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. 2021 Apr 10;10(4):743.
doi: 10.3390/plants10040743.

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

Bruno Paura  1 , Piera Di Marzio  2 , Giovanni Salerno  3 , Elisabetta Brugiapaglia  1 , Annarita Bufano  1
Affiliations

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

Bruno Paura et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

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 Cichorium intybus and Borago officinalis. 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.

Keywords: AlimurgITA; Italy; database; ethnobotany; wild edible plants (WEPs).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Division of Italy into sectors (North—blue, Centre—red, South—green, major islands—orange). Abbreviations of the administrative regions: AOV = Aosta Valley, PIE = Piedmont, LOM = Lombardy, TAA = Trentino-Alto Adige, VEN = Veneto, FVG = Friuli-Venezia Giulia, LIG = Liguria, EMR = Emilia Romagna, TUS = Tuscany, UMB = Umbria, MAR = Marche, ABR = Abruzzi, LAT = Latium, CAM = Campania, MOL = Molise, APU = Apulia, BAS = Basilicata, CAL = Calabria, SIC = Sicily, SAR = Sardinia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage composition of the main families of Italian Wild Edible Plants (WEPs).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of Wild Edible Plants (WEPs) recorded (blue column) and total number of taxa in Italian flora of the most frequent families in the Database AlimurgITA.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage of the main families of Wild Edible Plants (WEPs) by geographical area.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Number of administrative regions where the taxa have been cited.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Number of Wild Edible Plants (WEPs) by region in respect of the percentage composition of taxa present in the regional flora. Abbreviations of the administrative regions are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Number of recorded Wild Edible Plants (WEPs) by geographical sector and percentage comparison with regional flora.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Regional comparison based on the number of recorded and potential alimurgic taxa. Abbreviations of the administrative regions are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Comparison by geographical area between the number of recorded and potential alimurgic taxa.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Parts of the plant used and their frequency in the whole database.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Methods for use of edible species and their frequency in the whole database.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Distribution of toxic taxa of Italian alimurgic flora included in the database AlimurgITA.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Composition in absolute and percentage value of the Italian edible spontaneous taxa biological spectrum. Ch = Chamaephytes; G = Geophytes; H = Emicryptophytes; He = Helophytes; Hy = Hydrophytes; P = Phanerophytes; and T = Therophytes.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Percentage composition of the chorologic spectrum of Italian of Wild Edible Plants (WEPs).
Figure 15
Figure 15
Percentage composition of the chorologic spectrum of Italian edible spontaneous taxa by geographical region.
Figure 16
Figure 16
Publications (358) on the alimurgic theme per decade, expressed in absolute and percentage figures.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Number of texts published by region or in Italy based on absolute (colored columns) and percentage (black columns) values. Abbreviations of the administrative regions are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 18
Figure 18
Number of taxa cited by [57] and also reported in publications of subsequent years.
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