AN ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY OF THE MEDICINAL PLANTS IN THE BELOSLAV AREA, NORTHERN BLACK SEA COAST (BULGARIA)

* Petya Boycheva 1 and Viktoria Marinova 2 . 1. University Botanic Garden Varna, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, BG. 2. Faculty of Biology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, BG. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

This study is part of an ethnobotanical investigation of the medicinal plants in the Northern Black Sea coast region, which includes the area from the village of Durankulak to the town of Obzor. The boundaries were determined using the map of the floristic regions in Bulgaria. Field work was conducted in the period from June and July 2017. Surveyed were 92 people from 3 communities. The study was carried out on the basis of the survey methodology. Interviews with the local population were conducted using original questionnaires prepared upfront. The respondents belong to different gender, ethnicity, age and education groups. The data from the different applications of medicinal plants in the life of the local population were processed and summarized.
Bulgaria's territory is divided into two climate zonesmild continental and continental Mediterranean. The average annual precipitation is between 411 mm and 1000 mm. (Kaprolev et al,, 2002).
Bulgaria is rich in natural plant resources. The latest data indicate that there are 4102 species of vascular plants to be found in Bulgaria (Asyov et al, 2012). With respect to the utilization of this plant resource, it is the case that for centuries the Bulgarians have been using herbal remedies to treat some common diseases. One of the first written sources in the country regarding the use of medicinal plants by St. Ivan Rilsky dates back to the end of the 9 th and beginning of the 10 th century (Nedelcheva, 2011). It states that he used over 80 herbs (Nedelcheva, 2009). Many contemporary authors have examined the use of wild and medicinal plants, for example for culinary purposes (Tcheshmedjiev et al, 1999), for the treatment of ear diseases (Kirilova, 2015) and for variety of applications in general (Koleva et al, 2015). There is also an ethnographic study of the different applications of plants in the everyday life of Bulgarians (Vakarelski, 1977).
The region of the Northern Black Sea coast has not been researched yet in ethnobotanical terms. The purpose of this investigation is to study, in ethnobotanical terms, the medicinal plants in the town of Beloslav and the villages of The investigation was carried out on the basis of the survey methodology. The local residents were interviewed with the help of original questionnaires developed in advance. In total, 92 persons participated in the survey: 72 from the Beloslav and 20 individuals from the villages of Ezerovo and Kazashko. The respondents were selected randomly. They belong to various age and ethnicity groups and have different gender and education background. The study comprises the collection of data regarding the various applications of medicinal plants in the everyday life of the local population. Information was collected regarding the vernacular names of the plants. The taxonomic rank and the denominations of the taxa were adopted in accordance with the International Plant Names Index (IPNI). The work ("Identification Guide to the Plants in Bulgaria", Delipavlov et al, 2011) was used to identify the species.   (Table 1).

Application of the Medicinal Plants in Everyday Life
The study we carried out revealed that in the region under investigation a total of 193 species of plants are used belonging to 166 genera from 68 families.  . The wealth of plant resources is impressive also at regional level. By comparison, only in the floristic region of Northeast Bulgaria there are 600 species of medicinal plants (Zahariev, Ivanov, 2014 The largest taxonomical diversity of medicinal plants is observed in their application in human medicine. As a matter of curiosity, in Beloslav branches of Lycium barbarum are used for dental problems.

Application of Medicinal Plants in Veterinary Medicine (Appendix I)
The survey results report that 5 species belonging to 5 genera and 5 families are used in veterinary medicine: Allium sativum, Cotinus coggygria, Hypericum perforatum, Matricaria chamomilla and Salix sp. Three of these species grow naturally in the area and two are cultivated plants. Three species are included in the Law on Medicinal Plants. The limited use of medicinal plants in veterinary medicine is due to the fact that a large percentage of the respondents, 21.17%, are young people 10 to 40 years of age who do not raise agricultural animals. The majority of the respondents, 78.26%, are inhabitants of the town of Beloslav, where it is not common to raise agricultural animals. It is also the case that a larger part of people raising animals prefer to treat them with ready to use medicines available at the veterinary pharmacies. By comparison, in the area to the north of Varna up to Durankulak there are 18 species of medicinal plants used in veterinary medicine (Boycheva, Kosev, 2017). the use of medicinal plants for cosmetic purposes and these women are overwhelmingly younger than 50. It is should also be stated that the use of medicinal plants for cosmetic purposes is more labor-intensive and timeconsuming than using a ready-made cosmetic product. The ready-to-use products most often contain extracts or oils derived from Amygdalus, Aloe, Urtica.

Application of Medicinal Plants for Cosmetic Purposes
For cosmetic purposes, the medicinal plants are most often used for washing hair, face masks or cleansing the face. For reference, it has been reported (Kultur, S., Semra, S., 2009) that in the area of the town of Isperih located in Northeastern Bulgaria, there are three species of medicinal plants, Allium cepa, Juglans regia and Urtica dioica, which in the Beloslav area have the same application, namely for washing hair. Besides the traditional herbs such as Anethum graveolens, Satureja hortensis, Mentha spicata, Petroselinum crispum, the widespread use of Nectaroscordum siculum also stands out. In this area, the honey garlic is consumed fresh or, when dried, is added as one of the ingredients of the highly popular sharena sol ("colorful salt") condiment. Note that the study regarding the Isperih area (Kultur, S., Semra, S., 2009) describes 7 species of medicinal plants used as condiments. The significantly more pronounced diversity in the Beloslav area is due to the fact that this study also considers the species foreign for Bulgaria as well as the cultivated medicinal plants used as condiments.

Application of Medicinal Plants as Food and Condiment
The inhabitants of the surveyed area use Allium ursinum and Nectaroscordum siculum which are not mentioned in the study carried out in the Isperih area. In the latter, Armoracia rusticana is consumed as a condiment while in the Beloslav area it is only used as a preservative. Within this group, the species of the Artemisia genera are extensively used extent for the flavouring of wines since the livelihood of the local residents chiefly focuses on viticulture and winemaking. For this group, it is interesting to note that the prevailing number of species are foreign for Bulgaria or cultivated. A possible explanation for that can be the fact that the residents do not look for herbs specifically with the idea to use them as pesticides but utilize whatever herbs they already have close to hand.

Application of Medicinal Plants for Cleaning (Appendix I)
For cleaning in the house, the locals use 3 species (1.55%) of medicinal plants belonging to 3 genera from 3 families. Two of those species (66,67%) are foreign for the Bulgarian flora -Citrus limon and Syzygium aromaticum, while 1 species (33.33%) is typical for the Northern Black Sea coast -Urtica dioica . To dust and remove spiderwebs, some of the respondents use Calamagrostis arundinaceae (L.) Roth, which species is not a medicinal plant yet its practical application is of interest. Another non-medicinal plant is Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad, used to make brooms to clean outdoor areas.
Overall, few species of medicinal plants are used for house cleaning as the residents prefer ready to use synthetic products for this purpose.

Application of Medicinal Plants in Trade (Appendix I)
There is only one species 1 (0.52%) from 1 genus and 1 family used for trade -Quercus sp . Only one respondent has indicated to use medicinal plants for trade. The species belongs to the indigenous flora for the Northern Black Sea coast region.

Application of Medicinal Plants to Forecast the Weather (Appendix I)
To forecast the weather, the respondents have indicated 5 species (2.95%) belonging to 5 genera from 5 families. The Law on Medicinal Plants specifies 2 of these species. Regarding their origin, 3 of these species (60%) are medicinal plants typical for the area -Salix sp., Syringa vulgaris и Malus sylvestris, There is 1 cultivated species (20%) -Helianthus annuus and 1 species (20%) is a medicinal plant foreign for the flora of Bulgaria -Robinia pseudoacacia.
In the surveyed area, the knowledge about weather forecasting is related only to the repeated blossoming of some plants. The locals believe that the repeated blossoming heralds a cold winter. No other plant attributes or characteristics that can serve to forecast the weather have been pointed out by the inhabitants of the Beloslav area. This can be compared to a study (Nedelcheva, Dogan, 2011) which reports 30 species of plants in Bulgaria used by the people to forecast the weather based on other features, characteristics or parts of plants, besides the repeated blossoming. The conclusion which can be drawn here is that the residents of the area under investigation have not preserved the knowledge to forecast the weather using the plants in the area. This can be due to globalization and reliance on mass media. Moreover, to some extent people have lost their connection with nature and the knowledge to observe the phenological changes in plants and their significance.