A hundred years of change in wild vegetable use in southern Herzegovina

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Wild vegetable mixes used in southern Europe are interesting from the pharmacological point of view, as they contain many species which have considerable nutritional and medicinal value, but some are potentially toxic to humans. Although many ethnobotanical studies document the rich tradition of using wild vegetables at the turn of the 20th and 21st century in the Mediterranean region, there is a dearth of older historical studies which could help us to assess the extent of Traditional Knowledge loss.

Material and methods: The aim of this study was to document the use of wild foods in an area of southern Herzegovina (in Bosnia-Herzegovina) and to compare it with a list of 27 taxa of wild green vegetables used there, compiled in 1913 by Vejsil Ćurčić. We carried out 49 interviews in the same area to estimate the current use and knowledge of wild foods.

Results: Eighty-two species of wild food and herbal tea plants were recorded in the study. This includes 44 species whose wild leaves are used as salads or cooked side dishes, 17 species with edible fruits and 24 species whose leaves, shoots or flowers are used for everyday herbal teas. On average, 14.2 species (median=16.5) were listed per interview, including 9.0 species of wild vegetables. Out of 27 plant names mentioned 100 years ago - five remain unidentified. Out of the 22 species or species groups, which were identified, 18 are still used as wild vegetables (including five species used very rarely and known by very few people or only by one person). Nowadays, the most commonly used wild greens are: Dioscorea communis, Sonchus spp., Allium spp., Papaver rhoeas, Rumex pulcher, Silene latifolia, and Taraxacum spp.

Conclusions: Although we observed some changes in the names and uses of plants compared to the list from a hundred years ago, around three quarters of the taxa are still used to some extent nowadays.

Keywords: Balkans; Ethnobotany; Historical ethnobotany; Mediterranean diet; Wild edible plants; Wild food plants.