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Introduction
In the last two decades several comprehensive surveys and
reviews were performed in many European countries on wild
plant use. Wild plants formed important parts of our ances-
tors' diet in a multitude of ways (e.g. as bread ingredients,
vegetables, fruits, spices, snacks or beverages); essential in
severe times, supplementary otherwise [1–3]. Revitalization of
traditional practices is timely for ecology, economy and nutri-
tion biology. Nevertheless, even though Hungary is no poorer
in traditions of wild plant use than other parts of Europe, no
broad-scale review has been undertaken for Hungary in this
respect, yet.
Information on the human consumption of wild plant spe-
cies is widely scattered among the ethnographic and botanic
literature, mostly in Hungarian language. Publications on gath-
ering economy, traditional nutrition, shepherding, forest goods
utilization, and on the hunting-shing-gathering “pákász”
lifestyle in the former wetlands of the oodplains of the large
Hungarian rivers are known from the end of 18th century on
(e.g. [4]), and they became frequent from the second half of the
20th century. Publications of traditional research on medicinal
uses of plants [5–8] and ethnobotany [9–11] also mention wild
food plants, but a review concentrating on wild food plants is
still missing.
In this work we systematically review and compile informa-
tion on the utilization of wild food plants in the Hungarian
speaking regions of the Carpathian Basin from the Hungarian
ethnographic and ethnobotanical publications. Our study aims
at compiling a knowledge base on wild food plants consumed in
Hungary and by the Hungarians living in other countries of the
Carpathian basin, containing information on the species, as well
as the modes of use. As the Carpathian Basin is dominated by
alluvial oodplains located on the margin of the vast Eurasian
steppe regions, Hungarian traditional plant use might also
include previously undocumented usage of wetland and steppe
plant species, which can potentially add some new aspects to
the existing knowledge on traditional plant use in Europe.
Material and methods
Flora, vegetation and history of the Carpathian Basin
e Carpathian Basin is the contiguous oodplain area
of the Danube and Tisza Rivers encircled by the Carpathian
Abstract
A list of plant species used for food in Hungary and among Hungarian ethnic groups of the Carpathian Basin during the 19th
and 20th centuries was compiled from 71 ethnographic and ethnobotanical sources and a survey among contemporary Hungarian
botanists. Species used as food, spice, beverage or occasional snacks were collected. Sources mention 236 plant species belonging
to 68 families. Most wild eshy fruits (mostly Rosa, Rubus, Cornus, Ribes, Vaccinium spp.), dry fruits and seeds (Fagus, Quercus,
Corylus, Castanea, Trapa spp.), several green vegetables (e.g. Rumex, Urtica, Humulus, Chenopodiaceae spp., Ranunculus caria),
bulbs and tubers (Lathyrus tuberosus, Helianthus tuberosus, Chaerophyllum bulbosum, Allium spp.) used for food in Europe, are
also known to be consumed in Hungary. A characteristic feature of Hungarian plant use was the mass consumption of the un-
derground parts of several marsh (e.g. Typha, Phragmites, Sagittaria, Alisma, Butomus, Bolboschoenus spp., as well as the endemic
Armoracia macrocarpa) and steppe species (e.g. Crambe tataria, Rumex pseudonatronatus). Consuming wild food plants is still
important among Hungarians living in Transylvania: even nowadays more than 40 species are gathered and used at some locations.
Keywords: ethnobiology, historical ethnobotany, wild green vegetables, wild edible plants, tree saps
Journal homepage: pbsociety.org.pl/journals/index.php/asbp
INVITED REVIEW Received: 2012.09.03 Accepted: 2012.10.26 Published electronically: 2012.12.31 Acta Soc Bot Pol 81(4):381–396 DOI: 10.5586/asbp.2012.040
Wild plants used for food by Hungarian ethnic groups living in the Carpathian
Basin
Andrea Dénes1*, Nóra Papp2, Dániel Babai3, Bálint Czúcz4, Zsolt Molnár4
1 Natural History Department, Janus Pannonius Museum, Box 158, 7601 Pécs, Hungary
2 Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Pécs, Rókus 2, 7624 Pécs, Hungar y
3 Centre for Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Országház 30, 1014 Budapest, Hungary
4 Centre for Ecology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Alkotmány 2–4, 2163 Vácrátót, Hungary
* Corresponding author. Email: denes.andrea@jpm.hu
This is an Open Access digital version of the article distributed
under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
(creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits redistribution, commercial
and non-commercial, provided that the article is properly cited.
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae
382
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Mountains in Central Europe. Containing an extensive tran-
sitional zone between European deciduous forests and the
Eurasian steppe biome the study area harbors a particularly di-
verse vegetation, which is also acknowledged by the European
Union by classifying the majority of this region into a singular
biogeographic zone, the Pannonian biogeographic zone.
The periphery of the Carpathian Basin including the
Carpathians can be characterized mostly by and alpine and
subalpine vegetation, coniferous forests, which turn into
broadleaved deciduous forest at lower elevations. e central
part of the basin is dominated by continental forest-steppes,
although only remnants of salty and sand steppes had survived
to date. Gallery forests and wetlands on the oodplains of the
two large rivers, Danube and Tisza, and their tributaries played
a determining role in vegetation development and also in
people's lives till their regulations in the second part of the 19th
century. Presently their former area, as well as the majority of
former steppe vegetation, is dominated by agriculture [12].
e ora of Hungary consists of 2600 species including many
steppe species, whereas the ora of Transylvania is also about
2600 with signicant proportions of boreal and alpine species
[13]. e Carpathian Basin altogether harbors 3360 species. In
addition to the dominant Eurasian, continental and European
species, southern, submediterranean and Balcanic elements
amount to 20%.
As a consequence of Hungarian history, there are Hungar-
ian ethnic groups living in all countries of the Carpathian
Basin. Due to ecological, historical and economic reasons,
ethnicities separated from the mother country oen preserve
their traditions better, even archaic ones, so researchers prefer
to conduct ethnographic and ethnobotanic studies among
Hungarians living in Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia and
Croatia.
Research history
Historical records on the use of wild plants in Hungary
are known since the Medieval period (16th century). Herbal
knowledge of wise women and monks, and works of former
botanists as Clusius (1526–1609), Beythe (1532–1612), Kitaibel
(1758–1817), Borbás (1844–1934), and Dégen (1866–1934)
are usually reviewed by ethnographers studying the gathering
economy of the Carpathian Basin. Detailed records on edible
plants from the end of the 18th century, can be found in the
manuscript diaries of Kitaibel, reviewed recently by Molnár
[4]. Rapaics [14] had published an overview on the history of
food plants, going back to pre-Medieval times.
A complete list of former publications can be found in the
reviews of Gunda [15,16], a key person of ethnographical
research of gathering economy in Hungary. Reviews of folk
nutrition [17–19] generally include more or less detailed
overviews of wild plants collected for food [9,17–19]. Plants
consumed during famines were studied by Rapaics [14],
Györy [20], Gunda [15,16], and Molnár [21]. e published
studies collectively cover almost the entire Carpathian Basin,
the most thoroughly explored regions being Transylvania
[sensu lato, including e.g. Gyimes (Ghimeș) and Máramaros
(Maramureș)] and the southern foothills of the Northern
Carpathians [Nógrád, Heves, Borsod, and Zemplén counties
as well as the Gömör (Gemer, Slovakia) region]. Nevertheless,
not all papers provide a comprehensive ethnobotanical “wild
food plant” survey of the studied regions – there are several
papers, where the focus is on other aspects of traditional living,
with only sporadic mention of a few wild plants.
Methods
We compiled a list of plant species used for food based on
71 ethnographic and ethnobotanical publications in Hungar-
ian language. Most of the studied papers describe traditional
ecological knowledge of Hugarian speaking ethnic groups
living in the Carpathian Basin, even though there might be
exceptions, e.g. some papers included wild food plants used
by other ethnic groups (e.g. Slovaks) living in Hungary, while
other papers include traditional plant use of Hungarians liv-
ing even beyond the Carpathians (e.g. Hungarian refugees
from Bukovina, whose plant use included ancient elements
from their old home country as well as newer ones from their
new home, Hungary). e studied publications explore the
following regions: Dunántúli dombvidékek (SW Hungary:
Őrség, Somogy, Zala, Tolna, Baranya) [22–29]; Kisalföld (NW
Hungary and SW Slovakia) [30,31]; Déli-Alföld (SW Hungary
and N Croatia) [32–35]; Dunántúli középhegység (mountains
in W Hungary) [36,37]; Északi középhegység (Carpathian
foothills in N Hungary) [38–47]; Gömör (Gemer, S Slovakia)
[48–52]; Kárpátalja (Zakarpatska Oblast, W Ukraine) [53,54];
the Great Hungarian Plain [55–62]; Vajdaság (Voivodina,
N Serbia) [63]; Erdély (Transylvania, Romania) [64–75];
and Bukovina (N Romania – collected from refugees settled
down in Hungary) [76,77] (Fig. 1). is literature review was
complemented by a survey among 34 Hungarian botanist on
the wild food plants which they had collected and consumed
in their childhood [78].
e oldest source is from the end of the 18th century [4];
the most recent ones are up-to-date ethnobotanical surveys
collected in Ghimeș, Transylvania and Hortobágy, Hungary
[11,74,75]. In addition to local traditional plant names, most
publications also mention the ocial Hungarian and/or the
scientic (genus or species) Latin names of the food plants,
even though these identications can be easily mistaken if the
local traditional names are similar to the ocial Hungarian
name of another taxon. Such misidentications are unfortu-
nately typical in a part of the ethnography literature, neverthe-
less a good botanical knowledge, the descriptions of the plants
discussed (if supplied), and the comparison of the dierent
sources can eectively help to correct misidentications [79].
In our work we corrected all obvious misidentications which
could be easily corrected, and omitted all records which were
clearly invalid, but no unambiguous correction was available.
Nevertheless, most of the species are mentioned in several
Fig. 1 Map of the study area including the geographic names used
in the text.
383
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
publications, which reduces the uncertainties, particularly
in the case of plant uses which were also documented by
botanists.
In the reviewed papers we focused on plants which were
collected from the wild and consumed as food or food ingredi-
ent (including spices, beverages, occasional snacks, etc.). is
denition excludes medical plants (consumed only for their
health impacts), and plants collected only for non-food use
(e.g. dye, timber, etc.). On the other hand, we included gather-
ing from spontaneous populations of escaped and naturalized
cultivated plants and non-native invasives.
Results
We found altogether 235 plant species belonging to 67
families which were mentioned from the study area. We found
216 species in the literature survey, whereas contemporary
Hungarian botanists (34 data providers) mentioned 91 taxa
(the overlap between the two sets was 71 species). e species
are listed in detail in Tab. 1 with their local names as mentioned
in the sources, and their documented modes of usage. In order
to provide an indicator for record uncertainty, species data
published only by ethnographers are marked with “*” in Ta b. 1 .
We found that it is the species of the Rosaceae family (36
species) which are consumed most oen; other frequently used
families include Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae (sensu lato,
before the APG division of the family), Fabaceae and Apiaceae.
e list contains 36 trees, 27 shrubs, 4 dwarf shrubs and 169
herbaceous species. Green aboveground parts (leaves, young
shoots, buds, and sometimes the whole plant) of 98 species
were consumed (mainly Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae).
Flowers of 39 species (mainly Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, and
Lamiaceae) and fruits/seeds of 74 species (mainly Rosaceae,
Grossulariaceae, and Ericaceae) were eaten. Underground
parts – roots, rhizomes, tubers, bulbs – of 23 species (mainly
Liliaceae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae, and Brassicaceae) were used.
Saps of 8 species and dried saps (resins, gums) of 4 species
were consumed or chewed. In several cases two or three parts
of the same species were consumed, e.g. Rosa gallica: owers,
fruits, leaves; Fagus sylvatica: fruits, leaves and sap; Sambucus
nigra: ower, fruit; Taraxacum spp.: leaves, owers; Fragaria
spp.: fruits and leaves.
Green vegetables
Green parts – mainly young spring shoots or young leaves
– of 51 species were prepared raw for salad, or cooked for
use in soup or sauce. Species used in most regions include
Rumex acetosa, Urtica dioica, Humulus lupulus, Ranunculus
caria, and Allium spp. Larger leaves are oen used in regional
dishes as a wrapping for some meaty stung, e.g. Armoracia
rusticana, Tussilago farfara and Fallopia spp. Young shoots of
Typha spp. and Phragmites australis used to be consumed as a
salad in the Sárköz region of Hungary, a tradition abandoned
long time ago. Sixteen species including Anthriscus cerefolium,
Glechoma hederacea, ymus spp., and Verbena ocinalis were
used as spice, pickling or preservative. Satureja alpina as a spice
is mentioned from the early 18th century. e green parts of
several plants were used to prepare a refreshing tea or as syrup
(e.g. a “pine honey” made from the buds of Pinaceae species);
more interesting uses include making candy from Melittis
melissophyllum [76], or Fagus leaves. Babies unable to suck
were fed with pressed nettle (Urtica) sap (I. Németh personal
communication). Some species (e.g. Oxalis acetosella, Galium
verum) were used in the past as curdling agents. Herdsmen
chewed Plantago lanceolata leaves in order to clean their teeth
(I. Németh personal communication.). Eating Lemnaceae spe-
cies in famine is mentioned only from the Drava oodplain.
Flowers
Even though sucking nectar and eating owers or inores-
cences is a widespread and delightful occupation of children,
major food or beverage products are rarely made from owers.
As an exception, owers of Sambucus nigra or Robinia pseuda-
cacia are commonly used for making refreshing drinks or fried
into pancakes they can serve as popular dishes. Unique is the
use of inorescences of Carlina acaulis as a green vegetable.
Flowers of Humulus lupulus and Robinia pseudacacia were
added to sourdough in many places. In Gömör, there used
to be a tradition of making “ower wines” from Robinia or
Taraxacum owers (“pimpóbor”) [50].
Fruits and seeds
Eating and processing wild fruits of many species is a wide-
spread, still a living tradition in Hungary. Fragaria, Sambucus,
Rubus, Crataegus, Vaccinium, Ribes, Rosa spp. and Cornus mas
have been eaten fresh, baked into cakes, prepared as beverages,
or dried for a later use for long time. With the advent of cheap
sugar additional preservation techniques became available
including syrup and jam production [17]. Some fruits (Malus,
Pyrus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Streptopus amplexifolius) were
collected unripe; they were ripened in the attic, in hay, or in the
sun. Formerly cider and vinegar were fermented from the fruits
of Malus sylvestris. A traditional fruit brandy called “pálinka” is
traditionally distilled aer fermentation from many fruits even
today. To improve taste and color fruits and spices can also
be added to “pálinka” aer distillation (“ágyaspálinka”). Fruit
cider and brandy production was particularly important in
regions without extensive grape productions. In Gömör cider
was fermented from almost all wild fruits. Rarely consumed
fruits include Streptopus amplexifolius, Viburnum spp. and
Cornus sanguinea, which are considered slightly toxic by some
sources but were still documented as consumed by trustworthy
publications. Several dry fruits (nuts and seeds) were also
widely collected. In addition to the nuts being still economi-
cally signicant (Corylus avellana, Juglans regia, and Castanea
sativa), Fagus sylvatica seeds were also eaten raw or roasted.
Ground Fagus acorns, as well as Quercus acorns aer leaching,
were also used as coee substitutes and our in famine times.
In addition to acorns, famine our ingredients also included
dried and ground Crataegus, Rosa and Trapa fruits, Glyceria
seeds and Corylus buds. According to Kitaibel's data from
the end of the 18th century, oil was pressed from Sisymbrium
altissimum, Brassica nigra, and Fagus sylvatica seeds. Staphylea
pinnata nuts used to be a kids' snack; cooked unripe fruits of
Daphne mezereum were used as black pepper substitute in the
time of Kitaibel, at the beginning of the 1800s. Carum carvi
used to be a widespread spice not only for dishes, but also
for palinka and tea. Food and wine were coloured, e.g. with
Phytolacca americana; while shiny seeds, e.g. Vicia spp. and
Lathyrus aphaca were used for decorating cakes.
Underground parts
Underground parts of of several wild plants were among
the most important staple foods during famines. Bulbs, tu-
bers or rhizomes of Alisma plantago-aquatica, Bolboschoenus
384
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Scientic name Local names mentioned Parts used Mode of use Reference No.
Abies alba Mill. fehérfenyő VEG, FLO brandy (palinka) was distilled from buds
and young cones
[74]
Acer campestre L. kokasfa, kokastorufa, juhar FRU immature fruits were sucked as a snack [23,78]
Acer pseudoplatanus L. jávor, jávorfa, hegyi juhar SAP beverage [19]
Acer sp. juhar, jávor, jávorfa SAP beverage [9,52,69,72]
Acorus calamus L.*† kálmos SUB spice for liqueur [29]
Aesculus hippocastanum L.† vadgesztenye FRU seeds as coee substitute [19,78]
Agrimonia eupatoria L. párlófű, tüdőfű, bojtorján, bojtorván, bojtorvány,
repcsik
VEG tea [19,43,67]
Alchemilla spp. palástfű, harmatfű VEG raw as salad [74]
Alisma plantago-aquatica L. type of bengyele, bakacs SUB food in famine and for herdsmen [16,21]
Allium atroviolaceum
Boiss.*
mezei fokhagyma VEG, SUB? raw [57]
Allium obliquum L. turkesztáni hagyma VEG, SUB? raw [65]
Allium oleraceum L. érdes hagyma VEG, SUB? raw and as spice [21]
Allium rotundum L. n.d. VEG, SUB? eaten [65]
Allium scorodoprasum L. hagyma, vadhagyma, kígyóhagyma, vad
fokhagyma
VEG young leaves were eaten; also used as spice
like garlic
[4,19,41,57,78]
Allium ursinum L. vadfokhagyma, medvehagyma,
medvefokhagyma, vad hagyma, medvesósdi,
sorhajma, salama
VEG salad, vegetable, spice (put into sausage) [27,41,65,70,
73–75]
Allium victorialis L. győzedelmes hagyma VEG, SUB? eaten [4]
Allium vineale L. n.d. VEG, SUB leaves and bulbs were eaten [78]
Allium sp. hagyma FLO small onions in inorescence were
children's snack
[78]
Alopecurus pratensis L. gombos ecsetpázsit VEG stem was children's snack [78]
Anchusa ocinalis L. n.d. VEG eaten as salad, scalded with vinegar [65]
Anthriscus cerefolium (L.)
Hom. subsp. trichosperma
(Spr.) Arc. (Chaerophyllum
trichosporum) & A. sylvestris
(L.) Hom. (Ch. sylvestre)
zamatos turbolya, turbolya VEG green spice for soups and vegetables;
rarely mentioned in folk literature, but
in a cookbook from the end of the 19th
century A. cerefolium was mentioned as
soup and spice
[65,78,86]
Amaranthus spp. paraj VEG whole plant was consumed [78]
Arctium lappa L. bojtorján,keserűtorzsa,burusztujlapi, keserű-
torzsa lapi,büdös lapi, parti lapi, büdös levél,
parti fű, lapu, bogáncs
SUB peeled and eaten [77,78]
Armoracia macrocarpa (W.
et K.) Baumg.
torma (debreceni torma) VEG, SUB VEG: soup, vegetable; SUB: spice for
pickles
[14,59,62]
Armoracia rusticana G.
Gaertnn. B. Mey. et Schreb
(A. lapathifolia Usteri)
torma, tormalapu VEG, SUB SUB: side dish for meat, VEG: leaves:
soup, sauce; meaty stung lled into them
[9,23,36,42,52,
53,62,76]
Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) J.
et C. Presl.
fű VEG stem was children's snack [78]
Artemisia absinthium L.† fehér üröm, fejér üröm VEG spice for brandy (palinka) and wine [30,62,77]
Asperula odorata L.* szagos müge VEG spice for liqueur [30]
Atriplex patula L. vad laboda, sós paréj, fodros paréj VEG soup [77]
Atriplex tatarica L. fehér laboda VEG raw: salad, cooked: soup, former
herdsmen prisoners of war put it into hot
soup in Siberia
[11,71]
Berberis vulgaris L. fajisóska, nyúlsom, sóska, sóskaborbolya VEG, FRU VEG, FRU: snack; FRU: substitute for
vinegar
[36,67,78]
Betula pendula Roth (B.
verrucosa Roth)
nyír, nyírfa, májfa SAP, VEG SAP: fresh beverage; wine and vinegar
were fermented from it; herdsmen of
Transylvania and Zemplén used it for
inoculation of milk. VEG: substitute for
tea
SAP: [9,22–24,
29,30,38,41–44,
48,50,52,53,
56,58,63,65,66,
69,72,74]; VEG:
[7]
Bolboschoenus maritimus
(L.) Palla
csatak, zsiók, zsiku, zsióka SUB food in famine and for herdsmen [14,16]
Tab. 1 List of wild food plants used by Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin.
385
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Scientic name Local names mentioned Parts used Mode of use Reference No.
Brassica nigra (L.) Koch
(Sinapis nigra L.)
franciamustár FRU oil was pressed from it [4]
Bromus sterilis L vadzab VEG stem was children's snack [78]
Bunias orientalis L. borsoslenke, borsos lenkő, rákányéc, szümcső VEG soup and salad in spring [9,74,75,78]
Butomus umbellatus L. alacs, elecs, elecske SUB food in famine times and for herdsmen [14,16,21]
Campanula persicifolia L. kupa, tőcsérvirág, vadcsengő FLO snack for children [9]
Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.)
Medik.
pásztortáska VEG, FLO young owering shoots were snacks for
children
[74,78]
Cardamine amara L. vízitorma VEG snack in early spring [70]
Cardamine pratensis L. n.d. VEG n.d. [73]
Carlina acaulis L. bábakalács, bábakonty, kontybába, kenyérvirág FLO inner part of inorescence was a raw
snack
[9,19,74,75]
Carpinus betulus L. gyertyán VEG, SAP SAP: fresh beverage. VEG: leaves as a
spring snack
SAP: [9,23,39];
VEG: [22]
Carex elata ALL. & Carex
spp.
sás, limbus VEG leaves and stems were children's snack [78]
Carum carvi L. keménmag, kemény, kömény, kömén, kümén,
köminy, kömin, kömind, köménd,
FRU spice for rye bread, soups and roasted
meat; brandy (palinka) with honey
and cumin was a traditional drink in
Transylvania
[7,9,19,36,37,
41,52,67,70,71,
74–78]
Castanea sativa Mill. szelidgesztenye, geszkenye, geszkönye FRU roasted or cooked for sweets and cakes [23,28–30,36,
37,78]
Celtis occidentalis L. ostorfa, zsidómeggy, zsidócseresznye,
madárbogyó, gelegenye
FRU children's snack [78]
Centaurium erythraea Rafn. cintória, ezerfű VEG raw as an appetizer; spice for brandy
(palinka); tea
[26,30,57,74]
Cerasus avium (L.) Mönch
(Prunus avium)
cseresznye, vadcseresznye, vadcserösznye VEG, FRU,
SAPs
VEG: leaf was spice for pickles. FRU:
eaten raw and dried; brandy (palinka) was
distilled from it; SAPs: gum chewing
[19,22,23,26,
27,29,37,38,40,
47,52,57,68,70,
71,74,75,78]
Cerasus vulgaris Mill. subsp.
acida (Dumort.) Dostal
(Prunus cerasus L.)
vadmeggy FRU raw snack [52,78]
Chaerophyllum bulbosum L. baraboj, bubályka, bobályka, bubolyicska,
buboicska, bóbiska, mogyorófű, turbolya,
csemegebürök, trombujka, mogyorós baraboly,
baraboi, fődibarabój, mihályka, mihálka,
Mihályka monya
SUB eaten raw by children, also by adults, like
carrot
[9,14,42,53,58,
59,62,65,67,
70,75]
Chenopodium album L. laboda, cigara VEG salads and vegetable [19,65,78]
Cichorium intybus L. katáng, vad cikória, katángkóró SUB grated and roasted as a coee substitute;
used even today in Transylvania
[14,74,78]
Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. tüvis, tövis VEG young spring shoots gathered for soup;
peeled stems eaten raw
[9,78]
Cirsium canum (L.) All. bojhos tövis, ökörlevél, ökörnyelv VEG young leaves cooked for soup [9,73]
Cirsium oleraceum (L.)
Scop.
káposztás acat VEG young leaves were eaten [21]
Convolvulus arvensis L. szulák, győtény FRU, VEG FRU: seeds were famine food; VEG:
children's snack
[16,21,78]
Cornus mas L. som, sum FRU sour jam eaten with meat; syrup; dried;
brandy (palinka) distilled from it
[19,26,29,30,
36–42,46–52,
57,62,65,70,
72,78]
Cornus sanguinea L.† somfa FRU jam, syrup and brandy was made from it
(even though some consider it poisonous)
[19]
Corylus avellana L. magyarófa, mogyorófa, mogyoró, fáin magyaró,
fájimogyoró, fájimagyaró, monyaru, monyaró,
magyaru
FRU, VEG FRU: baked into cakes, snack; VEG: buds:
ground for our substitute in famine
[19,22,26,27,30,
36–38,42,49–53,
65,67,69,72,
75,78]
Crambe tataria Sebeók tátorján SUB famine and herdsmen's food [4,14,16,21,55]
Tab . 1 (continued)
386
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Scientic name Local names mentioned Parts used Mode of use Reference No.
Crataegus monogyna Jacq.,
Crataegus oxyacantha L. and
related taxa
Istengyümölcs, Istengyümölcsfa, Istengyümöcse,
édeskés galagonya, galaginya, gelegenye,
gyümölcsény, Jézus Krisztus tövise
FRU, VEG fruits and sometimes leaves were raw
snack; in few places cooked into jam;
dried our substitute in famine
C. monogyna:
[14,19,22,25,
27,34,35,39,51,
59,62,77,78];
C. oxyacantha:
[22,30,36–38];
C. sp: [29,40,46,
50,76]
Crataegus nigra W. et K. savanykás galagonya FRU raw snack [35]
Crocus banaticus L. Gay
(Crociris iridiorus Heu.)
& Crocus balcanicus Janka
sáfrány & balkáni sáfrány SUB spread by wandering herdsmen; bulbs can
be eaten
[16]
Crocus variegatus Hoppe &
Hornsch
vadsáfrány FLO spice; owers were collected and sold [16]
Dactylis glomerata L. ebír VEG stem was children's snack [78]
Daphne mezereum L.† farkasboroszlán FRU unripe fruits were used as a pepper
substitute aer cooking
[4]
Daucus carota L. subsp.
carota
murok SUB added to soups and vegetables [74]
Echium vulgare L. édesfű FLO owers (perhaps fruits also) eaten by
children
[36]
Elaeagnus angustifolia L olajfa, olajbogyó FRU eaten by children [60,78]
Elymus repens (L.) Gould. tarackbúza VEG, SUB VEG: raw stem as a snack; SUB: famine
food
[19,78]
Equisetum arvense L. mezei zsurló FRU fertile young shoots were eaten by Gypsies [87]
Eryngium campestre L. csipke, bikacsöke, bikacsipke, macskatövis,
széhajtitövis
VEG young shoots cooked for soup; stems and
fresh leaves were eaten fresh, as salad
[18,77]; as
Xanthium
spinosum:
[59,62]
Fagus sylvatica L. bükk, bikfa, májusfa FRU, VEG,
SAP
FRU: raw and roasted for snack; for
confectionery as a walnut substitute;
coee substitute; from seeds oil was
pressed; famine food: ground seeds mixed
into our (even in 1957); VEG: slightly
acidic leaves eaten raw by children in
the spring, sometimes with sugar; SAP:
children tapped and drank
FRU: [19,22,23,
33,36–39,42,50,
53,57,65,68,69,
72,74,75,78];
VEG: [19,36];
SAP: [9]
Fallopia baldschuanica
(Regel) Holub
sóskafa, tőtike VEG leaves as a vegetable with a meaty stung
lled into them; leaves were used as a
children's snack
[78]; B Czúcz
pers. comm.
Filipendula vulgaris L. koloncos legyezőfű, bányavirág SUB sap pressed from roots were eaten; famine
food
[9,16,21]
Fragaria moschata Duch. piroseper, berkeeper, eper FRU raw and conserved as jam [75,78]
Fragaria sp. szamóca, bakkeper, fődi eper, földi eper, szimóca,
SK: jahoda
FRU raw and conserved as jam [22,25,26,29,39,
42,47,50,52,62,
68,76,78]
Fragaria vesca L. fődi eper, erdei eper, eper, vereseper, bekeeper,
szamóca, vad eper, piroseper, berekeper, madár-
epörgye, lányeper, bagóeper, erdei szamóca,
FRU, VEG raw on site; jam, syrup and put into
brandy (palinka)
[19,27,37,40,49,
52,57,72,74,75,
77,78]
Fragaria viridis Duch. szamóca, csattogó eper, tokoseper, csattogó-
epörgye, lányeper, bagóeper, csattogó, vadeper,
réti szamóca
FRU raw, jam, fruit and liqueur [27,36,37,40,45,
53,78]
Galeobdolon luteum Huds.
(syn. Lamium galeobdolon
(L.) Ehrend & Polatschek.)
árvacsalyán, árvacsanál, árvalánycsanál,
árvacsihán, szelidcsanál, szopóka
FLO owers were used as a children's snack [19]
Galium verum L. tejoltó galaj VEG used for milk inoculation [66]
Gentiana cruciata L. &
Gentiana lutea L.
epeburján, epefű, horecska, kösörűgyökér, SUB put into brandy (palinka), appetizer [19]
Glechoma hederacea L. katonapetrezselyem, vadpetrezselyem VEG green spice: parsley substitute [19,41]
Tab . 1 (continued)
387
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Scientic name Local names mentioned Parts used Mode of use Reference No.
Gleditsia triacanthos L. koronatüsökfa, kruskuli, glédicstüsök, vad
szentjánoskenyér, koronaakác, kreditsia, gleditse,
édeske, szejjánoskönyérfa, ledics, lepényfa,
lackószar, zsidótakony, glédicstüsök
FRU children eat the spongy part of the fruit in
autumn, or suck its sap
[11,26,27,29,36,
38,59,62,63,78]
Glyceria maxima (Hartm.)
Holm. & Glyceria uitans
(L.) R. Br.
harmatkása FRU our substitute in famine [16,20,28,60,62]
Glycyrrhiza echinata L. &
Glycyrrhiza glabra L. &
Glycyrrhiza sp.
édesgyökér, idesgyökér SUB sweetener; children's snack; pressed juice
drunk
G. echinata: [11,
22,28,59,62,78];
G. glabra: [14,
16,28,57,59,78];
G. sp.: [5,60,62]
Helianthus tuberosus L. csicsóka, tótrépa, taknyos pityóka, picsóka,
cicoski, mikóka, árvapityóka, árvapijó,
árpapityóka, csókapityóka, csókapicsóka,
disznópityóka, édespityóka, ngópityóka,
ngóspityóka, picsócsa, pityójka
SUB, FLO stands escaped from cultivation were
gathered; SUB: pickled for winter;
children and adult eat it raw, roasted or
cooked, FLO: nectar was sucked out of
owers
[9,43,46,50,52,
57,58,62,63,71,
74,77,78]; FLO:
[52]
Heracleum sphondylium L. bojtorján VEG sour soup and refreshing drink was made
from the leaves
[16]
Hippophaë rhamnoides L.
subsp. carpatica Rousi
homoktövis FRU whole fruit was conserved in honey in
Transylvania; syrup, jam
[74]
Hordeum murinum L. vadárpa, fű, ragcsos fű, kalász VEG stem, spikes were children's snack [78]
Humulus lupulus L. komló, vadkomló VEG, FLO FLO: put into bread and beer sourdough
(widespread); VEG: shoots fried (mainly
in Transylvania); soup and vegetable like
French beans
[7,9,19,27,30,36,
38,57,59,67,71,
75,77,78,86]
Juglans regia L. dió, vad dió, dijófa FRU, SAP FRU: into sweets, confectionery; green
husks cooked with sugar to make syrup or
tea; from unripe, so fruits pickles, jam,
sweets and brandy (palinka) was made.
SAP: children tapped; fresh drink
FRU: seeds in
many sources;
so fruit: [68];
green husk: [19];
SAP: [9]
Juniperus communis L. borsika, borsukafenyő, borókafenyő, bucsfenyő,
sillő, süllő, borosán, borosánfenyő
FRU spice for brandy (palinka), sour cabbage,
ham marinade and pepper substitute for
meat dishes; used for meat smoking: it
gives a pleasant avour to meat
[19,22,27,36–38,
50,52,68,69,
74,75]; meat
smoking: [27]
Koelrauteria paniculata
Laxm.
n.d. FRU children's snack [78]
Lamium album L. & L.
maculatum (L.) L. & L.
purpureum L.
árvacsalán, árvacsalyán, árvacsanál,
árvalánycsanál, árvacsihán, szelidcsanál, szopóka
FLO children's snack [19,70,78]
Larix decidua Mill. fenyő SAPs gum was chewed for cleaning teeth [72,78]
Lathyrus aphaca L.† csiriborsó, csicsiriborsó, feketeborsó, fényesborsó,
nyesborsó, vadborsó
FRU nice shiny seeds were used for decorating
confectionery
[9]
Lathyrus tuberosus L. borsó viloja,borsó viola, vadborsó, csunya,
csuma, csunyavirág, julisztavirág, jurisztavirág,
zsírgaz, földimogyoró, fődimagyaró,
földimagyaru, földi zsír, kutyulló je, borsój,
borsó, borsóvirág, dobra, csicsiriborsó,
csicseriborsó, barabój, jenyestye, unalomvirág,
vadborsóvirág
SUB, FRU SUB: children and adults ate it almost
everywhere; at ploughing it was ploughed
out or was dug out by pigs; roasted at open
re (delicious); it has disappeared when
deep ploughing came into practice and
because of herbicides; FRU: seeds were
eaten less oen
[9,11,14,22,26,
27,35,49,52,59,
60,62,65,67,74,
75,77,78]
Lemna sp.* fulencse VEG eaten by poor people [33]
Lepidium perfoliatum L. &
L. ruderale L.
borsika, cigánypaprika VEG eaten by Gypsies instead of horseradish
and hot peppers
[11]
Lilium martagon L. n.d. SUB bulbs were put into wine to make vinegar;
herdsmen's children ate it dried or was
ground into our
[4,65]
Linaria vulgaris Mill.* sarkantyúvirág FLO owers were snack [59]
Tab . 1 (continued)
388
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Scientic name Local names mentioned Parts used Mode of use Reference No.
Lolium perenne L. fű VEG stem was children's snack [78]
Lotus corniculatus and/or
L. glaber
mogyoró, földimogyoró SUB roots (nodules) were children's snack [78]
Lycium barbarum L.† licium, kutyafa FRU, FLO eaten by children, but in some places
forbidden because it was known as
poisonous; FLO: pistil from the owers
were children's snack
[19,62,78]
Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. vadalma, vadóma, vadóka, madárbogyó, SK:
plánka
FRU generally everywhere vinegar was made
from it; it was post-ripened, rarely eaten
raw; it was dried; compote, wine, brandy
(palinka) and “cibere” soup was made of
it; as a spice it was put into sour cabbage
[19,22,23,26,27,
29,36,38–40, 42,
43,47–53,57–59,
62,63,67–69,
72,74,76,78]
Malva neglecta Wallr. &
Malva sylvestris L. & Malva
sp.
kalácska virág, papsajt, papsajtmályva,
papsajtja, taknyozófű, kerekmályva, papkalács,
papkenyérke, vadmályva, papsajtlevél
FRU immature fruit was and is eaten raw by
children
[9,11,14,21,22,
30,42,50,51,59,
60,62,70,75,
77,78]
Matricaria recutita L. (M.
chamomilla L.)
libavirág, szíkfűvirág, szíkfű, kamilla FLO refreshing tea and medicinal infusion;
owers were children's snacks
[29,43,57,78]
Medicago sativa L. lucwrna, lucerna VEG soup was made from the young shoots [77]
Melissa ocinalis L. citromfű, citromszagú méhfű VEG modes of use not documented; today
used as a tea and a spice, the plant occurs
spontaneously
[9]
Melittis melissophyllum L.* mecsekháti tea, mecseki-téja, VEG “most popular herb tea”; gathered
basketful for sale; it was made into candies
[27,29]
Mentha sp., M. aquatica L.,
M. arvensis L., M. spicata
cv. crispa, M. longifolia (L.)
Nath., M. pulegium L.
balzsamka, vad fodormenta, fodorminta, menta,
vízimenta, szagos menta
VEG spice for brandy (palinka); tea [7,11,19,43,67,
70,74,78]
Morus sp., M. alba L. (& M.
nigra L.? = M. alba f. nigra)
epörgyefa, epörgye, szederfa, faszeder, eperfa,
fekete eper, fehér eper, eperfa, eper
FRU eaten raw by travellers; brandy (palinka),
wine, jam, syrup made of it, without sugar
[19,26,27,29,30,
63,78]
Muscari botryoides (L.) Mill. Szent-györgy virág VEG, FLO whole plant was a children's snack [78]
Onopordum acanthium L. bogáncs VEG leaves were a children's snack [78]
Origanum vulgare L. ezerjófű, lebetka, lebetkevirág, szúrfű, szurokfű VEG, FLO tea; appetizer [19,73,74]
Oxalis acetosella L. medvesósdi, madársósdi, medvesóska, erdei
sósdi, bikksóska, kereksósnya, nyúlsaláta,
nyúlsóska, nyúlsósnya, nyúlsózsnya
VEG, FLO pressed juice was used like vinegar;
chewed; raw leaves were children's snack;
milk rennet
[9,16,19,38,70,
74,75,78]
Oxalis corniculata L. (O.
europaea Jord.)
galambsóska, sárga madársóska, kakukksóska,
madársóska
VEG raw snack [19]
Padus avium Mill. zelnica, szelence, vadszelence FRU eaten by children; put into brandy
(palinka)
[22,67,74]
Papaver rhoeas L. pipacs FLO petals were a children's snack [78]
Parthenocissus tricuspidata
(S. et Z.) Planch.*†
vadszőllő VEG, FRU fruits and thin shoots were put into
pickled cucumbers (even though fruits are
considered toxic)
[27]
Pastinaca sativa L. peszternák, vad pasztinák SUB added to soups, children's snack [74,78]
Phragmites australis (Cav.)
Steud.
nád SUB, VEG SUB: cooked rhizomes are herdsmen's
and famine food; VEG: salad made from
fresh shoots, inner part of the shoots was
spring-summer snack
[11,14,23,28,78]
Phytolacca americana L.† alkörmös FRU jam; food colouring [19]
Picea abies (L.) Karsten lucsika, vörösfenyő, veresfenyő, szëmërke
szëmërcefenyő, havasifenyő, csetenyefa,
lukszfenyő, parasztfenyő
VEG, FLO,
SAPs
VEG, FLO: jam, syrup and preserve made
from buds and juvenile cones; SAPs:
gums were teeth cleaner, chewing gum
substitute
[19,67,70,74,
75,78]
Pimpinella anisum L. ánizs FRU spice for brandy (palinka) and
confectionery
[77]
Pinus cembra L. cirbolya VEG, FLO use not documented; presumably like P.
sylvestris. Seeds: children snack
[16,78]
Tab . 1 (continued)
389
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Scientic name Local names mentioned Parts used Mode of use Reference No.
Pinus sylvestris L. lucfenyő, lucsfenyő, csëmëtefa, csetnye, lúcfenyő,
lukszfenyő, veresfenyő, vörösfenyő, répafenyő
VEG, FLO syrup was made from young buds and
cones
[9,19,50,67,
69,78]
Plantago lanceolata L. úti lapi, keskenylevelű útilapi VEG preservative was cooked from it; snack [74,78]
Plantago major L. &
Plantago media L.
úrlapi, útilapi, útifű VEG raw plant put into butter against anaemia [67]
Poa angustifolia L. & Poa
pratensis L. & Poa spp.
fű VEG stems were used as a children's snack
(chew for the sweet sap)
[78]
Polygonum lapathifolium L.
& P. aviculare L.
savanyú keserűfű, lapulevelű keserűfű VEG slightly sour leaves were used as snacks P. lapathifolium:
[9,22,57,59]; P.
aviculare: [78]
Polypodium vulgare L. kőméz, édesgyükér SUB sweetener fresh and dried; snack; lapped
into a rag it was given to babies to chew
at teething; “sweet water” was made by
soaking ground roots in water
[38,42,49,50,52,
67,70,74,75,78]
Portulaca oleracea L. porcsin VEG, FRU eaten; leaves were children's snack; seeds
were famine food
[16,78]
Potentilla anserina L. földi mogyoró, libapimpó VEG young leaves were eaten [57,58,62]
Primula veris L. kukukvirág FLO owers were cooked into a sweet syrup [75]
Primula vulgaris Huds. zsibavirág VEG whole plant was consumed [78]
Prunus sp. & P. cerasifera
Ehrh. & P. domestica L.
subsp. insititia
fosóka szilva, fosóka, kökényszilva, korkodus,
márabora, ringló, vadszilva, macskaszemű szilva
FRU
SAPs
brandy (palinka), preserves, syrup, jam
was made from the fruit; also dried; SAPs:
gum chewing
[50,68,77,78]
Prunus spinosa L. & P.
spinosa L.subsp. fruticans
(Weihe)R.etCam.
kökin, kökényszilva, kükény, kükényszilva,
kökörcsönszilva, kükürcsönszilva, kökén, kükén.
kükénfa, kökönye, porumbar
FRU eaten mainly raw “aer frost-bitten”; wine,
soaked “kökényvíz” (blackthorn water);
brandy (palinka) was made of it; also
dried
[5,9,11,19,22,23,
25,29,30,36–40,
46–48,50–53,57,
59,60,62,63,65,
70,72,74,76–78]
Pulmonaria mollis Wulf &
Pulmonaria ocinalis L.
dungóvirág, dungófű, tüdőfű FLO children suck the nectar out of the owers [67,70]
Pyrus pyraster Burgsd.
(Pyrus achras Gaertn.)
vadkörte, vackor, erdei vackor, vadvackor, malina,
SK: cernice, dicka
FRU harvested raw, ripened in the attic; stewed
fruit, wine (“csügör”), vinegar, brandy
(palinka) made of it; dried; soup was made
from the dried fruit (“cibereleves”)
[11,19,22,23,
25–27,29,36,
38–40,42,43,
46–53,57–59,
62,63,65,68,69,
72,74,76–78]
Quercus cerris L. cserelfa, cserfa, cser VEG, SAP,
FRU
VEG: leaves were put into barrelled
cucumber as a spice; SAP: herdsmen
tapped it from spring to late autumn,
“brown beer” for them; FRU: coee
substitute aer leaching and roasting,
famine food
SAP: [24,27,28,
38,39,44]; VEG:
[19,77]; FRU:
[16]
Quercus pubescens Willd. magyal FRU, VEG FRU: herdsmen roasted the acorns
on ember; VEG: leaves were put into
barrelled cucumber as a spice
[14,16,77]
Quercus robur L. & Q. rubra
L. & Q. petraea (Matt.)
Liebl. & Quercus sp.
cserefa, tölgy, tölgyfa, töfa, tőfa, töljfa csepefa VEG, FRU VEG: leaves were put into barrelled
cucumber as a spice; bark: famine
our substitute FRU: coee substitute,
children's snack and famine our
substitute: boiled acorns lost their bitter
taste, aer boiling it was dried, ground
and mixed into our
VEG: [77]; FRU:
[19,23,27,33,35,
37,48,77,78];
Bark: [14]
Ranunculus caria L. györgysaláta, papsaláta, szentgyörgybúza,
madársaláta, galambsaláta, vadsaláta, búzasaláta,
bükki saláta, erdejisaláta, harangversengő,
kereksajáta, kakuksaláta, kukuksaláta,
kukuksajáta, mezejisaláta, nyúlsaláta, nyúlsajáta,
salátavirág, szaronkőtt saláta, vadsajáta,
pipirisaláta
VEG it was consumed mainly raw, with a sauce
as a spring salad; roasted in speck lard
with garlic; cooked for soup and vegetable
(tradition survived in Transylvania);
in Hungary it re-appears in markets,
gathered by Gypsies
[9,27,31,35,58,
62,65,70,71,74,
77,78]
Ribes alpinum L. leánykafüge, vad ribizli FRU eaten raw, wine was made from it [70,75]
Tab . 1 (continued)
390
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Scientic name Local names mentioned Parts used Mode of use Reference No.
Ribes aureum Pursch aranyribizli FRU snack [78]
Ribes nigrum L. fekete ribizli, fekete ribizli, fekete szöllő, fekete
vërësszőlő
FRU eaten raw (also in gardens) [9,50,74]
Ribes petraeum Wu lf. borfüge FRU eaten raw [75]
Ribes rubrum L. piros ribizli, vad ribizli FRU eaten raw (also in gardens) [38,74]
Ribes uva-crispa L. egres, egris, füge, szőrős füge, vad egres, agris,
piszke, büszke
FRU eaten raw; gathered for preserves and soup [9,38,70,74,
75,78]
Robinia pseudacacia L. akác, fehér akác, agacsi, ágác, mézvirág, kukucka,
agáca
FLO, VEG FLO: whole ower or just the nectar was
children's snack; in many places it was
fried in pancake dough; tea; less oen
wine was made of it; sometimes added to
bread sourdough. VEG: young leaves were
eaten by children
FLO: [19,23,27,
29,31,36,38,50,
59,60,70,74,77,
78]; to bread:
[17]; VEG: [59]
Rosa canina L. agg. & Rosa
corymbifera Borkh. (Rosa
dumetorum uill.) & Rosa
sp.
csipkerózsa, hecseli, hecsedli, hecserli,
rózsabogyó, pecs, bucske, bücske, bütyke,
seggvakaró, seggvakarcs, istengyümőcs, vadrózsa,
csipkefa, szaragógya, szagrógya, bicskerózsa,
csitkenye, csitke, csipka, hecse, hecse-pecse,
hecsebokor, tüvisfa hecsempecs, csicskenye,
csipkebokor
FRU, FLO FRU: syrup, jam, preserves, stewed fruit,
soaked drink; with yeast it was made into
wine; “cibere” soup, enriched with bread;
dried: tea; ground: our substitute in
famine; FLO: refreshing drink, vinegar
and preserves were made from petals
R. canina: [9,11,
19,22,25,26,29,
30,36–40,42,43,
45–50,52,53,57,
60,65,68,71,
74–78]; R.
corymbifera: [19,
22]; Rosa sp.:
[22,59,62,74]
Rosa gallica L. selyemrózsa, fátyolrózsa, rózsa, csicskenye
nagylevelű csipkerózsa
FRU, FLO,
VEG
FLO: syrup and jam were made from the
petals with sugar and citric acid. VEG: tea
from leaves. FRU: tea, jam, syrup.
[19,22,23,74,76]
Rubus caesius L. & Rubus sp.
(also as Rubus tomentosus
Borkh)
szeder, seder, fődi szeder, erdei szeder, fődi
szödörnye, szödör, csuszkor, promber, futó
szëdër, szëdër, földi szeder, vad szeder, fekete
szeder, szederincs, szederéncs, szedernye, szeder,
vadszeder, tüskeszeder szödörnye, kódis szeder,
víziszeder, SK: carnica
FRU, VEG FRU: eaten raw in the past and also today;
jam, preserves, wine, brandy (palinka),
syrup, thick jam (“dulcsesz”) was made of
it. VEG: tea from leaves
R. caesius: [9,11,
19,22,26,27,30,
35,36,45,47,49,
52,72,74,76–78];
Rubus sp.:
[22,25,29,30,36,
38,42,43,48,52,
57–60,62,68]
Rubus fruticosus agg. szeder, fekete szeder, fás szödörnye, tüskeszeder,
lószamóca
FRU FRU: eaten raw in the past and also today;
wine, brandy (palinka) was made of it;
sold in markets
[19,22,27,38,42,
65,75,77,78]
Rubus idaeus L. málna, mána, malina, mánafa, málnafa FRU, VEG FRU: eaten raw; jam, syrup, wine, brandy
(palinka) was made of it; also put into
brandy (palinka); fruits were conserved in
syrup. VEG: tea was made from leaves.
[19,23,38,40,42,
43,45,47–52,65,
67,70,72,
74–76,78]
Rumex acetosa L. & Rumex
sp.
sóska, réti sóska, vadsóska, sóslorjum, sóslórum,
vadsóska, papsaláta, sósdi, tavaszi sóska, sóski,
sósnya, vadsósnya, lósóska
VEG mentioned by almost all sources. It was an
important spring vegetable everywhere;
eld snack, eaten raw mainly by children;
cooked for soup and sauce; also used for
inoculation of milk
R. acetosa: [9,19,
22,23,27,35,36,
38,39,42,43,46,
49–53,57–59,62,
65–67,70,77,78];
Rumex sp.: [33,
47,60,71,78]
Rumex acetosella L. madársóska VEG mainly snack; sometimes eaten aer
being boiled in salty water; also used for
inoculation of milk
[43,49,50,52,65,
66,78]
Rumex patientia L. lósóska, lósósdi VEG cooked for sauce and soup [5,31,43,76,78]
Rumex pseudonatronatus
Borb.*
lósóska VEG stued with meat and rice like cabbage [59]
Sagittaria sagittifolia L. alacs, elecs, elecske SUB famine food [14,16]
Salvia pratensis L. & S.
nemorosa L.
bárányláb & vadorgona FLO owers and nectar were snacks [75,78]
Tab . 1 (continued)
391
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Scientic name Local names mentioned Parts used Mode of use Reference No.
Sambucus ebulus L.† fődi bodza, földi bodza, gyalogbodza, gyalog
bédza, fődi-boza, borzang, fekete borzag, csete
FRU
FLO
FRU: jam and syrup was cooked, brandy
(palinka) was distilled from it; jam was
made mixed with pumpkins. It was not
eaten raw, and was used less oen than S.
nigra. FLO: tea.
FRU: [19,26,27,
30,37–39,45,69,
77]; FLO: [77]
CZB
Sambucus nigra L. &
Sambucus sp.
fabodza, borza,bodzavirág,gyalogbodza, bodza,
fehér bozza, bozda, bozzafa, bojzafa, fekete bojza,
bodzafa, bozdafa, borzag, borza, borzafa
FLO, FRU FRU: jam was cooked; brandy (palinka)
was distilled from it; used for colouring
wine. FLO: tea, refreshing drink, syrup,
“elder champagne”; fried in pancake
dough: “elder doughnut”
[5,9,19,27,30,37,
42,43,49,50,52,
57,59,60,62,67,
69,74,75,78]
Sambucus racemosa L.* n.d. FRU red fruits were eaten [37,69]
Satureja alpina (L.) Scheele
(ymus alpinus L.)
n.d. VEG mountain herdsmen used it as a spice [4]
Scorzonera hispanica L. fekete gyökér SUB eaten [36,37]
Scorzonera purpurea L.
subsp. rosea (Scorzonera
rosea W. et K.)
bakceka FLO children's snack [74]
Setaria spp. muhar VEG stem was used as a children's snack
(chewed for the sweet sap)
[78]
Sinapis arvensis L. repce, rabcsont, rebcsont VEG, FRU FRU: oil pressed; VEG: soup was made
from young spring shoots
[4,74 76,77]
Sisymbrium altissimum L.
(as Sisymbrium pannonicum
Jacq.)
magas zsombor FRU oil pressed [4]
Smyrnium perfoliatum L. őzsaláta VEG salad was made from raw leaves [19]
Solanum nigrum L.† fekete szöllő, fekete vad szöllő, káposztaszöllő FRU sweet fruits were eaten by children (it
is considered poisonous, but the source
notes: “1–2 pieces do not make any
ha r m”)
[77]
Solidago gigantea Ait. vadkender VEG children's snack [78]
Sonchus arvensis L. n.d. VEG n.d. [65]
Sorbus aucuparia L. belekenyér, istenkenyere FRU fruits eaten [19,69]
Sorbus domestica L. &
Sorbus sp.
berkenye, berkenyi FRU dried [22,28,36,37]
Sorbus torminalis (L.) Cr. barkóca, vadbarkóca FRU sweet, pulpy fruits were eaten by children,
herdsmen
[37–40]
Staphylea pinnata L.* klokocs, FRU eaten by children [38]
Stellaria media (L.) Vill. galambbegy, tyúkhúr, korpafű VEG eaten as salad and vegetable [11,78]
Streptopus amplexifolius
(L.) DC
nyúleper FRU fruits ripen in hay by winter, eaten raw [75]
Symphytum ocinale L.† feketenadály, fekete nadálytő, dongóvirág VEG, FLO VEG: young leaves were eaten fried in
harsh times; FLO: children's snack
FLO: [9]; VEG:
[14], SZGY
Taraxacum ocinale Weber
& T. laevigatum (Willd.)
DC.
öregapám pogácsája, láncvirág, lánclapi, cikória,
tyúkvirág, pitypang, pipevirág, marcivirág, láncfű,
kákics, kutyavirág, pimpó, békavirág, bíkavirág,
cikornya, csikāra, hóttok virága, kotlóvirág,
láncoslapu, nyúlsaláta, pipefű, pipevirág,
tejesbúrjány, tejesbúrján, tejesfű, tejefű, fűgörhe,
tejesgaz, tejes vadsaláta, tyúksegge, csorbóka,
libuskavirág
VEG, FLO VEG: young leaves were eaten as salad
in spring; FLO: syrup was cooked from
soaked owers; or “cikoria honey” was
made from owers with thick sugar syrup;
in Gömör “pimpó wine” was fermented
from the owers; in some places it was
regarded as poisonous
[9,19,22,28,50,
59,63,65,70,74,
75,78]; T.
laevigatum:
[59,62]
Taxus baccata L.† tiszafa FRU arils were eaten as children's snack [78]
ymus serpyllum L. &
ymus sp.
csombor, kakukkbora, kakukkfüj, vadborsfüj,
vadcsombor
VEG spice [19,30,60,62,78]
Tilia platyphyllos Scop. &
Tilia cordata Mill. & Tilia
sp.
hársfa FLO tea; condiment for brandy (palinka) and
wine
[19,27,29,38,40,
43,61,78]
Tab . 1 (continued)
392
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
Scientic name Local names mentioned Parts used Mode of use Reference No.
Tragopogon orientalis L. (as
Tragopogon pratensis L.)
bakceka, bakszaka, baszkata, csuka, édesfű,
idesfű, tefesfű, kukukté, szasza, szekeboka,
tejesbúrján, tejesbúrjány
VEG in the past young sweet stems were eaten
peeled; in autumn curly leaves were
chewed; in some places it was cooked in
whey
[9,50,65,67,75]
Trapa natans L. sulyom, suly, sójom FRU cooked and roasted; our substitute in
famine; till the 1930s it was sold in large
quantities
[5,11,14,16,30,
33–35,58–60,62]
Trifolium pannonicum
JACQ
nagy fehér vad here FLO syrup was cooked from the owers;
children's snack
[74]
Trifolium pratense L. vörös lóhere, lucerna, istenke cipókája FLO children's snack [16,35,78]
Trifolium repens L. lóhere VEG leaves and stem were used as a children's
snack
[78]
Tripleurospermum
perforatum (Mérat) M.
Lainz
kamilla FLO owers were children's snacks [78]
Tussilago farfara L.† fodbájlapi, podbánlapi, podbállapi, martilapi,
martilapu, martivirág, partilapu, pipevirág,
ciberelapu, fehérhátu lapu, tejfölös lapu, pitypang,
gyermekláncfű
VEG, FLO VEG: stued with meat or mush; soup,
vegetable, salad, in spring salad soup with
bones (rst cooking water was poured
o, because it was bitter); FLO: owers
cooked into sugar syrup
[9,19,65,67,
71,74]
Typha latifolia L. & Typ ha
angustifolia L.
csella, elecske, bengyele, pintér gyékény, nádi
botikó
SUB, VEG SUB: rhizomes were eaten raw or cooked
by herdsmen; famine food; VEG: salad
from young leaves
[4,14,28,30,34,
59,61,62,78]
Ulmus glabra Huds. ? = ?
Ulmus minor Mill. & Ulmus
sp. = U. laevis L.*
szilfa SAP fresh drink [27,33]
Urtica sp., Urtica dioica L. &
Urtica urens L.
csijány, csián, csiján, csalán, csihán, csallán,
csollán, csohán, csonár, csajánt, csojánt, csoján,
csojány, csohány, csípős csajánt, csípős csojánt,
csípős csojány, csípős csollán, széleslevelü csoján,
csípős csohán
VEG soup, vegetable and salad was made from
fresh shoots; weak children were fed with
nettle; eggs with nettle: eastern dish; tea
[9,19,23,28,33,
36,48,50,52,53,
63,65,71,74–78],
NI; U. urens:
[52,53,65,77]
Vaccinium
gaultherioidesBigelow
takonkokojza FRU eaten raw [75]
Vaccinium myrtillus L. feketekukujza, feketekokojza, kakóca, kakojza,
fekete áfonya, fekete kukojsza, ánya, ányála,
háfonya, hánya, feketemeggy, boronyica,
brusnyica
FRU, VEG FRU: raw; as jam, liqueur, syrup,
preserves; preserved in rum; put into
brandy (palinka); VEG: tea from leaves
[9,16,19,30,
48–52,70,72,
74–76,78]
Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. piroskokojza, piroskukujza, fojminc, piros
kukojsza, piros kakojza, havasi meggy, vörös
áfonya, piros áfonya, ménisora, fásmeggy,
botonyica, brusnyica
FRU eaten raw, fresh and as pickles;
preservation: pickled; sweet preserves; put
into brandy (palinka) and wine; cooked
into wine: glee; preserved in alcohol;
dried; harvested semi-ripe and ripened in
the sun
[19,48–52,70,74,
75,78]
Valerianella locusta (L.)
Latterade
vadsaláta, nyúlsaláta, galambbegy saláta, madárka
saláta
VEG eaten in spring as salad, poured with sauce [19,27,38,53,78]
Valerianella olitoria (L) Poll.
or V. dentata (L.) Poll.
madársaláta, papsaláta, vadsaláta VEG eaten as salad with oil and vinegar [22]
Verbena ocinalis L. vasfű, vasfűj, vas, szaporagaz VEG put into pickled cucumbers; spice and
preservative
[9,38,67]
Viburnum lantana L.† &
Viburnum sp.
nyomittó, nyomtató, ostorménfa, barátsza,
barátszar, farkascseresnye, gusfa, bangita,
korbácsnyélfa, ostórminya, ostornyélfa, szentfa,
Szent-Ilona szőlő, szereputyka
FRU fruits and pressed juice; snack for children [9,19,26,67,74]
Viburnum opulus L.† kányafa, kánya, veres kánya, gána, kálenka,
kalina, kalinafa, kalinka
FRU raw when frost-bitten but bitter: jam and
syrup was made of it
[19,74]
Vicia spp. csicseriborsó, vadborsó FRU cakes were decorated with its shiny seeds [9]
Vitis sylvestris C. C. Gmel.
(V. vinifera L. subsp.
sylvestris)
vadszőlő FRU children's snack; vinegar and brandy
(palinka) was fermented from it
[22,27,68,78]
Tab . 1 (continued)
393
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
maritimus, Butomus umbellatus, Crambe tataria, Filipendula
vulgaris, Phragmites australis, Sagittaria sagittifolia and Ty pha
latifolia were known as important famine foods. Crambe ta-
taria and Typha latifolia were reported to be preferred to bread
as a staple food by some herdsmen even in normal times [60].
Collecting and eating Lathyrus tuberosus tubers used to be a
widespread practice aer ploughing. Polypodium vulgare and
Glycyrrhiza rhizomes were generally consumed as kids' snacks
and used as a sweetener. Tubers of Chaerophyllum bulbosum
and Helianthus tuberosus were important wild vegetables eaten
raw and cooked. Acorus calamus and Gentiana roots were used
as pálinka spices; whereas Cichorium intybus roots can serve as
a coee substitute, still in use Transylvania [74].
Tree saps
Tapping trees for sap used to be a common practice in the
forested regions of Eurasia. Saps from Betula pendula, Quercus
cerris, Carpinus betulus, Ulmus spp. and Acer pseudoplatanus
trees were generally drunk raw. Carpinus betulus, Fagus syl-
vatica and Juglans regia trees were also tapped in Transylvania.
Betula pendula sap used to be an important commercial item
sold in larger quantities at markets as a refreshing beverage,
a medicine or a curdling agent. Quercus cerris sap was an
important water source for herdsmen where spring water was
scarce. Oaks giving the best sap were tapped permanently with
built-in elder tubes; some trees were visited for drinking for
20 years. e dried resin of Picea abies, Larix decidua, Prunus
cerasifera and Cerasus avium was used for chewing. is was
not only useful for cleaning teeth, but also for stimulating the
production of saliva, which was needed for spinning.
Social aspects of the gathering activities
Wild food plants, especially fruits, were collected both for
own use or for sale. Unwritten laws regulated gathering. Sign-
ing an area rich in blueberries or strawberries, or a wild fruit
tree, or arriving rst in the gathering day, anyone could reserve
the fruits for himself [16]. According to a documented tradi-
tion [48], families without horses were allowed to do gathering
in closer to the village than families possessing horses. Horses
knew their job, they followed their owners with baskets on
their backs. Gathering traditions went from generation to
generation in communities, sometimes in families. Jam mak-
ing from Sambucus ebulus was a community activity among
German-speaking people till the 1930s, like jam-making from
Rosa canina in some villages; this latter tradition exist even
today (e.g. in the village Szarvaskő), but more as a tourist
attraction.
It was also noted that some people were ashamed that they
need to eat green leaves, and were unwilling to speak about it,
since gathering (“nettle-eating”) was oen regarded as a sign
of poverty in some communities [9]. Teachers coming from
an urban environment also inuenced children to give up
snacking on wild plants: in a documented case children have to
write down 500 times “grass is eaten only by ruminant beasts”
as a punishment [50].
Discussion
e diverse natural vegetation of the Carpathian Basin was
a rich source of wild food plants. e consumption of wild
plants was of dierent magnitude and economic signicance in
dierent periods and dierent regions, depending both on the
natural characteristics of the landscape and the socio-economic
background and tradition-preserving ability of the families or
communities. e importance of gathering activities changed
in parallel with the areal loss of natural vegetation and with
socio-economic changes. e greatest changes occurred in the
lowland oodplains, where traditional gathering, shing and
hunting activities provided livelihood for many people. Aer
the extensive drainage of the oodplains in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, the utilization of wild food plants dropped
dramatically. e two main reasons behind this transition
were the reduced availability of the most important wetland
plants and the new economic opportunities in the transformed
landscape dominated by arable elds, which rendered gather-
ing unnecessary, and le no time for such activities [16,32,35].
e tradition of consuming wild food plants could survive for a
longer time in forested and mountain regions unsuitable for ag-
ricultural production, where the proportion of natural vegeta-
tion was larger. In such regions there were several documented
cases of people actively consuming 20–30 species even in the
middle of the 20th century (e.g. [27,36,50,74,75]). Snacking of
wild fruits, owers, and raw wild vegetables survived longest
among herdsmen and children.
Today, the gathering and consumption of wild plants is
increasingly becoming popular and fashionable activity again.
Factors behind this process include health-conscious nutrition
as well as the worsening economic situation experienced by
many. Some species e.g. Allium ursinum, A. scorodoprasum,
Sambucus nigra, Ranunculus ficaria, Rosa canina, Prunus
spinosa, Rubus, Crataegus, and Urtica spp., are appearing in
markets as sources for fashionable “nature products”. Gathering
wild plants for sale is generally a seasonal subsistence activity
of the poorest people – e.g. gypsies or elderly people. Under
harsh economic conditions the consumption of wild goods
becomes a matter of survival. ere always have been (and
there are still) places, where indigent families made use of
everything “presented by the Creator in his endless good will
since the beginning of times” [63].
Further poisonous species, tasted and snacked by some Hungarian botanists in their childhood include Chelidonium majus L, VEG Conium maculatum L.
(VEG: piece of internode), Hedera helix L. (FRU), Ligustrum vulgare L. (FRU), Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L.) Planch (FRU), Salix alba L. (VEG: leaves),
Syringa vulgaris L. (VEG: branch).
Tab . 1 (continued)
FLO – owers, inorescences, sometimes only petals or nectar; FRU – fruits or seeds; n.d. – no data about local names in the sources; SAP –
liquid sap of trees; SAPs – dried forms of saps (resin or gums); SUB – subterranean parts (rhizomes, roots, bulbs, tubers); VEG – leaves, shoots,
buds, sometimes the whole plant. * Uncertain identication (species inclusion in the list is based only on ethnographic sources). † Plant (the
consumed part) is mentioned to be poisonous by some sources.
394
© The Author(s) 2012 Published by Polish Botanical Society
Dénes et al. / Wild food plants of Hungarians
More traditional forms of gathering activities can also be a
living tradition today. Among Hungarians living in Transylva-
nia the traditional use of wild plants have continued till today
in many places. ere are settlements, where more than 30–40
wild species are used in everyday life [74,75], and wild fruits
(e.g. Fragaria, Vaccinium spp.) are commonly sold in markets.
Comparing Hungary to Mediterranean (e.g. Spain and
Italy [1,2]) and to the countries north of Hungary (Poland
[3,80,81], Slovakia [82], Estonia [83]) there are some striking
similarities and dierences. Use of most wild fruits and seeds,
as well as the little importance of wild greens is similar to that
of Poland, Slovakia and Estonia. Similar to several Mediterra-
nean countries, the consumption of the members of Liliaceae
is high in Hungary.
A specic feature of the traditional plant use of the Hungar-
ians is the mass consumption of the underground parts of some
wetland species, particularly Typha spp. but also Phragmites,
Sagittaria, Alisma, Butomus, and Bolboschoenus. Another
Hungarian characteristic is the widespread consumption of
some continental steppe species, reaching the Great Hungar-
ian Plain from the east, most notably Crambe tataria, Rumex
pseudonatronatus and the endemic Armoracia macrocarpa.
e traditional knowledge of these plants might have arrived
into the Carpathian Basin with the Hungarians coming from
the Eurasian steppes in 896 AD. e Turkic origin of the com-
mon names of several species (e.g. “tátorján”: Crambe tatarica,
“bojtorján”: Arctium lappa, “gyékény”: Typha latifolia, “som”:
Cornus mas, “katáng”: Cichorium intybus) suggests that these
species might have been consumed before the Hungarians
settled in the Carpathian basin. Interestingly, there are no
records of Hungarians using some species (e.g. Aegopodium po-
dagraria, Alliaria petiolata, Sonchus oleraceus, Lactuca serriola,
Stachys palustris) common in the Carpathian Basin, which are
important wild vegetables in other European countries, Poland,
Germany, Spain or Italy [1–3,79–84].
Conclusions
We reviewed 71 papers and manuscripts summarizing
information on the use of 236 species. Although we did our
best to nd all relevant papers, it is still necessary to search for
further literature, and, particularly, to perform additional eld
data collection in order to record the traditions still surviv-
ing in some regions. One might ask: is it not too late? Does
the knowledge on wild food plants and their traditional use
still exist? As a few contemporary eld studies testify, there is
some hope le. ere are places where this kind of traditional
knowledge still exists, and even new species or new uses for old
species can be documented. ere are hints that this knowl-
edge may exist also in other regions, and some communities
consciously revitalize ancient traditions for economic or other
reasons (e.g. the production of rosehip jam as a community
activity in Szarvaskő village). But the erosion of traditional
knowledge on wild food plants is very fast.
ere are several regions where no research on this topic
was ever pursued, (e.g. Hanság, Zselic, Mecsek, Balaton re-
gion); and the traditional wild plant use of non-Hungarian
ethnic groups living in Hungary (e.g. Germans) would be
also worth to explore. Exploring and documenting this form
of traditional ecological knowledge is an important part of
conserving cultural heritage. Lessons on sustainable interac-
tions between nature and human communities can become an
important source of information in an uncertain and energy
scarce future [85]. In addition to serving as a basis for novel
business opportunities, traditional forms of wild plant use can
also improve the cohesion and resilience of local communities.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to István Burján and Katalin Sárközi (Eth-
nography Department of Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs) for
their assistance in tracking down literature sources. We are also
grateful to the 32 Hungarian botanists who responded to our
query on their childhood snacks: Lajos Balogh, János Bölöni,
Anikó Csecserits, Anna Mária Csergő, Ágnes Csomós, Áron
József Deák, Tamás Exner, Sándor Farkas, Alexander Fehér,
Gábor Fekete, Ferenc Gyulai, Eszter Illyés, Melinda Juhász,
Árpád Kenéz, Géza Kósa, András Kun, Imre Majláth, Ákos
Malatinszky, András Máté, József Nagy, Miklós Óvári, Róbert
Pál, Tamás Pócs, Szilvia Rév, Dénes Saláta, Imelda Somodi,
Klára Szabados, István Szabó, László Gyula Szabó, Attila
Takács, Tamás Tóth, Gábor Turcsányi.
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