Ethnobotanical and phytomedicinal knowledge in a long-history protected area, the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Italian Apennines)

This study reports on the ethnobotanical and phytomedical knowledge in one of the oldest European Parks, the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Central Italy). We selected this area because we judged the long history of nature preservation as an added value potentially encouraging the survival of uses possibly lost elsewhere. In all, we interviewed 60 key informants selected among those who, for their current or past occupation or specific interests, were most likely to report accurately on traditional use of plants. The ethnobotanical inventory we obtained included 145 taxa from 57 families, corresponding to 435 use-reports: 257 referred to medical applications, 112 to food, 29 to craft plants for domestic uses, 25 to veterinary applications, 6 to harvesting for trade and another 6 to animal food.