Ethnobiological Study of Svaneti Fungi and Lichens: History of Research, Diversity, Local Names and Traditional Use

Abstract

Research about macro-fungi of Svaneti, a historical province of Georgia, started in the 1920th with a botanical expedition of R. Singer, under the auspices of the National Museum of Vienna. At present about 400 species of macro-fungi are known for Svaneti, 67 of which are edible (and used for food in Georgia), and 27 are poisonous. The history of Svaneti lichen research started with analysis of the material collected by H. Lojka and M. Dechy in 1884-1885 made by E. Vainio. As of now, 250 species of lichens are known for the region. In the present study ethnobiological interviews on Svaneti macro-fungi and lichens were conducted in 16 villages of Svaneti. Our analysis shows that the local population uses mainly 22 species of mushrooms for food, 10 of which are used most frequently: Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P. Kumm., Agaricus arvensis Schaeff., A. campestris L., Cantharellus cibarius Fr., Lactarius piperatus (L.) Pers., L. deliciosus (L.) Gray, Macrolepiota excoriata (Schaeff.) Wasser, M. procera (Scop.) Singer, Ramaria flava (Schaeff.) Quel. A comparison of the vernacular names given in the literature and mentioned in the interviews collected during the present study shows that the population of Svaneti must have had better knowledge of mushrooms in the past. This is evidenced by a much higher number of local names in literature: of about 50 vernacular names of particular species or groups of fungi found in the literature, only 12 are still used by the population. This paper presents various uses of macro-fungi in Svaneti as quoted in literature and based on interview data. Lichens, particularly, Usnea and Bryoria species, as well as Ramalina thrausta (Ach.) Nyl.are called “Pimpa” or “Pimpous” and “Chach”. The only use of these species was by hunters as field-bedding to keep warm in the cold winters. In addition, we describe in the present paper how fungi and lichen uses were reflected in the local folklore.