engleski

Traditional wild food plants used in Knin area, Croatia

The documentation of the traditional knowledge of wild edible plants use in Dalmatian hinterland is of great importance because the human population of that region is rapidly decreasing. The aim of this preliminary study was to record the use of wild plants as food by indigenous people in Knin area in south-eastern Croatia. Forty eight native inhabitants (38 female and 10 male) were interviewed during 40 semi-structured interviews. Presented data was extracted from broader research on plant use in the area. The uses and preparations of 85 plant taxa belonging to 37 families and 194 vernacular names from 630 citations were recorded. Lamiaceae, Compositeae and Rosaceae were the most represented families, and the most commonly used wild plants for food were Urtica dioica L., Thymus longicaulis C. Presl, Sambucus nigra L., Cornus mas L. and Rosa canina L. Plants are predominantly used as vegetables and as infusion followed by syrups. The holders of the knowledge are older native inhabitants (median age was 71), while their decedents mostly moved out of the area. There is serious danger of loss of the traditional knowledge of wild plants use for food.

ethnobotany, wild edible plants, foraging, infusion, syrups

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