o:8775 Gastronomic potential of wild edible plants at Rujan Mt (Serbia) Гастрономски потенцијал самониклих јестивих биљака на планини Рујан (Србија) en sr Abstract: The gastronomic potential of using wild plants in nutrition was investigated through ethnobotanical field research on Rujan Mt. A questionnaire was administered between the population of 25 villages in two municipalities on Rujan Mt. (Bujanovac and Preševo) in southeastern Serbia (130 respondents), a multicultural border area inhabited by Serbs and Albanians. The questionnaire contained general information about the respondents, as well as specific questions related to the uses of wild edible plants classified into ten categories according to their mode of consumption (wild fruit, syrup, vegetables for cooking, jam, salad, sugar substitute, vinegar sources, onion or garlic substitute, spices, and coffee substitute). Respondents consumed 35 wild plant species (2011 reports) from 20 families. The most frequently mentioned families were Rosaceae (852 URs), Urticaceae (348 URs), and Polygonaceae (214 URs). Urtica dioica L. (348 URs), Rubus caesius L. (265 URs), and Cornus mas L. (URs) were the most frequently mentioned plant species. Among the ten categories, the primary modes of consumption were: wild fruit (568 URs), syrup (429 URs) and vegetables for cooking (397 URs). The most common edible parts of plants were fruit (990 URs) and leaves (424 URs). There was no significant difference in the modes of consumption between the Serbian and Albanian populations. According to the Jaccard index, the highest degree of similarity of our research was recorded with research conducted on Kopaonik Mt., rural areas of Serbia, Eastern Albania, Shar Mts., and the southern parts of Kosovo and Metohia. Ethnobotanical analysis identified three new species (Crocus rujanensis Randjel. & D.A.Hill – sugar substitute, Thymus glabrescens Willd. – a spice, and Tilia platyphyllos Scop. – for making "sarma"), and 15 applications of wild edible plants, which have not been mentioned in previous ethnobotanical studies of neighboring region. The gastronomic potential of using wild edible plants on Rujan Mt. is great, because the area is floristically rich, and the terrain is accessible for harvesting the parts of plants, mentioned by respondents, and then for gastronomic processing and use. This research shows the gastronomic potential of wild edible plants, and research of this type can contribute to the development of new strategies in the food industry. Keywords: traditional use, Bujanovac, Preševo, ethnobotanical survey, wild edible plants, gastronomic potential 2025-12-21T19:09:41.607Z 44 yes 46 Milica N. Simić 46 Nataša M. Joković 46 Jelena S. Matejić 46 Bojan K. Zlatković 46 Łukasz Łuczaj 46 Marija S. Marković 0000-0002-6070-6844 application/pdf 3964000 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:8775 no yes 16 70 92000004 71A07 Ethnobotany : book of abstracts / Third conference about medicinal and wild-growing edible plants, Pirot, Serbia, June 26 - 28. 2025. 86 88 Истраживачко друштво "Бабин нос", Темска, Пирот, Институт за шумарство, Београд, Штампарија "Свен", Ниш 2025