Design a Database of Italian Vascular Alimurgic Flora (AlimurgITA): Preliminary Results

• Main Authors: Bruno Paura, Piera Di Marzio, Giovanni Salerno, Elisabetta Brugiapaglia, Annarita Bufano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Plants
• Subjects: wild edible plants (WEPs); database; AlimurgITA; ethnobotany; Italy
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/4/743

Despite the large number of data published in Italy on WEPs, there is no database providing a complete knowledge framework. Hence the need to design a database of the Italian alimurgic flora: AlimurgITA. Only strictly alimurgic taxa were chosen, excluding casual alien and cultivated ones. The collected data come from an archive of 358 texts (books and scientific articles) from 1918 to date, chosen with appropriate criteria. For each taxon, the part of the plant used, the method of use, the chorotype, the biological form and the regional distribution in Italy were considered. The 1103 taxa of edible flora already entered in the database equal 13.09% of Italian flora. The most widespread family is that of the Asteraceae (20.22%); the most widely used taxa are <i>Cichorium intybus</i> and <i>Borago officinalis</i>. The not homogeneous regional distribution of WEPs (maximum in the south and minimum in the north) has been interpreted. Texts published reached its peak during the 2001–2010 decade. A database for Italian WEPs is important to have a synthesis and to represent the richness and complexity of this knowledge, also in light of its potential for cultural enhancement, as well as its applications for the agri-food system.