The Mediterranean basin is rich in wild edible species which have been used for food and medicinal purposes by humans throughout the centuries. Many of these species can be found near coastal areas and usually grow under saline conditions, while others can adapt in various harsh conditions including high salinity. Many of these species have a long history of gathering from the wild as a source of food. The aim of this contribution is an overview on the most important halophyte species (Salicornia sp. pl., Arthrocaulon macrostachyum (Moric.) Piirainen & G. Kadereit, Soda inermis Fourr., Cakile maritima Scop., Crithmum maritimum L., Reichardia picroides (L.) Roth., Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke subsp. tenoreana (Colla) Soldano & F. Conti, Allium commutatum Guss., Beta vulgaris L. subsp. maritima (L.) Arcang., Capparis spinosa L.) that traditionally have been gathered by rural communities in southern Italy, with special interest on their ecology and distribution, traditional uses, medicinal properties, marketing and early attempts of cultivation. It is worth noting that these species have an attractive new cash crop for marsh marginal lands.

This study attempts, above all, to provide a summary, on a strictly scientific basis, about the strategies of conservation of autochthonous agrobiodiversity followed in Italy. A special focus is dedicated to vegetables and, therefore, could represent a contribution to improve the national strategy for the safeguarding of its agrobiodiversity in general. The paper offers also an outlook on the most critical factors of ex situ conservation and actions which need to be taken. Some examples of 'novel' recovered neglected crops are also given. Finally a case study is proposed on 'Mugnolicchio', a neglected race of Brassica oleracea L., cultivated in Altamura (Ba) in southern Italy, that might be considered as an early step in the evolution of broccoli (B. oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) like 'Mugnoli' another neglected race described from Salento (Apulia).

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