Status of medicinal and aromatic plants in - Inia

PRESENTED PAPERS 89
The project is divided into two parts, one dealing with the establishment of collections
and characterization of the material, the other with conservation strategies.
Table 2 shows the species on the A-list, selected according to the results from the different
country reports, with priority given to these species.
Table 2. Species on the A-list and the different countries' selection of priority plants
Species Estonia Denmark Latvia Finland Lithuania Sweden Norway Iceland
Acorus calamus
X
Arnica sp. X X
Helichrysum arenarium X X X
Hypericum sp. X X
Origanum vulgare X X X X X
Rhodiola rosea X X X X X
Thymus sp. X X X X
Valeriana officinalis X X
The purpose of this work is to describe genetic diversity within species with value as
spice and medicinal plants in our region, mainly based on morphological characterizations in
the collected material.
These species cover differences in:
1. geographical distribution (southern/northern, montane/widely distributed)
2. Red List status (rare/common)
3. origin (indigenous wild/cultivated/subspontaneous)
4. use (traditional use/actual commercial production/potential for use)
5. purpose (medicinal/spice)
6. need for conservation activities
This year [2002] will be dedicated to the establishment of collections. The plants will be
collected both as seeds and living plants from different regions and if possible different
kinds of habitats.
The delegates from different countries will be responsible for developing descriptor lists
for the species. The second part of the project is to investigate which species are threatened
and consider needs for action and strategies for conserving such species.
Status report for Denmark, Norway and Sweden
A short summary of the status reports from Denmark, Norway and Sweden is given below.
The results from this year's work (2002) are not yet ready. This part only covers the abovementioned
countries. 15
• Denmark
During the summer, Denmark has collected Origanum, Hypericum, Thymus and Valeriana in
order to establish collections.
In Denmark there is a production of freeze-dried herbs and spices for the processing
industry, e.g. Anethum graveolens, Petroselinum crispum var. crispum, Thymus sp., Ocimum
basilicum and Satureja montana. There is also an increased production of small pot-plants as a
fresh supply of spices and herbs. The most common are Petroselinum crispum var. crispum,
Anethum graveolens, Ocimum basilicum, Thymus sp., Origanum vulgare, Melissa officinalis,
Artemisia dracunculus, Rosmarinus officinalis and Mentha sp.
15 For Finland, see detailed report by B. Galambosi, following paper.