Abstract
In the Mediterranean, traditional food systems have typically used a large number of plants harvested from the wild, including fruit-tree species, climbing plants with edible young shoots, wild tubers, and leafy greens. In this chapter we review the studies on natural production of wild edible plants, including those carried out by our research group on Mediterranean vegetables and fruits, as well as the experiences of cultivation for some of them.
These plants can be found in a wide diversity of habitats ranging from forests to human disturbed areas, such as those from agricultural landscapes. Despite their heterogeneity regarding life and growth forms, they commonly share two distinctive features that make them valuable food resources. Firstly, they are generally common and abundant species that can be easily found and collected near the villages. For example, plant density of weedy vegetables such as Cichorium intybus is higher than 3600 individuals ha-1, whereas Arbutus unedo growing in a sclerophyllous Mediterranean forest yield around 500 kg ha-1 of fruits, and more than 9000 spears per hectare of Tamus communis can be collected in a riverbank forest. They can consequently be subject to a sustainable exploitation over time if traditional harvesting practices are followed. Secondly, most of them are autochthonous plants adapted to local environments. In contrast to exotic crops, wild plants support the seasonal variations and adverse weather conditions of the locality, ensuring steadier productions under drought and other stress factors. Research on natural production of wild edibles may contribute for a full scale valorisation of these plants and, in some cases, promoting the cultivation of culturally appreciated species with agronomical potential, such as Silene vulgaris, Scolymus hispanicus or Asparagus acutifolius, at least in the Mediterranean regions
These plants can be found in a wide diversity of habitats ranging from forests to human disturbed areas, such as those from agricultural landscapes. Despite their heterogeneity regarding life and growth forms, they commonly share two distinctive features that make them valuable food resources. Firstly, they are generally common and abundant species that can be easily found and collected near the villages. For example, plant density of weedy vegetables such as Cichorium intybus is higher than 3600 individuals ha-1, whereas Arbutus unedo growing in a sclerophyllous Mediterranean forest yield around 500 kg ha-1 of fruits, and more than 9000 spears per hectare of Tamus communis can be collected in a riverbank forest. They can consequently be subject to a sustainable exploitation over time if traditional harvesting practices are followed. Secondly, most of them are autochthonous plants adapted to local environments. In contrast to exotic crops, wild plants support the seasonal variations and adverse weather conditions of the locality, ensuring steadier productions under drought and other stress factors. Research on natural production of wild edibles may contribute for a full scale valorisation of these plants and, in some cases, promoting the cultivation of culturally appreciated species with agronomical potential, such as Silene vulgaris, Scolymus hispanicus or Asparagus acutifolius, at least in the Mediterranean regions
