Wild edible plants are an essential component of people’s diets in the Mediterranean basin. In Italy, ethnobotanical surveys have received increasing attention in the past two centuries, with some of these studies focusing on wild edible plants. In this regard, the literature in Italy lacks the coverage of some major issues focusing on plants used as herbs and spices. I searched national journals for articles on the use of wild food plants in Italy, published from 1963 to 2020. Aims of the present review were to document plant lore regarding wild herbs and spices in Italy, identify the wild plants most frequently used as spices, analyze the distribution of wild herbs and spices used at a national scale, and finally, to describe the most common phytochemical compounds present in wild plant species. Based on the 34 studies reviewed, I documented 78 wild taxa as being used in Italy as herbs or spices. The studies I included in this systematic review demonstrate that wild species used as herbs and spices enrich Italian folk cuisine and can represent an important resource for profitable, integrated local small-scale activities.

Biodeterioration is defined as the alteration of a given substrate due to a combination of physical and chemical factors produced by living organisms when attached to such materials. This phenomenon attracts scientific research attention due to its risk in causing destruction to outdoor cultural rock heritage sites. In this review, an update on the state-of-art regarding the biodeterioration phenomenon is represented in order to highlight the type of colonizing vegetation and possible mechanisms behind the corresponding deterioration. For this reason, 62 articles with a focus on lichens, mosses, and higher plants were investigated by evaluating the role of construction materials and different plant species related to the hazard index. The results showed that trees and shrubs are the most harmful plant life forms, for example, Ficus carica, Ailanthus altissima, and Capparis spinosa, while regarding building materials, those characterized by high porosity, such as andesite and argillaceous limestone, are more vulnerable to plant colonization. Further studies are needed to examine in detail the relationship between colonizing organisms, intrinsic elements of the substrate, and external factors, as well as the refinement of measures to prevent and control colonization by plants.

Wild edible plants (WEPs) can be defined as native species that grow and reproduce naturally in their natural habitat without being cultivated