Wild food plants used in the villages of the Lake Vrana Nature Park (northern Dalmatia, Croatia)

Croatia is a country of diverse plant use traditions, which are still insufficiently documented. The aim of this study was to document local traditions of using wild food plants around Lake Vrana (northern Dalmatia, Zadar region). We interviewed 43 inhabitants of six traditional villages north of Lake Vrana. On average 12 species were listed, which in total produced an inventory of 55 food plants and 3 fungi taxa. Wild vegetables were most widely collected, particularly by older women who gathered the plants mainly when herding their flocks of sheep. Wild fruits and mushrooms were rarely collected. The former used to be an important supplementary food for children, or for everyone during times of food shortage, and the latter were relatively rare due to the dry climate and shortage of woods. The most commonly collected plants are wild vegetables: Cichorium intybus, Foeniculum vulgare, Sonchus oleraceus, Asparagus acutifolius, Papaver rhoeas, Rumex pulcher, Daucus carota, Allium ampeloprasum and Silene latifolia.