Status of medicinal and aromatic plants in - Inia

PRESENTED PAPERS 67
Table 5. Information recorded about the Italian Botanical Gardens
Botanical gardens No. (%)
Total 58
With a specific collection for maps 25 43
Having their own Web site 26 45
Having a general list of plants on the Web site 6 (1) 10
Having a specific list for MAPs on the Web site 3 (2) 5
Having an Index seminum on the Web site 4 (3) 7
Botanical gardens recorded 15 (4) 26
Total number of MAP species in conservation 1247 -
Spontaneous in Italy 731 59
Endemic in Italy 30 2.4
Exotic 407 33
Cultivated 467 37
(1)
Casola val Senio (RA), Camerino, Majella, Lecce, Bari, Catania.
Casola val Senio (RA), Camerino, Majella.
(3)
Trieste, Modena, Siena, Majella.
(4)
Torino, Bergamo, Brescia, Padova, Trieste, Bologna, Ferrara, Casola val Senio (RA), Firenze, Camerino, Majella, Siena, Bari,
Lecce, Catania.
Review of the acreage of MAPs under cultivation
In 1999-2000, ISAFA carried out a survey of the acreage and the characteristics of MAPs
under cultivation in Italy (Vender 2001). According to this survey, the total area occupied by
MAPs was 3342 ha and the number of species grown in Italy was over a hundred. However,
slightly more than 30 species occupy over 90% of the total area. Beside Citrus bergamia Risso
(bergamot), the only species with an area greater than 1000 ha, the other main species are:
Mentha x piperita L. (peppermint), Fraxinus sp. (manna ash), Chamomilla recutita Rausch.
(chamomile), Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (liquorice), Lavandula sp. (lavender and lavandin),
Hypericum perforatum L. (St John's wort) and Linum usitatissimum L. (linseed). The main
species cultivated, assembled into six groups according to the area occupied, are listed in
Table 6. Compared with a similar survey carried out 10 years earlier (ISMEA 1989) the list of
species has changed: tarragon, orris, roman wormwood, summer savory and jasmine have
declined; peppermint, manna ash and saffron have fallen in importance, while chamomile, St
John's wort, liquorice, lavenders, linseed, rosemary, fennel, sage, lemon balm and coneflower
have greatly increased.
As to distribution, more than 50% of the total area cultivated in MAPs is located in
Calabria where, besides bergamot, liquorice and cedar are also grown. Other regions where
MAP cultivation has some importance are Piedmont, where excellent peppermint oil is
obtained, and Tuscany, where numerous herbs are grown on a huge farm.
Excluding bergamot, from which we obtain the famous essence, about 70% of the total
area cultivated in MAPs is used for the production of dried herbs, 20% for essential oil
extraction and less than 10% for fresh consumption (Vender 2002).
As regards farm size, there are huge individual and regional differences, but in general,
only a small part of the arable area (a.a.) is reserved for MAPs. Farms specialized in MAP
production (>80% of the a.a. planted to MAPs) represent only 17% of the total and most of
them are located in the north. Nevertheless there are some exceptions: in Piedmont
numerous large farms specializing in MAP cultivation are present, and in Tuscany the Aboca
farm dedicates more than 300 ha to the cultivation of many species.
Concerning field management, most farms adopt organic techniques (61%), the largest
proportion of organic farms being in the centre (75%) and the lowest in the south (43%);
nevertheless we may note that only bergamot, peppermint and St John's wort are handled as
industrial crops, sustainable practices being used for other species.
Taking into consideration different parameters (proportion of specialized farms,
postharvest machinery availability, trade association importance, etc.) we may conclude that
in the last 10 years there has been no widespread development of the sector or of associated