OVERVIEW

The course provides essential theorical and practical knowledge on main Mediterranean officinal plants with Ethnobotany relevance

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides essential theorical and practical knowledge on main Mediterranean officinal plants with Ethnobotany relevance

Methods of study and data collection and analysis will be exposed.

Techniques of investigation will be examined in relation to different environmental and cultural contexts.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Participation to teaching activities will provide students with knowledge enabling them to undergo  ethnobotanical studies.

In detail, students will be able to:

-identify main Mediterranean officinal plants with ethnobotanical use

-use the methods of ethnobotanical investigation

-understand the economic and cultural value of the ethnobotabical heritage

Students will acquire knowledge about spontaneous medicinal and food plants from the Mediterranean region, taxonomical identification of Ligurian plants with traditional uses, and methods of study used in ethnobotany.

PREREQUISITES

Basic knowledge of general botany and taxonomy.

TEACHING METHODS

Class lessons and  field experiences (field activity or visit to a museum, study center, factory, etc.)

Attending classes is highly recommended.

Lectures in the classroom are delivered through multimedia presentations.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Introduction: methods for ethnobotanical research and data analysis. Traditional uses and value of Mediterranean spontaneous plants having medicinal, veterinary, cosmetic, and nutritional properties:

-Spontaneous medicinal plants and their active principles; uses in popular medicine (phytotherapy), herbal sector, cosmetics, and perfumery.

-Spontaneous edible plants, their health and nutritional properties, possible uses as nutraceuticals and in cooking.

Ethnobotanical research in different geographic and cultural areas.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lesson slides and other pdf documents will be available on the AulaWeb site.

Recommended textbook:

Caneva G., Pieroni A. e  Guarrera P.M. “Etnobotanica- Conservazione di un patrimonio culturale come risorsa per uno sviluppo sostenibile". EDIPUGLIA , Bari 2013.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LAURA CORNARA (President)

LUIGI MINUTO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Second semester; lesson schedule to be arranged with the teacher.

(Second semester lessons will begin on 17-02-2020 and will end on 12-06-2020)

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Written test with open questions concerning topics and activities presented during the course. The exam will allow to assess the student’s knowledge and mastery of the subject.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Details on how to prepare for the exam and the degree of detail required  for each topic will be provided at the beginning of the course and reiterated during lectures and lab activities.

The  written test will verify the effective acquisition of the knowledge of the main notions of ethnobotany as well as the methods of investigation. The student must be able to integrate the knowledge acquired during the lessons with the skills acquired during the field activities.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attending lessons, field activities, and visits is highly recommended