title: A cross-cultural comparison of folk plant uses among Albanians, Bosniaks, Gorani and Turks living in south Kosovo.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Kosovo represents a unique hotspot of biological and cultural diversity in Europe, which allows for interesting cross-cultural ethnobotanical studies. The aims of this study were twofold: 1) to document the state of traditional knowledge related to local (esp. wild) plant uses for food, medicine, and handicrafts in south Kosovo; and 2) to examine how communities of different ethnic groups in the region (Albanians, Bosniaks/Gorani, and Turks) relate to and value wild botanical taxa in their ecosystem.
  
  
  METHODS
  Field research was conducted in 10 villages belonging to the Prizren municipality and 4 villages belonging to the Dragash municipality, located in the Sharr Mountains in the southern part of Kosovo. Snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit 139 elderly informants (61 Albanians, 32 Bosniaks/Gorani and 46 Turks), for participation in semi-structured interviews regarding the use of the local flora for medicinal, food, and handicraft purposes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, we recorded the local uses of 114 species were used for medicinal purposes, 29 for food (wild food plants), and 20 in handicraft activities. The most important species used for medicinal purposes were Achillea millefolium L., Sambucus nigra L., Urtica dioica L., Tilia platyphyllos Scop. Hypericum perforatum L., Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rauschert, Thymus serpyllum L. and Vaccinium myrtillus L. Chamomilla recutita was the most highly valued of these species across the populations surveyed. Out of 114 taxa used for medicinal purposes, only 44 species are also included in the European Pharmacopoeia. The predominantly quoted botanical families were Rosaceae, Asteraceae, and Lamiaceae. Comparison of the data recorded among the Albanian, Bosniak/Gorani, and Turkish communities indicated a less herbophilic attitude of the Albanian populations, while most quoted taxa were quoted by all three communities, thus suggesting a hybrid character of the Kosovar plant knowledge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cross-cultural ethnobiological studies are crucial in the Balkans not only for proposing ways of using plant natural resources, which could be exploited in sustainable local development projects (e.g. focusing on eco-tourism and small-scale trade of medicinal herbs, food niche and handicrafts products), but also for fostering collaboration and reconciliation among diverse ethnic and religious communities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Environmental Research, University of Prishtina "Hasan Prishtina", Mother Teresa, 1000, Prishtinë, Kosovo. behxhet.mustafa@uni-pr.edu.
authors.forename: Behxhet
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mustafa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Environmental Research, University of Prishtina "Hasan Prishtina", Mother Teresa, 1000, Prishtinë, Kosovo. avni.hajdari@uni-pr.edu.
authors.forename: Avni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hajdari
authors.affiliation: University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 9, I-12060, Pollenzo, Italy. a.pieroni@unisg.it.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pieroni
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Environmental Research, University of Prishtina "Hasan Prishtina", Mother Teresa, 1000, Prishtinë, Kosovo. bledarpulaj@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Bledar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pulaj
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Environmental Research, University of Prishtina "Hasan Prishtina", Mother Teresa, 1000, Prishtinë, Kosovo. xhemajli.koro@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Xhemajli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Koro
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Human Health, Emory University, 550 Asbury Circle, Candler Library 107E, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. cassandra.leah.quave@emory.edu.|Department of Dermatology, Emory University School of Medicine, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, CNR Bldg. 5000, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. cassandra.leah.quave@emory.edu.
authors.forename: Cassandra L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Quave
mesh_terms: D000415:Albania / Q000208:ethnology; D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina / Q000208:ethnology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005006:Ethnicity; D019448:Ethnobotany / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D063826:Kosovo; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010945:Plants, Edible; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D014421:Turkey / Q000208:ethnology