Botanical diversity as a reservoir of resilience: The emergence of new uses of wild plants under acute food shortages in Karamoja, Uganda

Abstract Agro‐pastoralist communities in Karamoja, Uganda, face food insecurity driven by climate variability, declining livestock numbers and crop failures. In this context, local ethnobotanical knowledge systems play a central role in subsistence and adaptation. This study examines how new uses of wild edible plants emerge under food shortages and the mechanisms underlying their emergence, transmission and establishment in Karamoja. We conducted focus group discussions and semi‐structured interviews in five villages among Tepeth and Karamojong communities, combined with walks‐in‐the‐woods for species verification. Qualitative analyses identified the drivers of change, learning pathways and linguistic practices, while logistic modelling assessed plant use patterns in villages. Participants reported the emergence of 27 previously unused edible plant species, mostly herbaceous and sourced from anthropogenic habitats. All new uses emerged during periods of severe food shortages and were developed primarily by women. Most species are consumed as leafy vegetables and are available mainly during the rainy season. Thus, wild plants constitute a living reservoir of resilience. New plant uses emerged largely through asocial learning, involving individual experimentation and trial and error. These uses were subsequently transmitted within and between villages through social learning, as reflected in shared vernacular names and narratives of knowledge transfer. The mechanisms of emergence, transmission and gradual integration of these practices meet the first two of the four core criteria of cumulative cultural evolution and show indications of the remaining two. These results show that the outcomes in rangeland systems depend on how culturally embedded values, norms and perceptions shape behaviour over time. Interventions must therefore recognize locally driven innovation, safeguard access to natural resources and align with the adaptive logics through which pastoralist communities manage rangelands. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.