Ethnobotanical knowledge and traditional use of plants in Serbia in relation to sustainable rural development
Abstract
In Serbian folk tradition, hundreds of plants were used for ages as food, beverages, medicine, natural dyes, natural additives, and food preservatives, for textile and fibers, shelter and fuel, as well as for traditional customs, religious purposes, and magic. Despite being often treated as a problem for the national economy, rural areas in Serbia actually represent a huge potential, namely in richness of natural resources, i.e., (agro)biodiversity, as well as cultural and traditional heritage and related ethnobotanical knowledge. The history of health culture of the Balkan nations is very complex and interesting. The extremely long tradition of curative and prophylactic use of medicinal herbs is mentioned in the folk medical texts of both known and unknown authors. The Old Serbs had a very developed cult dedicated to certain trees and plants, where many of customs remain in place even today. Here, we discuss the most interesting, old, and autochthonous varieties of cereals, vegetables..., and fruits that are still used in traditional Serbian cuisine today. This is followed with a brief review of the most commonly used medicinal herbs in Serbian folk medicine, as well as an outline of several of the best-described magical plants, including oak, basil, nettle, wormwood, linden, hawthorn, hazel tree, and laserwort.
Keywords:
Folk phytotherapy / Magic plants / Medicinal plants / Old crop varieties / Serbian customs with plants / Traditional foodSource:
Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans: Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Developmen, 2014, 229-252Publisher:
- Springer New York
Funding / projects:
- Advancing research in agricultural and food sciences at Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade (EU-316004)
- Improvement of genetic potential and technologies in forage crops production in function of sustainable animal husbandry development (RS-31057)
- Morphological, chemical, pharmacological and agronomic characterization of the Pannonian Thyme (Thymus pannonicus All., Lamiaceae), with the purpose of sustainable production in intensive cropping system (RS-31089)
Collections
Institution/Community
Poljoprivredni fakultetTY - CHAP AU - Stevanović, Z.D. AU - Petrović, M. AU - Aćić, Svetlana PY - 2014 UR - http://aspace.agrif.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3489 AB - In Serbian folk tradition, hundreds of plants were used for ages as food, beverages, medicine, natural dyes, natural additives, and food preservatives, for textile and fibers, shelter and fuel, as well as for traditional customs, religious purposes, and magic. Despite being often treated as a problem for the national economy, rural areas in Serbia actually represent a huge potential, namely in richness of natural resources, i.e., (agro)biodiversity, as well as cultural and traditional heritage and related ethnobotanical knowledge. The history of health culture of the Balkan nations is very complex and interesting. The extremely long tradition of curative and prophylactic use of medicinal herbs is mentioned in the folk medical texts of both known and unknown authors. The Old Serbs had a very developed cult dedicated to certain trees and plants, where many of customs remain in place even today. Here, we discuss the most interesting, old, and autochthonous varieties of cereals, vegetables, and fruits that are still used in traditional Serbian cuisine today. This is followed with a brief review of the most commonly used medicinal herbs in Serbian folk medicine, as well as an outline of several of the best-described magical plants, including oak, basil, nettle, wormwood, linden, hawthorn, hazel tree, and laserwort. PB - Springer New York T2 - Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans: Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Developmen T1 - Ethnobotanical knowledge and traditional use of plants in Serbia in relation to sustainable rural development EP - 252 SP - 229 DO - 10.1007/978-1-4939-1492-0_12 ER -
@inbook{ author = "Stevanović, Z.D. and Petrović, M. and Aćić, Svetlana", year = "2014", abstract = "In Serbian folk tradition, hundreds of plants were used for ages as food, beverages, medicine, natural dyes, natural additives, and food preservatives, for textile and fibers, shelter and fuel, as well as for traditional customs, religious purposes, and magic. Despite being often treated as a problem for the national economy, rural areas in Serbia actually represent a huge potential, namely in richness of natural resources, i.e., (agro)biodiversity, as well as cultural and traditional heritage and related ethnobotanical knowledge. The history of health culture of the Balkan nations is very complex and interesting. The extremely long tradition of curative and prophylactic use of medicinal herbs is mentioned in the folk medical texts of both known and unknown authors. The Old Serbs had a very developed cult dedicated to certain trees and plants, where many of customs remain in place even today. Here, we discuss the most interesting, old, and autochthonous varieties of cereals, vegetables, and fruits that are still used in traditional Serbian cuisine today. This is followed with a brief review of the most commonly used medicinal herbs in Serbian folk medicine, as well as an outline of several of the best-described magical plants, including oak, basil, nettle, wormwood, linden, hawthorn, hazel tree, and laserwort.", publisher = "Springer New York", journal = "Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans: Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Developmen", booktitle = "Ethnobotanical knowledge and traditional use of plants in Serbia in relation to sustainable rural development", pages = "252-229", doi = "10.1007/978-1-4939-1492-0_12" }
Stevanović, Z.D., Petrović, M.,& Aćić, S.. (2014). Ethnobotanical knowledge and traditional use of plants in Serbia in relation to sustainable rural development. in Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans: Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Developmen Springer New York., 229-252. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1492-0_12
Stevanović Z, Petrović M, Aćić S. Ethnobotanical knowledge and traditional use of plants in Serbia in relation to sustainable rural development. in Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans: Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Developmen. 2014;:229-252. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-1492-0_12 .
Stevanović, Z.D., Petrović, M., Aćić, Svetlana, "Ethnobotanical knowledge and traditional use of plants in Serbia in relation to sustainable rural development" in Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans: Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Developmen (2014):229-252, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1492-0_12 . .