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.