The rural communities of Sakhra valley, District Swat are frequently using the locally available wild edible plants (WEPs) for food. Documentation of the traditional knowledge in this respect is carried out for the first time in area. The research study was conducted in 2021-22 in order to document the wild plants used as food by local indigenous peoples in different villages/localities of the area. The data was collected by oral face-to-face interviews after designing a pre-set data capturing questionnaire. For this purpose, total of 222 local informants were interviewed and the Use Reports (UR) and Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) for each plant species was calculated. During the study, total of 60 plant species belonging to 31 families and 46 genera were reported as wild edible plants (WEPs) traditionally used by the people in the study area. Rosaceae was reported as the dominant plant family with 10 species followed by Lamiaceae 5 while Amaranthaceae and Moraceae with 3 species each. As for as the life form of plants is concerned, herbs were reported as the most widely used form with 29 species (48.33%), followed by shrubs with 14 species (23.33%), trees 12 species (20.00%) and climbers with 2 species (3.33%). Among the edible plant parts, fruit was reported as the most widely used part with 24 species (40.00%), Young shoot with 23 species (39.65%), Leaf with 16 species (26.66%), Seeds and plant used as a whole with 4 species each (6.66%), flower with 2 species (3.33%) while bulb and corm with 1 species each (1.66%). Out of the total reported plant species, most of them 34 species (56.66%) are consumed uncooked, 26 species (43.3%) are cooked before consumption. Based on the availability of plants, 26 wild edible plant species are available and collected in summer season (May-August), 21 species in spring- early summer season (April-May) while 12 species in autumn season (September-November). The results show a deep and strong relationship of the local communities with wild edible plants (WEPs) species which is a potential source insuring the food security. A large proportion of the locality is dependent on WEPs as a primary source of food easily available nearby. The traditional use of these plant species is attributed to food shortage, nutritional values and local cultural traditions. The documentation of the traditional knowledge of WEPs will be of great importance in preserving the traditional heritage from loss due to least concerns from the new generation.

Keywords: Wild edible plant, Ethnobotany, Traditional knowledge