Wild food plants used on the Dubrovnik coast ( south-eastern Croatia )

The documentation of traditionally used wild food plants has been carried out in many European countries over the last several years [1–6], and reviews of older ethnographic literature concerning this issue have been published [7–13]. Some results of field ethnobotanical studies have also been published in the countries of the former Yugoslavia (e.g. [14–19]), though only a few of them are solely focused on wild foods [19–21]. The Adriatic coast has a particularly rich tradition of using wild foods in nutrition. This probably stems from a combination of two factors: the low productivity of rocky soils, which made people utilize every possible food resource, and Mediterranean cultural influences (the widespread appreciation of wild greens in the Mediterranean diet). The proper documentation of wild food ethnobotany in this region has only recently begun. Wild greens sold in Dalmatian markets were documented [20], and the traditions of using wild foods in a selected site in northern Dalmatia, near Lake Vrana, were recorded [21]. Additional information on wild food plant use can be found in older ethnographic sources, wild food guides and ethnolinguistic publications [22–26]. Unfortunately no ethnobotanical studies had previously been carried out at the very southern edge of the Croatian coast – in the Dubrovnik area. As traditional ecological knowledge is eroding fast in most of Europe, the aim of our study was to document the wild food plants used now or in the past around the city of Dubrovnik.


Introduction
The documentation of traditionally used wild food plants has been carried out in many European countries over the last several years [1][2][3][4][5][6], and reviews of older ethnographic literature concerning this issue have been published [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Some results of field ethnobotanical studies have also been published in the countries of the former Yugoslavia (e.g.[14][15][16][17][18][19]), though only a few of them are solely focused on wild foods [19][20][21].The Adriatic coast has a particularly rich tradition of using wild foods in nutrition.This probably stems from a combination of two factors: the low productivity of rocky soils, which made people utilize every possible food resource, and Mediterranean cultural influences (the widespread appreciation of wild greens in the Mediterranean diet).The proper documentation of wild food ethnobotany in this region has only recently begun.Wild greens sold in Dalmatian markets were documented [20], and the traditions of using wild foods in a selected site in northern Dalmatia, near Lake Vrana, were recorded [21].Additional information on wild food plant use can be found in older ethnographic sources, wild food guides and ethnolinguistic publications [22][23][24][25][26]. Unfortunately no ethnobotanical studies had previously been carried out at the very southern edge of the Croatian coast -in the Dubrovnik area.As traditional ecological knowledge is eroding fast in most of Europe, the aim of our study was to document the wild food plants used now or in the past around the city of Dubrovnik.

Study site
The study site is located around Dubrovnik, in the Croatian section of the Adriatic coast between the areas of the coast belonging to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro (Fig. 1).The investigated area was part of the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik Republic) in Medieval times, and later formed part of the Habsburg Monarchy (Austro-Hungarian Monarchy), then Yugoslavia and finally Croatia.A Dalmatian/Venetian (Romanesque) language elite lived in the city of Dubrovnik for centuries, while the lower classes spoke a dialect of Croatian.Gradually the Croatian language took over, sealed by the expulsion of the last remaining Italians after World War II [27].The Dubrovnik coast is now inhabited almost exclusively by Croatian speaking Roman-Catholics.
The climate is Mediterranean; summers are hot with short periods of drought, while the remaining seasons are characterized by abundant rainfall and moderate temperatures.According to the Meteorological and Hydrological Service of Croatia, for the period 1970-2005 the average annual mean temperature of Dubrovnik was 16.4°C, the coldest months of the year were January and February, with an average temperature of 9.3°C, and the warmest was August with an average temperature of 24.9°C.The average total annual rainfall in the same period was 1064.7 mm.The lowest amounts of rainfall were recorded in July, an average of 30.1 mm, and the maximum in November, an average of 141.8 mm [28].
From the phytogeographical point of view the study area is situated in the Mediterranean Region, Eastern Mediterranean Subregion, Adriatic Province, and Epiro-Dalmatian Sector [29].According to Trinajstić [30] Climazonal forest vegetation can be found only in a small part of this area because, due to intensive anthropogenic activities, it has been degraded to a greater or lesser extent.Such degradation caused the formation of very significant, permanent vegetative forms like shrublands (macchia), garrigue, dry grasslands and rocky pastures.

Field study
We interviewed people (all of Croatian nationality) from 23 villages: Buići, Doli, Dubravka, Dunave, Gabrili, Gromača, Gruda, Ljuta, Majkovi, Mlini, Mokošica, Mravinjac, Mrčevo, Orašac, Osojnik, Palje Brdo, Petrača, Popolica, Riđica, Smokovljani, Šumet, Topolo and Visočani (Fig. 1).A relatively large area was chosen for the study, as the knowledge and use of wild edible plants has strongly decreased and more effort was required to find interviewees than in the case of a similar study in northern Dalmatia in the Zadar area [21].Also for this reason, we decided to present all the species mentioned even by one respondent providing we were sure that they were identified correctly, with the awareness that these are dying out relic uses, which should be recorded.
The study was carried out throughout 2013, mainly in the spring months (March-May).The first author has spent her life in the area and has family ties in a few of the studied villages, which helped in gathering extra information on local plant uses and in choosing the informants.
The research was carried out following the American Anthropological Association Code of Ethics [31] and the International Society of Ethnobiology Code of Ethics [32].Data were collected mainly by free listing methods.Interviews were carried out in Croatian.
Participants were selected either as the most knowledgeable people in the village, based on recommendation, or simply approached outside during their farm or garden work.Altogether, 40 free listing questionnaires were obtained, from middle-aged and elderly inhabitants (27 women, 10 men and three couples).The mean age of informants was 62 and the median 64, with the youngest interviewee aged 40 and the oldest 81.
The participants were asked their age, place of origin and present habitation.Then they were asked the following questions: what wild vegetables have you collected?What wild roots have you collected?What wild fruits have you collected?What wild mushrooms have you collected?Do you drink any herbal teas on an everyday basis?
Walks were made with some of the participants, which enabled the gathering of plants and identification of folk taxa.Voucher specimens were collected and deposited in the herbarium of the Faculty of Biology of Warsaw University (WA).

Results
Altogether, 95 taxa of wild food plants (and 3 taxa of fungi) were recorded in the 76 species of plants that were used or remembered by at least two informants (Tab.1).If species used only for infusions ("recreational teas") or to spice alcohol were excluded, the total list of plants would include 78 species.Leaves and other above-ground vegetative organs are the largest category (58 species), followed by fruits (23 species), flowers (19) and underground organs (3).The leaves or shoots of 43 species are used for boiled or raw salads, 18 species of fruits are eaten raw or in the form of preserves, 14 species of plants are used to spice rakija (including the herbal rakija called "travarica") and sweet liqueurs, and 7 species are used as culinary spices.Various organs of 27 species are used as recreational teas.
On average 19.2 species (median = 16.5) were listed by each informant, including 10.0 species of wild vegetables, 4.8 species of fruits, 2.5 species used as spices, 0.1 species with edible roots, and 0.2 species of fungi.
Wild vegetables are still widely used in the Dubrovnik area, though only a few species are used on a regular basis.These are usually weeds growing in old fields, on roadsides and in hedgerows.They are mainly collected in spring (February-April).Unfortunately wild food plants are much less popular among young people, most people who use wild foods are elderly, and a large percentage of the population have stopped using them completely.
Most wild vegetables are boiled in a mix, which is called "pazija", [a Turkish name for beet (Beta) [33]] or "pakoleć" (dominant species is Bunias erucago [34]).They are usually boiled for 20-30 min., strained and sprinkled with olive oil, then served as a side dish.Usually only a few of the most abundant species are collected and used (sow thistle Sonchus spp., wild leek Allium ampeloprasum, bristly ox-tongue Picris Fig. 1 The study area and the distribution of the studied villages. echioides, fennel Foeniculum vulgare, red poppy Papaver rhoeas, Urospermum picroides and Bunias erucago).Other species are used for pazija only rarely.
Asparagus shoots are boiled separately and served in a similar way.They can also be fried or added to soup, often with boiled eggs.Black bryony Dioscoraea communis (syn.Tamus communis), and more rarely butcher's broom Ruscus aculeatus (and Smilax aspera mentioned only by one person), are commonly used "like asparagus" ("kao šparoge"), as the shoots have a similar shape.Some Asteraceae species are also eaten raw or blanched, and dressed in olive oil (Cichorium, Crepis, Taraxacum etc.).
Several aromatic wild plants are used in cooking.Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is used both as a vegetable and a spice, added to pazija, and other dishes.Another common spice is bay leaf (Laurus nobilis), which is used to flavor meat dishes and preserves.
A large number of taxa are used as recreational teas, i.e. infusions, drunk without a particular health target.The most common plants used are rose hips (Rosa spp.) and sage (Salvia officinalis) leaves, but a number of other Lamiaceae species, both cultivated, semi-wild, and wild are used (see Tab. 1).
Wild fruits are now rarely collected, apart from snacking on blackberries or collecting Rosa fruits for tea.Wild mushrooms are practically unknown (only two respondents mentioned collecting parasol mushrooms Macrolepiota procera, and single informants mentioned collecting porcini (Boletus sp.) and chanterelles (Cantarellus cibarius).

Discussion
The presented list of wild foods is similar to the plants collected in the Vrana area, and also typical for other Mediterranean areas.Most of the wild vegetables and fruits collected in the Dubrovnik area are also widely used in Spain, Italy and western Turkey [1][2][3][4][5]35].On the other hand, worthy of attention is the use of Ruscus aculeatus, used similarly to asparagus.This use has only been observed in some parts Italy [36,37] and in the Istrian part of the Dalmatian coast [38].It is not known in other parts of Dalmatia [21].We also found that it is the only place in Dalmatia that Tordylium apulum, a common plant of roadside verges in southern Croatia, is still occasionally eaten in the wild vegetable mix [this species was incorrectly provisionally identified in our previous article as "Pimpinella peregrina (?)" [20]].
Out of the 36 wild food plant taxa listed by Bakić and Popović [22] as the most frequently used on the ex-Yugoslav coast, as many as 26 species (or their close relatives from the same genus) are used or remembered in the Dubrovnik area.
In spite of the fact that many of the studied households are located on the coast, the only truly seaside plant collected is Crithmum maritimum.The plants used for everyday infusions in the Dubrovnik area are species commonly used around the Mediterranean or in other Slavic countries (e.g.[39]).
The erosion of local plant knowledge in the Dubrovnik area seems to be more extensive than on some other parts of the Croatian coast, for instance in the Vrana area.In Vrana less species were recorded per interview [21], but most people gather wild vegetables and were willing to be interviewed.On the Dubrovnik coast only a few elderly people collect wild foods now and it is very difficult to find people with knowledge of wild foods, hence this study was focused on selected key informants.The difference between Vrana and Dubrovnik can probably largely be explained by the fact that the Dubrovnik area is a region with a higher income than other parts of Dalmatia (see e.g., http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv_Eng/publication/2013/12-01-02_01_2013.htm).
It should however be borne in mind that in the Dubrovnik area a much larger area was studied than in the study on the wild food plants of the lake Vrana area.
Local differences in the list of the species still collected for vegetable mixes should be noted.For example, in the Dubrovnik area neither Tragopogon nor Scolymus hispanicus were recorded by us, although their leaves are used as food in northern Dalmatia.And vice versa -Tordylium apulum, which is used (but rarely) in Dubrovnik area is not known as edible in northern Dalmatia, although it also occurs there.It is difficult to establish whether these differences occur only due to differences in the abundance of species (we assume that if a species is more abundant it may be remembered better and used more frequently), or if knowledge about the edibility of some lesser used species has died out, similarly to the knowledge of wild edible greens in Eastern Europe (compare [6,8,9,13,40]).Unfortunately it is likely that the latter is true, which should urge us to extend culinary ethnobotanical research to other parts of the Balkans where this knowledge is disappearing as well.Tab. 1 (continued) , the area belongs to the Eumediterranean vegetational zone of evergreen holmoak forests [the Quercion ilicis Br.-Bl.(1931) 1936 alliance], while the warmest and driest parts of the study area belong to the Stenomediterranean vegetational zone of wild olive and carob woodlands (alliance Oleo Ceratonion Br.-Bl.1931).
Wild food plants and mushrooms used in the area.