Volume 151, Issue 1, 10 January 2014, Pages 624–634
Ethnobotanical survey on wild alpine food plants in Lower and Central Valais (Switzerland)
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Swiss
Alps have an ancestral tradition with regard to the use of wild plants
as medicines and food. However, this knowledge is falling into oblivion,
and is nowadays confined to village areas. Aim of the study was to
identify wild edible plants used today and during the last two centuries
by the alpine population of Valais (Switzerland).
Material and methods
Data
were collected by means of semi-directed interviews made in four
different lateral valleys of Valais (Val d'Anniviers, Val d'Entremont,
Val d'Hérens, and Val d'Illiez). Wild food plants were classified
according to their uses (salads, cooked vegetables, spices, raw snacks,
teas, alcoholic drinks, sirups, and jams). Books and reports written in
the XIXth century were consulted to identify uses of wild plants which
have fallen in oblivion meanwhile.
Results
A
total of 98 edible wild plants, distributed into 38 botanical families,
were identified during the interviews. Several plants were highly cited
(e.g. Taraxacum officinale, Chenopodium bonus-henricus).
The most frequent usage was as tea (18%), followed by uses as cooked
vegetables (16%), jams (16%), and raw snacks (16%). A strong association
was observed between food and medicinal uses of plants. Wild food
plants were of critical importance in times of food scarcity. Meanwhile,
they have lost their relevance as vital components of the diet and are
nowadays rather perceived and appreciated as delicacies.
Conclusions
This
study provides for the first time comprehensive data on present day and
historical uses of wild plants as food in Lower and Central Valais.
Besides being of historical interest, this ethnobotanical information
can be used to identify species which may provide interesting
opportunities for diversification of mountain agriculture.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
- Nutrition;
- Ethnobotanical survey;
- Historical sources;
- Mountain population
- Corresponding author. Tel.:
+41 61 2671534; fax: +41 61 2671474.
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