From the sea to the mountains - plant use in Ajara, Samegrelo and Kvemo Svaneti, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus

Abstract

Background: Ajara, Samegrelo and Kvemo Svaneti are historical provinces of Georgia located on the south-facing macro-slope of the western part of the Greater Caucasus (Samegrelo and Kvemo Svaneti) and west of the Lesser Caucasus towards the Black Sea (Ajara). In this study we documented traditional plant use in Ajara, Samegrelo and Kvemo Svaneti.Methods: Fieldwork was conducted from July-August 2014 and June -November 2019. Interviews using semi-structured questionnaires were conducted with 84 participants (40 women and 44 men), with oral prior informed consent. Results:We encountered 276 plant species belonging to 181 genera of 88 vascular plant families, and 3 fungal species and 8x undetermined fungi of at least 9 genera, belonging to at least 7 fungal families, and 1 lichen being used in the research region. Of these 163 species were exclusively wild collected, 114 were grown in homegardens, and 18 were both grown in gardens and collected in the wild. Plants and their uses mostly overlapped among the areas within the region, with a slightly wider divergence in uses than in plants.

Ethnoveterinary and fodder plants used among transhumant communities around Georgia-Turkey border, in the Western Lesser Caucasus

“…It is believed that branches of these species hanged on cattle's forehead protect them from illnesses. The use of Viburnum lantana against evil eye in cattle has also been reported in Georgia (Bussmann et al 2020b, Bussmann 2017. Viburnum lantana is used mostly in Adjara and Artvin.…”

“…The other traditional ethnoveterinary knowledge and practices in the study area were related to reproductivity, respiratory, musculoskeletal and poisoning in livestock. Use of Ruscus colchicus as fodder for cattle has also been reported in Georgia (Bussmann et al 2020b, Bussmann 2017. Ruscus colchicus was reported as an excellent food plant due to its benefits on high milk yield (Khidasheli & Papunidze 2014).…”

“…Among these species, Veratrum album was reported throughout the study area in each administrative region with similar usage in both countries. However, in the literature it has been reported only in Georgia (Bussmann et al 2016a(Bussmann et al , 2016b(Bussmann et al , 2017(Bussmann et al , 2018(Bussmann et al , 2020a(Bussmann et al , 2020b. On the other hand, Achillea millefolium and Picea orientalis were mainly mentioned in Samtskhe-Javakheti and in Artvin respectively.…”

“…A recent review on ethnoveterinary plants highlighted a rich diversity of knowledge with 251 plant taxa used as animal medicine in Turkey (Erarslan & Kültür 2019). Similarly, ethnobotanical studies in Georgia also reported at least 75 plant species used as animal medicine and fodder (Bussmann 2017, Bussmann et al 2016a, 2016b, 2017, 2020a, 2020b. However, more research is needed to reveal the full potential of the ethnoveterinary knowledge and practices in the Caucasus before they disappear.…”

Unity in Diversity - Food Plants and Fungi of Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus

“…Over the last years, ethnobotanical research in Georgia has received a large boost, and a wide variety of studies on all aspects of plant use have been published [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. Few of these however focused entirely of food plants [37,51], many of which are still cultivated in small home-gardens.…”