"Mushrooms (and a cow) are A Means of Survival for Us": Dissimilar Ethnomycological Perspectives among Hutsuls and Romanians Living Across The Ukrainian-Romanian Border

Sustainable forest management highlights the multipurpose use of all forest resources, including the use of wild mushrooms, by a variety of forest users and especially for rural livelihoods. To achieve sustainable forest management, among others, decision-makers and forest managers need to identify the important elements for the livelihoods of local communities dependent on forests. Therefore, our aim is to analyse the importance of contemporary use of wild mushrooms for daily livelihoods in rural areas of the Carpathian Mountains by comparing two ethnic groups, Hutsuls and Romanians, living in a similar ecological environment and formerly belonging to the historical region of Bukovina, but currently split by the border between Ukraine and Romania which have different governments and economic situations. One hundred and twenty-one face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted in the summers of 2018 and 2019. We compared the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of Romanians and Hutsuls living, respectively, in lowlands and mountain areas on both sides of the border. Our results demonstrated the homogenous use of mushroom species for cultural purposes (e.g. ritual foods). Yet, we detected a remarkable difference in the role mushrooms play in providing income: Hutsuls in Ukraine use forest products as a main (rarely additional) source of income, while Romanian Hutsuls use them solely as additional income. Romanians on both sides considered mushrooms mainly as food and did not sell them (probably due in part to less abundance in the area). We also documented the fear of local residents that forest management and protected areas could suppress the right to collect wild mushrooms. The use of mushrooms is an important aspect of local TEK and needs to be considered as a part of sustainable forest management and as a means of poverty reduction in the region

Resilience in the mountains: biocultural refugia of wild food in the Greater Caucasus Range, Azerbaijan

Diversity of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) created on the edges of culture is the key to the sustainability and resilience of humankind. We recorded wild food TEK among seven autochthonous linguistic communities living on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Range, documenting the use of 72 wild taxa as well as remarkable diversity of both taxa and uses among the communities. The most isolated communities form distinct biocultural refugia for wild food plants and their uses, but the sustainability of such communities is under threat due to depopulation, and their TEK has already entered into decline. While isolation may have been responsible for the preservation of food biocultural refugia, it may no longer be enough for the passive preservation of the food refugia in the study area in the future. More proactive steps have to be taken in order to ensure the sustainability of TEK of the study communities and beyond

Complementary Treatment of the Common Cold and Flu with Medicinal Plants - Results from Two Samples of Pharmacy Customers in Estonia

The aim of the current survey was to investigate the complementary self-treatment of the common cold and flu with medicinal plants among pharmacy customers in Estonia. A multiple-choice questionnaire listing 10 plants and posing questions on the perceived characteristics of cold and flu, the effectiveness of plants, help-seeking behaviour, self-treatment and sources of information, was distributed to a sample of participants in two medium size pharmacies. The participants were pharmacy customers: 150 in Tallinn (mostly Russian speaking) and 150 in Kuressaare (mostly Estonian speaking). The mean number of plants used by participants was 4.1. Of the respondents, 69% self-treated the common cold and flu and 28% consulted with a general practitioner. In general, medicinal plants were considered effective in the treatment of the above-mentioned illnesses and 56% of the respondents had used exclusively medicinal plants or their combination with OTC medicines and other means of folk medicine for treatment. The use of medicinal plants increased with age and was more frequent among female than male respondents. Among Estonian-speaking customers lime flowers, blackcurrant and camomile were more frequently used, and among Russian speaking customers raspberry and lemon fruits. Regardless of some statistically significant differences in preferred species among different age, education, sex and nationality groups, the general attitude towards medicinal plants for self-treatment of the common cold and flu in Estonia was very favourable. © 2013 Raal et al

Uninvited Guests: Traditional Insect Repellents in Estonia used Against the Clothes Moth Tineola bisselliella, Human Flea Pulex irritons and Bedbug Cimex lectularius

Extensive folklore records from pre-modern Estonia give us an excellent opportunity to study a variety of local plant knowledge and plant use among the peasantry in various parts of the country. One important biocultural domain where plant knowledge has been crucial was in the various methods of combating different ectoparasites that cohabited and coexisted with humans and their domestic animals. Some of these methods were widely known (world-wide, Eurasia, Europe, Baltic Rim), while others were more local. Here we discuss ways of reducing clothes moths Tineola bisselliella (Hummel) (Lepidoptera: Tineidae), human fleas Pulex irritons L. (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) and bedbugs Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) with the help of plants. Various taxa used as traditional repellents have been identified. The use of plants as repellents and their toxic principles are also discussed from a comparative perspective

Use of cultivated plants and non-plant remedies for human and animal home-medication in Liuban district, Belarus

Background: To use any domestic remedy, specific knowledge and skills are required. Simple logic dictates that the use of wild plants in the context of limited interaction with nature requires prior identification, while in the case of non-plant remedies and cultivated plants this step can be omitted. This paper aims to document the current and past uses of non-plant remedies and cultivated plants in the study region for human/animal medication; to analyze the human medicinal and veterinary use areas in the context of the remedy groups; to qualitatively compare the results with relevant historical publications; and to compare the intensity and purpose of use between the remedy groups. Methods: During field studies 134 semi-structured interviews were conducted with locals from 11 villages in the LiubaÅ\u84 district of Belarus. Currently used home-remedies as well as those used in the past were documented by employing the folk history method. The subject was approached through health-related uses, not by way of remedies. Interview records were digitalized and structured in Detailed Use Records in order to ascertain local perceptions. An Informant Consensus Factor (FIC) was calculated for remedy groups as well as for different use categories. Results: In the human medication area the use of nearby remedies was neither very diverse nor numerous: 266 DUR for 45 taxa belonging to 27 families were recorded for cultivated plants along with 188 DUR for 58 different non-plant remedies. The FIC values for both remedy groups were lower than for wild plants. In the ethnoveterinary medicine use area there were 48 DUR referring to the use of 14 cultivated plant taxa from 12 families and 72 DUR referring to the use of 31 non-plant remedies. The FIC value for the whole veterinary use area of cultivated plants was relatively low, yet similar to the FIC of wild plants. Conclusions: Differences between remedy groups were pronounced, indicating that in domestic human medicine cultivated plants and non-plant remedies are either remarkably less important than wild ones or not considered worth talking about. In ethnoveterinary medicine non-plant remedies are almost equally important as wild plants, while cultivated plants are the least used. People in study area seem to still more often rely on, or are more willing to talk to strangers about, wild plants, as promoted by both official medicine and popular literature

Multi-functionality of the few: Current and past uses of wild plants for food and healing in LiubaÅ\u84 region, Belarus

Background: This study examined the use of wild plants in the food, medicinal and veterinary areas within a small territory limited to one village council in the LiubaÅ\u84 district of Belarus. The objectives of the research were to document the current and past uses of wild plants in this region for food and human/animal medication; to analyse the food, medicinal and veterinary areas in the context of wild plants; and to qualitatively compare the results with relevant publications concerning the wild food plants of Belarus. Methods: Fieldwork was carried out as a practical part of a development cooperation project in May 2016 in 11 villages of the LiubaÅ\u84 district. One hundred thirty-four respondents were selected randomly. Information about local uses of wild plants was obtained via semi-structured interviews and the folk-history method. Interview records were digitalized and the data structured in Detailed Use Records (DUR), which were divided into food, medicinal and veterinary areas and then analysed to ascertain local perceptions. Results: A total of 2252 DUR of wild plants were recorded. Eighty-eight wild plant taxa belonging to 45 plant families were used across all three areas. Of these, 58 taxa were used in the food, 74 in the medicinal and 23 in the veterinary areas. A relatively high percentage of the taxa were used in both the food and medicinal areas (55%) and an even greater percentage in both the medicinal and veterinary areas (87%). Comparison with earlier research on wild food plants shows the considerable difference among seldom-mentioned taxa or uses, showing possible regional differences despite the homogenization of the population during the Soviet era. Conclusions: As the majority of taxa with overlapping uses belonged to the most utilized plants, there appears to be clear a tendency to use plants in several different areas once they are brought into the home. This may be due to the need to maximize the versatility of limited resources. While the number of wild taxa used is relatively high, the mean number of taxa used per person is quite low, which indicates the relatively minor importance of wild plants in the respective areas in the study region. The low importance of snacks signals that unintended contact with nature has been lost

Forest as Stronghold of Local Ecological Practice: Currently Used Wild Food Plants in Polesia, Northern Ukraine

Local ecological practice (LEP, e.g., the everyday practice of collecting and using plants, including wild food plants) is shaped by nature (available local resources) and culture (local perceptions and knowledge on their usability), including a multitude of factors, among which language and geographical or cultural separation have been found to play crucial roles in affecting biocultural diversity. Also, proximity to the forest has been shown to increase the use of plants. We conducted ethnobotanical fieldwork within eastern and western regions of Ukrainian Polesia, during which we interviewed 118 people. Through semi-structured interviews, we recorded the distribution of the current uses of 70 wild food taxa. The analysis of use records revealed homogeneous distribution of use despite the geographical distance and different spoken dialects; however, we were able to single out the highly sylvan region of eastern Polesia as the area with highest biocultural diversity for the use of wild food plants. The results suggest that in the context of the overall homogenization of local ecological knowledge, the continued existence of unintended contact with nature through living and working in the forest may be the primary factor maintaining the broader LEP in the sylvan area of eastern Polesia. Місцева екологічна практика (MЕП, що включає повсякденну практику збору та використання дикорослих рослин у їжу) формується природою (місцевими ресурсами) та культурою (місцеві знання про їх використання), що включає безліч чинників, серед яких мова та географічне або культурне відокремлення відіграють вирішальну роль у впливі на біокультурне різноманіття. Також показано, що близькість до лісу збільшує використання рослин. Ми проводили етноботанічні польові роботи у двох областях Українського Полісся, в ході яких ми провели інтерв’ю з 118 людьми. За допомогою напівструктурованих інтерв’ю ми задокументували поточне використання 70 таксонів дикорослих рослин у їжу. Аналіз записів про вживання свідчить про однорідний розподіл використання, незважаючи на географічне розташування та різні розмовні діалекти; однак, ми змогли виділити лісистий регіон Східного Полісся як територію з найвищим біокультурним різноманіттям використання дикорослих рослин уїжу. Результати свідчать, що в контексті загальної гомогенізації місцевих екологічних знань, продовження існування контакту з природою живучи та працюючи в лісі може бути основним чинником, який підтримує ширшу MЕПу в лісовій зоні Східного Полісся

Knowledge transmission patterns at the border: ethnobotany of Hutsuls living in the Carpathian Mountains of Bukovina (SW Ukraine and NE Romania)

Background Cross-border research is a novel and important tool for detecting variability of ecological knowledge. This is especially evident in regions recently divided and annexed to different political regimes. Therefore, we conducted a study among Hutsuls, a cultural and linguistic minority group living in Northern and Southern Bukovina (Ukraine and Romania, respectively). Indeed, in the 1940s, a border was created: Northern Bukovina was annexed by the USSR while Southern Bukovina remained part of the Kingdom of Romania. In this research, we aim to document uses of plants for food and medicinal preparations, discussing the different dynamics of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) transmission among Hutsuls living in Ukraine and Romania. Methods Field research was conducted using convenience and snowball sampling techniques to recruit 31 Hutsuls in Ukraine and 30 in Romania for participation in semi-structured interviews regarding the use of plants for medicinal and food preparation purposes and the sources of such knowledge. Results The interviews revealed that, despite a common cultural and linguistic background, ethnobotanical knowledge transmission occurs in different ways on each side of the border. Family is a primary source of ethnobotanical knowledge transmission on both sides of the border; however, in Romania, knowledge from other sources is very limited, whereas in Ukraine interviewees reported several other sources including books, magazines, newspapers, the Internet and television. This is especially evident when analysing the wild plants used for medicinal purposes as we found 53 taxa that were common to both, 47 used only in Ukraine and 11 used only in Romania. While Romanian Hutsuls used almost exclusively locally available plants, Ukrainian Hutsuls often reported novel plants such as Aloe vera, Aronia melanocarpa and Elaeagnus rhamnoides. Knowledge related to these plants was transferred by sources of knowledge other than oral transmission among members of the same family. Therefore, this may imply hybridization of the local body of knowledge with foreign elements originating in the Soviet context which has enriched the corpus of ethnobotanical knowledge held by Ukrainian Hutsuls. Conclusions While ethnobotanical knowledge among Romanian Hutsuls is mainly traditional and vertically transmitted, among Ukrainian Hutsuls there is a considerable proportion of LEK that is transmitted from other (written and visual) sources of knowledge. This cross-border research reveals that despite a common cultural background, socio-political scenarios have impacted Hutsul ethnobotanical knowledge and its transmission patterns

Are identities oral? Understanding ethnobotanical knowledge after Irish independence (1937-1939)

BACKGROUND: The Schools' Folklore Scheme (1937-1939) was implemented at a pivotal time in Irelands' political history. It resulted in a body of ethnological information that is unique in terms of when, why and how it was collected. This material consists of over 700,000 pages of information, including ethnomedicinal and ethnobotanical traditions, reflecting an oral identity that spans generations and that in many cases was not documented in writing until the 1930s. The intention of this study is to highlight the importance of the Schools' Folklore Scheme and to demonstrate an ethnographic approach based on recollections of original participants of the scheme, to further understand the material in the collection and the impact it had on the participants. METHODS: This study involves an analysis of both oral and archival data. Eleven semi-structured interviews with original participants of the scheme were carried out between April and September 2016. Their corresponding schools' archival contributions to the scheme were located, and ethnomedicinal information was analysed and compared with the participants' recollections. RESULTS: The majority of participants' stated the scheme had a positive impact on them. Five participants' recalled collecting ethnomedicinal information, and there was a direct correlation between three of the participants' ethnomedicinal recollections and their entries in the archives. One third of all the ethnomedicinal entries analysed included the use of a plant. There were 191 plant mentions and 64 plant species named. CONCLUSIONS: Contacting the original participants offers a novel approach of analysing this archival material. It provides a unique first-hand account of this historical initiative, an insight into how the scheme was implemented and how it impacted upon the children. The ethnomedicinal and ethnobotanical information provides an understanding of the medicinal practices in Ireland during the 1930s. The plant species that were both orally recalled by participants and documented in the archives are in keeping with key ethnomedicinal systems throughout the world