Traditional uses of wild food and medicinal plants among Brigasc, Kye, and Provencal communities on the Western Italian Alps

An ethnobotanical field study on the traditional uses of wild medicinal and food plants was conducted in three linguistically distinct mountainous communities located at the East End of the Occitan macro-area, in the Western Italian Alps. Interviews with a total of 81 mid-aged and elderly informants were undertaken using standard ethnobotanical methods. The uses of 92 vascular plants belonging to 40 different plant families were recorded. Comparison of the collected data with the ethnobotanical findings of previously conducted studies in other Occitan/Proven double dagger al valleys (specifically the Stura and Varaita valleys) has shown that nearly the half of the uses recorded in this study were not reported in other valleys, strongly suggesting a heterogeneous character to Occitan ethnobotany. The specific uses of certain wild plants as famine foods and medicines in this region are highlighted.