title: Traditional knowledge of wild edible plants used in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal): a comparative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We compare traditional knowledge and use of wild edible plants in six rural regions of the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula as follows: Campoo, Picos de Europa, Piloña, Sanabria and Caurel in Spain and Parque Natural de Montesinho in Portugal.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on the use of 97 species were collected through informed consent semi-structured interviews with local informants. A semi-quantitative approach was used to document the relative importance of each species and to indicate differences in selection criteria for consuming wild food species in the regions studied.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The most significant species include many wild berries and nuts (e.g. Castanea sativa, Rubus ulmifolius, Fragaria vesca) and the most popular species in each food-category (e.g. fruits or herbs used to prepare liqueurs such as Prunus spinosa, vegetables such as Rumex acetosa, condiments such as Origanum vulgare, or plants used to prepare herbal teas such as Chamaemelum nobile). The most important species in the study area as a whole are consumed at five or all six of the survey sites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social, economic and cultural factors, such as poor communications, fads and direct contact with nature in everyday life should be taken into account in determining why some wild foods and traditional vegetables have been consumed, but others not. They may be even more important than biological factors such as richness and abundance of wild edible flora. Although most are no longer consumed, demand is growing for those regarded as local specialties that reflect regional identity.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología (Botánica), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, c/Darwin 2, Campus de Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain. manuel.pardo@uam.es
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pardo-de-Santayana
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tardío
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lastra
authors.forename: Elia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: San Miguel
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morales
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D017753:Ecosystem; D019448:Ethnobotany; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D010945:Plants, Edible; D011174:Portugal; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013030:Spain