Table 2 Contemporary use of wild food plants (20-21th century)

Acer platanoides L.

klyon, yavor

leaves

leaves under baking bread

EP

Acorus calamus L.

ayer (also PL), air, babki

leaves, shoot center

leaves under baking bread, formerly; shoots formerly as a spring snack

[51], EP, FS

Aegopodium podagraria L.

snitka

leaves

soup

EP

Allium sp. ?

PL: dziki czosnek

leaves

spice

EP

Allium ursinum L.

cheremsha

leaves

raw

EP

Aquilegia vulgaris L.

vodosbor

nectar

raw children’s snack

EP

Armoracia rusticana G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Schreb

khren

roots and leaves

roots – grated into a spicy paste called kren or added to dishes as spice, leaves as spice for fermented sauerkraut, cucumbers and tomatoes, and soups

TG, EP

Artemisia absinthium L.

polyn'

leaves

herbal teas

EP

Berberis vulgaris L.

n.d.

fruit

raw, snack, juice or salted

EP

Betula spp.

byeryoza

sap

fresh and fermented (such drink is called byarozavik)

TG, EP, PAE

wood shavings

“eaten” (probably added to bread as famine food)

FS

Carum carvi L.

tmin, kmin

fruits

spice for bread and sauerkraut

TG, EP

Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rauschert

n.d.

inflorescences

herbal tea

EP

Chenopodium album L.

labadá (mistakenly as Atriplex), PL: lebioda

leaves

formerly in soups

[51], FS

Corylus avellana L.

oryekh, aryekh, aryéshnik, lyeshina,

fruits

mainly raw

[17, 51], EP

Crataegus sp.

boyáryshnik

fruits (“jablochki”)

fresh and in jams, wine

TG, EP

Dactylis glomerata L.

yezha

stalk

inner part as a snack

EP

Fragaria spp., mainly F. vesca L.

sunítsa, zyemlyanika

fruits

raw, jams, wine etc., formerly also eaten with milk and cream

[17, 51], EP

Glyceria fluitans (L.) R.Br.

manna, máyna

grains

used until late 1940s to make kasha

[17, 52, 53], PAE

Hippophaë rhamnoides L. *

oblyepikha

fruits

fresh, juice, jams

TG

Humulus lupulus L.

khmyel'

fruits

formerly dried, spice for beer and mead and added to bread dough

[17, 51], EP

Juniperus communis L.

n.d.

pseudo-fruits

raw children’s snack, spice for food and alcoholic beverages

EP

Lamium album L.

n.d.

nectar

raw children’s snack

EP

Linaria vulgaris L.

l’vinyy zyev

nectar

raw children’s snack

EP

Lotus corniculatus L.

miadunka

nectar from flowers

raw children’s snack

EP

Malus sylvestris Miller or Malus domestica Borkh.

yáblyki

fruits

eaten raw, dried, lactofermented in sauerkraut or boiled

[17, 51]

Malva pusilla Sm.

yagodki

immature fruits

raw children’s snack

EP

Nymphaea alba L.

mákowka (for fruits), húski (for the plant)

seeds

raw as a snack

[17]

Oxalis acetosella L.

zayacha kapusta, záyachy shchavyel', zayach’ya kapusta, kislitsa

leaves

raw children’s snack, formerly sometimes used for soups

[51], EP

Pinus sylvestris L.

sasná

resin(1), young shoots(2)

raw children’s snack(1), famine food(2)

EP

Plantago lanceolata L.

n.d.

leaves

salads

EP

Poa pratensis L.

travka

young shoots

raw children’s snack

EP

Polygonum bistorta L. (syn. Bistorta major S. E. Gray)

PL: wężownik

leaves

eaten with bread during World War I

FS

Prunella vulgaris L. (?)

PL: czemborek

aerial parts

infusion drunk as everyday drink

FS

– uncertain identification, the folk name suggests it could also be Thymus sp.

Prunus cerasifera Ehrh.*

alychá

fruits

fresh and in jams

TG, EP

Prunus spinosa L.

n.d.

fruits

spice for alcohol, raw snack

EP

Pulmonaria officinalis L. cf ssp. obscura (Dumort.) Murb. (syn. P. obscura Dumort.)

myedunitsa

flowers

fresh nectar as a snack and made into herbal teas

TG, EP

Pyrus pyraster L.

hróshka, hrúsha, ihrúshka, grush́a lyesnáya

fruits

raw or in boiled dishes, formerly fermented in water and sugar

[17, 51], TG

Quercus robur L.

dub

leaves and bark

formerly under baking bread

[51], EP

Ribes nigrum L.

smoródina chyérnaya

fruits, twig and leaves

fruits – fresh or dried; twigs – decoction; leaves as spice for fermented sauerkraut, cucumbers and tomatoes

TG, EP

Ribes uva-crispa L.

kryzhóvnik

fruits

fresh

Robinia pseudoacacia L.

n.d.

flowers

formerly raw snack

EP

Rosa canina L. and other spp.

shipóvnik sobáchyy

fruits

fresh and in jams, wine and herbal tea

TG, EP

Rubus caesius L.

yezhevika

fruits

raw

EP

Rubus chamaemorus L.

struzhýna

fruits

raw

[51]

Rubus idaeus L.

malína

fruits

fresh, jam, formerly dried as medicine inducing sweating

[17, 51], TG, EP

Rubus saxatilis L.

kamyenítsa, kostyanika

fruits

raw

[17], EP

Rubus subgenus Rubus

azhýna, ozhýna, stryzhýna

fruits

mainly raw due to low abundance, sometimes in wine and hot desserts

[17, 51], EP

Rumex acetosa L.

shchavyél’, shchavyey

leaves

sour soup called borshch

[17, 51], TG, EP, PAE

Rumex acetosella L.

verabyóvy shchavyél’

leaves

sour soup called borshch

[51]

Rumex confertus Willd.

shchavyey

leaves

soup

EP

Sambucus nigra L.

n.d.

fruit

juice, wines, rarely also raw

EP

Sorbus aucuparia L.

ryabína, rabina

fruits

mainly jam from frozen fruits, also raw as children’s snack and in herbal infusion or as spice

TG, EP; according to [17] was regarded as poisonous in Polesia

Sorbus intermedia (Ehrh.) Pers.

n.d.

fruits

gathered from city greenery in Minsk for preserves

TG

Stellaria media (L.) Vill.

zvyezdchátka, makritsa

leaves

fresh in salads, squeezed into juice

TG

Syringa vulgaris L. *

siryen’

nectar from flowers

raw children’s snack

EP

Taraxacum sp.

n.d.

nectar from flowers, leaves

raw snack, leaves also in salads

EP

Thymus spp.

n.d.

flowering tops

herbal infusion, spice for alcohol

EP

Tilia cordata Mill.

lípa

flowers, leaves

nectar and leaves as children’s snack, infusion from flowers as beverage

TG, EP

Trifolium spp., mainly T. pratense L.

klyevyer, trilistnik

nectar from flowers

raw children’s snack

EP

Urtica dioica L. and U. urens L.

krapiva, PL: pokrzywa

aerial parts

potherb, now rarely; formerly also sour soups

[51], EP, FS

Vaccinium myrtillus L.

chernítsa, charnítsa, chyerníka,

fruits and leaves

fruits– fresh, jams and juice, or in milk soups, leaves as spice for fermented sauerkraut, cucumbers and tomatoes; the most widely gathered wild fruits in Belarus

[17, 51], TG, EP, PAE

Vaccinium oxycoccos L.

klyúkva, klukva, zhuravína

fruits

fresh, jam, kisel, juice, formerly also added to suaerkraut

[17, 51], TG, EP. PAE

Vaccinium uliginosum L.

lohynya, buyakí, golubika; PL: pijanica

fruits

raw, in many places considered inedible

[51], EP

Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.

brushnítsa, brus’nítsa, brusnika

fruits

raw or jam

[17, 51], EP, PAE

Viburnum opulus L.

kalína

fruits

jams, boiled in kisyel’, raw – after drying

[17, 51], TG

Viola tricolor L.

n.d.

aerial parts

herbal tea

EP