The underutilized vegetable plants of the federal capital territory (FCT) Abuja of Nigeria

Promotion and conservation of underutilized indigenous vegetable plants for healthy diet, income generation and food security are the main aims of this ecological survey. Sixty species of flowering plants underutilized as vegetables were collected from the field in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), across all the six area councils). The family Fabaceae has the highest number of species followed by Asteraceae. Thirty four (56.7%), of the vegetables are herbs, twenty (33.3%) are trees, while six (10%) species are shrubs. The predominant modes of propagation among the plants are by seeds, followed by stem cutting and of course few are by underground parts of the plants. Seventy percent (70%) of the underutilized vegetables collected are wild, while thirty percent (30%) are less cultivated. Though these underutilized vegetables abound in FCT environment, only eight percent (8%) are sometimes seen in the markets. Some of the underutilized vegetables collected plants viz, Annona senegalensis, Vernonia amygdalina and, Leptadenia hastata to mentioned but a few, are also claimed to be of medicinal importance