New Insights into Ethnobotany and Ethnoecology

Dear Colleagues,

Wild plants and non-cultivated edible mushrooms have always been around us, but nowadays, in many countries, they once again form a significant part of the diets and folk medicine of people and animals. The influence of climate change on expanding the plant distribution range may change people's eating habits, and climate change also enables the growth of once "exotic alochtoneous" plants and their local application.

This Special Issue seeks to address all contemporary challenges caused by changing environmental conditions (e.g., climate change, natural disasters), as well as the historical and present cross-border migration of people causing changes in traditional ecology knowledge. The legacies of such relationships are visible in the present, and are ultimately important for understanding the human history of past and present landscapes.

This Special Issue welcomes research into agroecosystems from different parts of the world and discusses similarities and differences in the use of edible, medicinal, and economic plants across different cultures and segments of society. Additionally, articles that contribute to the preservation of the tradition of using local varieties of cultivated plants are encouraged for the purpose of preserving traditional local customs and genetic sources of plant seeds (e.g., practices of use, management, and domestication) in order to increase food supplies.

Furthermore, emphasis could be placed on the new processes of the globalization of knowledge through modern Internet technologies and their influence on the survival of different traditional cultures and customs.

Studies should state a clear hypothesis and research question(s) and address them through original research or through a systematic review of the literature. We encourage the publication of research papers where researchers provide guidelines and proposals for the application of ethnobotanical and ethnoecological methods.

The following categories of manuscripts will be considered: scientific articles, review articles, and short pieces of communication.

Dr. Ivana Vitasović Kosić
Dr. Łukasz Łuczaj
Guest Editors

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• cross-border ethnobotany knowledge transmission
• traditional ecology praxis
• ethnopharmacology herbal tradition
• ethnoveterinary praxis
• edible wild mushrooms
• ethnoecology

Title: Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge of the Northwest Slavonia region (continental Croatia) — Rare Edible Use of Fungus Sarccoscypha coccinea
Authors: Vitasović Kosić; Dominik Berec; Łukasz Łuczaj; Riccardo Motti; Josip Juračak
Affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract: The biocultural biodiversity in the world is disappearing, therefore the main goal and an absolute priority of ethnobiological research is to document the disappearing traditional knowledge. In this sense, we conducted this research during 2022-2023. Forty semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. In this study, the use of plants and fungi was analyzed; the use and local names of 269 plant taxa (108 wild, 92 cultivated plant taxa and 69 traditional varieties of cultivated plants) and 27 fungi species in the study area. The age of the respondents ranged from 48 to 95 years. The most commonly used wild plant species are those that grew near the plot, i.e. stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.), which is used to prepare stew, insecticide, liquid fertilizer, tea, as well as medicine, spice, but also feed for poultry, furthermore elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.), whose flower can be poached, used as medicinal tea, but also made into jam and juice. Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), an invasive plant; the flower is eaten raw and used as tea, the wood is used to make syrup and stakes, but it is also a prized honey plant. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg) is used to make tea, syrup, and sugar honey, and is eaten as a salad. The most unusual plant, which used to be widespread, is goosefoot (Chenopodium album L.), which today has almost completely disappeared from the diet and is no longer recognized even by the younger population. Among the mushrooms, the local population collected and still collects most frequently numerous species of porcini (Boletus sp.), chanterelles (Chanterellus cibarius (L.) Murrill) and milkweed (Lactarius piperatus (L.) Pers.). Of particular interest is the evidence of edible use of Sarccoscypha coccinea (Scop.) Lambotte (1889), which is very rare worldwide. In summary, mushrooms are an integral part of the diet of local people, and their local names and uses are documented as part of local tradition. We should focus more on documenting this knowledge to facilitate its dissemination in the communities that possess it, or at least preserve it for future generations.