2026-10-06T21:02:14Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34022061 2026-09-29T08:33:54Z category_23992 item_type_6 month_year_09_2026

<b>The Knowledge Hidden in Plain Sight: Ìyeyè, Indigenous Food Knowledge and the Value of the Overlooked</b> Grace Olúwayẹ́misí Ayọ̀ọlá (25114947) Food nutritional balance Spondias mombin L. Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) ethnobotanyR Food biodivesity Neglected and underutilized plants nutrition analysis Yorùbá Yorùbá ethnomedicine <p dir="ltr">Knowledge does not always disappear because it is inaccessible; sometimes it becomes invisible because it is too familiar. This paper uses the author’s encounter with a fruiting Ìyeyè (Spondias mombin L.) tree in a domestic environment as a reflective entry point into the broader question of how everyday indigenous food resources become overlooked despite their documented nutritional, cultural and economic value. Drawing on ethnobotanical, nutritional and food-science literature, the paper examines Ìyeyè as an example of a locally recognised but comparatively underappreciated food resource. Existing studies identify S. mombin as a food plant in Yoruba communities and document nutritional constituents in its fruit pulp, including potassium, magnesium, sodium, ascorbic acid, β-carotene and dietary fibre. Research has also examined its antioxidant properties, ripening characteristics, processing potential and socioeconomic uses. The paper argues that the neglect of Ìyeyè should not be understood simply as ignorance of its nutritional composition. Rather, it reflects a wider problem in which familiarity can reduce curiosity, while dominant food preferences and changing consumption patterns can make locally available species less visible in everyday life. The paper further argues that scientific documentation and indigenous knowledge should be understood as complementary rather than competing systems of knowledge. The significance of Ìyeyè therefore extends beyond the fruit itself, it illustrates how valuable knowledge may remain embedded in ordinary landscapes until curiosity creates an opportunity to see the familiar differently.</p> 2026-09-29T08:33:54Z Text Journal contribution 10.6084/m9.figshare.34022061.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/_b_The_Knowledge_Hidden_in_Plain_Sight_yey_Indigenous_Food_Knowledge_and_the_Value_of_the_Overlooked_b_/34022061 CC BY 4.0