BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA SHEET

West Africa: Botanical/Dietary Data by State
Senegal
Gamble (1957, p. 38), writing on the Wolof of Senegal, noted that
children consume many wild fruits but did not identify the species. Toury
(1961) provided minimal nutrient data on the composition of regional plant
foods, while de Garine (1962), writing on the Wolor and Serer, commented
briefly on the dietary role of wild plants but provided no identifications.
Mali
An important contribution by Diarra (1977) identified numerous
species of edible plants common to the region near Bamako (Table 10).
Ghana
The dietary role of edible wild plants in Ghana was discussed by
Chipp (1913) who identified nineteen edible species with no comment. Irvine
(1961), however, identified more than seven hundred commonly used wild plants
from Ghana and provided the nutritional composition for more than eighty (for
an example of his work see Appendix 3). Adansi (1970, pp. 207-210) provided
botanical/chemical data on three wild plants with unusual taste properties;
Synsepalum dulcificum (magic berry) that makes sweet foods taste sour and sour
foods sweet, while Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii and Thaumatococcus danielli are
800-1500 times more sweet than sucrose. Watson (1971), writing on the nutri­
tional composition of selected foods from Ghana, reports protein and mineral
values for exceptional wild species (Table 11).
Information on the cultural-food data in Ghana stems from the work
of Fortes and Fortes (1936) on the food practices of the Tallensi, with special
reference to four widely consumed wild plants: Butyrospermum parkii, Parkia
filicordea, Adansonia digitata, and Celtis integrifolia.
21.