Wild plants used for food by Hungarian ethnic groups living in the Carpathian Basin

Abstract

IntroductionIn the last two decades several comprehensive surveys and reviews were performed in many European countries on wild plant use. Wild plants formed important parts of our ancestors' diet in a multitude of ways (e.g. as bread ingredients, vegetables, fruits, spices, snacks or beverages); essential in severe times, supplementary otherwise [1][2][3]. Revitalization of traditional practices is timely for ecology, economy and nutrition biology. Nevertheless, even though Hungary is no poorer in traditions of wild plant use than other parts of Europe, no broad-scale review has been undertaken for Hungary in this respect, yet.Information on the human consumption of wild plant species is widely scattered among the ethnographic and botanic literature, mostly in Hungarian language. Publications on gathering economy, traditional nutrition, shepherding, forest goods utilization, and on the hunting-fishing-gathering "pákász" lifestyle in the former wetlands of the floodplains of the large Hungarian rivers are known from the end of 18th century on (e.g. [4]), and they became frequent from the second half of the 20th century. Publications of traditional research on medicinal uses of plants [5][6][7][8] and ethnobotany [9-11] also mention wild food plants, but a review concentrating on wild food plants is still missing.In this work we systematically review and compile information on the utilization of wild food plants in the Hungarian speaking regions of the Carpathian Basin from the Hungarian ethnographic and ethnobotanical publications. Our study aims at compiling a knowledge base on wild food plants consumed in Hungary and by the Hungarians living in other countries of the Carpathian basin, containing information on the species, as well as the modes of use. As the Carpathian Basin is dominated by alluvial floodplains located on the margin of the vast Eurasian steppe regions, Hungarian traditional plant use might also include previously undocumented usage of wetland and steppe plant species, which can potentially add some new aspects to the existing knowledge on traditional plant use in Europe. Material and methods Flora, vegetation and history of the Carpathian BasinThe Carpathian Basin is the contiguous floodplain area of the Danube and Tisza Rivers encircled by the Carpathian

The Consumption of Wild Edible Plants

“…Records available from Belarus (Łuczaj et al 2013b), Estonia (Kalle & Sõukand 2012), Hungary (Dénes et al 2012), Poland (Łuczaj 2010), Sweden (Svanberg 2012), and Slovakia (Łuczaj 2012) present some ideas about plant resources and patterns of usage in such areas. Moreover, the food use of 175 vascular plant species of the Czech Republic native flora was recently documented by Simkova and Polesny (2015), and Stryamets et al (2015) discussed ethnobotanical and socioeconomic tendencies in wild food collection in rural areas of Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine.…”

“…In many European countries (Dénes et al 2012;Kalle & Sõukand 2012;Łuczaj 2012;Łuczaj et al 2013a,b;Molina et al 2014;Redžić 2006;Tardío 2013;Tardío et al 2006), including rural communities of the Mediterranean (Biscotti & Pieroni 2015;Leonti et al 2006), wild gathered species play a vital role in supplying seasonal food and weed greens and are considered most relevant in terms of nutrition and health Vanzani et al 2011) and as signs of the cultural identity of such regions. Moreover, they are seen as appealing gastronomic resources for modern culinary experiences.…”

A century of changes in wild food plant use in coastal Croatia: the example of Krk and Poljica

“…However, it is very rare to be able to measure such transformations, due to the lack of older ethnobotanical studies. In Central Europe, the nineteenth-and early twentieth-century use of plants by peasants, both for food and medicine, was well studied (e.g., [6,[19][20][21][22]). On the other hand, in the south of Europe fewer such studies were made [23][24][25].…”

Beyond Turf and Lawn: Poaceae in This Age of Climate Change

“…A plethora of research has been published, very recently, and I cite just a few here to provide some scope on the richness of information available for study [72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84]. Make no mistake that some of the studies cited are motivated by economics and proiteering, as the planet is scoured for 'new' plant materials that can become the 'next' food, nutraceutical, medicine or biotechnology product.…”

“…In Poland, orchardgrass is known as 'kupkówka' and the sweet stem base and inner part of young shoots were eaten as a children's snack [158]. In Hungary, it is known as 'ebir', and also eaten as a snack [80]. In south-east Turkey, orchardgrass is called 'ayrik', and after infusing in water, the decoction is consumed to treat rheumatism and urinary inlammations [79].…”