The primary aim of this research activity, conducted between February 2003 and February 2005, is to provide an initial picture of the ethnobotany in the Molise region, and the only Italian area not previously studied from this viewpoint, with the exception of a brief paper by Guarrera 1. The region does not have an autonomous regional administrative identity since it was incorporated into Abruzzo until 1963, a factor which has not helped stimulate research into its territory as an independent entity. A second reason it that, given its climatic and morphological characteristics, the area presents certain interesting elements of local isolation, which is probably one of the main reasons why there is a differentiation in the typical usages in the region . The existing ethnographic literature concerning the Molise is scarce and out of date 234, with the exception of a few works 56 and mainly relates to ritual aspects and beliefs.

The area under study (Fig. 1), covering 377,76 square km, lies in the province of Isernia, in Upper Molise, in the council areas of Pietrabbondante, Chiauci, Poggio Sannita, Castiglione di Carovilli, Vastogirardi, Agnone, Pescolanciano, Pescopennataro and Capracotta, and in the province of Campobasso, in the council area of Baranello (total inhabitants: 15235) 78. The central point of the research is in the council area of Pietrabbondante, 1027 m a.s.l. and bordering on the MAB riserve of Collemeluccio. In terms of landscape and geo-morphology, Upper Molise is a continuation of the mountain profiles of the Abruzzi Appenines: a series of hills, steep slopes and deep fluvial valleys making communications difficult 9. Rocky spurs jut out from the stony slopes favouring the establishment of settlements such as Pietrabbondante, for example. Yellowish sandy arenaceous facies and limestone seams at high altitudes are typical of the area.

Data was gathered by means of open interviews in the field, once the aims of the research had been outlined and permission obtained for publication of the data collected. The authors take full responsibility for the declaration that the people interviewed are aware that the information they have provided will be published.

A questionnaire was used in interviews, variations being introduced during the interviews themselves. These were conducted on both an individual and group level, fresh plants gathered from surrounding areas being displayed. This proved extremely efficient from the quantitative point of view, with large quantities of data being obtained, albeit sometimes circumstantial. In other cases, individual interviews were conducted by accompanying the person involved to the places where they perform their activities (for example, in the woods with woodcutters, kitchen gardens and fields with housewives, pastures with shepherds, etc.). This approach was aimed at understanding the specific knowledge of the individual in relation to his or her particular profession and environment and proved to be an extremely valid method in qualitative terms. The data thus collected often related to a smaller number of plants but furnished a greater quantity of specific information. In recording information of diseases, care was taken not to "translate" this into medical terms, but to refer exactly whatever was reported, so as to avoid the information being in any way falsified.

The plants were identified with the use of the Flora d' Italia by Pignatti 20 and its nomenclature was updated by Conti et al. 21. Voucher herbarium specimens were kept in the Herbarium of the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University Roma Tre (acronym URT).

A total of 54 individuals were interviewed (roughly 65% women, 35% men), most of whom were aged between 70 and 90 (max. 92, min. 40, mainly between 70 and 80, mean about 74) and mainly woodcutters, farmers and housewives. For reasons of privacy, it was possible to obtain specific complete personal data relating to only 15 informants. The data collected (see Additional file 1, Tables 1, 2) include the scientific and dialect names of the plants, the parts used, preparation, local uses, frequency of mention, eventual current usage, period in which the plant is gathered and kind of habitat in which the plant grows.

The results of our research are shown in the Additional file 1 and in Tables 1, 2. Information was collected relating to 70 taxa belonging to 39 families. In total, 64 plants are used in human therapy, 5 as insect repellent and anti-parasitical agents, 11 in veterinary medicine, 1 for preserving eggs and cheese and 4 for magical uses.

The family most frequently represented is that of the Compositae with 8 taxa. On the basis of the research conducted, it can be seen that the plants used most often (in terms of the number of people who cited them and/or the number of uses to which they are put) are: Vitis vinifera L.; Urtica dioica L. subsp. dioica; Malva sylvestris L. subsp. sylvestris; Juglans regia L.; Abies alba Miller; Allium sativum L.; Olea europaea L; Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.; Triticum aestivum L.; Ficus carica L.; Matricaria chamomilla L.; Rubus ulmifolius Schott.

The most complete and exhaustive interviews were obtained from women (housewives and farmers) who listed particularly home remedies and plant medicines derived from species cultivated in kitchen-gardens and fields.

The parts of the plants most used for medicinal purposes, according to the number of citations are, in decreasing order: fruits and seeds; leaves; aerial parts; rhizomes and tubers; entire plant; bulbs; resin; flowers (including flower heads). External uses predominate over internal by about 60–40. Decoction – almost always in water – is the main method of preparation for oral administration, while poultices and direct application of the plant are the most important methods for topical use.

Nine plant preparations are administered as food-medicine.

Eighty-two uses are reported by at least three informants among medicinal practices, whilst there are 8 anti-parasitic uses.

Most pathologies treated with plants are dermatological (29%), digestive (17%), respiratory (15,5%) and renal (4,1%) illnesses.

Field data show that among the total uses, only 25% are now still practised.

Concerning the habitat, the most frequently used plants are gathered in uncultivated areas, near ruins and damp sites. A consistent number of plant species (24) are/were cultivated in kitchen-gardens and fields (some of these are also naturalized plants in the area).

This survey was carried out in an ample research project for the study of the ethnobotanical resources of Italy 2635363750515253548690919293.

The predominance of external over internal uses, and of dermatological pathologies treated in the folk medicine of upper Molise can be connected with the still now rural culture of this area, where there is little industrial activity.

The research proves that the uses in veterinary science have been abandoned, and that the remedies of folk medicine are not very widely practiced today (only 25% of the total uses still continue). Nevertheless, the fact that eighty-two uses are reported by at least three informants among medicinal practices, whilst there are also 8 anti-parasitic uses, shows that there is still today a large consensus regarding this folk knowledge.

A certain quantity of new or rare uses were found, related to Lobaria pulmonaria, Pulmonaria apennina, Centaurium erythraea, Sonchus oleraceus etc. These novelties testify to the wealth of the local plant medicine. Some medicinal plants and small wood fruits could be cultivated in the large areas without pollution of the investigated area (see Lobaria pulmonaria).

Medicinal uses are sometimes still now bound to rituals, esteemed important in the past to reinforce the psychological efficacy of a plant drug. These rituals are connected with the primordial culture of the ancient populations. Animal and mineral derivatives enrich the inventory of local folk medicine remedies.

The values of E.I. (ethnobotanicity index) of the high Molise region for medicinal plants are among the highest in Italy, perhaps due to the geographic and cultural isolation of the studied area. Nevertheless they are much lower than those in Spanish areas, perhaps due to a more rapid process of cultural erosion that in Italy advanced more quickly that in Spain.

The consideration that the more frequently used plants grow in uncultivated areas, near ruins and damp sites, or in kitchen-gardens and fields, but not in woods (except for Abies alba), where men typically worked, leads us to consider once again the important role played by women in this field, as had already emerged from the interviews.

In the high Molise it was found that, within the four walls of the home, the principal role was played by the women, who were entrusted with almost all the tasks, whilst the men generally conducted their activities outside. It was also the woman's responsibility to treat minor ailments, mainly by means of decoctions which may vary from house to house although the basic composition was always the same.

The research conducted revealed a deep-rooted and widespread habit of husbanding the family's resources, mainly as a result of the isolation in which so many live. As we have already noted, the Upper Molise has a particularly cold and damp climate which still today can cause severe difficulties, especially during the winter months when there are heavy snowfalls even at low altitudes. This physical isolation has resulted in two major and onerous factors both for the individual family nucleus and for the community itself: 1) supplies are practically throughout the period of snowfalls. 2) preservation of foodstuffs, in particular grain and legumes. These, preserved in large quantities, were often damaged by worms and insects which could severe hunger for the entire family.

Whilst these factors contributed to the widespread knowledge of means of conserving foodstuffs, they also led to the use of products easily available within each home.

The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.

The field work for data collection was carried out above all by SM. Data analysis was conducted by all authors. The manuscript was prepared by PMG. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.