Ethnobotany in Europe

Anticholinergic plants of the family Solanaceae have a long history of use as medicines, poisons , and recreational drugs. Though they were the intoxicating substances of choice throughout Europe for centuries, their use for these purposes has declined with the globali-sation of other recreational drugs. The present study sought to examine the level of knowledge surrounding these plants among individuals who had used other hallucinogenic plants or mushrooms in Slovenia. Participants were questioned in regards to the anticholinergic Solanaceae that are known to grow wild in Slovenia: Atropa belladonna L., Datura stramo-nium L., Hyoscyamus niger L., and Scopolia carniolica L. As expected, only a small number of individuals had any substantial knowledge of these plants, and fewer still had used them; some were even unfamiliar with any of these plants. Knowledge of toxicity generally arose from family members, while books and the internet played prominent roles in regards to use knowledge. Knowledge of the plants was vastly varied, with many individuals confusing the plants for others, especially other members of the Solanaceae. Ultimately, a small group of individuals had the largest body of knowledge of these plants, though this was linked with university studies rather than traditional uses. Knowledge of the intoxicating Solanaceae has been largely lost in Slovenia among users of other botanical hallucinogens, likely due to the various dangers their use poses and the undesirable effects they often cause.

Species diversity in home gardens in Eastern Tyrol (Austria) has increased during recent decades. Now, 587 species are cultivated, including 75 endangered species. Species were introduced from natural ecosystems, agroecosystems and the market. Use and management of species respond to local needs and reflect co-evolutionary bio-cultural management. Gardens are important in a dynamic concept of in-situ conservation of traditional knowledge of agrobiodiversity and endangered species or local cultivars.

Acorns are not as well documented in archaeobotanical studies as other fruits and seeds, but their role in European and world prehistory and ethnography is evident. In Polish written sources they are described rather as famine food and fodder. A large find of charred acorns from
a Bronze Age storage pit at the Lipnik site (3015±35 uncal bp, after calibration 1392–1128 BC) in SE Poland provoked discussion about the role of wild plants in the human food palaeoeconomy and also about how to distinguish food from fodder in archaeological deposits. On the basis of the botanical context of the find from Lipnik we cannot rule out the use of acorns as fodder, but their use as food in prehistoric and historical times was also possible. Many twigs, buds and delicate
diaspores were preserved in the studied pit, which can be interpreted as fodder or as a type of insulation. The paper presents a survey of acorn archaeological finds from Poland.

Ethnopharmacological relevance
Recent studies have shown that groups sharing the same or very similar environments, but with diverse cultural backgrounds (e.g. different ethnos and/or religion) have considerably different knowledge of folk (medicinal) plant uses. Yet, it is not clear to what extent various factors (such as culture, economy, isolation, and especially social and political situations) contribute to such differences in the utilization of the same natural resources.

Aim of the study
This paper addresses the effect of border created in 1940 and subsequent separation of a single ethnic group on changes in their folk use of medicinal and wild food plants. The Hutsuls of Bukovina had been homogenous for centuries, but were separated in 1940 as a result of the formation of state borders between Romania and the former Soviet Union (now Ukraine). The aim of the study is to analyse if the belonging to this different states for 75 years have induced different changes in local plant use within communities that share a common historical legacy and environment.

Materials and methods
In depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 people in May 2015. Collected data were analysed, and comparisons were made between the data gathered on the two sides of the border for different use categories: medicinal, wild food and veterinary plants, as well as other remedies. Recently collected data were also compared with historical data obtained for the region, medicinal plant folk uses in Romania and medicinal plant uses of The State Pharmacopeia of the Soviet Union.

Results
Divergences in current medicinal plant use are much greater than in the use of wild food plants. The majority of the wild food taxa, including those used for making recreational teas, are also used for medicinal purposes and hence contribute to the food-medicine continuum, representing emergency foods in the past and serving as memory markers for possible future food shortages. Compared with the historical data, considerable changes have occurred within specific medicinal applications and less in the taxa used. The influence of the Soviet State Pharmacopeia on present ethnomedicine on the Ukrainian side is minimal.

Conclusions
Hutsul herbal ethnomedicine on the Ukrainian side of the border has continued to evolve (the abandonment of some uses and the adoption of others), whereas on the Romanian side it has undergone significant erosion with a proportionally smaller adoption of new uses and the leaving behind of possibly more “traditional” uses than on the Ukrainian side. In sum, current ethnomedicinal practices of Hutsuls living on both sides of the border are more extensive than those reported in historical sources. Yet the unknown sampling method employed to collect the historical data and possible skipping of “ordinary” uses by folklorists and ethnographers does not allow for definitive conclusions to be drawn. Cross-cultural and cross-border ethnobotany represents one of the most powerful means for addressing the issue of change and variability of medicinal plant uses and heritage, and further studies in other areas of Eastern Europe and beyond need to address the trajectory proposed by the present study.

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Mixtures of wild food plants, part of the Mediterranean diet, have potential benefits for their content in bioactive compounds, minerals and fibres. In Italy, wild plants are still consumed in various ways, for their taste, effects on health and nutritional value. In this paper, we provide a list of wild plants used in vegetable mixtures, indicating their phytochemical and nutritional profile, highlighting those not yet studied.
Aim of the study: We provide a first complete review of traditional uses of wild food plants used as vegetables and their preparations (e.g., salads, soups, rustic pies). We also highlight their phytochemical constituents.
Materials and Methods: We carried out an extensive literature review of ethnobotanical publications from 1894 to date for finding plants used in traditional vegetable mixtures. We also performed an online search for scientific papers providing the phytochemical profile of plants that were cited at least twice in recipes found in the literature.
Results: We list a total of 276 wild taxa used in traditional vegetable mixtures, belonging to 40 families. Among these, the most represented are Asteraceae (88), Brassicaceae (33), Apiaceae (21), Amaranthaceae (12). Many plants are cited in many recipes across several Italian regions. Among the most cited plant we note: Reichardia picroides (L.) Roth, Sanguisorba minor Scop., Taraxacum campylodes G. E. Haglund, Urtica dioica L. Tuscany is the region with the highest number of food recipes that incorporate wild plants used as vegetables. We also list the phytochemical constituents and some pharmacological activities of the plants cited at least twice. Finally, we discuss topics such as the taste of plants used in the recipes.

Ethnopharmacological relevance
The Norse berserkers were wild warriors of Scandinavia known to enter a trance-like state that allowed them to fight with increased strength and a rage that granted them immunity to many forms of harm in battle. Though many theories have been advanced as to the cause of this state, the most widely believed is that the intoxicating mushroom Amanita muscaria was used.

Aim of the study
The following article underlines the issues with this theory, as well as providing an alternate intoxicant that fits with the reports of berserker behaviour much better: Hyoscyamus niger.

Materials and methods
Literature from a variety of disciplines pertaining to history, toxicology, pharmacology, and botany were compiled to frame and support the argument.

Results
H. niger proved to be a more likely intoxicant used to induce the berserker rage state.

Conclusions
With its anticholinergic tropane alkaloids and symptom profile, H. niger is a much more likely cause of the berserker state than A muscaria. Though there is not enough archaeological and historical evidence to prove or disprove this theory, it provides a novel explanation that is at present the most viable means of understanding the berserkers' trance.

Тази книга е посветена на магията на растенията и тяхното място в живота и духовния свят на нас, хората. Нека чрез знанието да виждаме в растенията и света около нас не само тяхното материално присъствие, а също да се докоснем до надеждите, страховете, опората в трудностите и паметта на тези преди нас. Нека да съхраним това послание за повече смисъл, добро и красиво в живота на тези, които идват след нас.

Част от включените в изданието растения са широкопознати, други са известни основно на носителите на магическото познание, но представянето им и свързаните с тях практики следват стриктна схема. Д-р Георги Мишев започва с официалното название на растението (вкл. латинското му име), последвано от имената, под които е познато в народната ни медицина, кратко ботаническо описание (придружено с цветна снимка), насоки за приложенията му, вкл. свързаната с това обредност според палеографските и етнографските данни, допълнени с информация от емпиричния опит на фитотерапевта Елионора Недялкова за противопоказанията, указания за приготовлението и дозировката на лекарството („Из опита на фитотерапевта“).

Текстовете не претендират за изчерпателност, но дават много добра представа за най-характерните техни черти в обредността, вярванията и лечебните практики на българския народ. За предците ни растенията са били не само материален дар, а също символи и духовни същности. Тази книга припомня и разказва за тези вярвания, празници и ритуални действия, които основно са част от българската традиционна култура, но по пътищата на културното сътрудничество са преминали и в съседните на нас народи.

Peasants in the pre-industrial Sweden made their own clothes of skin and wool. In the 18th-19th centuries, the primary source of dye for wool were wild plants, including roots, berries, bark, leaves, lichen and, later, fungi. Plants would be gathered for this purpose in late spring and summer. Peasants also sold some dye plants to local dyework. This makes the process of local dye plants gathering and application as promising biocultural domain for ethnobiological studies. The use of dye plants required knowledge of traditional folk skills that represented a system of specific logic, taxonomies, and theories. Traditional dyes are also a point of interest for cultural and historical studies. One of Carl Linnaeus's main goals in his travels across Swedish provinces was gathering information about locally used dye plants. The local botanical knowledge could be a valuable economic resource, as it could make expensive imports of dye plants from abroad unnecessary. Carl Linnaeus gathered profuse information on traditional dye plants used in various parts of Sweden, and his pupil Pehr Kalm, on dye plants used in western provinces. A number of dye formula books based on these and other contemporary studies were published in the 18th Century, with some of them surviving today. Many traditional dye plants are still in use. Yarn-dyeing for knitting is thriving at present. Currently popular dye plants include: cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris L.), tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.), lady's mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris L.), northern bestraw (Galium boreale L.), and especially Birch leaves (Betula sp.). Stone lichen (Parmelia saxatilis (L.) Ach.), producing a deep-brown colour, has been in use for home-dyeing all over Sweden.

This book reports on an old and venerable discipline, the study of European wild food plants and herbal medicines, invigorated by a new generation of researchers pursuing modern ethnobotanical studies in new contexts. It offers new insights into the past and contemporary uses of wild plant resources, which despite decades in decline still play an important role for many rural communities. Recently, some of these wild plants and the practices associated with them have received renewed attention as symbols of local identities -or forms of intangible cultural heritage 1 -perceived to be under threat or as new resources for local economic growth. However, the future of these traditions is uncertain, as some are not practised any more and for others the resources themselves are under pressure due to continuing expansion and intensifi cation of human environments. An important theme to emerge from these studies is the need for new theoretical and practical approaches that link the revaluation of plant-based cultural heritage with the conservation and use of biocultural diversity.

La plupart des objets exposés dans les musées ethnographiques ont été confectionnés à partir de matériaux naturels : minéraux, animaux ou végétaux. Parmi ces objets, on trouve également un certain nombre de plantes : médicinales, tinctoriales, artisanales, magiques etc. L’ethnobotanique, qui est une discipline consacrée aux relations flore/société, dispose d’une méthodologie appliquée à la récolte et au traitement de ces échantillons. Mais comment les ethnologues ont-ils travaillé à partir de ces objets ? En documentant les 189 échantillons de plantes médicinales conservés au musée du quai Branly, l’auteur propose de s’intéresser à la place des « objets en plante » et plus particulièrement à celle des plantes médicinales dans les collectes ethnographiques. La documentation du fond bibliographique du musée consacré aux rapports homme/nature complète ce travail en esquissant l’histoire de l’ethnobotanique et de « l’ethnologie botanique ».

Ficha que recoge  los conocimientos tradicionales relacionados con la gestión,  cultivo, manejo y usos de la zanahoria (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) en las diferentes regiones del Estado Español en las que se ha cultivado esta planta de forma tradicional.

В статье представлен этимологический и лингвогеографический анализ слов пучка и умра, зафиксированных в русских говорах Прикамья и обозначающих различные зонтичные растения (Heracleum sibiricum L., Angelica archangelica L., Conium maculatum L. и др.) или дудчатый стебель зонтичных. Представлен опыт таксономической идентификации растений, которые обозначаются лексемами пучка и умра, их вариантами и производными. Прикамский диалектный материал нанесен на карту и сопоставлен со сходным севернорусским. Утверждается финно-угорское происхождение лексем (для слова умра этимология предлагается впервые).
[The paper proposes an etymological and geographical-distribution analysis of the words puchka and umra, recorded in Russian dialects in the Kama Region. They denote various Umbelliferae plants (Heracleum sibiricum L., Angelica archangelica L., Conium maculatum L., etc.) or the fistular stem of Umbelliferae plants. A tentative taxonomic identification of plants denoted by the lexemes puchka and umra or their variants/ derivatives is proposed. All Kama Region dialect data are mapped and compared with similar Northern Russian data. The Finno-Ugric origin of the lexemes is established, with an etymology of umra proposed for the first time.]

Among the several thousand parasitic plants that thrive in a
wide range of ecosystems, a few hold a special position,
either for their scientific interest, economic importance, or
historical relevance. Cynomorium belongs to the latter,
exclusive guild

Papaver is popular component in European mythologies, fairy tales, rituals and short forms of folklore (oral literature), it appears as a specific cultural construct. Main goal of the article is to analyze the meanings of this plant occured in Polish folk tales, referring also
to cultural practice and phytotherapeutic knowledge, which is the source of symbolism connecting papaver with the dream world, death, demonic creatures and initiation in traditional folklore. The lifespan of the papaver in the ethnobotanical consciousness of Poles definitely distinguish oneself from other herbs, it is proved by surveys conducted for the purposes of the article. Changes in economic and cultural realities have resulted in a sharp decline of herbal knowledge, the disappearance of rituals and magical practices (including this with use of poppy seeds) in Poland, nevertheless papaver is still a plant which physiological
effect and an important place during holidays (most often Christmas) is known to almost everyone in Poland. Contemporary oral literature with the papaver component refers mainly to the home-made production of drugs with opium, it creates new plot content (also with comic elements), which passages are included in the article. These strands enrich the resources of Polish folklore about plants.

« Ateliers ethnobotaniques », « sorties ethnobotaniques », « jardins ethnobotaniques » : l’ethnobotanique est à la mode. Historiquement pratiquée au Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle et délaissée par les universités, la discipline est aujourd’hui investie par les acteurs associatifs. Mais aussi par l’ethnopôle de Salagon qui organise depuis 2001, dans les Alpes de Haute-Provence, un séminaire consacré exclusivement à l’ethnobotanique. Créé sous l’égide de la mission du patrimoine ethnologique, le conservatoire ethnologique de Salagon (devenu en 1999 Musée départemental), par ailleurs labellisé ethnopôle et membre de la Fédération des écomusées de France, forme chaque année une centaine d’ethnobotanistes « professionnels » ou « amateurs » qui marchent dans les pas du fondateur Pierre Lieutaghi. Au « carrefour des sciences naturelles et des sciences humaines », l’ethnobotanique fait ses classes à Salagon.

Chios, one of the largest islands in the Eastern Mediterranean, became internationally known during the 13th century due to the production of the Chios mastic in twenty one villages on the south, the resin of the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus L. var. chia (Desf. ex Poiret) DC.), to which many beneficial properties and uses had already been attributed in the antiquity. The international demand for mastic led the various conquerors of Chios to prohibit free trade and lay down a system for monopoly distribution. After the island was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1566, following a period of almost two centuries of Genoan rule (1346 to 1566), the valuable product of Chios Mastic constitutes one of the monopolies of the Ottoman State. The present article aims firstly to present the botanical aspect of Chios Mastic, the mastic tree (P. lentiscus var chia), as well as the cultivation and harvesting methods of the produce. Secondly, by investigating the historical sources it aims to present the geography of the mastic trade in the East and West from the 17th through to the 19th century, while at the same time analyzing the monopoly trade system established by the Ottoman State. Thirdly, it analyzes the international demand for the Chios mastic during this same period in the international markets, focussing on the beneficial qualities attributed to it. Finally, it examines the validity of the information published in geographical and traveller’s journals during the period in question, evaluating the conclusions of the relevant modern scientific research. This article is based mainly on studying sources such as geographical and traveller’s manuscripts dated back from the 17th until the 19th century, which are kept in the “Korais” Central Public Historical Library, as well as other historical sources examining the period in question.

During the pregnancy period, the pregnant woman becomes vulnerable to certain pathologies. In rural areas, several plants are used to treat pregnant women. The objective of this study was to inventory the plants used by traditional healers for the preparation of traditional remedies used for monitoring pregnancy. The ethnobotanical survey was conducted using a  questionnaire by the semi-structured interview method. Most of the 104 traditional healers interviewed were women (88.46%) and were over the age of 45 (80.77%). A total of 27 plant species distributed among 26 genera and 18 families were cited. Plants were classified according to different stages of pregnancy. Thus, those used throughout the duration of pregnancy represented 33.33%. The most used organs were the leaves with 88%. Kneading (98%) and maceration (2%) were the preparation methods mentioned, with water as solvent for the preparation of recipes. These remedies were administered by anal (98%) and oral (2%) routes. Among the plants mentioned Secamone afzelii (Cpr = 11,37%), Mallotus oppositifolius (Cpr = 10.11%) and Turraea heterophylla (Cpr = 9.57%) were used throughout the period of pregnancy and contributed the most to the preparation of recipes. This study draws up a nonexhaustive list of plants used by pregnant women for the good development of their pregnancy. These plant resources deserve biological and chemical studies with a view of their good development.

Речник српских народних веровања о биљкама Веселина
Чајкановића је једно од најисцрпнијих и најсистематичнијих дела по-
свећених народним знањима и веровањима о магијским и лековитим
својствима биљака код Срба. Поред етноботаничких концепата, Чајка-
новић се у овом делу дотицао и народних представа о болестима које су
залазиле у сферу демонологије и народне религије Срба. Чајкановићева
постхумно објављена студија послужила је као основ за многа потоња
истраживања етномедицинских представа у домаћој етнологији и ан-
тропологији. На основу етнографске евиденције изнесене у Речнику,
овај текст смо конципирали као покушај стицања прецизнијих увида
у то на које је начине наш народ перципирао, дефинисао, разврставао
и класификовао биље, претварајући еколошко окружење у ресурс за
физички опстанак и несметано социокултурно функционисање колек-
тива. Традиционалне руралне заједнице српског становништва жи-
веле су у блиском додиру с природом, а способности идентификације
и груписања сличних врста, њиховог разликовања од других врста,
као и комуникација тог знања будућим нараштајима биле су кључне
за опстанак заједнице. Наш задатак у овом раду ће бити проналажење
менталног модела природе у традиционалној српској култури и њему
својственог скупа елементарних принципа помоћу којих је у контексту
традиционалног српског села биљни свет био перципиран и коришћен.
Крећући се овим путем настојаћемо да покажемо како богата и деце-
нијама нагомилавана етноботаничка грађа може да се реинтерпретира
осавремењеним методолошким оквирима структуралне и когнитивне
антропологије.

Ficha que recoge  los conocimientos tradicionales relacionados con la gestión,  cultivo, manejo y usos del trigo sarraceno (Fagopyrum esculentum) en las diferentes regiones del Estado Español en las que se ha cultivado esta planta de forma tradicional.