Naslov (eng)

Ethnobotanical use of silver birch in the Pirot District (Serbia)

Autor

Rakonjac, Ljubinko
Marković, Marija
Nikolić, Biljana
Pljevljakušić, Dejan
Braunović, Sonja
Jovanović, Filip
Stankov Jovanović, Vesna

Publisher

Opis (eng)

"This paper investigates the traditional use of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) as a medicinal and wild edible plant in the Pirot District, Serbia. The study aims to identify forms of traditional use of silver birch that have not been recorded by previous ethnobotanical research on the Balkan Peninsula. Field ethnobotanical research on the knowledge and use of medicinal and wild edible plants was conducted by surveying the population, i.e., by filling out specially designed questionnaires. The questionnaires covered the residents of 144 villages in the Pirot District (municipalities of Pirot, Babušnica, Bela Palanka and Dimitrovgrad). In total, 631 respondents were surveyed, 337 men and 294 women. According to the results of the population survey, the medicinal use of silver birch was mentioned by 12 respondents, i.e., 1.9% of the respondents. The age of these respondents was 44 to 79 years (seven men and five women). Most of them (10 respondents) mentioned the internal use of silver birch leaves as an infusion, one respondent mentioned the use of stem sap of silver birch in the syrup form, and one respondent mentioned the use of silver birch bark as a decoction. It was found that the silver birch was usually used for a urinary group of diseases: kidney and urinary tract diseases in general, urinary tract inflammation, kidney and bladder diseases, kidney and bile sand, prostate disease, and proteins in the urine. Silver birch was used in the Pirot District less often for the group of digestive diseases (against gastric bacteria), and group of reproductive diseases (prostate disease). In addition, silver birch was found to be used as a wild-growing edible plant. One respondent mentioned that birch bark is used as a coffee substitute. The medicinal uses of silver birch leaves against gastric bacteria, as well as the use of stem sap of silver birch for kidney and urinary tract regeneration can be considered novelties in our research because they were not mentioned in previously published ethnobotanical papers on the Balkan Peninsula. "

Jezik

engleski

Datum

2025

Licenca

Ovo delo je licencirano pod uslovima licence
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 - Creative Commons Autorstvo 4.0 International License.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Predmet

Pirot District, Betula pendula, ethnobotanical use, survey, medicinal plants, wild edible plants.

Deo kolekcije (1)

o:1347

Radovi Instituta za šumarstvo