Fact sheets
A comprehensive training program for AMP exploitation
During the last years there has been a growing interest from young people to get involved in the AMP exploitation business. The rich Greek flora and the plenty of abandoned agricultural fields in rural areas offer a great potential in this direction. However, most of the young farmers/entrepreneurs didn’t have a relative experience in the field and there has been many fails and disappointments.
Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Traceability System
The purpose of the traceability system is to link the final product made from aromatic or medicinal plants to the place of origin, specie of origin, method of harvesting, harvester, processor and producer. By having a QR code placed on a particular end product, the consumer can easily obtain more information than those described on the label of the product, and can choose which product is most relevant to their needs.
Bar-HRM traceability of plants in food and medicine
Barcoding is an important tool towards the solution of traceability issues. Plant.ID is a collaborative network within Europe and addresses the challenges of plant identification in 15 different projects. We focus on common edible, poisonous, allergenic and pharmaceutical plants of the Greek flora. Through sequencing of barcoding regions and metabarcoding techniques, specific barcoding markers will be developed to be used either with PCR and/or with the High Resolution Melting Analysis for species-specific identification.
Conservation and sustainable exploitation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants from mountain areas
Sideritis sp. are among the most overhavested in Greece and many wild populations are threatened. It is used for the preparation of herbal tea, known as Mountain tea which is widely consumed due to its properties known from folk medicine. The traditional use of 4 Sideritis sp. has been adopted by HMPC in a herbal monograph (1) and several studies have been reported on its pharmacological properties. The overharvesting has put a pressure onto its populations. The MOUNTEA-CONSE project (2) aimed at the development of conservation and sustainable exploitation activities for Sideritis populations.
Control and certification of ecological medicinal and aromatic plants in Croatia
The role and importance of organic production lie in the sustainable management of natural resources (preserves soil fertility, flora and fauna, water and atmosphere), forbids the use of chemical means of protection and fertilizers, restoring balance to nature and thus preserves biodiversity, encourages rural development and facilitates the development of small family farms, contributes to the development of eco-tourism and eco-villages and thus links agricultural, tourism and craft activities.
Feasibility of small crops of wild medicinal and aromatic plants
The production of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) from wild collection or by cultivation raises environmental, social and economic issues. The demand for a wide variety of wild species is increasing with the growth of human needs and trade. There is an awareness that many wild plants are being overexploited, which many experts recommend incorporating into cropping systems, but several aspects that determine their viability have to be taken into account. An alternative is small-scale cultivation.
Good practice guide for sustainable harvesting of wild plants
The main objective of this guide and its booklets for each species is to provide the pickers with knowledge of specific aromatics and medicinal plants and to serve as support for their training to adopt respectful practices guaranteeing sustainable management of the natural resources.
Its construction is based on a collection of knowledge and practices of pickers, analyzed with a group of scientists with regard to sustainable resource management (threats and renewal challenges).
The objective is also to enhance the picking profession by disseminating its knowledge and know-how.
Guide and recommendations of the propagation of Lavandula stoechas L.
The Lavandula is an important species due to medicinal and aromatic properties. The local species population is suffering from Anthropozoic pressure improved by cutting and animal scuttling which made it essential to preserve the species population. Our work aims to test some ways of specie propagation.
Medicinal and aromatic plants of rocky pastures on the northern Adriatic islands
One of the preconditions for successful cultivation and increase of production of medicinal and aromatic plants in Croatia is in any case knowledge of their ecological characteristics. However, previous studies of medicinal and aromatic plants in Croatia have not systematically included the islands of Krk, Cres and Pag, despite the fact that these islands are areas of plant richness. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to determine the abundance and diversity and ecological characteristics of wild medicinal and aromatic plants of the rocky pastures of these islands.
Medicinal Plants of Epirus
Under this framework, the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, UOI, developed a web database of medicinal plants of the region of Epirus and the mainland of Greece, that contain all basic information related to the morphology of the herbs, official and popular names, taxonomy, pharmacological properties, side effects and toxicity, etc.
The users can retrieve information related to a particular medicinal plant using its official or popular name, the active compound of interest, the disease to be treated, or the region the herb grows. For every herb there are characteristic pictures and drownings, reports on pharmacological/therapeutic and toxicity effects, methods of administration and references.
Medicinal sage (Salvia officinalis L.): use, cultivation and opportunities
Medicinal sage is an native plant species of Dalmatia spread throughout the Mediterranean. In the Republic of Croatia along the entire coast, as well as in the entire Dalmatia. Sage is first and foremost a medicinal plant, but it is also used as a spice. In Dalmatia, sage was used long before the classical period, in the nature its leaves were collected from which essential oil was obtained, and the beginnings of cultivation date to the early 20th century on the island of Hvar. Today in Dalmatia there is no production of dried leaves and essential sage oil, except to a lesser extent on Hvar and for personal needs.
Owners group their forest plots into ASLGF to manage their forest and produce essential forest oils
Private forest is often very fragmented: forestry operations and forest products marketing are difficult on small areas. Owners have organized themselves into a forest management association (ASLGF) to group their plots into a single management unit. Their objective is to jointly lead the development of their forests. In addition to harvesting wood, they also registered collective production of essential oils of Scots pine. They wish to label themselves as a Forest Economic and Ecological Interest Group (GIEEF).
Plants subject to commercial picking on French metropolitan territory: commented list
• Establish, by compilation of data obtained from collectors and producers, a list of plant species picked for artisanal or industrial production chains,
• Referencing these species according to their validated scientific name,
• Provide some indicators of the risks that could weigh on these species.
Project PyCup: responsible practices for professional picking. An example of sustainable supply in AMP value chain
The PyCuP project is supporting the Pyrenean stakeholders in their reflexion and efforts toward a regulation of picking practices, for a sustainable valuation of the local wild plant resources. It aims at answering the main questions of the public about the role of such activities in a “wild mountain”. Therefore, the project creates awareness about the issues of these natural resources’ exploitation.
Seasonal variation of photosynthetic parameters of Erica Multiflora and Cistus monspeliensis in natural Tunisian Aleppo pine forest
Understanding and quantify the role played by undergrowth in the resilience and adaptation to climate change of the pine forest in Tunisia, by comparing the state of vegetation of the undergrowth species of a pine forest Aleppo at different bioclimatic stages in the southern Mediterranean of Tunisia (Mount of Zaghouan (upper subhumid climate with mild and temperate winters), Mount of Mansour (semi-arid lower to upper arid) and Mount of Sarej (semi-arid upper semi-arid with cold and temperate winter variations)).
Synergies between forest owners and medicinal plant distiller : The case of Eucalyptus in Andalusia
In the Doñana National Park in Andalusia, short-rotation coppice eucalyptus plantations occupy large areas and belong to private forest owners.
« Esencias Garcia-Palomo » distillery uses 5,000 kg of eucalyptus branches and leaves every day for its production of 10 to 40 kg of essential oil. Not being a forest owner, this resource is a cost to the company.
Mr. Palomo has organized with his neighbors to work in symbiosis and limit the costs of their respective operations : the collection of his raw materials contributes to the silviculture of coppices of eucalyptus.
The AFC : Structuring harvesting professionals to promote sustainable and respectful management
AFC is the French Association of professionals wild plants pickers. It was created in 2011 to bring together professionals of wild plants picking and to promote this profession.
It defends sustainable commercial harvesting and a responsible profession.
It wishes to ensure the representativeness of the pickers with other operators in the sectors and the public authorities.
Traditional use of wild and naturalized plants as a potential for innovation in the development of rural areas of Croatia
The main objective of this factsheet is to determine the possibilities and directions of innovative commercialization of wild and naturalized plants based on market trends and ethnobotanical research. One of the secondary goals is to preserve local botanical and other knowledge related to the recognition and application of wild and naturalized plants in the areas of Drenov Bok and Vela Luka by conducting field research.
Wild medicinal, aromatic and honey plant species of the southeastern part of the Samoborsko gorje
Plešivičko gorje (Plesivica hills) is located in the far eastern part of Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje Nature Park, near the towns of Samobor and Jastrebarsko. The highest parts of this hill area are wooded, and beneath this area there are meadows which are close to arable land - fields, orchards and vineyards. The aim of this study was to determine the flora of meadows in Plešivica hills and to isolate and describe medicinal, aromatic and honey plants.