Throughout history, harvesting of fruit from the
wild has played a role in the livelihoods of people
in South Africa. For the San, who lived in South
Africa for thousands of years, wild fruits were a
staple food during parts of the year (Fox &
Norwood Young 1983). Among the Bantu people,
who entered South Africa about two thousand
years ago (Hammond-Tooke 1993), agriculture
was the main way in which food was acquired, but
they also collected food from the wild. Especially
during times of hardship, when cattle herds were
decimated or crops were destroyed, they relied on
hunting and gathering of fruits and edible plants
from the wild for survival (Shapera & Goodwin
1959; Stuart & Malcolm 1986; Bundy 1988). European
people settling in South Africa learnt to use
and appreciate wild fruits (van Dyk 1988). In the rural areas of the Southern African region, the
utilization of wild fruits as a source of food has
persisted, especially among black people (Walker
1989; Shackleton 1996; Rossiter, Pellegrin et al.
1997). There is increasing interest in the domestication
and improvement of selected fruits, and
their utilization as orchard crops, marula (Sclerocarya
birrea subsp. caffra) being the prime example (Nerd
et al.1990; Holtzhausen, Swart & van Rensburg
1990; Nerd & Mizrahi 1993; Geldenhuys 2001;
Taylor 2001; Barton 2001). Research into the wild
fruits of South Africa has been mainly botanical or
anthropological.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1000943 |
| Date | 13 April 2005 |
| Creators | De Lange, HC, Van Averbeke, W, Jansen van Vuuren, PJ |
| Publisher | African Entomology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | African Entomology |
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