Indigenous Knowledge and Consumer’s Perspectives of Stinging Nettle (Urtica Simensis) in the Central and Southeastern Highlands of Oromia Regional States of Ethiopia

Abstract Background: Wild plants are essential for increased dietary diversity; for food and nutritional security and as herbal remedies. Stinging nettle, Urtica species, is one of the 20 widely consumed wild plants with cultural importance index ranging from 0.5-1.26 CI in different countries. As in previously conducted wild plants ethnobotanical studies in Ethiopia, the present study reported for the first time the indigenous knowledge and consumer’s perspectives of stinging nettle (Urtica simensis) in the central and southeastern highlands of Oromia regional states of Ethiopia.Methods: Data was collected through informed consent semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, key informant discussions, focus group discussions and tour-guided field observation in 13 districts of three zones (Arsi, Bale and North Shewa) of Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. Results: The local people gather, where women carries 69.2% of the responsibilities for collecting and cooking, stinging nettle in winter and spring season almost from everywhere with higher preference for road sides followed by homestead boundaries, waste land, field boundaries and agroforestry in order of importance. The factors limiting harvesting, consumption and marketing of stinging nettles could be ranked as cultural barriers (63.1%) > lack of knowledge (26.9%) > stinginess (10%). According to key informants, the local people who gather and cook stinging nettle are commonly referred as the poor and they call stinging nettle crop as a poor man crop. Interestingly, covering hands with cloths and wearing plastic bags were traditional manipulations practiced by the local community to protect themselves from stinging hairs thereby avoiding stinging sensation and collect the young and tender shoots from the plant. The highest use-value indices of stinging nettle plant was in North Shewa zone (UVc = 0.93), followed by Arsi zone (UVc = 0.9), and Bale zone (UVc = 0.63). Its central role in North Shewa (FL = 51.7%) and Arsi zone (FL = 50 %) is as a source of both food and fodder, where as in Bale zone (FL = 33.3%) is as a source of food only. In the study areas stinging nettle sauce is prepared by boiling young nettle leaves and roasted barley powder and then cooled sauce is served with injera. Conclusions: There exists biological security to livelihood of the people in the study areas by consuming stinging nettle to cope up times of food shortage. This result shed light on further research and a needs to popularize, awareness creation, the potential for domestication, value addition and processing for food and nutritional security and wellbeing of consumers.