Contributo alla conoscenza della flora alimurgica siciliana

This contribution highlights the vast and often misleading plethora of names attributed to some edible Brassicaceae (Brassica rapa subsp. campestris, Brassica fruticulosa, Hirschfeldia incana, and Sinapis spp). We also recorded the use for food purposes of three taxa that do not appear in the most recent inventory of wild edible plant species traditionally consumed in Sicily. These are woad, Isatis tinctoria, introduced for its dyeing properties and naturalized since centuries, and two chickweeds, Stellaria neglecta subsp. neglecta and Stellaria pallida. Some unpublished data on vernacular plant names and local uses of little-known edible plants are also presented. In particular, the sporadic use of certain species is confirmed and detailed, the consumption of which, when raw, can have lethal consequences for humans and some domestic herbivores (Ferula communis subsp. communis, Kundmannia sicula and Solanum nigrum), or which can be toxic in large quantities, such as Oenanthe pimpinelloides and Stellaria spp., or unpalatable, such as Echium italicum subsp. siculum.