Wild edible plants sold in the local markets of Izmir, Turkey

Abstract

In recent years, Mediterranean diet has been promoted as a model for healthy eating. One of the main characteristics of the Mediterranean diet is an abundance of plant food as fruits, vegetables, whole-grain cereals, nuts, and legumes. This paper compiles and evaluates the ethnobotanical knowledge currently available on wild edible plants sold in the local markets and traditionally used for human consumption in Izmir, a province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The information about the use of wild edible plants was collected from 18 different open-air-markets in the city during two-year period, through unstructured interviews. In this study, a total of 46 wild edible plant taxa were established and also plant parts used, ethnographic data related to vernacular names, traditional tools and recipes were recorded. Family Asteraceae is represented by the highest number of taxa (7), followed by Apiaceae (6), Polygonaceae, Liliaceae and Lamiaceae (4), Amaranthaceae and Brassicaceae (2). The study showed that the plants used are either eaten raw, cooked by boiling in water, frying in oil or baked to be served as dishes such as stew, salad as hot drink. During this ethnobotanical research, it was verified that wild edible plants play an important role in diet in Izmir. However, it was observed that the transfer of folk uses of these plants decreased in the last generations. In this context, the ethnobotanical research about wild edible plants should be extended to other areas of Turkey in order not only to preserve the traditional knowledge related to plants, but also to make it available for future generations as well.