Continuity and Change in the Arbëreshë Wild Food Plant Foraging in Inland Southern Italy

This study investigates the ethnobiology of wild food plants in Arbëreshë (Albanian-speaking) and neighbouring Calabrian communities in north-eastern Calabria, inland southern Italy. It examines how traditional ecological knowledge, plant use patterns, and cultural perceptions are represented across two datasets, contributing to the understanding of biocultural dynamics in Mediterranean rural contexts. Fieldwork was conducted through forty-six semi-structured interviews in five villages in north-eastern Calabria, Southern Italy. Data were compared with an ethnobotanical dataset collected in the Vulture area (northern Lucania, southern Italy) during 2000-2001. The comparison is treated as cross-spatial and diachronic at the level of observed ethnobotanical records. Because the study areas differ in ecological and socio-economic conditions, comparisons are presented as descriptive contrasts rather than as direct temporal change. Taxa were classified by citation frequency, and comparisons were conducted at genus level to describe patterns of presence and variation in reported wild plant use. A total of 82 wild food taxa were documented. The dataset was dominated by vascular plants, with frequent representation of the families Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Apiaceae, and Lamiaceae. Arbëreshë participants reported 60 genera, including seven genera not recorded in the comparative dataset (Asphodeline, Pimpinella, Hirschfeldia, Silene, Bellevalia, Leontodon, and Crocus). Calabrian participants reported 28 genera, including three not recorded among Arbëreshë participants (Clinopodium, Suillus, and Urospermum). Twenty-one genera were present in both datasets. Differences in citation frequency and genus composition are observed between datasets, with variation across groups and contexts. The results show a shared set of commonly reported wild food taxa across datasets, alongside variation in less frequently reported genera. The findings describe differences in ethnobotanical records across communities and time-separated datasets, reflecting combined influences of ecological context, sampling conditions, and local knowledge practices.