Nordic Wild Food Plant Inventory

Aim: The aim of this dataset is to provide a list of the Wild Food Plants (WFP) in the Nordic region that are important for future food security, and to provide basic data on the taxonomic names and authors, geographic distribution, invasiveness, threat level and toxicity. The dataset can serve as a basis for Nordic level, as well as national level, conservation planning and implementation.

Method: The WFP inventory for Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden was developed based on Nordic flora (Dyntaxa, 2024) which was matched with wild food plant data sources from each Nordic country (Bjarnadóttir and Hilmarsson, 2018; Ellena, 2012; Evira, 2016; Lundström, 1917; Plantelisten, 2024; Rautavaara, 1980a; Rautavaara, 1980b; Stryamets et al. 2015; Svanberg, 2012; Svanberg and Ægisson, 2012; Teixidor-Toneu, 2022) and from European level data (EU, 2023; EU, 2024; EuroFIR-NETTOX, 2007; Irving, 2009; THIE, 2023) resulting in the first WFP dataset for the region. The indigenous or naturalized taxa in at least one Nordic country having human food use were selected (SLU Artdatabanken, 2024; Elven et al, 2022; Kurtto et al, 2019; Hartvig et al. 2015; Wasowicz, 2020). Additional data includes national threat categories (Artsdatabanken, 2021; Hyvärinen et al, 2019; Wasowicz and Heiðmarsson, 2019; Moeslund et al. 2023; SLU Artdatabanken, 2020), invasive status in each country (Artsdatabanken, 2023; EU, 2022; Luke, 2024; Náttúrufræðistofnun, 2024; Strand et al, 2018) and toxicity (HUS, 2024).

Results: The result is an inventory dataset of 606 Nordic WFP taxa. The list includes plants with all edible uses including herbal teas, food decorations and spices but not the ones having only medicinal use.

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