Keywords

1 Introduction

In recent years, the western Balkans have been the focus of an increasing number of field ethnobotanical studies (in Croatia: Pieroni et al. 2003; Pieroni and Giusti 2008; in Kosovo: Mustafa et al. 2011, 2012; in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Redžić 2006, 2007; Šaric-Kundalić et al. 2010a, b, 2011; in Serbia: Milojević 1988; Jarić et al. 2007; Pieroni et al. 2011; in Montenegro: Menković et al. 2011; in Albania: Pieroni et al. 2005; Pieroni 2008, 2010). This has happened for various reasons: the interest of the Western herbal market, which is partly dominated by the trade of medicinal plants originating from this area (Lange 1998; Kathe et al. 2003); the need for documenting the last remaining traces of traditional knowledge (TK) in areas, which also because of their recent political histories have been often labeled as “marginal” and/or even “isolated” in Europe; the increasing economic trends in these countries to develop ecotourism and other sustainable rural activities based upon local biocultural heritage; and, finally, the fact that this area is also considered to be crucial by ethnobiologists as a unique case study for its tremendous biological and cultural/ethnic diversity.

In Kosovo, apart from a review on botanical folk names in diverse Albanianspeaking areas in southeastern and southern Europe (Sejdiu 1984), with the exception of a very recent work carried out by our research group in the Gollak (Mustafa et al. 2011) area and Albanian Alps (Mustafa et al. 2012), no proper ethnobotanical investigations have been conducted thus far. Previous ethnobotanical studies show that medicinal plants still play a crucial role in the sphere of human health in Kosovo , especially in isolated rural areas. Oftentimes, these mountainous communities have limited or nonexistent access to Western biomedical modalities, and are instead self-reliant on their TK. The local flora is, thus, incredibly important to provide the first health care within the households.

Moreover, the biodiversity richness and unique biocultural heritage of the local people here is something to be highly valued. TK-dependent activities such as sustainable gathering of wild medicinal taxa, their small-scale trade, and production of local high-quality plant-based foods and dairy products can all contribute to the growing ecotourism initiatives. Thus, TK is a critical component to success in the future economic development and biocultural conservation efforts of the region.

1.1 Geographic Characteristics of Kosovo

Kosovo is located in the central part of the Balkans and covers an area of 10,887 km2, bounded by Macedonia, Albania , Serbia, and Montenegro. The relief of Kosovo is variable, constituted by mountains (41 %); 54 % is agriculture land and 5 % for other uses. Topographically, it is a basin enclosed by mountain ranges and hills. The Sharr Mountains are located in the south and southeast side, bordering the Republic of Macedonia. To the west, the Albanian Alps are shared with Montenegro and Albania. In the northern part of Kosovo are the Kopaunik Mountains. The eastern part of Kosovo is mainly hilly, which is part of the Rhodope Mountains. The central region of Kosovo is a hilly ridge running from north to south that divides the territory of Kosovo into two plains, Dukagjini plain “Rrafshi i Dukagjinit” and Kosovo plain “Rrafshi i Kosovës.” The Dukagjini plain is located in the southwestern part of Kosovo, whereas the Kosovo plain occupies the northeastern part. These plains are surrounded by the high mountains (Fig. 7.1). Kosovo varies in elevation from 265 (Drini i Bardhë, at the border to Albania) to 2656 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.). The highest point above sea level is in the south of Kosovo—Gjeravica, with approximately 77 % of its area lying between 500 and 1500 m.a.s.l. Mountainous areas that characterize the Kosovo territory played an important role in preservation of TK, as oftentimes these mountainous areas were isolated with limited access to the centers, so primary care of these communities was based on their TK.

Fig. 7.1
figure 1

Kosovo relief

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1.2 Botanical Diversity of Kosovo

Due to its favorable and characteristic geographic position, Kosovo has a specific climate and hydrology regime, and is geologically very diverse, with volcanic, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks of varying ages and origins. Moreover, the soils are generally rich with nutrients, providing a good growth medium for plants resulting in a rich level of biodiversity . The actual total flora of Kosovo is estimated to comprise more than 2500 plant species (Krasniqi 1998). There are currently around 1800 plant species known to make up the flora of Kosovo, and these are deposited at the Herbarium of the Faculty of Mathematical and Natural Science of the University of Prishtina, which accounts for about 30 % of the entire Balkan flora and 16 % of the European flora, although Kosovo covers only 2.3 % of the Balkan land area (Mustafa 1998). Despite a small surface area, Kosovo is characterized by a rich biodiversity . Two main centers of biodiversity are the Sharri and the Bjeshkët e Nemuna mountains (Stevanovic 1995). About 200 species that occur in Kosovo are Balkan endemics, while 13 are specific Kosovo endemics (Krasniqi 1998). Biodiversity richness is an important factor, which contributes to the high level of TK in Kosovo.

1.3 Historical Background

Since the Middle Ages, Kosovo has been known by many names that changed several times and often coincided with continuous historical changes in the borders. The administrative territory named Kosovo was determined in 1877, when the Ottoman Empire established the Kosovo Vilayet, which included the current territory of Kosovo, large parts of Republic of Macedonia , and parts of Serbia and Montenegro. In the beginning, the central Vilayet was Pristina, but later Skopje became the central of Vilayet (Jens Schmitt 2012).

Over two millennia, Kosovo has continuously been occupied and was part of three great empires (Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman). In the intervals between the decline of one emperor and empowerment of another, Kosovo was occupied mainly by Bulgarians and Serbs. According to Jens Schmitt (2012), when Romans arrived in the Kosovar territory, they were faced with various Illyrian tribes, the best known, most organized, and most powerful of which were the Dardans.Footnote 1 The ancient geographers and historians described the Dardans as brave and rebellious. Their rebellions in AD 279 forced the Romans to establish the Dardania province. The Dardania, which included the current territory of Kosovo as well as a part of Republic of Macedonia, had a boom in cultural, urban, and economic development, while in late antiquity its population became mainly Christian. Penetration of Slavic tribes during the seventh century resulted in the destruction of economic values and cultural and urban status of the Albanians . In spite of this widespread destruction, the evacuation of autochthonous populations and tremendous pressures, Albanians preserved their language, culture, and identity.

Byzantine and Slavic invasion led to a significant proportion of indigenous Albanian Catholic population, despite a great resistance to the acceptance of Orthodox religion. The Ottoman occupation for about five centuries resulted in a 70 % conversion to Islam as the dominant religion. Albanians constituted the dominant political and cultural group in Kosovo, but the Ottomans persistently refused to open schools in Albanian and to establish a national state (Islami 1990).

Although the Albanian people were occupied for about 2 millennia by various invaders, they never lost their language, culture, tradition, and identity. Under the control of the Ottoman regime, the Orthodox Church retained certain autonomy and the Slavic–Orthodox population of Kosovo was subject to church judgment, but they followed Christian lessons, too (Jens Schmitt 2012). In Kosovo, for centuries, Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Bosniaks, and Gorani lived in close proximity, which resulted in inevitable mutual cultural influences.

1.4 Population of Kosovo

According to the population census (2011), the total number of residents in Kosovo was about 1.8 million, excluding four municipalities in northern Kosovo (Leposaviq, Zubin Potok, Zveçan, and Mitrovica North). This figure does not include the estimated 600,000 Albanians who were displaced during the 1990s as a result of Milosevic regime and the 100,000 Serbs and Romani displaced in 1999. It is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, with an average population density of 177.4 inhabitants per km2. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$ 6.445 billion, Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe (http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/kosovo; Islami 1990).

Population numbers and the ethnic structure have fluctuated over history due to natural growth and the mechanical movements of the population. The intercultural mixing of various communities (Albanians, Serbs, Turkish, Bosnian, and Romani) in the same area has resulted in a dynamic form of TK, with the impact of one traditional culture on another illustrated in both the uses and names of useful plants in the local flora.

1.5 Population Migration

This region has been inhabited since ancient times. Recently, the area has been badly affected by migration, due to displacement and a harsh economic climate that impacts the local residents’ ability to subsist. Prishtina is the main center in Kosovo , and has the highest concentration of the population, with nearly 11 % of inhabitants now living in Pristina stating that they were born in other regions of Kosovo (or abroad). Recent migrations are happening due to economic crises. The most common directions of migrations in Kosovo are the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas and migration abroad. Migration patterns contribute to the rapid decline of TK of plant species used as medicine, edible products, and handicrafts, as well as to decline in oral transmission of TK from one generation to another.

1.6 Medical History

Before the Second World War, health care in Kosovo was almost entirely based on traditional medicine , and these traditions continued after the war as well. Health care was commonly addressed within family, and all physical and mental illnesses were treated with traditional medicines and rituals. These folk-medical traditions continue even now, especially in mountainous and isolated areas. These practices are necessary due to a number of reasons, such as lack of medical institutions and infrastructure in isolated places, which are located far from health-care centers, marginalization of Albanian communities in the former Yugoslavia, etc. After the Second World War, Kosovo had a few health, social, educational, and cultural institutions administrated usually from Yugoslav authorities, where the Albanian language was unofficial. In such conditions, these institutions were unfamiliar to the Albanian community. After 1970, the health-care system improved rapidly, and usually health care was oriented towards modern allopathic medicine; however, this system was disintegrated after 1990, when the autonomy of Kosovo was taken away by Serbia. From 1990 to 1998, all health-care institutions were administrated by Serbs, and the Serbian language was the only official language. From 1998 to 1999, the health-care system collapsed because of the war. After 1999, the health-care system was reorganized, and this was accompanied by a lot of problems. Except for some private insurance companies, which are very expensive, Kosovo still does not have a health insurance plan covering care from general practitioners. Because of this history, primary health care in Kosovo is still based on traditional medicine , especially for people living in the isolated mountains. Furthermore, people living in such areas are likely to buy nonprescription drugs when ill. Another serious barrier to health-care services is the form of unofficial payments to health-care providers for services that are supposed to be provided at no charge to the patient. Factors promoting these informal payments include perceived low salaries of health staff, a belief that good health is worth paying for, the desire to get better service, the fear of being denied treatment, to reduce waiting times, to maintain good relations for future health care, and giving gifts to express gratitude (Hodgetts 2012).

2 Medical Ethnobotany of the Albanian Alps in Kosovo

The Albanian Alps Footnote 2 extend within a triangle among the Dinaric Mountains in the northwest, the Sharri (Šar) Mountains in the southeast, and the Rhodope Mountains in the east and northeast. This covers a very pristine and sometimes remote area of ca. 3500 km2, which is geopolitically divided among the sovereign states of Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro . About 1000 km2 of these mountains belong to the Kosovo territory. The Albanian Alps system consists of 24 groups of mountains with 152 peaks higher than 2000 m.a.s.l.,Footnote 3 with a large number of gorges, canyons, and valleys, which make them among the most inaccessible (Petrović 1985) but also magnificent areas of the Balkans (Mustafa 1998)

Due to the rich levels of biodiversity characteristic to this region, four national parks were established in the Albanian Alps : one in Montenegro (Prokletije National Park), two others in Albania (Theth and Valbona National Parks), and another one in Kosovo (Bjeshket e Nemuna National Park). Furthermore, Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro are planning to join these parks and to create the cross-border Balkan Peace Park (Balkans Peace Park Project, http://www.balkanspeacepark.org/). Recent studies on the Albanian, Kosovar, and Montenegrin sides of the Albanian Alps have reported findings on TEK of wild medicinal and food plants (Jarić et al. 2007; Pieroni 2008, 2010; Mustafa et al. 2012).

These unique features are reflected in the high plant biodiversity , which includes 1609 taxa and ca. 150 vegetation units (Amidžić 1999). The most representative vegetation units are oriental hornbeam forest (Carpinetum orientalis scardicu), hop hornbeam mixed and with oriental hornbeam forest (Ostryo-Carpinion orientalis), thermophilous oak forests community (Quercus frainetto Ten., Quercetum frainetto-cerris scardicum, and Quercetum petraeae-cerris), chestnut forests (Castanetum sativae), beech forests (Fagetum montanum), and pine forests (Pinetum heldreichii typicum, Pinetum heldreichii thalictretum, Pinetum peucis, and Pinetum mughi typicum; Rexhepi 1994; Krasniqi 1972).

People have withstood the extreme conditions of these areas for centuries, including very harsh winters. Until the very recent decades, limitations in infrastructure and communication forced local residents to be self-sufficient in the provision of their health care. As a result, their primary pharmacopoeia consisted of local medicinal plants. Ethnobotanical field research was conducted in 36 villages belonging to the municipalities of Pejë and Deçan, located close to the Koprivnik and Strellc mountains, and which represent the central group of the Albanian Alps located in the western part of Kosovo. The summary of the results collected from communities located in the Albanian Alps of Kosovo (Mustafa et al. 2012) revealed that 98 species (belonging to 39 families) are employed in the traditional medicine of the area. This includes 3 fern species, 3 gymnosperms, and 92 angiosperms (84 dicotyledonous and 8 monocotyledons); 74 taxa are wild. Of these species, Achillea millefolium L., Cornus mas L., Hypericum perforatum L., Juglans regia L., Juniperus communis L., Malus sylvestris Mill. Plantago major L., and Sambucus nigra L. were cited by more than 30 % of the informants. From 98 species presented in Table 7.1, 23 species are also included in the official pharmacopoeia of Europe (European Pharmacopoeia 2007).

Table 7.1 The most commonly used plant for medicine on the Kosovar side of the Albanian Alps and Gollaku region
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The predominantly quoted botanical families were Rosaceae (12 %), Asteraceae (10 %), and Lamiaceae (5 %). These same three “top” families were also found to be predominant among the wild medicinal taxa used in the folk medicine of the Alps in Montenegro, Albania, and in the Gollak region in Kosovo (Mustafa et al. 2011; Pieroni 2005; Pieroni 2008, 2010; Menković et al. 2011).

The most frequently quoted manner of preparation of medicinal plants was represented by decoctions (51 %) and infusions (26 %). The most frequently cited medicinal uses referred to gastrointestinal (26 %) and respiratory (19 %) troubles, and illnesses affecting the urogenital system (12 %). The first two categories were also the most frequently quoted in the ethnobotanical studies conducted on the Montenegrin and Albanian sides (Pieroni et al. 2005; Pieroni 2008, 2010; Menković et al. 2011).

2.1 Most Uncommon Medicinal Plants

Upon analysis of the biopharmacological literature on the quoted medicinal species available on PubMed, we found that it could be worthwhile to further investigate the following reports:

  1. 1.

    The internal use of cold water macerates of the inflorescences of Carduus nutans L. in the treatment of eczema (this taxon is scarcely known in the phytochemical and pharmacological literature). In 2000, a Turkish research group pointed out the hepatoprotective effects of extracts from this plant (Aktay et al. 2000).

  2. 2.

    The internal use of decoction of the roots of Echinops bannaticus Rochel ex Schrad. for kidney stones (despite a few studies on other species of the genus Echinops, this Balkan species is largely underinvestigated).

  3. 3.

    The internal use of decoctions of aerial parts of Orlaya grandiflora Hoffm. for its laxative effects (the plant is completely unknown in the phytopharmacological literature).

2.2 Comparison with the Albanian and Montenegrin Alpine Ethnobotanical Literature

The cross-cultural analysis of data gathered in the Kosovar part of Albanian Alps (number of participants = 91; Mustafa et al. 2012) with those in northern Albanian Alps (number of participants = 62) and Prokletije Mountains—Montenegro (number of participants = 75)—are presented in Fig. 7.2. This illustrates the similarity between the wild medicinal plants used and recorded in the Kosovar Albanian Alps with those recorded in the Montenegrin and Albanian sides of the same Albanian Alps.

Fig. 7.2
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a Representation of the commonalities among the wild medicinal species quoted on the Kosovar, Montenegrin, and Albanian sides of the Albanian Alps. b Jaccard similarity index of the wild medicinal plants used in the Kosovar, Albanian, and Montenegrin sides of the Albanian Alps

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The link between the medical ethnobotany of the Montenegrin and Kosovar sides of the Alps—despite the different ethnicity/language of the local populations—appears stronger than the link between the ethnobotany of these two locations and the ethnobotany of Albania.

This apparent paradox could be explained in a number of ways:

  1. 1.

    Different sampling techniques may have been adopted during the field survey in the three locations or the socioeconomic background of the interviewees could have been different. For example, on the Albanian side of the Alps, the previous ethnobotanical studies selected local informants from very remote areas, which remained quite isolated during Communist times and with very limited access to urban environments and culture. It could be especially worthwhile to further assess the influence of the popular phytotherapeutical literature on folk medicine in Montenegro and Kosovo, since during the Yugoslavian time this kind of popularized knowledge was said to be “en-vogue.” For example, this is very evident in the Montenegrin data, where a number of possible “modern” uses of local medicinal plants (i.e., Hypericum perforatum used as an antidepressant) were recorded.

  2. 2.

    The study sites chosen in Kosovo and Montenegro are, on average, located at lower elevations than the sites selected in northern Albania, thus resulting in a partially different ecological setting and availability of certain species in the environments.

  3. 3.

    Both the Montenegrin and Kosovar sides of the Albanian Alps have had a common history for most of the twentieth century, since belonging to the same country (former Yugoslavia). This may have “homogenized” eventual preexisting differences in plant perceptions/uses between the Albanian and Slav communities. Moreover, a few South-Slav communities (i.e., Bosniaks: Redžić 2006, 2007; Redzic 2010; Šaric-Kundalić et al. 2010, 2011) could be surely considered much more “herbophilic” than the Albanian ones, and this may have influenced folk medicine of the Kosovar population to a certain degree during the last century, because Kosovars have always lived in contact with the Slavs.

  4. 4.

    The Montenegrin study included self-declaring Serbian and Bosniak communities. However, a large part of the Bosniak community living in the Gusinje area is represented also by “bosniakized” Albanians, whose Catholic tribes settled on this side of the Albanian Alps and converted to Islam a couple of centuries ago (Baxhaku and Kaser 1996). This could mean that the ethnobotanical data of Montenegro and Kosovo may actually refer to the same core of Muslim Albanians.

Despite the commonalities found on the quoted medicinal plants, results show the different uses of the wild taxa, which have been most quoted on all three sides of the Alps (Mustafa et al. 2012). It is interesting to underline that the folk uses of the wild medicinal taxa recorded in Kosovo often include both the uses recorded in Albania and those in Montenegro. It would then appear that the medico-ethnobotany of Kosovo—because of its history in the last century and the exposure to the South-Slavic ethnobotanical traditions—has possibly incorporated both Albanian and Slavic plant uses (Mustafa et al. 2012).

3 An Ethnobotanical Survey of the Gollak Region, Kosovo

The Gollak region is located in the eastern part of Kosovo (see Fig. 7.1). This region is dominated by forests and pastures, with altitudes ranging from 800 to 1260 m.a.s.l. (Çavolli 1997). The climate of the Gollak region is influenced by continental air masses. For this reason, it has cold winters and hot summers. The average temperature was 12.6 °C, whereas the average temperature under zero was − 5.8 °C. This area is characterized by total annual precipitation of 667 mm/year.

The diversity in climate and geological and soil composition provides an interesting source of diversity of flora and vegetation of this region. Since the flora of Kosovo belongs in different biogeographic zones (Eurosiberic, North American region, Mediterranean, and Alpine-Nordic regions), the mountainous terrain contributes to a great diversity in flora (Mustafa 1998). Differences in altitude and diversity of other ecological factors have supported the establishment of different vegetation zones on its vertical profile, which is dominated by forest plant communities: Quercetum farnetto-cerris scardicum, Querceto-Carpinetum orientalis, Quercetum montanum, and Fagetum moesiacae montanum (Krasniqi 1972), and herbaceous plant community: Trifolio festucetum vallesiaceae and Inulo danthonietum alpinae (Rexhepi 1994).

3.1 Wild Food and Medicinal Plant Uses

An ethnobotanical field study focused on traditional uses of medicinal plants, wild food plants , and mushrooms was conducted in 37 villages in the Gollak region of eastern Kosovo. Interviews with 66 elderly informants were conducted using standard ethnobotanical methods. The results of the field survey for most quoted taxa are presented in Table 7.2, arranged in alphabetical order by genus. We found that 98 taxa (belonging to 47 families) are employed in the traditional foods and medicines of the area. This includes 6 mushroom species, 3 gymnosperms, and 92 angiosperms (76 dicotyledonous and 6 monocotyledons). The predominant families were Rosaceae (21 %), Asteraceae (7 %), Lamiaceae (5 %), and Alliaceae (4 %). Approximately two thirds of the recorded medicinal species were wild.

Table 7.2 The most commonly used plants for medicine in the Gollak region. (Source: Adapted from Mustafa et al. 2011)
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Most wild plants collected in the villages of Gollak were used for medicinal purposes, while a few (16 %) were used food; some other taxa were gathered for sale in the local markets. The most frequently cited medicinal uses referred to respiratory system illnesses (18 %), skin inflammations (16 %), gastrointestinal troubles (14 %), heart diseases (11 %), and urinary and genital system (10 %). Various vegetative organs, such as leaves, flowers, root, fruits, rhizome, bark, bulbs, tubers, etc., were used. The most frequently quoted manner of preparation of medicinal plants was represented by infusions (42 %) and decoctions (25 %).

3.2 Comparison of Gollak Ethnobotany with the Surrounding Western Balkan Regions

If the proportion of quoted wild medicinal plant genera, which have been quoted both in Gollak and in other regions (especially in Eastern Serbia, southwestern Serbia and in the Albanian Alps), is remarkable, no significant commonalities can be found instead in the actual, specific medicinal wild plant applications. This demonstrates that, despite the examined areas being part of a macroregion, which have had for many centuries common historical trajectories, the local medico-botanical knowledge remains pretty specific to each single area (Mustafa et al. 2011).

These findings confirm that conducting rigorous field ethnobotanical studies with extensive sampling of the interviewees within a cross-cultural perspective does still represent a crucial starting point for an in-depth understanding of how plant knowledge changes across geographies and cultures. It also provides a way to examine to what degree such knowledge is intertwined with plant knowledge coming from other sources (i.e., ancient herbals, popular phytotherapeutical books, and/or new media; Mustafa et al. 2011).

4 Future Perspectives

Medicinal plants play a substantial role in the life support systems of local communities in mountain areas in Kosovo . Thus, the TK that we recorded are demonstrative of a remarkable intangible cultural heritage in the area. However, the traditional use of plants is declining due to economic factors such as displacement and urbanization processes, changing lifestyles, social transformations, etc. The ethnobotanical data recorded provide an interesting basis for further phytotherapeutical researches, for fostering sustainable uses of plant resources, and also for promoting local biocultural diversity through ecotourism initiatives. The use of plants and several aspects of folk medicines could be a good starting point for projects concerning the ecosustainable uses of medicinal plants, involving biological conservation and the conservation of local culture heritage.

The biodiversity richness and unique biocultural heritage of the local people of Kosovo is countered by the need for documentation of missing information concerning traditional plant use in understudied areas of Kosovo. Future ethnobotanical work in this arena is urgent and necessary, and should include cross-cultural comparative investigations of field studies conducted among ethnic groups and among neighboring countries in the western Balkans.