Status of medicinal and aromatic plants in - Inia

PRESENTED PAPERS 115
the classification of endangered plants according to the degree of danger. Amongst
approximately 3200 plant species (400 of them MAPs) known to be indigenous or well
adapted to the Slovenian climate, some 10% are considered to be endangered (34 have been
harmed, 77 are vulnerable, 192 are rare). Slovenia has shown much concern in the
preservation of natural resources such as medicinal plants.
In Slovenia, directives for the national programme of production, processing and quality
control of MAPs have been developed. The strategy for the conservation of natural
resources is perceived as of the utmost importance. The first stage of the programme
consists in the monitoring and characterization of natural populations and in situ
conservation of evaluated indigenous plant material. Data from different sources (e.g.
Ljubljana Herbarium) and plant inventories are used to obtain data on wild MAP accessions
in Slovenia.
Conservation of the natural heritage for future generations, followed by the importance of
attractive landscapes, are among the principal aspects of the conservation strategy in the
field of MAPs. This can be achieved by:
- collecting and estimation of the danger level;
- active conservation (conservation in situ);
- sensible/sustainable use of wild plants (for ex situ conservation);
- limitation of massive exploitation of wild plants by successive introduction into
cultivation of known genotypes in suitable environments.
In Slovenia, in situ inventorying/monitoring and estimation of population density as well
as quality control with the objective of defining particular/optimal market use of raw
materials are planned to be carried out through the multi-user relational database
MEDPLANT. Wild populations will be included in the national collection of medicinal and
aromatic plants. Further activities related to future cultivation (such as propagation of plant
materials and seed breeding) are planned.
On-farm conservation
Principles and techniques of on-farm conservation of local ecotypes and landraces of
cultivated plants and traditional cultivation techniques have been widely introduced in less
developed parts of the world. In the last few years a need for similar actions was identified
for Europe, where a high degree of genepool erosion was found in field crops.
In Slovenia, there is no special institution engaged in the programme of on-farm
conservation, breeding or management. Some of the institutions that maintain genetic
resources of different crops have contacts with individual farmers, who maintain old
varieties on farm. Some NGOs do include activities similar to on-farm conservation but
there is little coordination between different parties. There is almost no cooperation between
farmers and genebanks in the field of breeding or genetic improvement of local ecotypes.
Regarding MAP on-farm conservation, some valuable species are found in Slovenia. The
most interesting crop that is considered as a traditional oil and medicinal plant is Camelina
sativa (L.) Crantz, still widespread in the Koroška region. It is predominantly used as a raw
material in oil processing. Some incomplete data on its cultivation were collected by the
extension service offices in Dravograd and Slovenj Gradec and need further survey. Now
almost 20 seed samples are under investigation at the Agricultural Faculty of the University
of Maribor and partly in the fields of the Institute for Hop Research and Brewing in Žalec,
where some data on cultivation technology and oil processing machinery have been
collected.
The second interesting potential medicinal crop is buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum
Moench. Buckwheat was very popular in the old days and some knowledge about
technology and landraces is still available. But since very good cultivars were developed in