Herbal Scavenger Hunt in Sardegna

I'm about to embark on the trip of a lifetime (okay, let's be honest... I'm hoping to do more than one trip like this) for a few weeks in our camper van around Sardegna. 

We'll be travelling as a family of four: 

  1. My husband: The brains behind the whole mission who pulls everything together, from our means of transportation to booking COVID tests before we go. (What a time to be travelling!)
  2. Our son: The two-and-a-half year old boy who keeps us constantly on our toes and accompanies me on the majority of my herbal meanderings to offer a helping hand. 
  3. Our daughter: The two-month-old girl who spend most of her time sleeping, feeding or nestling into one of our arms. (We all need a good cuddle, right?!) 
  4. Me: The mother, herbalist and chief enjoyer. Get to know me a little better here.

As an avid herbalist with an ever growing desire to learn, I'm taking this as an opportunity to learn as much as I can about the native flora of Sardegna. 

In fact, I'm taking it one step further than that. 

We're going to do an herbal scavenger hunt on the island of Sardegna (Sardinia). 

Sounds like fun? Here's how it will work... 

I've put together a list of some of the most common herbs that we're likely to find in Sardegna at this time of year (September/October). 

Before the trip (I've got two weeks to prepare), I'm going to familiarize myself with the herbs so that I can recognize and work with them when I -- hopefully -- come across them.

We'll be on the lookout for the herbs on the scavenger hunt list while we're away and get to know them on a personal touchy-feely basis. 

Throughout the process, you'll get updates right here on the blog so that we can all share in the experience of getting to know the local Sardinian flora! 


The Sardinian Herbal Scavenger Hunt List

Please note. I apologize in advance for the mix of English and Italian in the common names here. I personally use a bit of both depending on how, where and when I learn about the herbs and, for this website, I've decided to go with just what makes the most sense to me. So sorry for being selfish but you'll just have to bear with me on this one.

  1. Alloro (Laurus nobilis)
  2. Barba di Becco (Tragopogon porrifolius)
  3. Bardana (Arctium lappa) 
  4. Bibinella (Poterium sanguisorba)
  5. Borage "Borragine" (Borago officinalis)
  6. Borsa Del Pastore (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
  7. Caccialepre (Reichardia picroides) 
  8. Cappero (Capparis spinosa)
  9. Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)
  10. Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
  11. Tassel hyacinth "Cipollaccio" (Leopoldia comosa | Muscari comosum)
  12. Common Water Fennel (Oenanthe pimpinelloides)
  13. Wild Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
  14. Yellow Gentain (Gentiana lutea)
  15. Common Juniper (Juniperus communis)
  16. Dwarf Juniper (Juniperus sibirica Burgsd.)
  17. Mytle "Mirto" (Myrtus communis)
  18. Calamint "Nepetella" (Clinopodium nepeta)
  19. Duckweed "Porcellana" (Portulaca oleracea)
  20. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
  21. Blackberry "More" "Rovo" (Rubus ulmifolius)
  22. Sage "Salvia" (Salvia desoleana)
  23. Thyme "Timo" (Thymus herba-barona)

So let's start the hunt!