The hidden Mediterranean diet: wild vegetables traditionally gathered and consumed in the Gargano area, Apulia, SE Italy

Despite the extensive bio-scientific literature concerning the Mediterranean diet, which emerged in the last three decades, systematic ethnography-centered investigations on a crucial portion of this food system, linked to the traditional consumption of non-cultivated vegetables, are still largely lacking in many areas of the Mediterranean Basin.In this research, an ethnobotanical field study focusing on wild vegetables traditionally gathered and consumed locally, was conducted in a few centers and villages located in the Gargano area, northern Apulia, SE Italy, by interviewing twenty-five elderly informants. The folk culinary uses of seventy-nine botanical taxa of wild vascular plants, belonging to nineteen families, were recorded, thus showing a remarkable resilience of traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) related to wild food plants. In particular, approximately one-fourth of the recorded wild vegetables are still very commonly gathered and consumed nowadays, while ten taxa have never been reported in previous ethnobotanical studies conducted in Southern Italy. These findings demonstrate the crucial cultural role played by folk cuisines in preserving TEK, despite significant socio-economic changes that have affected the study area during the past four decades.

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Traditionally used wild edible greens in the Aegean Region of Turkey

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae ◽

10.5586/asbp.2012.037 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 81 (4) ◽

pp. 329-342 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Yunus Dogan

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Diet ◽

Mediterranean Basin ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Traditional Use ◽

Aegean Region ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

The Mediterranean Basin

Turkey has the largest coastal area in the Mediterranean, possesses an extraordinarily rich flora, and a great traditional knowledge. This diversity of plants naturally affects the traditional use of plants and is reflected in the rich Turkish cuisine. Consequently, the Mediterranean Diet (whose typical components are wild greens) constitutes one of the important elements of Turkish cuisine. For this reason, the aim of this study was to determine the consumption of wild edible green plants for the Aegean Region of Turkey and to establish the similarities to or differences from consumption in other regions and other cuisine in the Mediterranean Basin. This study compiles and evaluates the ethnobotanical data currently available. There were 111 taxa that were identified as wild edible greens in the study area belonging to 26 different families. Asteraceae (21 taxa) were the most commonly consumed as food. It was followed by Boraginaceae with 19 taxa, Apiaceae with 15 taxa and Lamiaceae with 7 taxa, respectively. Rumex and Erodium were the most represented genera with 4 species. Tamus communis and Asparagus acutifolius, Mediterranean elements and distributed in all of the Mediterranean Basin, are among the most widely consumed wild plants in the area. Wild edible plants are consumed in a variety of ways. The most common type of consumption (79 taxa) was in salads. The fact that the majority of the plants used in the area are consumed in salads shows the close relationship between the local diet and the concept of the Mediterranean Diet. As a result, very promisingly, there is a renewed or increasing interest in consuming wild food plants as part of this diet.

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Contribution of the Wild Food Plants in the Food System of Tribal Belt of Pakistan; The Pak - Afghan Border Region

10.20944/preprints202009.0454.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shujaul Mulk Khan ◽

Abdullah Abdullah

Keyword(s):

Traditional Knowledge ◽

Fast Food ◽

Food System ◽

Cultural Practice ◽

Border Region ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Public Healthcare ◽

Wild Food Plants

The tribal belt of Pakistan-the Pak-Afghan border region is famous for its unique culture, ethnography and wild food plants and traditional knowledge. People of these regions gather wild plants for number of purposes including plants or plant parts for direct use, use it in the traditional cuisines and selling in local markets. However, there is huge lack of documentation of food system particularly the Wild Food Plants (WFPs). In current study we have focused on the uses and contributions of the WFPs in the tribal traditional food system. The ethnobotanical data were gathered through questionnaire surveys with Eighty-four informants 69 men and 15 women belonging to 21 different villages. We documented Sixty-three WFP species belonging to 34 botanical families, of which 27 were used as vegetables, 24 as fruits, 6 in different kinds of chutneys (starters) formation and six as fresh food species. Fruits were the mostly used part (40%) followed by leaves (24%), aerial parts (24%), seeds (7%), stem (3%), legume (2%) and young inflorescence (1%). Use of Carthamus oxycanthus & Pinus roxburghii seeds and Marsillea quadrifolia leaves were the novel reports for the gastronomy of Pakistan. The results elucidate that WFPs have a significant contribution in the Tribal Food Systems. Tribal people use WFPs not only due to their nutritional importance but also as a cultural practice - an inseparable component of the tribal communities. This important traditional Knowledge about the consumption of WFPs has been eroding with an alarming speed among the younger generations due to introduction of fast food chains, modernization, and globalization. Therefore, appropriates strategies are imperative not only to safeguard traditional knowledge but also the cultural heritage, food security and hence public healthcare via food supplement in the region.

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Wild food plants and wild edible fungi of Heihe valley (Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi, central China): herbophilia and indifference to fruits and mushrooms

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae ◽

10.5586/asbp.2012.044 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 81 (4) ◽

pp. 405-413 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Yongxiang Kang ◽

Łukasz Łuczaj ◽

Sebastian Ye ◽

Shijiao Zhang ◽

Jin Kang

Keyword(s):

Chenopodium Album ◽

Central China ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Edible Fungi ◽

Wild Vegetables ◽

Wild Fruits ◽

Wild Food Plant ◽

Wild Edible Fungi

The aim of the study was to investigate knowledge and use of wild food plants and fungi in Han (i.e. Chinese) nationality villages in central China, including famine plants used in the respondents' childhood. A valley adjacent to the extremely species-rich temperate forest vegetation of the Taibai Nature Reserve was chosen. Eighty-two people from 5 villages took part in the study. Altogether, 159 wild food plant species and 13 fungi folk taxa were mentioned by informants. The mean number of freelisted wild foods was very high (24.8; median – 21.5). An average respondent listed many species of wild vegetables (mean – 17, me- dian – 14.5), a few wild fruits (mean – 5.9 and median – 6) and very few fungi (mean – 1.9, median – 1), which they had eaten. Over 50% of respondents mentioned gathering the young shoots or leaves of Celastrus orbiculatus, Staphylea bumalda and S. holocapra, Caryopteris divaricata, Helwingia japonica, Pteridium aquilinum, Pimpinella sp., Amaranthus spp., Matteucia struthiopteris, Allium spp., Cardamine macrophylla and Chenopodium album. Only one species of fruits (Schisandra sphenanthera) and none of the mushrooms were mentioned by over half of the respondents. Although very diverse, it can be noted that the use of wild vegetables has decreased compared to the second half of the 20th century, as informants listed several plants which they had stopped using (e.g. Abelia engleriana) due to the availability of cultivated vegetables and other foodstuffs. On the other hand, the collection of the most well-known wild vegetables is maintained by selling them to tourists visiting agritourist farms, and restaurants.

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A Comprehensive Appraisal of the Wild Food Plants and Food System of Tribal Cultures in the Hindu Kush Mountain Range; a Way Forward for Balancing Human Nutrition and Food Security

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13095258 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 5258

Author(s):

Abdullah Abdullah ◽

Shujaul Mulk Khan ◽

Andrea Pieroni ◽

Aminul Haq ◽

Zahoor Ul Haq ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Traditional Knowledge ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Cultural Practice ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Hindu Kush

The tribal belt of the Hindu Kush mountains is famous for its unique culture, ethnography, wild food plants, food systems, and traditional knowledge. People in this region gather wild plants and plant parts using them directly or in traditional cuisine, or sell them in local markets. However, there is a huge lack of documentation of the food system, particularly that related to wild food plants (WFP). In the current study, we focus on the uses and contributions of WFPs in the traditional tribal food system of the Hindu Kush valleys along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border. Ethnobotanical data were gathered through questionnaire surveys of 84 informants, including 69 men and 15 women, belonging to 21 different villages of the chosen area. In tribal societies men and women rarely mix and thus very few women took part in the surveys. We documented 63 WFP species belonging to 34 botanical families, of which 27 were used as vegetables, 24 as fruits, six in different kinds of chutneys (starters), and six as fresh food species. Fruits were the most used part (41%), followed by leaves (24%), aerial parts (24%), seeds (7%), stems (3%), and young inflorescences (1%). The reported uses of Carthamus oxyacantha, Pinus roxburghii seeds, and Marsilea quadrifolia leaves are novel for the gastronomy of Pakistan. The results reveal that WFPs provide a significant contribution to local food systems and play a role in addressing human nutritional needs, which are usually not met through farming practices. The tribal peoples of the Hindu Kush use WFPs for their nutritional value, but also as a cultural practice—an inseparable component of the tribal community’s lifestyle. This important traditional knowledge about the gathering and consumption of WFPs, however, is eroding at an alarming rate among younger generations due to the introduction of fast-food, modernization, and globalization. Therefore, appropriate strategies are imperative not only to safeguard traditional plants and food knowledge and practices, as well as the cultural heritage attached to them, but also to foster food security and thus public healthcare via local wild foods in the region.

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Nutrient and Mineral Compositions of Wild Leafy Vegetables of the Karen and Lawa Communities in Thailand

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods9121748 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 1748

Author(s):

Kittiyut Punchay ◽

Angkhana Inta ◽

Pimonrat Tiansawat ◽

Henrik Balslev ◽

Prasit Wangpakapattanawong

Keyword(s):

Indigenous People ◽

Leafy Vegetables ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Wild Vegetables ◽

In The Wild

Wild food plants are commonly used in the traditional diets of indigenous people in many parts of the world, including northern Thailand. The potential contribution of wild food plants to the nutrition of the Karen and Lawa communities remains poorly understood. Wild food plants, with a focus on leafy vegetables, were ranked by the Cultural Food Significance Index (CFSI) based on semi-structured interviews. Twelve wild plant species were highly mentioned and widely consumed. The importance of the wild vegetables was mainly related to taste, availability, and multifunctionality of the species. Their contents of proximate and minerals (P, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu) were analyzed using standard methods. The proximate contents were comparable to most domesticated vegetables. The contents of Mg (104 mg/100 g FW), Fe (11 mg/100 g FW), and Zn (19 mg/100 g FW) in the wild leafy vegetables were high enough to cover the daily recommended dietary allowances of adults (19–50 years), whereas a few species showed Mn contents higher than the tolerable upper intake level (>11 mg/100 g edible part). The wild leafy vegetables, therefore, are good sources of minerals and we recommend their continued usage by indigenous people. Further research on these wild leafy vegetables’ contents of antioxidants, vitamins, heavy metals, anti-nutrient factors, and food safety is recommended.

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Language of Administration as a Border: Wild Food Plants Used by Setos and Russians in Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast, NW Russia

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10020367 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 367

Author(s):

Olga Belichenko ◽

Valeria Kolosova ◽

Denis Melnikov ◽

Raivo Kalle ◽

Renata Sõukand

Keyword(s):

Ethnic Groups ◽

The Other ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Ethnobotanical Knowledge ◽

Rumex Acetosa ◽

Economic Changes ◽

Plant Use

Socio-economic changes impact local ethnobotanical knowledge as much as the ecological ones. During an ethnobotanical field study in 2018–2019, we interviewed 25 Setos and 38 Russians in the Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast to document changes in wild plant use within the last 70 years according to the current and remembered practices. Of the 71 botanical taxa reported, the most popular were Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Vaccinium oxycoccos, Vaccinium myrtillus, Betula spp., and Rumex acetosa. The obtained data was compared with that of 37 Setos and 35 Estonians interviewed at the same time on the other side of the border. Our data revealed a substantial level of homogeneity within the plants used by three or more people with 30 of 56 plants overlapping across all four groups. However, Seto groups are ethnobotanically closer to the dominant ethnic groups immediately surrounding them than they are to Setos across the border. Further study of minor ethnic groups in a post-Soviet context is needed, paying attention to knowledge transmission patterns.

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Wild food plants used in the villages of the Lake Vrana Nature Park (northern Dalmatia, Croatia)

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae ◽

10.5586/asbp.2013.036 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 82 (4) ◽

pp. 275-281 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Łukasz Łuczaj ◽

Norma Fressel ◽

Stjepan Perković

Keyword(s):

Silene Latifolia ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Foeniculum Vulgare ◽

Allium Ampeloprasum ◽

Wild Vegetables ◽

Wild Fruits ◽

Nature Park ◽

Local Traditions

Croatia is a country of diverse plant use traditions, which are still insufficiently documented. The aim of this study was to document local traditions of using wild food plants around Lake Vrana (northern Dalmatia, Zadar region). We interviewed 43 inhabitants of six traditional villages north of Lake Vrana. On average 12 species were listed, which in total produced an inventory of 55 food plants and 3 fungi taxa. Wild vegetables were most widely collected, particularly by older women who gathered the plants mainly when herding their flocks of sheep. Wild fruits and mushrooms were rarely collected. The former used to be an important supplementary food for children, or for everyone during times of food shortage, and the latter were relatively rare due to the dry climate and shortage of woods.The most commonly collected plants are wild vegetables: Cichorium intybus, Foeniculum vulgare, Sonchus oleraceus, Asparagus acutifolius, Papaver rhoeas, Rumex pulcher, Daucus carota, Allium ampeloprasum and Silene latifolia.

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The Importance of Keeping Alive Sustainable Foraging Practices: Wild Vegetables and Herbs Gathered by Afghan Refugees Living in Mansehra District, Pakistan

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13031500 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 1500

Author(s):

Ajmal K. Manduzai ◽

Arshad M. Abbasi ◽

Shujaul M. Khan ◽

Abdullah Abdullah ◽

Julia Prakofjewa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Life ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Afghan Refugees ◽

Wild Vegetables ◽

Biocultural Heritage ◽

Local Environmental Knowledge ◽

Study Participants

The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an important one in environmental studies, especially in order to understand how human societies rearrange their practices linked to nature and how they adapt to new socioecological systems. This paper addresses the complexity of Traditional/Local Environmental Knowledge (LEK) changes associated to wild vegetables and herbs across four different groups of Afghan refugees living in Mansehra District, NW Pakistan, since 1985. Via interviews with eighty study participants, forty-eight wild vegetables and herbs were recorded, representing both the past and present wild plant gastronomic heritage. The majority of the quoted wild plant ingredients were only remembered and no longer actively used, thus suggesting an important erosion of LEK. Moreover, the number of wild vegetables and herbs currently used by Afghan Pashtuns engaged in farming activities is much higher than those reported by the other groups. The findings indicate that practiced LEK, i.e., knowledge that is continuously kept alive via constant contact with the natural environment, is essential for the resilience of the biocultural heritage, which is, however, also influenced by the rearrangement of social life adopted by refugees after relocation.

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Local knowledge as a tool for prospecting wild food plants: experiences in northeastern Brazil

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-79835-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Patrícia Muniz de Medeiros ◽

Gabriela Maria Cota dos Santos ◽

Déborah Monteiro Barbosa ◽

Laílson César Andrade Gomes ◽

Élida Monique da Costa Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Local Knowledge ◽

Rural Settlement ◽

Ecological System ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Specific Group ◽

Xanthosoma Sagittifolium

AbstractThis study aims to provide a simple framework to identify wild food plants with potential for popularization based on local knowledge and perception. To this end, we also characterized the distribution of this knowledge in the socio-ecological system. We developed the study in the rural settlement Dom Hélder Câmara in northeastern Brazil. The species with the greatest potential for popularization considering the attributes accessed from local knowledge and perception were Psidium guineense Sw., Genipa americana L., Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott and Dioscorea trifida L.f. However, the high variation in local knowledge on wild food plants suggests that species that are not frequently cited can also be promising. The absence of age or gender-related knowledge patterns indicates that studies for prospecting wild food plants in similar socioecological contexts need to reach the population as a whole, rather than focusing on a specific group.

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Wild food plants and fungi sold in the markets of Luang Prabang, Lao PDR

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine ◽

10.1186/s13002-020-00423-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Łukasz Łuczaj ◽

Vichith Lamxay ◽

Khamphart Tongchan ◽

Kosonh Xayphakatsa ◽

Kongchay Phimmakong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lao Pdr ◽

Woody Species ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Edible Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Conservation Priorities ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Edible Plants ◽

Important Position ◽

Open Air Markets

Abstract Background Open air markets hold an important position for ethnobiologists. In Southeast Asia, they are seriously understudied, in spite of their incredible biocultural diversity. In order to fill this gap we recorded plants and fungi sold in the open air markets of Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. Methods The markets were visited 38 times in four seasons: the dry season, early monsoon, mid-monsoon, and end-of-monsoon, at least 8 times per season. All items were photographed and voucher specimens were collected. Fungi were identified using DNA barcoding techniques. Results We recorded 110 species of wild edible plants and 54 species of fungi, including 49 wild-collected species. The sold plants included 86 species of green vegetables, 18 species of fruits and 3 species of flowers. Products from woody species constitute around half of all taxa sold. These include the young shoots of tree leaves, which are used for salads—an interesting feature of Lao cuisine. A large number of extremely rare Russula, with no reference sequences represented in databases or even species unknown to science is present on sale in the markets. Conclusions Luang Prabang markets are some of the richest in species of wild edible plants and fungi in Asia, and indeed in the whole world. It is worth pointing out the exceptionally long list of wild edible mushrooms which are sold in Luang Prabang (and probably elsewhere in Laos). We view the Morning Market of Luang Prabang as a cultural treasure that unites the traditions of eating a large number of living species with very diverse flora and fauna. Measures should be taken to strike a balance between local foraging traditions and nature conservation priorities.

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