Tubers constitute an essential food of the Kadar tribe, who strongly believe that regular consumption of tubers promotes good health and prevents illness. Nutritionally, tubers are rich sources of carbohydrates and starch and contribute significantly to dietary energy. They also represent extensive plant biodiversity, particularly in forest ecosystems. Many wild edible tubers used by tribal communities are valuable sources of proteins and minerals (Oommachan& Masih, 1988).

The Kadar people carefully conserve these tuber crops owing to their high medicinal value and numerous health benefits. Such plants form an indispensable component of the human diet, supplying essential minerals, vitamins, and certain hormone precursors in addition to protein and energy (Akubugwo et al., 2007). The major objectives of the present study are:

(i) to promote the conservation of tuber crops, (ii) to document the indigenous knowledge of the Kadar people, and (iii) to assess the diversity of tuber crops in the Aranakuzhy settlement.

The information for the present study was collected using scientifically structured questionnaires, personal interviews, and direct interactions with key informants. The study aims to highlight the importance of tubers and to identify the most preferred tuber species used by the tribal community. Several field visits were conducted in the tribal villages of the Aranakuzhy settlement, Kallar, Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala State in the year 2024-2025 (Figure 1) and data were collected through detailed discussions of local informants (Figure 2).

Photographs of the plants were taken in the field, and species identification was carried out by comparing floral characters with standard taxonomic literature, particularly Gamble's The Flora of the Presidency of Madras.

The present study documented the wild edible tubers used by the Kadar tribe of the Aranakuzhy settlement in Kallar. The Kadar people commonly utilized several species of Dioscorea, including Dioscorea bulbifera L., Dioscorea hispida Dennst., Dioscorea oppositifolia L., Dioscorea pentaphylla L., Dioscorea alata L., and Dioscorea wallichii Hook.f. In addition, members of the family Araceae such as Colocasia esculenta and Amorphophallus paeoniifolius were found frequently consumed. Apart from these commonly used food tubers, several other tuberous plants were specifically used for medicinal purposes (Table 1).

Table 1: Edible tubers used as medicine by Kadar tribes in Aranakuzhy region

The recorded species were belonged to diverse plant families, with representation from Passifloraceae (1 species), Araceae (1), Liliaceae (2), Costaceae (1),

Hypoxidaceae (1), Commelinaceae (1), Cyperaceae

(1), Asclepiadaceae (1), Nelumbonaceae (1), Fabaceae (1), and Cucurbitaceae (1), as illustrated in Figure 3. Based on growth habit, most of the tuberous plants were documented as herbs (50.0%), followed by creepers (25.0%), climbers (17.0%), and climbing herbs (8.0%), as shown in Figure 4. Commonly used edible tuber by Kadar tribals in study area is illustrated in Plate 1.

Tuberous plants serve as an integral resource for the Kadar community, contributing significantly to nutrition, healthcare, and livelihood sustainability in the Aranakuzhy region. Seasonal availability determines their harvesting patterns, and the collected tubers are either incorporated into daily meals or utilized in traditional remedies for specific health conditions. The present study focuses on conserving these valuable plant resources and improving their utilization potential, with the broader objective of strengthening food security and supporting socio- economic development. In addition, the ethno- medicinal knowledge associated with these tuberous species offers promising prospects for future scientific evaluation and the discovery of novel bioactive compounds.