title: Ethnobotanical survey on wild alpine food plants in Lower and Central Valais (Switzerland).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Swiss Alps have an ancestral tradition with regard to the use of wild plants as medicines and food. However, this knowledge is falling into oblivion, and is nowadays confined to village areas. Aim of the study was to identify wild edible plants used today and during the last two centuries by the alpine population of Valais (Switzerland).
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected by means of semi-directed interviews made in four different lateral valleys of Valais (Val d'Anniviers, Val d'Entremont, Val d'Hérens, and Val d'Illiez). Wild food plants were classified according to their uses (salads, cooked vegetables, spices, raw snacks, teas, alcoholic drinks, sirups, and jams). Books and reports written in the XIXth century were consulted to identify uses of wild plants which have fallen in oblivion meanwhile.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 98 edible wild plants, distributed into 38 botanical families, were identified during the interviews. Several plants were highly cited (e.g. Taraxacum officinale, Chenopodium bonus-henricus). The most frequent usage was as tea (18%), followed by uses as cooked vegetables (16%), jams (16%), and raw snacks (16%). A strong association was observed between food and medicinal uses of plants. Wild food plants were of critical importance in times of food scarcity. Meanwhile, they have lost their relevance as vital components of the diet and are nowadays rather perceived and appreciated as delicacies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides for the first time comprehensive data on present day and historical uses of wild plants as food in Lower and Central Valais. Besides being of historical interest, this ethnobotanical information can be used to identify species which may provide interesting opportunities for diversification of mountain agriculture.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutical Biology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abbet
authors.affiliation: Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, City of Geneva, 1 Chemin de l'Impératrice, Chambésy, CH-1292 Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mayor
authors.affiliation: Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, City of Geneva, 1 Chemin de l'Impératrice, Chambésy, CH-1292 Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roguet
authors.affiliation: Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, City of Geneva, 1 Chemin de l'Impératrice, Chambésy, CH-1292 Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Rodolphe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Spichiger
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutical Biology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamburger
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutical Biology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland. Electronic address: olivier.potterat@unibas.ch.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Potterat
mesh_terms: D001628:Beverages; D003625:Data Collection; D019448:Ethnobotany; D020834:Ethnopharmacology; D006801:Humans; D010945:Plants, Edible / Q000145:classification*; D013557:Switzerland; D014675:Vegetables
keywords: Ethnobotanical survey; Historical sources; Mountain population; Nutrition