Folk food and medicinal botanical knowledge among the last remaining Yörüks of the Balkans

Anely Nedelcheva; Andrea Pieroni; Yunus Dogan

doi:10.5586/asbp.3522

Folk food and medicinal botanical knowledge among the last remaining Yörüks of the Balkans

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae ◽

10.5586/asbp.3522 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 86 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Anely Nedelcheva ◽

Andrea Pieroni ◽

Yunus Dogan

Keyword(s):

Ethnic Groups ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Syzygium Aromaticum ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Mentha Spicata ◽

The Balkans ◽

Medicinal Use ◽

Balkan Region

The present study examines the current lifestyle of the last remaining Balkan Yörüks, a small and isolated group found within the Republic of Macedonia, and the modern representatives of an important portion of the Balkan nomads. The aim of this study was to document knowledge concerning local wild food plants and wild and cultivated medicinal plants, and to compare the Yörük ethnobotany with that of similar, more or less isolated ethnic groups occurring in the Balkan region (Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, and Turkey) in order to assess how cultural adaptation processes may have affected Yörük plant folklore. We conducted this study by means of detailed, semi-structured interviews with 48 key informants.Sixty-seven plant taxa were recorded from 55 genera, based on the compilation of more than 150 reports relating to medicinal, food, forage, ornamental, and dye plants, as well as some elements relating to animals and minerals. Our field study data show several major ethnic boundary markers that contribute to the homogeneity of the community and also distinguish it sufficiently from the surrounding society: (i) well-isolated locality; (ii) local dialect and endogamy; (iii) casual clothing worn by women; (iv) ceremonial jewelry: a necklace of cloves (Syzygium aromaticum); (v) Sempervivum marmoreum as an only ornamental plant which also has a medicinal use; and (vi) Mentha spicata as the dominant culinary herb, which has a medicinal use too. Comparison of the collected ethnobotanical data with that of similar, more or less isolated ethnic groups in the Balkan region shows that overlapping taxa include mainly plants whose fresh fruit are used; both nuts as well as edible greens. These plants are simultaneously used for medicinal purposes too, as home remedies, but in very different ways to other ethnic groups.Yörüks represent a remarkable cultural group in the Balkans. This community has nomadic traditions, but nowadays the people have a settled lifestyle. Traditional knowledge remains strong and is retained within a well-defined cultural boundary.

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Medicinal and wild food plants of Marmara Island (Balikesir – Turkey)

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae ◽

10.5586/asbp.3501 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 85 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Gizem Bulut

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Food Plants ◽

Food Sources ◽

Herbal Remedies ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Ethnobotanical Study ◽

Mentha Spicata ◽

Salvia Fruticosa

Medicinal and wild food plants have always played an important role in people’s lives especially in rural areas. Similar situation can be said for islands due to the reason of them being isolated from mainland. This paper reports an ethnobotanical investigations performed in 2009 and 2014 to determine medicinal and wild food plants of Marmara Island. A total of 30 individuals were interviewed (19 men, 11 women). Totally, 22 plants are recorded as used as traditional folk medicine for the region, and nine of these are also used as a source of wild food. Furthermore, 18 taxa are wild sources of nutrition for the area. The plants most commonly used in the region as medicinal remedies were Salvia fruticosa, Hypericum perforatum, Ficus carica, and Mentha spicata. Plants are mostly used for the treatment of abdominal pain, the common cold, and haemorrhoids. The species most commonly used for food are: Salvia fruticosa, Arbutus unedo, Rhus coriaria, and Rubus sanctus. This ethnobotanical study conducted in this island will enable the traditional use of wild plants both as food sources and herbal remedies to be passed on to future generations.

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The Fading Wild Plant Food–Medicines in Upper Chitral, NW Pakistan

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10102494 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 2494

Author(s):

Muhammad Abdul Aziz ◽

Zahid Ullah ◽

Muhammad Adnan ◽

Renata Sõukand ◽

Andrea Pieroni

Keyword(s):

Cultural Knowledge ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Ethnobotanical Survey ◽

Medicinal Uses ◽

Food Ingredients

The subject of food–medicines (foods ingested in order to obtain a therapeutic activity or to prevent diseases) is garnering increasing attention from both ethnobiologists and ethnopharmacologists as diet-related chronic diseases are one of the major problems resulting in a large proportion of deaths globally, which calls for interest from the scientific community to make sensible decisions in the field of food and medicine. In this regard, the current study is an important attempt at providing baseline data for developing healthy and curative food ingredients. This study aimed at recording the culinary and medicinal uses of wild food plants (WFPs) in the remote Mastuj Valley, located at the extreme north of Chitral District, Pakistan. An ethnobotanical survey was completed via 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews with local knowledge holders to record the food and medicinal uses of WFPs in the study area. A total of 43 WFPs were recorded, most of which were used as cooked vegetables and raw snacks. Leaves were the most frequently used plant part. A remarkable proportion (81%) of use reports for the recorded wild plant taxa were quoted as food–medicines or medicinal foods, while very few were reported as either food or medicines, without any relationship between uses in these two domains. Previous ethnomedicinal studies from nearby regions have shown that most of the recorded wild plants have been used as medicines, thus supporting the findings of the current study. A literature survey revealed that many of the reported medicinal uses (33%) for the quoted WFPs were not verifiable on PubMed as they have not been studied for their respective medicinal actions. We observed that most of the plants quoted here have disappeared from the traditional food and medicinal system, which may be attributed to the invasion of the food market and the prevalence of allopathic medicine. However, knowledge of these wild plants is still alive in memory, and women are the main holders of cultural knowledge as they use it to manage the cooking and processing of WFPs. Therefore, in this context, we strongly recommend the preservation of local biocultural heritage, promoted through future development and educational programs, which could represent a timely response to the loss of cultural and traditional knowledge.

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The Power of Wild Plants in Feeding Humanity: A Meta-Analytic Ethnobotanical Approach in the Catalan Linguistic Area

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10010061 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 61

Author(s):

Airy Gras ◽

Teresa Garnatje ◽

Jon Marín ◽

Montse Parada ◽

Ester Sala ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spanish Civil War ◽

Local Level ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Thymus Vulgaris ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Foeniculum Vulgare ◽

Generic Level ◽

Mentha Spicata

Wild food plants (WFP) have always been present in our kitchen, although they have not always been given the same importance as crops. In the Catalan linguistic area (CLA), covered in this paper, WFP were of great importance as a subsistence food not only during the years of the Spanish civil war (1936–1939) and World War II (1939–1945), but also long before these periods and in the years thereafter. The CLA has been well studied at the level of traditional knowledge on plant biodiversity, and much of this information is collected in a database by the EtnoBioFiC research group. The aim of this work is to carry out a meta-analysis of the WFP dataset of the CLA (only regarding edible uses, drinks excluded) and to identify the most quoted plants, and the information associated with them. With data from 1659 informants, we recorded 10,078 use reports of 291 taxa (278 of which at specific or subspecific levels and 13 only determined at generic level) belonging to 67 families. The most reported taxa, also with highest cultural importance indexes, are Thymus vulgaris, Foeniculum vulgare subsp. piperitum, Laurus nobilis, Rubus ulmifolius and Mentha spicata. The ethnobotanicity index for food plants is 6.62% and the informant consensus factor, also for food uses, is a very high 0.97, supporting the robustness of the information. The results provided and discussed in this work concern a significant part of the edible resources in the territory considered, which is, often and mainly, underestimated and underutilised. Its consideration could be an opportunity to promote closer and more sustainable agriculture. From the state-of-the-art of this question, it is possible to propose old, in some cases forgotten foods that could be newly introduced onto the market, first, but not only, at a local level, which could be interesting for new crop development in the frame of a valorisation of territorial identity.

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Wild plants used for food by Hungarian ethnic groups living in the Carpathian Basin

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae ◽

10.5586/asbp.2012.040 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 81 (4) ◽

pp. 381-396 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Andrea Dénes ◽

Nóra Papp ◽

Dániel Babai ◽

Bálint Czúcz ◽

Zsolt Molnár

Keyword(s):

Ethnic Groups ◽

Plant Species ◽

Carpathian Basin ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Helianthus Tuberosus ◽

Steppe Species ◽

Mass Consumption

A list of plant species used for food in Hungary and among Hungarian ethnic groups of the Carpathian Basin during the 19th and 20th centuries was compiled from 71 ethnographic and ethnobotanical sources and a survey among contemporary Hungarian botanists. Species used as food, spice, beverage or occasional snacks were collected. Sources mention 236 plant species belonging to 68 families. Most wild fleshy fruits (mostly Rosa, Rubus, Cornus, Ribes, Vaccinium spp.), dry fruits and seeds (Fagus, Quercus, Corylus, Castanea, Trapa spp.), several green vegetables (e.g. Rumex, Urtica, Humulus, Chenopodiaceae spp., Ranunculus ficaria), bulbs and tubers (Lathyrus tuberosus, Helianthus tuberosus, Chaerophyllum bulbosum, Allium spp.) used for food in Europe, are also known to be consumed in Hungary. A characteristic feature of Hungarian plant use was the mass consumption of the underground parts of several marsh (e.g. Typha, Phragmites, Sagittaria, Alisma, Butomus, Bolboschoenus spp., as well as the endemic Armoracia macrocarpa) and steppe species (e.g. Crambe tataria, Rumex pseudonatronatus). Consuming wild food plants is still important among Hungarians living in Transylvania: even nowadays more than 40 species are gathered and used at some locations.

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Dining Tables Divided by a Border: The Effect of Socio-Political Scenarios on Local Ecological Knowledge of Romanians Living in Ukrainian and Romanian Bukovina

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10010126 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 126

Author(s):

Nataliya Stryamets ◽

Giulia Mattalia ◽

Andrea Pieroni ◽

Ihor Khomyn ◽

Renata Sõukand

Keyword(s):

Local Ecological Knowledge ◽

Ecological Factors ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Cultural Economic ◽

Cultivated Plant ◽

Women's Networks

Local cuisine is an important reservoir of local ecological knowledge shaped by a variety of socio-cultural, economic, and ecological factors. The aim was to document and compare the current use of wild and semi-cultivated plant food taxa by Romanians living in Romania and Ukraine. These two groups share similar ecological conditions and historically belonged to the same province, but were divided in the 1940s by the creation of a state border. We conducted 60 semi-structured interviews with rural residents. The contemporary use of 46 taxa (plus 5 cultivated taxa with uncommon uses), belonging to 20 families, for food consumption were recorded. Romanians in Romanian Bukovina used 27 taxa belonging to 15 families, while in Ukraine they used 40 taxa belonging to 18 families. Jams, sarmale, homemade beer, and the homemade alcoholic drink “socată” are used more by Romanians in Southern Bukovina, while tea, soups, and birch sap are used more in Northern Bukovina. We discuss the strong influence of socio-political scenarios on the use of wild food plants. Cross-ethnic marriages, as well as markets and women’s networks, i.e., “neighbors do so”, may have had a great impact on changes in wild food use. In addition, rapid changes in lifestyle (open work market and social migration) are other explanations for the abandonment of wild edible plants.

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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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Food Behavior in Emergency Time: Wild Plant Use for Human Nutrition during the Conflict in Syria

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods11020177 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 177

Author(s):

Naji Sulaiman ◽

Andrea Pieroni ◽

Renata Sõukand ◽

Zbynek Polesny

Keyword(s):

Coastal Region ◽

Human Nutrition ◽

Leafy Vegetables ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Current Crisis

Wild food plants (WFPs) have been an important source of human nutrition since ancient times, and it particularly revives when conventional food is not available due to emergency situations, such as natural disasters and conflicts. The war in Syria has entered 10 years since it started in 2011, and it has caused the largest war-related crises since World War II. Nearly 60% of the Syrian population (12.4 million people) are food-insecure. WFPs are already culturally important in the region, and may be supplementing local diets during this conflict. Our study aimed to uncover the conflict’s effect on the use of WFPs and to know what species are consumed by local people during the current crisis. The fieldwork was carried out between March 2020 and March 2021 in the Tartus governorate located in the coastal region of Syria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 participants (26 women and 24 men) distributed in 26 villages along the study area. We recorded the vernacular names, uses, plant parts used, modes of preparation and consumption, change in WFP use before and during the conflict, and informants’ perceptions towards WFPs. We documented 75 wild food plant species used for food and drink. Almost two-thirds (64%) of informants reported an increase in their reliance on wild plants as a food source during the conflict. The species of Origanum syriacum, Rhus coriaria, Eryngium creticum, and Cichorium intybus were among the most quoted species by informants. Sleeq (steamed leafy vegetables), Zaatar (breakfast/dinner food), and Louf (soup) were the most popular wild plant-based dishes.

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Gathered Wild Food Plants among Diverse Religious Groups in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10030594 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 594 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Muhammad Majeed ◽

Khizar Hayat Bhatti ◽

Andrea Pieroni ◽

Renata Sõukand ◽

Rainer W. Bussmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Field Study ◽

Religious Affiliation ◽

Local Population ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Religious Groups ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Mushroom Species ◽

Cultural Adaption

Recent ethnobotanical studies have raised the hypothesis that religious affiliation can, in certain circumstances, influence the evolution of the use of wild food plants, given that it shapes kinship relations and vertical transmission of traditional/local environmental knowledge. The local population living in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan comprises very diverse religious and linguistic groups. A field study about the uses of wild food plants was conducted in the district. This field survey included 120 semi-structured interviews in 27 villages, focusing on six religious groups (Sunni and Shia Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis). We documented a total of 77 wild food plants and one mushroom species which were used by the local population mainly as cooked vegetables and raw snacks. The cross-religious comparison among six groups showed a high homogeneity of use among two Muslim groups (Shias and Sunnis), while the other four religious groups showed less extensive, yet diverse uses, staying within the variety of taxa used by Islamic groups. No specific plant cultural markers (i.e., plants gathered only by one community) could be identified, although there were a limited number of group-specific uses of the shared plants. Moreover, the field study showed erosion of the knowledge among the non-Muslim groups, which were more engaged in urban occupations and possibly underwent stronger cultural adaption to a modern lifestyle. The recorded traditional knowledge could be used to guide future development programs aimed at fostering food security and the valorization of the local bio-cultural heritage.

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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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On the Trail of an Ancient Middle Eastern Ethnobotany: Traditional Wild Food Plants Gathered by Ormuri Speakers in Kaniguram, NW Pakistan

Biology ◽

10.3390/biology10040302 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 302

Author(s):

Muhammad Abdul Aziz ◽

Zahid Ullah ◽

Mohamed Al-Fatimi ◽

Matteo De Chiara ◽

Renata Sõukand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Middle Eastern ◽

Minority Group ◽

Viscum Album ◽

Food Plants ◽

Wild Food ◽

Wild Food Plants ◽

Development Programs ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Cultural Adaptations ◽

Plant Uses

An ethnobotanical field study focusing on traditional wild food botanical taxa was carried out in Kaniguram, South Waziristan, Pakistan, among Ormur (or Burki or Baraki) peoples, which represent a diasporic minority group, as well as among the surrounding Pashtuns. Through sixty semi-structured interviews, fifty-two wild food plants (taxa) were recorded, and they were primarily used raw as snacks and cooked as vegetables. Comparative analysis found a remarkable overlap of the quoted plant uses between the two studied groups, which may reflect complex socio-cultural adaptations Ormur speakers faced. Ormur people retain a rich knowledge of anthropogenic weeds and the phytonyms reveal important commonalities with Persian and Kurdish phytonyms, which may indicate their possible horticultural-driven human ecological origin from the Middle East. Some novel or rare food uses of Cirsiumarvense, Nannorrhops ritchiana, Periploca aphylla, Perovskia atriplicifolia, Viscum album,Oxalis corniculata and Withania coagulans were documented. Since the Ormuri language represents a moribund language, still spoken by only a few thousand speakers in NW Pakistan and Afghanistan, it is recommended that the traditional bio-cultural and gastronomical heritage of this minority group be appropriately protected and bolstered in future rural development programs.

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