A historical overview of ethnobotanical data in Albania (1800s-1940s)

Saraçi, Anyla; Damo, Robert

doi:10.15451/ec2020-10-10.08-1-23

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In Bosnia the tubers of Arum italicum and A. maculatum are still used for the preparation of boiled meats or focaccia [ 27 ]. In Albania, the use of Arum italicum , which was eaten during periods of famine, is documented and its use has been preserved to this day, albeit in different ways [ 28 ]. The leaves are also consumed in southeastern Europe after repeated boiling.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making a Virtue of Necessity: The Use of Wild Edible Plant Species (Also Toxic) in Bread Making in Times of Famine According to Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti (1766)

Paura

Marzio

2022

Biology

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In 1766, the agricultural scientist Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti described for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the wild and cultivated plant species that could be used, in times of famine, to increase the quantity of flour or vegetable mass in bread making. These wild plants can be defined as wild edible plants (WEPs) or “alimurgic species”, a concept usually traced back to Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti himself. The 342 plant names mentioned in the text are in the Tuscan vernacular, so a research work was done on bibliographic sources from the 1800s in order to match them with their current nomenclature. This process led to an “alimurgic flora” repertoire based on the writing of Targioni Tozzetti; and a comparison with our AlimurgITA database of 1103 wild edible plants used in Italy. It is particularly interesting that in his short treatise, Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti identified eight toxic plants (corresponding to 14 species), indicating how to eliminate the poisonous substances from their useful roots. We treat them in detail, examining their current and past use, their geographical distribution in Italy, and their eventual toxicity. We obtained 343 matches, of which 198 were reliable (certain matches) and 145 possessed some degree of uncertainty (due to generic or collective vernacular names). Among the 198 certain identifications, 140 species are present in the AlimurgITA database (92 mentioned for Tuscany) and 58 are not; for bread-making there are only documentary traces of 53 species for Italy and 7 for Tuscany. Moreover, among the total 198 species, 84 showed some degree of hazard. Researching edible toxic spontaneous species allows: (1) investigation, from an unusual perspective, of a historical period in which the poor conditions of some social strata led to finding unusual solutions to food provision; (2) idea generation to re-enable potentially useful WEPs whose use has been lost. Making a virtue of necessity!

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making a Virtue of Necessity: The Use of Wild Edible Plant Species (Also Toxic) in Bread Making in Times of Famine According to Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti (1766)

Paura

Marzio

2022

Biology

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“…In Bosnia, the tubers of Arum italicum and A. maculatum continue to be employed in the cooking of boiled meats or focaccia [ 38 ]. Albania had a history of consuming Arum italicum during times of scarcity, with its usage evolving over time [ 39 ]. Additionally, the leaves are consumed in southeastern Europe after being boiled repeatedly, while in Switzerland Arum leaves are ingested in spring as part of a cleansing regimen [ 40 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wild Edible Plants Used in Dalmatian Zagora (Croatia)

Ninčević Runjić,

Jug-Dujaković,

Runjić

et al. 2024

Plants

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Background: Dalmatian Zagora has experienced significant depopulation trends over recent decades. The area is very interesting because of its rich biodiversity of species as well as its history of the use of wild foods. Since there is a danger of permanent loss of knowledge on the use of wild edibles, we focused our research on recording traditions local to this area. Methods: We conducted interviews with 180 residents. Results: A record was made of 136 species of wild food plants and 22 species of edible mushrooms gathered in the area. The most frequently collected species are Rubus ulmifolius Schott, Cornus mas L., Portulaca oleracea L., Asparagus acutifolius L., Sonchus spp., Morus spp., Taraxacum spp., Amaranthus retroflexus L., Cichorium intybus L., and Dioscorea communis (L.) Caddick & Wilkin. Conclusions: The list of taxa used is typical for other (sub-)Mediterranean parts of Croatia; however, more fungi species are used. The most important finding of the paper is probably the recording of Legousia speculum-veneris (L.) Chaix, a wild vegetable used in the area.

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“…The potential use of historical texts for ethnobotanical studies has generated renewed interest in the relationship between human and plants (Fatur 2019;Coimbra and Welch 2020;Petran et al 2020;Liu et al 2021). These texts are not only considered important as sources for obtaining information highlighting the relationship between the people of a particular area and their botanic environment in the past, but also demonstrate the continuity and change of traditional knowledge about plants (Pardo-de-Santayana et al 2007; Kalle and Soukand 2012;Castro et al 2013;Silva et al 2014;Herrero and Cardano 2015;Rahman et al 2019;Petran et al 2020;Ford 2020;Dafni et al 2021;Saraci and Damo 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnobotanical identification of mango (Mangifera indica L.) and other fruit trees mentioned in Old Javanese Ramayana (10th century Java, Indonesia)

et al. 2023

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Abstract. Mulyanto D, Supangkat B, Nurseto HE, Iskandar J. 2023. Ethnobotanical identification of mango (Mangifera indica L.) and other fruit trees mentioned in Old Javanese Ramayana (10th century Java, Indonesia). Biodiversitas 24: 609-616. Among the 2778 stanzas in Old Javanese Ramayana (OJR), only 46 (1.6%) mentioned fruit trees. There are 63 Old Javanese phytonyms for fruit or fruit tree and only 12 (19%) of them are Sanskrit in origin. Fifty-six species from 44 genera and 26 families are identified, higher than the number of fruit trees carved in reliefs of Borobudur Temple. Of the 56 species, 13 are exotic, specifically from the Indian subcontinent. One of the exotic trees from India that has been naturalized in Java for centuries is Mangifera indica, which is the most often mentioned in the text. Meanwhile, 39 of them are expressly described as fruits that can be consumed raw as food/dessert. It was also found that there are four landscapes, namely hermitage, countryside, forest, and royal garden, which depict the presence of fruit trees. The forest is the landscape with the most mentioned fruit trees in its description. Furthermore, the fruit tree present in the depiction of all landscapes is Mangifera indica. The prevalence of mango trees in these landscapes is probably related to the mango fruit’s edibility as well as its symbolic and religious significance. Other fruit trees, such as Aegle marmelos, Garcinia xanthochymus, Phyllanthus emblica, and Tamarindus indica also have religious significance in Hinduism.

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A historical overview of ethnobotanical data in Albania (1800s-1940s)

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

Making a Virtue of Necessity: The Use of Wild Edible Plant Species (Also Toxic) in Bread Making in Times of Famine According to Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti (1766)

Making a Virtue of Necessity: The Use of Wild Edible Plant Species (Also Toxic) in Bread Making in Times of Famine According to Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti (1766)

Wild Edible Plants Used in Dalmatian Zagora (Croatia)

Ethnobotanical identification of mango (Mangifera indica L.) and other fruit trees mentioned in Old Javanese Ramayana (10th century Java, Indonesia)

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