Tree fodder collected in the Solma Village Development Area, eastern Nepal, which included Albizia julibrissin , Ficus nemoralis , Ficus roxburghii , F. semicordata , Prunus cerasoides , 2 subspecies of F. semicordata (var. montana and var. semicordata ), and 2 landraces of F. nemoralis and of F. roxburghii , was graded by farmers using 2 indigenous criteria (obanopan and posilopan). The rankings were compared with those obtained using laboratory analysis. Farmers reported that posil fodder increased animal productivity whereas obano fodder promoted high intakes and induced satiety. Of the 2 indigenous knowledge systems used, obanopan related to digestibility, as predicted by an in vitro test, and posilopan was perceived as an indicator of general nutritional quality and may relate to the ability of a tree fodder to promote the supply of protein at the duodenum. However, the relationship between obanopan and in vitro digestibility indicated that Nepalese farmers, in preferring to use obano fodder, also preferred less digestible fodder due to its ability to fill animals in times of feed shortage. Laboratory results did not appear to account for the posilopan criterion. The importance of interpreting nutritional information against farmers objectives for a given set of circumstances is discussed. It is concluded that the complementarity between farmers' perceptions of fodder quality and those generated in a laboratory are encouraging for a more integrated approach to assessing fodder quality for the smallholder farmer.