Ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants of Slovakia

Abstract

This paper is an ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants gathered for consumption from the 19th century to the present day, within the present borders of Slovakia. Twenty-four sources (mainly ethnographic) documenting the culinary use of wild plants were analysed. The use of 106 species (over 3% of the Slovak flora) has been recorded. Nowadays most of them are no longer used, or used rarely, apart from a few species of wild fruits. The most frequently used plants include the fruits of <em>Rubus idaeus</em>, <em>Fragaria </em>spp., <em>Rubus </em>subgenus <em>Rubus</em>, <em>Vaccinium myrtillus</em>, <em>V. vitis-idaea</em>, <em>Fagus sylvatica</em>, <em>Corylus avellana</em>, <em>Prunus spinosa</em>, <em>Pyrus </em>spp., <em>Malus </em>spp., <em>Crataegus </em>spp. and the leaves of <em>Urtica dioica</em>, <em>Rumex acetosa</em>, Chenopodiaceae species, <em>Cardamine amara</em>, <em>Glechoma </em>spp., <em>Taraxacum </em>spp. and <em>Oxalis acetosella</em>. The most commonly used wild food taxa are nearly identical to those used in Poland, and the same negative association of wild vegetables with famine exists in Slovakia, resulting in their near complete disappearance from the present-day diet.