Agriculture and use of wild and weedy greens by the Piik ap Oom Okiek of Kenya

This study documents patterns of use of wild and weedy greens in a previous ly little studied context among the Piik ap Oom Okiek of Kenya. The Piik ap Oom have a hunter-gatherer history and at the time of the study lived at l ow population densities in a high altitude forest habitat. Leafy greens, bo th wild and domesticated, were the most commonly eaten fresh plant food doc umented. Wild greens, Solanum nigrum L. and Amaranthus gracecizans ssp, syl vestris L. were the most preferred. Patterns of harvesting wild greens, a f ew leaves from many plants and a variety of taxa together, resulted in grea ter dietary diversity associated with consumption of wild than domesticated greens. Greens provided contemporary Okiek households with nutritious and low maintenance plant food. Increased use of wild and weedy greens was an i mportant benefit of the adoption of the agricultural complex by the Okiek.