pdf (springer nesli 2 licence) - Pharmacy Eprints

WILD GATHERED FOOD PLANTS IN THE EUROPEAN 

MEDITERRANEAN: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 1 

M. LEONTI, S. NEBEL, D. RIVERA, AND M. HEINRICH 

M. Leonti (Center for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, The School of Pharmacy, University 

of London, 29-39 Brunswick Sq., London WC1N lAX, Tel.: 0044-(0)20-7753-5844, Fax: 0044- 

(0)20-7753-5909, Center e-mail: phyto@pharmacy.ac.uk; Dipartimento Farmaco Chimico Tec- 

nologico, Universitg~ di Cagliari, Italy), S. Nebel (Center for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, 

The School of Pharmacy, University of London, 29-39 Brunswick Sq., London WC1N lAX, Tel.: 

0044-(0)20-7753-5844, Fax: 0044-(0)20-7753-5909, Center e-mail: phyto@pharmacy.ac.uk), 

D. Rivera (Departamento de Biolog[a Vegetal, Facultad de Biologda, Universidad de Murcia, 

30100 Murcia, Spain), and M. Heinrich (corresponding author, Center for Pharmacognosy 

and Phytotherapy, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, 29-39 Brunswick Sq., Lon- 

don WC1N lAX, Tel.: 0044-(0)20-7753-5844, Fax: 0044-(0)20-7753-5909, Center e-mail: 

phyto@pharmacy.ac.uk). WILD GATHERED FOOD PLANTS 1N THE EUROPEAN MEDITERRANEAN: 

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS. Economic Botany 60(2): 130-142, 2006, The Mediterranean basin 

has a long and multifaceted cultural history and harbors a high biodiversity. Epidemiological 

studies have drawn attention to certain traditional Mediterranean diets. However, wild gathered 

food species, which are an important, but fast disappearing element of these diets, so far have 

been largely neglected in scientific studies. In this study we compare ethnobotanical data ob- 

tained from field studies conducted in Southern Italy, Southern Spain, mainland Greece, and 

Crete resulting in the identification of a core group of 18 culinary used wild gathered plant 

species. This group comprises species like Papaver rhoeas L., Sonchus asper L., S. oleraceus 

L., and Silene vulgaris L. We argue that the culinary use of wild gathered weedy greens evolved 

together with the neolithization process, since this offered the necessary ecological niches for 

them to thrive, thereby enriching and securing the diets of European agriculturalists. Especially 

wild gathered Asteraceae species seem to form a sort of proto-nutraceutical, which accounts for 

a significant input of biologically active compounds in the diet. 

PLANTAS SILVESTRES COMESTIBLES RECOLECTADAS EN EL MEDITERR~NEO EUROPEO: UN ANALI- 

SIS COMPARATIVO. I1 bacino Mediterraneo ha vissuto una lunga e multisfaccettata storia culturale 

e gode di una ricca biodiversitS. Studi epidemiologici hanno attirato attenzione su certe diete 

mediterranee. Attualmente l'uso culinario di piante selvagge e commestibili, elemento impor- 

tante di queste diete, si sta perdendo e ha ricevuto poca attenzione dal punto di vista scientifico. 

In questo lavoro mettiamo a paragone una serie di dati etnobotanici ottenuti da ricerche di campo 

nel sud dell'Italia, nel sud della Spagna, nella Grecia e a Creta risultanti nell'identificazione di 

un gruppo principale di 18 specie selvatiche ad uso culinario. Questo gruppo comprende specie 

come il Papaver rhoeas L., il Sonchus asper L., il S. oleraceus L. e il Silene vulgaris L. Metti- 

amo in evidenza che l'evoluzione dell'uso culinario delle verdure selvatiche ~ avvenuto durante 

il processo di neolitizazzione poichd questo ha fomito le nicchie ecologiche necessarie. Attra- 

verso il lorD uso gli agricoltori europei hanno arricchito e assicurato la lorD dicta. In modo parti- 

colare le specie raccolte selvatiche appartenenti alle Astaraceae sembrano formare un proto- 

integratore rappresentando una fonte significativa di composti biologicamente attivi nella dicta. 

PIANTE COMMESTIBILI RACCOLTE IN AMBIENTE SELVATICO NELL'EUROPA MEDITERRANEA: 

ANALISI COMPARATIVA. La Cuenca Mediterr~nea tiene una historia cultural larga y po- 

lifacrtica y alberga una biodiversidad extraordinaria. Diversos estudios epidemiolrgicos han 

atrafdo atencidn sobre algunas dietas mediterr~ineas tradicionales. Sin embargo, las especies 

silvestres comestibles recolectadas, un elemento importante de estas dietas que va desapare- 

ciendo r~pidamente, han sido hasta ahora casie olvidadas en los estudios cientfficos. En este 

artfculo comparamos datos etnobotfinicos obtenidos de estudios de campo realizados en el sur 

de Italia, de Espafia y de la Grecia continental yen Creta, que conducen a la identificacidn de 

un grupo central de 18 especies de plantas recolectadas, silvestres, usadas en alimentacidn. 

l Received 30 November 2005; accepted on 1 March 2006. 

Economic Botany, 60(2), 2006, pp. 130-142. 

9 2006, by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.

2006] LEONTI, ET AL.: WILD EUROPEAN FOOD PLANTS 131 

Este grupo comprende especies como Papaver rhoeas L., Sonchus asper L., S. oleraceus L. y 

Silene vulgaris L. Sostenemos que el uso culinario de verduras silvestres y de hierbas de los 

campos de cultivo evolucion6 asociado al proceso del neolitizaci6n, que ofreci6 los nichos 

ecol6gicos necesarios para el desarrollo de estas especies, enriqueciendo y afianzando las di- 

etas de los primeros agricultores europeos. Especialmente las especies silvestres recolectadas 

de [la familia] Asteraceae, parecen constituir un tipo de proto-nutracrutico que aporta signi- 

ficativamente compuestos biol6gicamente activos a la dieta. 

Key words: Mediterranean basin, wild (local) food, comparative analysis, (comparative) 

ethnobotany, Neolithicum, weeds, Mediterranean diet(s), history of plant use. 

INTRODUCTION 

Both in anthropology and ecology, a now clas- 

sical distinction has been made between hunter- 

gatherers and agriculturalists. The former were 

seen to rely regularly on non-cultivated managed 

plants, and the latter strictly on cultivated ones 

(Shanin 1971). In recent years, various studies 

have shown that non-cultivated wild gathered 

plants play an important role in supplying sea- 

sonal food in rural Mediterranean communities 

(Pieroni et al. 2002; Bonet and Vall~s 2002; 

Rivera et al. 2005; Tard~o et al. 2005; Tardio et 

al. 2006). Wild gathered weedy greens, compris- 

ing vegetables and salads, are an especially 

important element in local dietary traditions. 

Non-cultivated plants grow spontaneously in 

self-maintaining populations in natural or semi- 

natural ecosystems and can exist independently 

of direct human action (Heywood 1999). In prac- 

tice, the distinction between cultivated and non- 

cultivated species or varieties is not easy since a 

continuous spectrum between totally wild and 

fully domesticated species exists (Harlan 1992; 

Moerman 1994; Logan and Dixon 1994; Hey- 

wood 1999). For instance, there are weedy and 

cultivated races of einkorn, barley, sorghum, rice, 

oats, pearl millet, potato, tomato, pepper, sun- 

flower, carrots, radish, and lettuce (Harlan 1992). 

Plant and animal domestication is regarded 

as the most important cultural development in 

the past 13,000 years of human history and, as a 

consequence, today we depend on that tiny 

fraction of several species that have been do- 

mesticated (Diamond 2002). But anthropolo- 

gists and nutritionists argue that contemporary 

humans are, in a genetic sense, still Stone Agers 

and, therefore, are adapted to a pre-agricultural 

nutritional pattern (Mann 2004). In contrast to 

our current Western diet, the Paleolithic diet 

generally consisted more of animal protein, less 

serum cholesterol-raising fat, an almost equal 

omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio, almost exclu- 

sively fruit- and vegetable-derived carbohy- 

drates (no grains, refined sugars, or dairy prod- 

ucts), more fiber, and more phytochemicals. 

Eaton (2000) and Cordain et al. (2002) com- 

pared a Paleolithic model experimental diet, 

and dietary and epidemiological data of hunter- 

gatherers with dietary and epidemiological data 

of current Western civilization. In conclusion 

they claimed that the alteration of seven major 

functional dietary factors, i.e., glycemic load, 

fatty acid balance, macronutrient balance, trace 

nutrient density, acid-base balance, sodium- 

potassium balance, and fiber content, are in 

great part responsible for western life-style dis- 

eases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, 

neoplastic diseases, and osteoporosis (Eaton 

2000; Mann 2004; Cordain et al. 2005). 

With respect to the Mediterranean region, 

epidemiological studies confirm the influence 

of dietary habits on morbidity patterns and cor- 

relate the consumption of fruits, vegetables, 

olive oil, and red wine specifically with a lower 

rate of coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, 

and a greater longevity in general (De Lorgeril 

et al. 1994, 1998; Keys 1970; Keys 1980; 

Trichopoulou et al. 2000). More specifically, a 

clinical trial within the "Lyon Diet Heart 

Study" concluded that an alpha-linolenic acid- 

rich Mediterranean diet was able to lower the 

rate of cardiovascular complications after my- 

ocardial infarction (De Lorgeril et al. 1994, 

1999). Sources of omega-3 fatty acids like 

alpha linolenic acid are green vegetables, nuts, 

seeds, game, and wild seafood while wild gath- 

ered vegetables are especially rich in alpha- 

linolenic acids and antioxidants (Biesalski and 

Grimm 2004; Crawford et al. 2000; Lionis et al. 

1998; Zeghichi et al. 2003). 

Also, food is far more than nutrition or culi- 

nary art. The relationship between diet and the 

condition of the human body and psyche has

132 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 60 

been a subject of discussion at least since 

Plato's times (Skiadas and Lascaratos 2001). It 

is now generally accepted that plants may be 

used both as medicine and food; moreover, it is 

difficult to draw a separating line between these 

two categories (Etkin 1996; Moerman 1994; 

Rivera et al. 2005). 

The main goals of this project were to assess 

the diversity of wild gathered food plants and 

their role in local nutrition and cuisine from a 

socio-economic and socio-anthropological per- 

spective as well as to characterize a representa- 

tive part of the ethnobotanically documented 

plant species pharmacologically as well as 

chemically (Heinrich et al. 2005; Loboda et al. 

2005; Schaffer et al. 2005; The Local Food- 

Nutraceutical Consortium 2005). In this contri- 

bution, which follows a series of publications 

addressing the pharmacological properties of 

wild gathered food plants, we want to explore 

the historical context, characterize the differ- 

ences between wild gathered and cultivated 

species, and compare the ethnobotanical results 

of the three major field study sites within this 

project: Spain, Italy, and Greece. 

THE PREHISTORIC AND HISTORIC 

CONTEXT OF AGRICULTURAL 

CROPS~ VEGETABLES~ AND WEEDS 

Wild gathered food plants have been part of 

the human diet since time immemorial and it is 

argued that past societies made more use of the 

wild flora than is done nowadays (Diamond 

2002; Harlan 1992; King 1994). Today, only in 

rural communities and especially among (ex- 

tant) hunter-gatherer societies do wild gathered 

foods contribute substantially to the human 

diet. This is certainly true since, beginning 

about 8600-8000 BC, agricultural practices 

began to provide humankind with carbohy- 

drates from cereals and proteins from pulses 

(Zohary and Hopf 2000). The earliest remains 

of the neolithization process in Southern Eu- 

rope are dated to 6800 BC in Greece and 

around 6000 BC in Southeast Italy, Sicily, 

Southern France, and Southern Spain (Zohary 

and Hopf 2000). 

As a consequence of agricultural activities, 

the diet changed dramatically to the heavy re- 

liance on only two or three staple crops (Logan 

and Dixon 1994). Apparently there were no 

vegetables among the "first wave" of domesti- 

cates in the Near East (Zohary and Hopf 2000). 

The earliest remains of cultivated vegetables 

stem from Bronze-Age Egypt (around 2000 

BC), but since the soft and therefore easily per- 

ishable parts of tubers and vegetables stand a 

low chance of being charred and preserved in 

archaeological contexts, it is impossible to say 

when and where exactly vegetables were culti- 

vated for the first time (Zohary and Hopf 

2000). In large part, however, cultivated veg- 

etables represent an ecological by-product of 

early agricultural practices by entering domes- 

tication via the back door of weed evolution 

(Logan and Dixon 1994; Willerding 1986; Zo- 

hary and Hopf 2000). Here we treat weeds as 

"wild plants" because their gene pool is not af- 

fected deliberately or intentionally by human 

activity, even though they thrive in domesti- 

cated landscapes. Presumably tolerated and 

gathered weeds co-evolved with the crop har- 

vest techniques until being taken actively into 

cultivation and transformed into the agricul- 

tural races known today. 

During early agriculture, plant species from 

natural communities--which were pioneers of 

secondary successions and endowed with short 

life cycles and high reproductive capacity--in- 

vaded the open space that had been created for 

crop cultivation (Barrett 1983). By evolving into 

weedy forms and thriving on the tilled arable 

land, they created serious problems because 

practices that tend to favor crops also tend to 

favor weeds (Harlan 1992; Zohary and Hopf 

2000). Weed evolution went hand-in-hand with 

crop cultivation (Harlan 1992; Zohary and Hopf 

2000) because weeds belong to the same ecolog- 

ical type as most crop plants (Willerding 1986). 

Generally, weeds accompanying agricultural 

crops are short-lived plants with life cycles 

adapted to the specific crop plants and, in some 

cases, can be distributed only together with these 

"hosts" (Jacomet et al. 1989; Willerding 1986). 

The Middle East is not only one of the largest 

gene centers for cultivated plants in the world, 

but it is also the largest center for weeds and the 

cradle for many weeds common to the temperate 

and warm-temperate zones of the world (Zohary 

1973). Our modern weeds, and presumably all of 

our obligate weeds, did not exist in their present 

form before agriculture (Harlan 1992). 

Most if not all leafy wild vegetables and the 

wild progenitors of today's cultivated vegeta- 

bles are weeds (Maurizio 1927). For example, 

the family Brassicaceae furnishes many weeds,


wild gathered food species and crop plants. In 

Sicily alone, 24 wild Brassicaceae from 16 gen- 

era are occasionally exploited as vegetables 

(Heywood 1999), and at least 13 European 

Brassicaceae species are under cultivation 

(Franke 1997; Harlan 1992). The genera Bras- 

sica, Sinapis, and Raphanus are referred to es- 

pecially as aggressive weeds capable of infest- 

ing agricultural land. These genera also account 

for many cultivated and wild-gathered species 

and varieties (Heywood 1999; Maurizio 1927; 

Zohary and Hopf 2000). 

The habitats for weeds in Central Europe de- 

veloped with agriculture and the construction of 

villages around 5500 BC (4500 BC uncal.) 

(Willerding 1986). Weeds follow ecologic 

niches created by human activity like fields, 

gardens, fallow grounds, pastures, and villages 

as well as natural disturbances of all kinds. 

Also, they can be introduced intentionally or 

unintentionally into ecosystems (Fenton 2000; 

Harlan 1992; Stepp and Moerman 2001). Be- 

fore the adaptation of agriculture in Central Eu- 

rope, weeds would have had a chance to thrive 

only in very few highly frequented Mesolithic 

resting areas (Willerding 1986), anthropogenic 

clearances, and natural succession zones. Fur- 

thermore, unintentional introduction of weeds 

during the Mesolithic period could have oc- 

curred only with species that have bur fruits; 

later species with shedding seeds were intro- 

duced by way of contaminated crop seeds 

spreading via the corridor of the neolithization 

process from the Near East and the Balkans 

(Willerding 1986). Prior to agricultural prac- 

tice, habitats where wild leafy vegetables could 

thrive and be gathered were marginal and had 

very limited extensions in Europe since dense 

woody ecosystems dominated the landscape 

(Eberle 1975; Harlan 1992; Willerding 1986). 

Agricultural practice has not decreased the 

availability of wild plant resources as noted, for 

example, by King (1994) but rather has 

changed the bias from starchy resources from 

trees (acorns, nuts, beechnuts, cambium) 

toward a diversification and increase in the use 

of weeds as vegetables. Apart from providing 

valuable nutrients, vitamins, omega-3 fatty 

acids, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and fiber, 

these vegetables were also part of the back-up 

resources should the crop harvest fail (Fenton 

2000; Huss-Ashmore and Johnston 1994; Mau- 

rizio 1927). 

LOCAL FOOD IN ~OUTHERN EUROPE 

The many rural areas and communities in 

Southern Europe, which follow traditional life 

styles and which provide examples of tradi- 

tional agricultural practice, serve as prime ex- 

amples of using disturbed habitats and the 

weeds growing there. This includes the use of 

vegetables and fruits gathered in the wild. 

Southern Europe (Albania, Greece, Cyprus, 

Malta, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal) harbors a 

large number of botanical species, a great pro- 

portion of which are endemic (Eberle 1975). It 

is estimated that the Mediterranean countries 

altogether harbor around 20,000 botanical 

species (Bayer et al. 1990), including weedy 

and shrubby species, many of which have so far 

not been investigated chemically and pharma- 

cologically. 

However, due to changing socio-economical 

contexts, the use of wild gathered greens is de- 

creasing (Bonet and Vallbs 2002; Pieroni et al. 

2002; Tardfo et al. 2005). It is noteworthy that 

this loss in local knowledge and use of wild 

gathered plant species is paralleled by an in- 

creased interest in such resources by the gastro- 

nomic and intellectual elite in the search for 

new stimuli, culinary experiences, and healthy 

food (for example, visit http://www.slowfood.it). 

Forbes (1976) reports that in past winters, 

many villagers ate wild greens as a main dish 

with bread and olive oil as often as every day, 

compared to twice a week in 1975. In Galli- 

cian6 (Nebel 2005), people report that wild 

gathered foods were especially important dur- 

ing World War II when food was scarce and that 

some decades ago, people working in the fields 

ate freshly gathered wild vegetables with bread 

and olive oil for lunch. Wild gathered foods 

represented a healthy and adequate way to cope 

with food shortages derived from crop failure or 

financial poverty. Nowadays, young people 

from remote rural villages like Gallician6 mi- 

grate abroad where they work to earn money, 

which allows them to pay the bills and buy the 

Western goods they did not have before. The 

few young people remaining in the villages 

only occasionally follow the tradition of gather- 

ing wild foods since small food markets with 

conventional foods have opened and displaced 

the traditional life style. 

Nevertheless, wild vegetables and fruits are 

still used in traditional dishes mainly by the


older generation. Both sexes gather wild veg- 

etables. In Castelmezzano (Southern Italy) and 

Sierra de Segura (Southern Spain), women are 

more knowledgeable, which seems to be the 

rule in the Mediterranean (Forbes 1976; Nebel 

2005; Pieroni et al. 2005; Verde et al. 1998, 

2001). 

Leafy wild greens can be gathered from late 

autumn until early summer with a peak of abun- 

dance in the springtime. Historically, winter is 

considered the worst time of the year because of 

the limited range of foods available. It is during 

this period that the wild gathered vegetables 

offer dietary diversity (Forbes 1976). Wild gath- 

ered vegetables therefore can be nutritionally 

important (Tukan et al. 1998) by supplying vita- 

mins, omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty 

acids (PUFAs), minerals, antioxidants, and fiber 

(Huss-Ashmore and Johnston 1994; Zeghichi et 

al. 2003) at a time when garden vegetables are 

not yet ready to be harvested and no fresh fruits 

are available. 

METHODS 

The field studies of the "Local Food- 

Nutraceuticals" project took place in six rural 

communities or regions of Greece, Italy, and 

Spain between 2002 and 2004; most of the indi- 

vidual studies already have been published. The 

fieldwork in Greece was undertaken in the Her- 

aklion province on the island of Crete and in 

the region of Zahorochoria in the province of 

Ioannina in the northwestern part of the Greek 

mainland. The Italian study sites are Castelmez- 

zano, a Southern Italian village in the region of 

Basilicata (Pieroni et al. 2005) and the ethnic 

Greek community of Gallician6 in the region of 

Calabria (Nebel 2005; Nebel et al. n.d.). The 

field sites in Spain were in the Serranfa de 

Cuenca, Sierras de Alcaraz and Segura, A1- 

bacete, and Murcia (Rivera et al. 2005; Verde et 

al. 2003). 

Similar methods, including semi-structured 

interviews and participant observation, were 

used in all the field sites to document the tradi- 

tional knowledge regarding wild gathered food 

plants. Detailed information about the species 

used including recipes, seasonal availability, 

and the popularity of their use was pooled in a 

database for in-depth analysis and comparison. 

In order to secure database uniformity and com- 

parability, mushrooms were excluded from the 

discussion even though they are eagerly gath- 

ered (for details, see Heinrich et al. 2005; Nebel 

et al. n.d.; Pieroni et al. 2005; Rivera et al. 

2005, 2006). 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 

FOOD PLANTS IN SIX MEDITERRANEAN 

REGIONS 

Wild gathered vegetables are a category of 

their own regarding folk taxonomic aspects. In 

Crete, edible wild greens are called vrouves or 

horta, while in Epirus they are called lahana. In 

Castellmezzano wild gathered greens are called 

foglie (leaves) and include semi-cultivated 

species (Pieroni et al. 2005), while in Galli- 

cian6 they are called chbrta (Nebel 2005), i.e., 

greens used as food or herbs. The people inhab- 

iting the mountain ranges of Alcaraz and Se- 

gura of Southern Spain do not use a term to de- 

scribe wild gathered greens as a whole. Instead 

they use three terms to describe different 

groups of wild gathered greens: collejas de- 

scribes the plants from which the young sprouts 

and leaves are used; esparragos describes those 

from which the young shoots are eaten, such as 

Asparagus sp., Bryonia sp., or Humulus sp.; 

and the term chicorias refers to the Cichori- 

oides (Asteraceae), which typically is con- 

sumed raw in salads like Cichorium sp., Chon- 

drilla sp., Taraxacum sp., or Leontodon sp. 

(Verde et al. 2003). 

In the six field studies, we documented 318 

wild or semi-cultivated food plant species: 173 

species in Spain, 147 in Greece, and 84 in Italy 

(Fig. 1). Of these, only 18 are used in all three 

countries (Table 2). The genera with the highest 

number of species used are Taraxacum (11), 

Rumex (9), Allium (8), Prunus (8), and Onopor- 

don (7). The most common mode of prepara- 

tion is first cooking and then frying them to- 

gether with garlic and olive oil (Table 1). The 

plant family contributing the most members to 

wild gathered food plants is the Asteraceae with 

a total of 83 species (26%). The second most 

important family is the Rosaceae with 36 gath- 

ered species whose fruits are either eaten raw, 

dried, or in the form of jams. In general, wild 

fruit like blackberries, pears, or arbutus fruit, 

are preferably eaten by children (Forbes 1976; 

Gait and Gait 1978; Nebel 2005; Tardfo et al. 

2005). The 24 Liliaceae (s. 1.) are sought for 

their corms as well as for their shoots. Shoots 

such as Asparagus spp. are fried with eggs and


~Greece 147 

105 

26 

118 

27 - 

Spain 173) 

Fig. 1. Wild gathered species recorded during field research: Spain 173, Greece, 147, Italy 84. 

the bulbs of Muscari comosum (L.) Mill., 

which have been in demand since the early 

Roman times (Apicius 1991), often pickled. 

The 20 Apiaceae are used as vegetables or 

salads [Apium nodiflorum (L.) Lag.] or as 

spices [Foeniculum vulgare ssp. piperitum 

(Ucria) Cout]. The Brassicaceae (19) are one of 

the most important sources for wild gathered 

greens as well as cultivated species. Eruca 

sativa Mill. (rocket salad) has become very 

popular in recent years and is used raw in sal- 

ads while species from the genus Brassica and 

Sinapis are boiled and then fried with garlic. 

Most of the 14 Lamiaceae are used as spices 

and infusions (Thymus spp., Mentha spp., and 

Origanum spp.) except Prasium majus L. from 

Crete, which is stir-fried or used in traditional 

vegetable pies. The Boraginaceae are frequently 

used in Spain (7 out of 11) where they are an 

ingredient for a hot-pot with chickpeas or pota- 

toes. The 10 Fabaceae are exploited for their 

seeds with a few exceptions where the flowers 

(Robinia pseudoacacia L.) or the roots (Gly- 

cyrrhiza glabra L.) are used. 

In order to contrast the importance of a plant 

family regarding their number of wild gathered 

species, the second column of Table 1 shows 

the number of cultivated species with European 

parentage. The plant family with most species 

under cultivation in Europe and adjacent areas 

is the Apiaceae with 14 species cultivated 

today while only one Boraginaceae (Borago of- 

ficinalis L.) is cultivated for food purposes 

(Franke 1997; Harlan 1992; Zohary and Hopf 

2000). 

A COMPARISON OF THE FOOD 

PLANT USAGE 

The most striking aspect of the comparison is 

the great diversity and relatively low degree of 

overlap of species used in the three countries, 

which of course depends also on the geographi- 

cal distribution of the species. On the other 

hand and considering the common cultural 

background, a comparison between the plants 

used by the descendents of the Magna Graecia 

in Southern Italy (Gallicianb) and in Greece 

(Crete and Epirus), both living in regions with 

similar vegetation, is highly illuminating (Hein- 

rich et al. 2005; Nebel and Heinrich n. d.). Of 

the 38 plants used in Gallicianb, 21 are used in 

Greece, too. 

Apium nodiflorum (L.) Lag is used in Italian 

communities and the Graecanic area, but only 

one reference to the use of A. nodiflorum in 

Greece (Cyprus) was found in the literature 

(Savvides 2000). Reseda alba L. is heavily used 

in Gallician6 but not in Italian communities

136 

TABLE 1. 

RANEAN. 

ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 60 

PLANT FAMILIES MOST UTILIZED FOR WILD GATHERED FOODS IN THE EUROPEAN MEDITER- 

Number of 

Family species* Parts used Preparation Period of gathering 

Asteraceae 83 Whorls, shoots, stems, Boiled and fried with Spring 

(c:6/r:8) roots, receptacles olive oil and garlic 

Rosaceae 36 Fruits Raw, jam, dried Summer, autumn 

(c:l 3/r:3) 

Liliaceae (s. 1.) 24 Bulbs, corms Omelet, boiled and Spring, Autumn, 

(c:8/r:7) fried, pickled winter 

Apiaceae 20 Shoots, leaves, roots, Salad, boiled and fried, Spring, summer 

(c: 14/r: 1) seeds spice 

Brassicaceae 19 Shoots, leaves Salad, boiled and fried Winter, spring 

(c: 13/r:2) 

Lamiaceae 14 Aerial parts Spice, infusion Spring, summer 

(c:l l/r:5) 

Boraginaceae 11 Shoots Soups, stews, pies, Spring, summer 

(c: 1/r: 14) fried 

Fabaceae (s. 1.) 10 Fruits, aerial parts, Raw, boiled Spring, summer 

(c: 12/r:4) root, flower 

Polygonaceae 9 Leaves, shoots Boiled and fried, pies Spring 

(c:0) 

Chenopodiaceae 5 Shoots, aerial parts Boiled and fried, pies Spring, summer 

(c:4/r:9) 

Scrophulariaceae 5 Shoots Salad, boiled and fried Spring, summer 

(c:0) 

* Most important plant families as sources for wild gathered greens and fruits. Number of cultivated food species (c:) 

per family with European parentage are given in parenthesis as well as the ranking (r:) based on the number of cultivated 

species. For comparison: Poaceae 3 (c:l l/r:6). (after Harlan 1992, Franke 1997, Zohary and Hopf 2000). 

where the plant is considered too bitter. The 

tops of the shoots are eaten raw seasoned with 

olive oil or after being cooked and then stir- 

fried with garlic and olive oil. In the literature, 

only two references to the use of R. alba as 

food were found. First, young leaves of R. alba 

were used as vegetable in Greece (Heldreich 

1862) and, second, as salad by Greek farmers 

of the surroundings of Larnaca in Cyprus 

(Arnold Apostolides 1985). Interestingly, both 

records are from regions of the Eastern 

Mediterranean, which were, in historic times, 

part of the Greek and Byzantine empires, as the 

Graecanic area in Southern Italy. For some 

plants from Greece (GR) and Gallicianb (I), 

cognates were detected, which suggests that 

they have been used as vegetables since pre- 

Roman times: "tsochos" (GR) and "zuccho" (I) 

for Sonchus asper L. & S. oleraceus L., or "an- 

drakla" (GR) and "andrficla" (I) for Portulaca 

oleracea L. (see Table 2 and Nebel and Hein- 

rich n.d.). 

ARE WILD GATHERED AND CULTIVATED 

SPECIES THE SAME? 

In the field sites of this study, wild gathered 

greens are conceptualized as a distinct group of 

vegetables forming a category of their own re- 

garding local taxonomic classifications (Hein- 

rich et al. 2005). For culinary purposes, how- 

ever, the most common recipes use gathered 

species in an identical way to the cultivated 

ones. Often these two groups are combined in 

the same dish. The 11 most important plant 

families within the number of wild gathered 

food species comprise eight of the nine most 

important plant families regarding the number 

of species with a history of domestication in 

Europe (Table 1). 

However, wild gathered greens differ from 

cultivated vegetables regarding their chemical 

composition and nutritional value (Zeghichi et 

al. 2003). Apart from the selection for higher 

yields and ecological adaptation, cultivated


TABLE 2. WILD GATHERED AND SEMI-CULTIVATED PLANT SPECIES DOCUMENTED IN ALL THREE COUN- 

TRIES DURING THE CONSORTIUM'S FIELD WORK. 

Family 

Vernacular names 

Greek Italy Spain 

C~Crete G~Gallicianb A--Albacete 

Species E--Epiros CA--Castehnezzano CU--Cuenca 

Apiaceae Foeniculum vulgare ssp. Agriom~athos c M~saro ~ 

piperitum (Ucria) fenucchiE salvaccE cA 

Cout. 

Asteraceae Chondrilla juncea L. ** Grospart6 G 

Boraginaceae 

Cichorium intybus L. RadNi c, G: **, cicoirE cA 

Rodikio c 

Crepis vesicaria L. Pikrosirfda c MarogliU A 

Hypochoeris radicata L. Pl~itsa c Costardeddhe G 

Lactuca serriola L. Agrio m~xulo c Glossa to sciddhio ~, 

seulo a gline e lactucastrE cA 

Scolymus hispanicus L. Asc61impros c Sculfmbri ~ 

Sonchus asper L. Tsochos Zuccho a 

Sonchus oleraceus L. Tsochos Zuccho a, sivonE cA 

Borago officinalis L. 

Caryophyllaceae Silene vulgaris 

(Moench) Garke 

Chenopodiaceae Beta vulgaris ssp. 

maritima (L.) Arcang. 

Ericaceae Arbutus unedo L. 

Liliaceae Allium ampeloprasum L. 

Moraceae Ficus carica L. 

Papaveraceae Papaver rhoeas L. 

Portulacaceae 

Rosaceae 

Portulaca oleracea L. 

Crataegus monogyna 

Jacq. 

** plant used, but no vernacular name documented 

Burfinza Gabbufna G, 

vurrascinE ca, 

sucamelE cA 

Papflia Cavur~ci 6 

** JetE eA 

Kumari~i 

Prasfiki c 

Agriosuki~i 

Kutsumida c, 

Kontotsipa E 

Paparouna 

Glustrfda c, 

Andrakla E 

Trikokki~i 

species and races are selected for having a more 

palatable and "sweeter" taste, and they contain 

less fiber and secondary compounds (Johns 

1990). Wild gathered greens and fruits are more 

fibrous and contain higher concentrations and a 

greater diversity of secondary compounds. 

These secondary compounds are chemicals 

GrumE cA 

AgliE ardiddE cA 

Sico ~, fiche cA 

Paparfna ~, paparinE cA, 

scattEbottE cA 

Andr~icla G, 

PerchiazzE cA 

CeraseddE cA 

Hinojo 

Lizones A, talleras A, 

achicorias TM, 

chicorias TM 

Chicorias, 

achicorias 

Camarrojas 

Collejicas del prao A, 

hociquillos TM, 

morrillos TM, 

morrilla TM 

Cardenchilla 

Cardillos, cardillo 

Cerrajilla, crujiera 

Cerrajas A, forrajas A, 

borrajas A 

Cerrajilla TM, 

crujiera TM 

Borrajas 

Collejas 

Acelgas de campo 

Madrofios 

Ajoporros, ajos 

porros 

Higuera 

Babaoles dulces 

Verdolaga A, 

Verdulaga TM, 

emporretos TM 

Majoletas A, 

Majuelas TM 

with a wide range of potentially physiological 

and pharmacological interactions including 

toxic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti- 

oxidant, anti-atherosclerotic, astringent, hypo- 

glycemic, appetizing, diuretic, stomachic, 

carminative, laxative, aphrodisiac, and more 

properties. Rivera et al. (2005) report on 145


wild gathered food species from Alcaraz, Se- 

gura, and Serrania de Cuenca in Southern 

Spain. Of these 145 species, 81 are also used 

medicinally and 61 of those are administered 

orally using the same plant part used in the culi- 

nary preparations. Hence, the proportion of me- 

dicinal plants among gathered food species was 

found to be approximately twice as high as 

compared to cultivated food species. The phar- 

macological properties of food plants are 

widely recognized in many cultures and phar- 

macologically active phytochemicals may de- 

liberately be included in the diet (Johns 1990). 

These medicinal food species fit into the mod- 

em concept of a nutraceutical or functional 

food (see also the EU-project "Local Food- 

Nutraceuticals"; Heinrich et al. 2005; The 

Local Food-Nutraceutical Consortium 2005). 

The medicinal character of wild weedy greens 

has been described before (Etkin and Ross 

1983; Forbes 1976; Guarrera 2003; Pieroni et 

al. 2002). Forbes (1976) writes that people 

often claim that eating horta aids digestion and 

cleanses the blood as well as the rest of the 

body. In Crete, artichoke leaves and stalks are 

not only esteemed for their delicious taste but 

are also said to lower blood sugar levels and 

considered as a therapy to control diabetes type 

II. The corms of the tassel hyacinth (Muscari 

comosum (L.) Mill., syn. Leopoldia comosa 

(L.) Parl.) are used as an aphrodisiac. Amaran- 

thus spp. are used as a sedative and are said to 

alleviate inflamed joints. The inhabitants of the 

Graecanic area often ascribe a specific taste to 

singular plant species, particularly to ta chbrta 

species. Bitterness is associated with health and 

in Gallician6 the bitter tasting Lactuca viminea 

(L.) J. Presl. & C. Presl. or Reseda alba L. are 

considered to be healthy by being "good for the 

liver" and having blood-cleansing properties 

(Nebel et al. n.d.). Furthermore, Heldreich 

(1862) reports that the Greeks considered many 

Asteraceae species to be healthy because of 

their bitterness. 

It can be argued that the safety of these wild 

gathered greens has been evaluated empirically 

over the millennia by cultures and people. 

Nonetheless this ethnobotanical survey revealed 

some toxic species. We found that in Crete as 

well as in Catalonia (Bonet and Vall~s 2002), 

bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn is 

used as a vegetable. This plant contains the car- 

cinogenic glycoside ptaquiloside (Frohne and 

Jensen 1998) and should be relished with pru- 

dence. The very palatable corms from Meren- 

dera montana Lange are occasionally used as a 

snack in Spain and were in demand as a famine 

food during the Spanish Civil War. The genus 

as well as the species is known to contain 

highly cytotoxic colchicine alkaloids (G6mez et 

al. 2003; Husek et al. 1989). The Boraginaceae 

Symphytum bulbosum Schimp. and Lithosper- 

mum arvense L. as well as the members of the 

genus Echium that are used as vegetables are 

likely to contain the hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine 

alkaloids (Frohne and Jensen 1998) and should 

be consumed in minor quantities. Except for M. 

montana, the chronic nature of these toxic ef- 

fects seems to be responsible for the local per- 

ception that the species is safe. 

When looking at the comparative importance 

of wild gathered versus cultivated food plants, 

another interesting pattern emerges. The impor- 

tance of plant families as a source for wild 

gathered food parallels their importance in agri- 

culture with the exception of the Poaceae and 

the Asteraceae (Table 1). According to Holm 

(1978), the Poaceae and the Asteraceae are the 

main source of noxious weeds and together ac- 

count for 38% of the world's worst weeds. 

Stepp and Moerman (2001) and Stepp (2004) 

have gathered evidence that suggests that weeds 

contain more bioactive secondary compounds 

when compared to a random selection of flora. 

While they include the world's most important 

crops, the Poaceae are one of the most under- 

represented plant families in terms of the num- 

ber of species they contribute to traditional 

pharmacopoeias (Leonti et al. 2003; Moerman 

1994; Stepp and Moerman 2001). Various rea- 

sons for this low appreciation with respect to 

medicinal uses like conspicuousness, grow- 

back strategy and low phytochemical diversity 

and content have been discussed (Stepp and 

Moerman 2001). The families that have very 

few taxa selected for cultivation are the Boragi- 

naceae, Polygonaceae, Scrophulariaceae, and, 

most importantly, with respect to their huge 

contribution to wild gathered greens, the Aster- 

aceae. The chemically very diversified Aster- 

aceae are the main source of medicinal plant 

species used by traditional societies in a variety 

of applications in the northern hemisphere 

(Leonti et al. 2003; Moerman et al. 1999; Stepp 

and Moerman 2001). 

Johns (1990) hypothesizes that once such sec-


ondary compounds may have served a prophy- 

lactic role in controlling the increased loads of 

parasites, infectious diseases, and ailments the 

Neolithic life style brought along. Furthermore, 

he argues that through time, plant secondary 

compounds became part of the normal digestive 

ecology of healthy individuals and populations 

and essential health promoting constituents in a 

balanced nutrition (Johns 1990). Wild gathered 

weedy greens and fruits may, therefore, not only 

be an emergency source of food in times of 

famine (as a source for additional carbohy- 

drates, proteins, vitamins, PUFAs, and miner- 

als), but they also compensate for the lack of 

pharmacologically active substances, which cul- 

tivated species lost during domestication. Weeds 

used as food might represent not only the miss- 

ing link between a presumably well-balanced 

Paleolithic diet (Cordain et al. 2005) and the rel- 

atively abruptly changing dietary pattems during 

the early Neolithic phase, but also the link be- 

tween the agriculturalists' diet and the one of the 

industrialized, post modem world. 

It is now well established that medicine may 

be food and food may be medicine (Etkin 

1996; Moerman 1994; Rivera et al. 2005). 

People who traditionally gather wild greens 

know about additional health beneficial proper- 

ties of wild gathered greens. Therefore, they 

can deliberately choose between cultivated and 

non-cultivated species available to them and 

seek desired pharmacological effects consum- 

ing traditional dishes including wild gathered 

greens. 

CONCLUSIONS 

With the onset of the Neolithic era, a new di- 

mension of human-plant relationship devel- 

oped. Ecological niches created by agricultural 

activity allowed genetically predisposed species 

to thrive and develop as weeds in close human 

vicinity. During the expansion of the Neolithic 

economy, the seeds of weeds were transported 

and distributed together with the crop seeds and 

thereby invaded new territory where the weedy 

community could affiliate and incorporate new 

species. 

Based on the present discussion, we suggest 

that the transition from the late Paleolithic and 

Mesolithic toward the Neolithic economy was 

accompanied by a diversification and increase 

in the use of weeds as vegetables in the Near 

East, the Mediterranean basin, and temperate 

Europe, remnants of which can still be found in 

some local and traditional knowledge systems. 

While, as a result of cereal cultivation, the ex- 

ploitation of starchy resources from trees de- 

clined and continued to play a role only as 

emergency foods, the increasing culinary use of 

wild gathered weedy greens also reflects agri- 

culturalists' dietary needs regarding micro- 

nutrients and plant secondary compounds. Es- 

pecially the wild gathered Asteraceaen food 

species seem to form a type of proto- 

nutraceuticals, which together with the other 

wild gathered species account for a significant 

input of biologically active secondary com- 

pounds in the diet. A traditional lunch observed 

by Nebel et al. (n.d.) in which, for example, 

pasta (Triticum durum Desf., Poaceae) was 

served as a first course and wild gathered 

greens (mixed Asterceae and other plant fami- 

lies) as a second course, or the combination of 

bread with ta chbrta exemplifies the dualism of 

food as medicine. Plants from the Poaceae fam- 

ily (energy) are consumed together with Aster- 

aceae (nutrients and medicine). 

Further, we suggest that, as a consequence, 

this intimate human-plant relationship, which is 

represented by the increasing use of weeds as a 

food source, promoted the development of the 

Neolithic pharmacopoeias. Changing cultural 

and environmental factors during the Neolithic 

economy--i.e., changes in the staple diet, the 

increase in the prevalence and variety of dis- 

eases, the higher fertility rate, and the more 

sedentary life-style--required new pharmaco- 

logical regimes (Brown 1985; Logan and Dixon 

1994). The incorporation of weedy and spicy 

species, rich in bioactive secondary com- 

pounds, now thriving fight in front of the 

doorsteps, led to an expansion of the pharma- 

copoeias. This scenario is in accordance with 

Brown's observation (1985) that agricultural 

people generally recognize and rely on a greater 

variety of wild plants than do hunter-gatherers. 

Today, we rely on a narrow range of foods 

(Diamond 2002; Moerman 1994), which addi- 

tionally was selected for a narrower and lower 

spectrum of phytochemicals. Useful biochemi- 

cals like vitamins, flavonoids, omega-3 fatty 

acids, PUFAs, and minerals may fall short in 

our Westemized urban culinary scheme. There- 

fore, commercialized vitamins and nutraceuti- 

cals have been advertised to provide modern 

humans with sufficient beneficial cofactors.


The culinary use of the vast array of wild 

gathered vegetables and fruits observed in this 

and previous studies is part of the (Mediter- 

ranean) agriculturalists' traditional knowledge 

about a balanced healthy diet and has become a 

more and more neglected resource. Through 

comparative analysis, we have identified a num- 

ber of species that belong to a core group of 

wild gathered vegetables with an inter-cultural 

acceptance. Such species might contribute to a 

more diverse assortment of vegetables in city 

markets, attract consumers' attention, and 

thereby could help to cure non-adaptive food 

habits at its very root. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The input of all members of the consortium 

"Local Food-Nutraceuticals" is gratefully ac- 

knowledged. We specifically would like to 

thank Zacharias Kyproitakis (Heraklion) for 

contributing some specific ethnobotanical data 

from Greece and Andrea Pieroni (Bradford) for 

contributions at an early stage of this project. A 

contract with the European Commission under 

KA1 'Food, Nutrition and Health' (FP5) made 

this research possible (QLRT-2001-00173; 

2002-2004). 

LITERATURE CITED 

Apicius, M.G. 1991. Das ROmische Kochbuch des 

Apicius. Apicii Libri Decem Qui Dicuntur De Re 

Coquinaria Et Excerpta A Vinidario. E Reclam 

jun. GmbH & Co., Stuttgart, Germany. 

Arnold Apostolides, N. 1985. Contribution a la con- 

naissance ethnobotanique et medicinale de la flore 

de Chipre. Universit6 de Paris. Paris (PhD The- 

sis). 

Barrett, S. C.H. 1983. Crop Mimicry in Weeds. Eco- 

nomic Botany 37:255-282. 

Bayer, E., K. E Buttler, X. Finkenzeller, and J. Grau. 

1990. Plantas del Mediterr~ineo. Naturart, S. A. Es 

un libro BLUME, Barcelona. 

Biesalski, H.K. and E Grimm. 2004. Taschenatlas 

der Em~ihmng (3. Aufl.). Georg Thieme Verlag, 

Stuttgart, New York. [English translation: 2005, 

Pocket Atlas of Nutrition]. 

Bonet, M.A. and J. Vall's. 2002. Use of non-crop 

food vascular plants in Montseny biosphere re- 

serve (Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula). International 

Journal of Food Science and Nutrition 53:225- 

248. 

Brown, C.H. 1985. Mode of subsistence and folk bi- 

ological taxonomy. Current Anthropology 26:43- 

64. 

Cordain, L., S.B. Eaton, J. Brand-Miller, N. Mann, 

and K. Hill. 2002. The paradoxical nature of 

hunter-gatherer diets: Meat-based, yet not athero- 

genic. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 56 

(S):42-52. 

Cordain, L., S.B. Eaton, A. Sebastian, N. Mann, S. 

Lindeberg, B.A. Watkins, J.H. O'Keefe, and J. 

Brand-Miller. 2005. Origins and evolution of the 

western diet: Health implications for the 21st cen- 

tury. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 

81:341-354. 

Crawford, M., C. Galli, E Visioli, S. Renaud, A. E 

Simopoulos, and A.A. Spector. 2000. Role of 

plant-derived omega--3 fatty acids in human nu- 

trition. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 

44:263-265. 

De Lorgeril M., S. Renaud, N. Mamelle, E Salen, J. L. 

Martin, I. Monjaud, J. Guidollet, E Touboul, and J. 

Delaye. 1994. Mediterranean alpha-linolenic acid- 

rich diet in secondary prevention of coronary heart 

disease. Lancet 11:343(8911): 1454-1459. 

De Lorgeril M., E Salen, J. L. Martin, I. Monjaud, P. 

Boucher, and N. Mamelle. 1998. Mediterranean 

dietary pattern in a randomized trial. Prolonged 

survival and possible reduced cancer rate. 

Archives of Internal Medicine 158:1181 - 1187. 

De Lorgeril M., E Salen, J.L. Martin, I. Monjaud, J. 

Delaye, and N. Mamelle. 1999. Mediterranean 

diet, traditional risk factors and the rate of cardio- 

vascular complications after myocardial infarc- 

tion. Final report of the Lyon Diet Heart Study. 

Circulation 99:779-785. 

Diamond, J. 2002. Evolution, consequences and fu- 

ture of plant and animal domestication. Nature 

418:700-707. 

Eaton, S.B. 2000. Paleolithic vs. modem diets--Se- 

lected pathophysiological implications. European 

Journal of Nutrition 39:67-70. 

Eberle, G. 1975. Pflanzen am Mittelmeer. Mediten-ane 

Pflanzengemeinschaften Italiens und Griechen- 

lands rnit Ausblick auf das ganze Mittelmeergebiet. 

Verlag von Waldemar Kramer, Frankfurt am Main. 

Etkin, N. and P. Ross. 1983. Malaria, medicine and 

meals: Plant use among the Hausa and its impact 

on disease. Pages 231-259 in L. Romanucci- 

Ross, D. Moerman, and L. Tancredi, eds., The an- 

thropology of medicine: From culture to method. 

Bergin and Garvey, New York. 

Etkin, N. 1996. Medicinal cuisines: Diet and ethno- 

pharmacology. International Journal of Pharmacog- 

nosy 34:313-326. 

Fenton, A. 2000. Wild plants and hungry times. 

Pages 182-194 in E Lysaght, ed., Food from na- 

ture, attitudes, strategies and culinary practices, 

Proceedings of the 12th Conference of the Inter- 

national Commission for Ethnological Food Re- 

search, Umea and Frostviken, Sweden, 8-14 June, 

1998. Acta Academiae Regiae Gustavi Adolphi 

LXXI, Uppsala.


Forbes, M. H.C. 1976. Gathering in the Argolid: A 

subsistence subsystem in a Greek agricultural 

community. Annals of the New York Academy of 

Science 268:251-264. 

Franke, W. 1997. Nutzpflanzenkunde. Nutzbare 

Gew~ichse der gem~issigten Breiten, Subtropen 

und Tropen. Georg Thieme Verlag, New York. 

Frohne, D. and U. Jensen. 1998. Systematik des 

Pflanzenreichs. Unter Besonderer Berticksichti- 

gung Chemischer Merkmale und Pfianzlicher 

Drogen. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft 

mbH Stuttgart. 

Galt, A.H. and J.W. Galt. 1978. Peasant use of some 

wild plant on the island of Pantelleria, Sicily. Eco- 


G6mez, D., J. Azorin, J. Bastida, E Viladomat, and 

C. Codina. 2003. Seasonal and spatial variations 

of alkaloids in Merendera montana in relation to 

chemical defense and phenology. Journal of 

Chemical Ecology 29:1117-1126. 

Guarrera, P. M. 2003. Food medicine and minor nour- 

ishment in the folk traditions of Central Italy 

(Marche, Abruzzo and Latium). Fitoterapia 

74:515-544. 

Harlan, J.R. 1992. Crops & Man. 2nd ed. American 

Society of Agronomy, Inc. Crop Science Society 

of America, Inc. Madison, Wisconsin. 

Heinrich, M., M. Leonti, S. Nebel, and W. Peschel. 

2005. "Local food nutraceuticals": An example of 

a multidisciplinary research project on local 

knowledge. Journal of Physiology and Pharma- 

cology 56 (S):5-22. 

Heldreich, T. 1862. Die Nutzpflanzen Griechenlands: 

Mit besonderer Beriicksichtigung der neugriechis- 

chen und pelasgischen Vulgarnamen. Karl 

Wilberg, Athens, Greece. 

Heywood, V. 1999. Use and potential of wild plants 

in farm households. FAO Farm Systems Manage- 

ment Series 15. 

Holm, L. 1978. Some characteristics of weed prob- 

lems in two worlds. Proceedings of the Western 

Society of Weed Sciences 31:3-12. Pages 42-43 

in R.L. Zimdahl, ed., 1999. Fundamentals of 

Weed Sciences. 2nd ed. Academic Press, New 

York. 

Husek, A., N. Stittilpinar, H. Potesilov~i, S. Dvorack- 

ov~i, V. Hanus, P. Sedemera, P. Malon, and V. 

Simanek. 1989. Alkaloids and phenolics of three 

Merendera species. Phytochemistry 28:3217- 

3219. 

Huss-Ashmore, R. and S.L. Johnston. 1994. Wild 

plants as cultural adaptations to food stress. Pages 

62-82 in Nina L. Etkin, ed., Eating on the wild 

side. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Ari- 

zona. 

Jacomet, S., C. Brombacher, and M. Dick. 1989. 

Archaobotanik am Ztirichsee. Ackerbau Sammel- 

wirtschafl und Umwelt von Neolithischen und 

Bronzezeitlichen Seeufersiedlungen im Raum 

Ztirich. Orell Ftissli Verlag, Ztirich. 

Johns, T. 1990. With bitter herbs they shall eat it: 

Chemical ecology and the origins of human diet 

and medicine. The University of Arizona Press, 

Tucson, Arizona. 

Keys, A. 1970. Coronary heart disease in 7 countries. 

Circulation 41 (S): 1-211. 

Keys, A. 1980. Seven countries: A multivariate analy- 

sis of death and coronary heart disease. Harvard 

University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

King, F.B. 1994. Interpreting wild plant foods in ar- 

chaeological record. Pages 185-209 in Nina L. 

Etkin, ed., Eating on the wild side. University of 

Arizona Press, Tucson. 

Leonti, M., E Ramirez-R., O. Sticher, and M. Hein- 

rich. 2003. Medicinal flora of the Popoluca, Mrx- 

ico: A Botanico-Systematical perspective. Eco- 


Lionis, C., A. Faresjr, M. Skoula, M. Kapsokefalou, 

and T. Fanenjr. 1998. Antioxidant effects of herbs 

in Crete. The Lancet 352:1987-1988. 

Loboda, A., J. Cisowski, A. Zarebski, A. Jazwa, D. 

Rivera Nufiez, Z. Kypriotakis, M. Heinrich, M. 

and J. Dulak. 2005. Effect of plant extracts on an- 

giogenetic activities of endothelial cells and ker- 

atinocytes. Journal of Physiology and Pharmacol- 

ogy 56 (S):125-137. 

Logan, M.H. and A.R. Dixon. 1994. Agriculture and 

the acquisition of medicinal plant knowledge. 

Pages 25-45 in Nina L. Etkin, ed., Eating on the 

wild side. University of Arizona Press, Tucson. 

Mann, N.J. 2004. Paleolithic nutrition: What can we 

learn from the past? Asia Pacific Journal of Clini- 

cal Nutrition 13 (S):17. 

Maurizio, A. 1927. Die Geschichte unserer 

Nahrungspflanzen. Von den Urzeiten bis zur 

Gegenwart. Verlagsbuchhandlung Paul Parey, 

Berlin. 

Moerman, D.E. 1994. North American food and drug 

plants. Pages 166-181 in Nina L. Etkin, ed., Eat- 

ing on the Wild Side. University of Arizona Press, 

Tucson. 

Moerman, D.E., R.W. Pemberton, D. Kiefer, and B. 

Berlin. 1999. A comparative analysis of five me- 

dicinal floras. Journal of Ethnobiology 19:49-67. 

Nebel, S. 2005. Ta Chorta: Piante comestibili 

tradizionali di Gallicianr. The School of Phar- 

macy, University of London, London. 

Nebel, S. and M. Heim'ich. n.d. The use of wild edi- 

ble greens in the Graecanic area in Calabria, 

Southern Italy-cultural survival of Magna Grae- 

cian traditions. (in preparation). 

Nebel, S., A. Pieroni, and M. Heinrich. (n.d.). Ta 

ch6rta: wild edible greens used in the Graecanic 

area in Calabria, Southern Italy. (in preparation). 

Pieroni, A., S. Nebel, C. Quave, H. Mtinz, and M. 

Heinrich. 2002. Ethnopharmacology of Liakra:


Traditional Weedy Vegetables of the Ab~r~she of 

the Vulture Area in Southern Italy. Journal of 

Ethnopharmacology 81:165-185. 

Pieroni, A., S. Nebel, and M. Heinrich. 2005. Food 

for two seasons: Culinary uses of non-cultivated 

local vegetables and mushrooms in a south Italian 

village. International Journal for Food Science 

and Nutrition 56:245-272. 

Rivera, D., C. Obon, C. Inocencio, M. Heinrich, A. 

Verde, J. Fajardo, and R. llorach. 2005. the ethno- 

botanical study of local mediterranean food Plants 

as Medicinal Resources in Southern Spain. Jour- 

nal of Physiology and Pharmacology 56 (S):97- 

114. 

Rivera, D., A. Verde, J. Fajardo, C. Inocencio, C. 

Obdn, and M. Heinrich. 2006. Gufa Etnobot~nica 

de los Alimentos Locales Recolectados en la 

Provincia de Albacete. Instituto de Estudios A1- 

bacetenses "Don Juan Manuel," Albacete. 

Savvides, L. 2000. Edible wild plants of the Cyprus 

flora. Nicosia, private publication. 

Schaffer, S., S. Schmitt-Schilling, W.E. Mtiller, and 

G.R Eckert. 2005. Antioxidant properties of 

Mediterranean food plant extracts: Geographical 

differences. Journal of Physiology and Pharma- 

cology 56 (S): 125-137. 

Shanin, T. 1979. [1971] Peasant and Peasant Soci- 

eties. Harmondsworth. Penguin. 

Skadias, R K. and J. G. Lascaratos. 2001. Dietetics in 

Ancient Greek philosophy: Plato's concepts of 

healthy diet. European Journal of Clinical Nutri- 

tion 55:532-537. 

Stepp, J.R. and D.E. Moerman. 2001. The Impor- 

tance of Weeds in Ethnopharmacology. Journal of 

Ethnopharmacology 75:19-23. 

Stepp, J.R. 2004. The role of weeds as sources of 

pharmaceuticals. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 

92:163-166. 

Tardfo, J., H. Pascual, and R. Morales. 2005. Wild 

food plants traditionally used in the province of 

Madrid, Central Spain. Economic Botany 59:122- 

136. 

Tardfo, J., M. Pardo de Santayana, and R. Morales. 

n.d. Ethnobotanical review of edible plants in 

Spain. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 

(in press). 

The Local Food-Nutraceutical Consortium. 2005. 

Local Mediterranean diets: A joint ethnobotanical 

and phyto-pharmacological approach. Pharmaco- 

logical Research 52:353-366. 

Trichopoulou A., P. Lagiou, H. Kuper, and D. Tri- 

chopoulos. 2000. Cancer and Mediterranean diet 

traditions. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and 

Prevention 9:869-873. 

Tukan, S.K., H.R. Takruri, and D.M. A1-Eisawi. 

1998. The use of wild edible plants in the Jordan- 

ian diet. International Journal of Food Science 

and Nutrition 49:225-235. 

Verde, A., D. Rivera, and C. Ob6n. 1998. Et- 

nobot~inica en las Sierras de Segura y Alcaraz: 

Las plantas y el hombre. Instituto de Estudios A1- 

bacetenses, Albacete. 

Verde A., J. Fajardo, D. Rivera, and C. Ob6n. 2001. 

Etnobot~inica en el entorno del Parque Nacional 

de Cabafieros. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, 

Madrid. 

Verde, A., D. Rivera, M. Heinrich, J. Fajardo, C. In- 

ocencio, R. Llorach, and C. Ob6n. 2003. Plantas 

Alimenticias Recolectadas Tradicionalmente en la 

Provincia de Albacete y Zonas Pr6ximas, su Uso 

Tradicional en la Medicina Popular y su Potencial 

como Nutracruticos. Sabuco. Revista de Estudios 

Albacetenses. Afio III (4):37-72. 

Willerding, U. 1986. Zur Geschichte der Unkr~iuter 

Mitteleuropas. Grttinger Schriften zur Vor-und 

Frtihgeschichte Band 22. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, 

Neumtinster. 

Zeghichi, S., S. Kallithraka, A. P. Simopoulos, and Z. 

Kypriotakis. 2003. Nutritional composition of 

slected wild plants in the diet of Crete. Pages. 22- 

40 in A.P. Simopoulos and C. Gopalan, eds., 

Plants in human health and nutrition policy. World 

Review of Nutrition and Diet, Vol. 91. Karger, 

Basel, Switzerland. 

Zohary, M. 1973. Geobotanical foundations of the 

Middle East. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, 

Germany. 

Zohary, D. and M. Hopf. 2000. Domestication of 

plants in the Old World: The origin and spread of 

cultivated plants in West Asia, Europe and the 

Nile Valley. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press, 

Oxford, United Kingdom.

pdf (springer nesli 2 licence) - Pharmacy Eprints

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?