An ethnobotanical survey of the Gollak region, Kosovo

Abstract

An ethnobotanical field study focused on traditional uses of medicinal plants, wild food plants, and mushrooms was conducted in 37 villages in the Gollak region of eastern Kosovo. Interviews with 66 elderly informants were conducted using standard ethnobotanical methods. The uses of 92 vascular plants and 6 mushrooms species belonging to 47 different families were recorded. Mainly infusions and decoctions were quoted as folk medicinal preparations and the most commonly quoted plant medicinal uses referred to diseases of the respiratory system, skin, and gastrointestinal tract. Comparison of the collected data with the ethnobotanical findings of previously conducted studies in the surrounding Western Balkan areas showed that, even if more than the half of Gollak's wild botanical genera quoted as medicines used are the same in Serbia and in Northern Albania, commonalities between the actual medicinal plant applications recorded in the present study and those reported for the other areas are extremely scarce. This may confirm the richness of the bio-cultural heritage of the Western Balkan region and the urgent need to conduct cross-cultural comparative field ethnobiological studies.

The uses of Betula pendula Roth among Hungarian Csángós and Székelys in Transylvania, Romania

“…2). The external use of bark for skin disorders was also recorded in Albania and Macedonia (Pieroni, unpublished), while its internal use was mentioned in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo [55][56][57][58]. In our work, no data were recorded on the use of the tar (Betulae pix), in contrast to earlier reports in the country [59,60].…”

“…Branches: internally: rain, which has gone through a birch tree, is collected and drunk to treat kidney stones and prostatitis; externally: beaten on the affected part to treat bruises [83]. Bark: for hemorrhoids (Pieroni, unpublished); for cold, fever, rheumatisms and purifying blood [55,56]; as a diuretic; for urinary tract infections [55][56][57][58]; externally: burned, the vapours are exposed to the skin to treat skin inflammations (Pieroni, unpublished). Sap: drained from the trunk in spring [63,64]; as a milk-rennet drug in cheese [77,78]; for children with milk in the teething period, for sores on the lower legs of humans [65].…”

An ethnobotanical survey of traditionally used plants on Suva planina mountain (south-eastern Serbia)

“…Besides these few common species, however, there are many examples of medicinal plants being used in very distinct ways in different regions -even in areas sharing similar flora, but a different cultural or linguistic heritage (Quave et al, 2012). Through a comparative analysis of data on the use of plants for medical purposes in the research area and published data from neighbouring regions in the Western Balkans (Redžić, 2007;Jarić et al, 2007;Menković et al, 2011;Pieroni et al, 2011;Mustafa et al, 2012aMustafa et al, , 2012bŠavikin et al, 2013;Zlatković et al, 2014;Rexhepi et al, 2013;Kozuharova et al, 2013), we noted that the Suva planina region is most similar to Bosnia and Herzegovina (40.9%) and Bulgaria (40.6%), while within Serbia it shares the greatest similarities with the Zlatibor district (37.2%) and Kopaonik Mt. (32.3%) (Fig.…”

“…In addition to the specific geographical position and the high biological diversity, the solid knowledge of ethnobotany and ethnomedicine in rural parts of Serbia is greatly influenced by ethnic and cultural differences (Jarić, 2014a). In the mountainous regions of the Western Balkans, including Serbia, several ethnobotanical research studies have been undertaken in the past few years with the aim of identifying those medicinal plants growing in the wild and of gaining as thorough an understanding of traditional phytotherapy and customs as possible (Jarić et al, 2007(Jarić et al, , 2011(Jarić et al, , 2014a(Jarić et al, , 2014bRedžić, 2007;Pieroni, 2008;Šarić-Kundalić et al, 2010Šarić-Kundalić et al, , 2011Pieroni et al, 2011;Menković et al, 2011;Mustafa et al, 2012aMustafa et al, , 2012bŠavikin et al, 2013;Zlatković et al, 2014;Kozuharova et al, 2013;Ivancheva and Stantcheva, 2000). Such studies play an important role in preserving traditional phytotherapeutic knowledge, which is at risk of being lost in the future.…”

Tribal Way of Livestock Husbandry: An Ethnobotanical Survey of Purulia District, India in Search for Fodder Plants: Neutraceutical and Pharmaceutical Relevance

“…J. Med. Plant, 9 (3): 105-115, 2015 Stem ( (Mustafa et al 2012). +, ++ and +++ indicate "quoted by <10, >10 and <40 and >40% of the informants, respectively (Table 1).…”