and Shrub Species in West Hararghe Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Wild edible fruit plants are indispensable standing in all parts of the world as a subordinate food basket on diurnal basis. They are means of endurance for rural communities with food and feed consumption, especially during times of drought, famine, shocks, and risks. Quantification along 18 transact lines on 60 sampled quadrants were used to collect data in the west Hararghe zone at Daro Lebu , Chiro, and Gumbi Bordode Weredas on six Kebele. A total of 120 randomly selected sample households were interviewed for data collection. Both quantitative and qualitative data analyses were made. Descriptive analyses were made to analyze the data using SPSS version 16.0. The study embraced a total of 55 Wild edible fruit plants. Beside to food values, these plants deliver varied profits to the prevailing community with income, fuel wood, fencing, construction, medicine, and fodder. The top five highly satirized wild edible fruit plant species by respondents were Psidium guajava, Mimusops kummel, Carissa spinarum L., Rosa abyssinica, Ficus sycomorus, and Oncoba spinosa forssk. However, most of them were threatened by anthropogenic factors through misapprehension conveniences. The threat factors such as land degradation and grazing, clearing of forests for agriculture, fire, timber and charcoal, Stem, leaves, root, and bark harvest. To alleviate, the entire threat of wild edible fruit plant species; a community-based forest management system, awareness creation, and growing of wild edible fruit plant species at farms and homesteads level, is mandatory for any forest resource users. The other point is the absence of seedlings and saplings under wild edible fruit plant species in its habitat is an indicator of a regeneration problem. Therefore; the most threatened and unregenerated wild edible fruit plant species of the study areas precedence must be given to the critical collection, domestication, in-situ and ex-situ conservation, and promotion in the form of agroforestry practices. Further investigation should be considered on the collection, nutrient content analyses, in-situ and ex-situ conservation, wise utilization, and popularization of Wild edible fruit plants through forest management. These are energetic points to be considered frontward.