Il giardino fitoalimurgico per la valorizzazione delle piante spontanee

Wild plants have always been an important food source for people, not only in the distant past but also during more recent times of war. A wealth of knowledge linked to human traditions has been gained on these plants, which is worth preserving. The term phytoalimurgy derives from the Greek word phyt?n = plant, plus the Latin words alimenta = food and urgentia = emergency - hence it means the study of ways to tackle a food crisis (famine, etc.) (Targioni-Tozzetti, 1767). To create a Phytoalimurgic Garden (PG) now, as this emergency no longer exists in Europe, means to exploit and spread these plants, promoting popular customs, old flavours and uses. A PG is a place where edible wild plants are grown as if in their natural environment and is planned to produce food all year round. The PG is intended for agri-tourism and teaching purposes, to spread ethnobotanical knowledge and preserve biodiversity. Another advantage is that time and money can be saved by having the plants readily available for harvesting 'close to home' and unpolluted.