Contributions of crop-wild relatives toward broadening the list of leafy vegetables

ABSTRACT Many leafy vegetables are included in the human diet. There are many crop-wild relatives that are equally palatable but have not received the proper recognition or gained popularity. Being close companions of the cultivated form, they constitute a repository of wild genes, which may be useful to cultivated germplasm through hybridization. In the present study, some prime vegetables have been identified with crop-wild relatives like Vine spinach (Basella alba L.), Chenopods (Chenopodium album L.) and vegetable Amaranths (Amaranthus tricolor L.). Proper taxonomic delimitation, phylogenetic affinity, and morphological resemblances among taxa are primary prerequisites before including the crop wild relatives in the vegetable list. The conventional popular vegetables along with their wild relatives, morphotypes, and landraces are to be evaluated adequately in terms of palatability, nutrient and antinutrient factors for large-scale utilization.