Studying plant diversity in an agroforestry farm in the Strandzha floristic region, Bulgaria

The present research is part of the activities of the REFOREST project - Agroforestry at the forefront of farming sustainability in multifunctional landscapes in Europe. One of the main goals of the project is to study the diversity of wild plant species and their potential benefits as part of a forest-farm agroforestry system in the Strandzha Mountains. A wide variety of medicinal and honey-bearing plants has been identified from the recognized species composition. Among them widely used in folk and official medicine are: Achillea millefolium L., Agrimonia eupatoria L., Buglossoides purpurocaerulea L., Carpinus betulus L., Centaurium erythraea Rafn, Cichorium intybus L., Cistus incanus L., Crataegus monogyna Jacq., Cornus mas L., Echium L., Fragaria vesca L., Galium verum L., Galium odoratum Scop., Hypericum perforatum L., Lamium purpureum L., Origanum vulgare L., Ophrys L., Prunus spinosa L., Plantago lanceolata L., Rosa canina L., Rubus idaeus L., Sorbus domestica L., Thymus L., Trifolium L., etc. The species of the genera Carpinus L. and Quercus L. have good forestry qualities. The remaining wild species in these communities are used as sources of dyes, vitamins, essential oils, tanning substances, ornamental and food plants, timber, etc.