Ethnobotanical uses in the Ancona district (Marche region, Central Italy)

Background:The study is a survey of the traditional uses of plants in the Ancona district, in the Marche region,Central Italy. Methods:The information derives from ethnobotanical investigations conducted with an open questionnaire among therural population in three areas of the Ancona district that are representative of the socio-economic and environmentalassets of the entire district: the Mount Conero area on the Adriatic coast; the municipality of Osimo, as an inland hilly area;and the‘Gola della Rossa–Frasassi’area, in the Apennines. Results:A total of 120 informants cited 195 species. The ethnobotanical data concern medicinal (122 species), food (119),veterinary (53), superstitious/religious(61), cosmetic (30), domestic (27), dyeing (17), recreational (17), repellent (15), craft(10), and miscellaneous (29) uses, alongwith inclusion in local sayings and proverbs (25). The species with the greatestnumber of categories of use here wasSambucus nigraL. Among the other species with the greatest numbersof categories of use, there wereMatricharia chamomillaL.,Salvia officinalisL.,Urtica dioicaL.,Papaver roheasL., andRosa caninaL. For each use, comparisons with national and regional literature were made.Conclusions:Some uses are commonly known across the three areas; others are sectoral and are new fortheMarcheregion.Thesurveyincreasesourpresent-dayknowledgeofthetraditionallocalusesofplantsintheMarcheregion,intermsofmedicinal and food uses, and of ethnobotanical aspects as a whole, whichwill allow many of these uses to be preserved in the future.