History vs. legend: Retracing invasion and spread of Oxalis pes-caprae L. in Europe and the Mediterranean area.

Oxalis pes-caprae L. is a South African geophyte that behaves as an invasive in the eurimediterranean area. According to a long-established hypothesis, O.

Is there nothing new under the sun? The influence of herbals and pharmacopoeias on ethnobotanical traditions in Albacete (Spain).

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: This paper has two overarching aims: (1) presenting the results of studying the Albacete tariff of medicines of 1526 and (2) broadly analyzing the origin and influences of medicinal traditional knowledge in the region of Albacete, Spain. We use historical and modern literature that may have influenced this knowledge. Our primary goal was to determine the ingredients used in the pharmacy in the 16th century CE in Albacete through the analysis of the tariff, and our secondary goal was to investigate until when ingredients and uses present in pharmacy and herbals persisted in later periods.

Traditional alcoholic beverages and their value in the local culture of the Alta Valle del Reno, a mountain borderland between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna (Italy).

Background: Traditional alcoholic beverages (TABs) have only received marginal attention from researchers and ethnobotanists so far, especially in Italy. This work is focused on plant-based TABs in the Alta Valle del Reno, a mountainous area on the border between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna regions. The aims of our study were to document local knowledge about TABs and to analyze and discuss the distribution of related knowledge within the investigated communities.

Wild medicinal and food plants used by communities living in Mopane woodlands of southern Angola: Results of an ethnobotanical field investigation.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Mopane woodlands play an important role in the livelihood strategies of local populations; however, they have been scarcely investigated by ethnobiologists and very little is currently known about plants traditionally used by local communities, especially about medicinal plants.

Aim Of The Study: Our investigation was aimed to document ethnobotanical knowledge in seven communities living in conditions of extreme poverty in a Mopane area of southern Angola (Namibe province). We focused on plants used as medicines and/or food, in order to highlight the role of wild plants in the livelihood of local communities, and possibly to find out plants with potential pharmacological interest.

Spirits and liqueurs in European traditional medicine: Their history and ethnobotany in Tuscany and Bologna (Italy).

Ethnopharmacological Relevance And Background: Fermented drinks, often alcoholic, are relevant in many nutritional, medicinal, social, ritual and religious aspects of numerous traditional societies. The use of alcoholic drinks of herbal extracts is documented in classical pharmacy since the 1st century CE and it is often recorded in ethnobotanical studies in Europe, particularly in Italy, where are used for a wide range of medicinal purposes. Formulations and uses represent a singular tradition which responds to a wide range of environmental and cultural factors.

Traditional uses of plants in a rural community of Mozambique and possible links with Miombo degradation and harvesting sustainability.

Background: Miombo woodlands play an important role in the livelihood of people living in sub-equatorial African countries, contributing to satisfy basic human needs such as food, medicine, fuelwood and building materials. However, over-exploitation of plant resources and unsustainable harvest practices can potentially degrade forests. The aim of this study was to document the use of Miombo plant products, other than medicinal plants, in local communities, within a wider framework in which we discussed possible links between traditional uses and conservation status of the used species and of the whole Miombo environment.

Traditional healers and laypeople: a qualitative and quantitative approach to local knowledge on medicinal plants in Muda (Mozambique).

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Through this study, relevant information was gathered on the knowledge about medicinal remedies in some rural communities of Muda (central Mozambique). The use of 198 different medicinal plants has been recorded and a significant number of medicinal species and uses new for Africa and particularly for Mozambique has been detected. Our investigation appears to be the first comparing knowledge about medicinal plants between laypeople and traditional healers and also between the two kinds of healers (curandeiros and profetas).

Plants and traditional knowledge: an ethnobotanical investigation on Monte Ortobene (Nuoro, Sardinia).

Background: Most of the traditional knowledge about plants and their uses is fast disappearing as a consequence of socio-economic and land use changes. This trend is also occurring in areas that are historically exposed to very few external influences, such as Sardinia (Italy). From 2004 to 2005, an ethnobotanical investigation was carried out in the area of Monte Ortobene, a mountain located near Nuoro, in central Sardinia.