Ethnobotany around the Virovitica Area in NW Slavonia (Continental Croatia)-Record of Rare Edible Use of Fungus .

Slavonia is the most developed agricultural region in Croatia. With rich and fertile soils that have enabled the cultivation of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and cereals, Slavonia has always met the food needs of its population. Today, the biocultural diversity of local varieties and semi-natural vegetation has irretrievably disappeared. Our aim was to document the remaining local knowledge of plant use in this area through in-depth semi-structured interviews, which were conducted in 2022-2023. All possible aspects of the use of plants and fungi were recorded as food, animal feed, medicine, construction, jewelry, rituals and ceremonies, dyes, etc. The names and uses of local plant varieties were also recorded. The results show 1702 entries-a total of 296 plant taxa from 76 families and 28 fungi from 16 families. The most frequently named plants were: , , , and . The plants with the greatest variety of uses were , , , and . Interesting uses were identified. The leaves of the ornamental plant are still used today as food for wrapping meat with rice, the aquatic plant is eaten like chestnuts, and was once consumed as a vegetable. In addition, and were given to horses to prevent and avoid blood poisoning. Some forest species had a special significance and were revered or favored. The most frequently mentioned edible fungi were sp., , and . is the only species stated to have been used exclusively as a raw snack. Evidence of edible use of , which was reported as traditionally consumed in the past, was of particular interest. Despite the modernization and agricultural nature of the region, many interesting uses of plants and fungi were identified. Further efforts should be directed towards documenting this knowledge to facilitate its dissemination in the communities that possess it, or at least to preserve it for future generations.