Gaining momentum: Popularization of Epilobium angustifolium as food and recreational tea on the Eastern edge of Europe.

Gaining momentum: Popularization of Epilobium angustifolium as food and recreational tea on the Eastern edge of Europe. Appetite. 2020 Feb 27;:104638 Authors: Kalle R, Belichenko O, Kuznetsova N, Kolosova V, Prakofjewa J, Stryamets N, Mattalia G, Šarka P, Simanova A, Prūse B, Mezaka I, Sõukand R Abstract The local use of wild food plants represents a reservoir for the biocultural diversity of human diet and is therefore being extensively studied; yet the effects of the introduction of novel uses into specific biocultural conditions have been little researched. Rosebay willowherb Epilobium angustifolium L. has been intensively promoted in Europe since the mid-18th century. The expert recommendations did not provide any links to local uses thus raising the question of the legitimacy and diffusion of its food use in modern times. To understand if and to what extent those recommendations have influenced local uses, we compared them with the results of our ethnobotanical field study and the ethnographic literature in Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. Of the 599 people interviewed, nine used E. angustifolium as a food and 59 as a recreational tea. Thirty-four of those who claimed to use E. angustifolium lived in two regions of Russia. The majority of the recorded tea uses were of recent origin, following a popular trend. Few food uses of E. angustifolium were recorded in Finland, where a trend towards cul...
Source: Appetite - Category: Nutrition Authors: Tags: Appetite Source Type: research