Some Labiates in Traditional Ligurian Phytotherapy in the Watercolours of Clarence Bicknell (1842 - 1918).

An ethnobotanical investigation into the Specie of the Labiate families employed in Liguria gives us an opportunity to relate their traditional use throughout Liguria. The species, studied both for their use in the field of phytotherapy and in domestic practice, are enriched by the watercolour paintings produced by Clarence Bicknell between 1880 and 1910. As a complement to the paintings of the various plants, there also appears a brief description of therapeutic uses, as they were in Bicknell's day (both in official medicine and in popular medicine) and as they are today in the different parts of our countryside. Reference to the latter are to be found even in the most recent pharmacological studies. Research into popular tradition has been carried out in different areas of Liguria, and in this regard there has been an attempt to present a general picture which is representative of our region.