The Appeal of Ethnobotanical Folklore Records: Medicinal Plant Use in Setomaa, Räpina and Vastseliina Parishes, Estonia (1888–1996)
The historical use of medicinal plants is of special interest because the use of plants for healing is a rapidly changing, highly culture-specific and often need-specific practice, which also depends on the availability of resources and knowledge. To set an example of folkloristic data analysis in e...
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/20/2698 |
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| author | Renata Sõukand Raivo Kalle |
| author_facet | Renata Sõukand Raivo Kalle |
| author_sort | Renata Sõukand |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The historical use of medicinal plants is of special interest because the use of plants for healing is a rapidly changing, highly culture-specific and often need-specific practice, which also depends on the availability of resources and knowledge. To set an example of folkloristic data analysis in ethnobotany, we analyzed texts from the database, HERBA, identifying as many plants and diseases as possible. The research was limited to the Seto, Räpina and Vastseliina parishes in Estonia. The use of 119 taxa belonging to 48 families was identified, of which nine were identified at the genus level, four ethnotaxa were identified as two possible botanical taxa and fifteen ethnotaxa were unidentifiable. The most frequently mentioned taxa were <i>Pinus sylvestris</i>, <i>Matricaria discoidea</i> and <i>Valeriana officinalis</i>. High plant name diversity as well as high heterogeneity in the plants used were observed, especially in earlier records. The use of local wild taxa growing outside the sphere of everyday human activities, which was abandoned during Soviet occupation, signals an earlier, pre-existing rich tradition of plant use and a deep relationship with nature. Working with archival data requires knowledge of historical contexts and the acceptance of the possibility of not finding all the answers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:34:10Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:34:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-fa34403fdc524ff1a40795980a6c31c02023-11-24T02:03:46ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-10-011120269810.3390/plants11202698The Appeal of Ethnobotanical Folklore Records: Medicinal Plant Use in Setomaa, Räpina and Vastseliina Parishes, Estonia (1888–1996)Renata Sõukand0Raivo Kalle1Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, Mestre, 30172 Venice, ItalyUniversity of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II 9, 12042 Pollenzo, ItalyThe historical use of medicinal plants is of special interest because the use of plants for healing is a rapidly changing, highly culture-specific and often need-specific practice, which also depends on the availability of resources and knowledge. To set an example of folkloristic data analysis in ethnobotany, we analyzed texts from the database, HERBA, identifying as many plants and diseases as possible. The research was limited to the Seto, Räpina and Vastseliina parishes in Estonia. The use of 119 taxa belonging to 48 families was identified, of which nine were identified at the genus level, four ethnotaxa were identified as two possible botanical taxa and fifteen ethnotaxa were unidentifiable. The most frequently mentioned taxa were <i>Pinus sylvestris</i>, <i>Matricaria discoidea</i> and <i>Valeriana officinalis</i>. High plant name diversity as well as high heterogeneity in the plants used were observed, especially in earlier records. The use of local wild taxa growing outside the sphere of everyday human activities, which was abandoned during Soviet occupation, signals an earlier, pre-existing rich tradition of plant use and a deep relationship with nature. Working with archival data requires knowledge of historical contexts and the acceptance of the possibility of not finding all the answers.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/20/2698historical ethnobotanyfolklore collectionsbiocultural diversityEstonian historyfolk medicinemedicinal plants |
| spellingShingle | Renata Sõukand Raivo Kalle The Appeal of Ethnobotanical Folklore Records: Medicinal Plant Use in Setomaa, Räpina and Vastseliina Parishes, Estonia (1888–1996) Plants historical ethnobotany folklore collections biocultural diversity Estonian history folk medicine medicinal plants |
| title | The Appeal of Ethnobotanical Folklore Records: Medicinal Plant Use in Setomaa, Räpina and Vastseliina Parishes, Estonia (1888–1996) |
| title_full | The Appeal of Ethnobotanical Folklore Records: Medicinal Plant Use in Setomaa, Räpina and Vastseliina Parishes, Estonia (1888–1996) |
| title_fullStr | The Appeal of Ethnobotanical Folklore Records: Medicinal Plant Use in Setomaa, Räpina and Vastseliina Parishes, Estonia (1888–1996) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Appeal of Ethnobotanical Folklore Records: Medicinal Plant Use in Setomaa, Räpina and Vastseliina Parishes, Estonia (1888–1996) |
| title_short | The Appeal of Ethnobotanical Folklore Records: Medicinal Plant Use in Setomaa, Räpina and Vastseliina Parishes, Estonia (1888–1996) |
| title_sort | appeal of ethnobotanical folklore records medicinal plant use in setomaa rapina and vastseliina parishes estonia 1888 1996 |
| topic | historical ethnobotany folklore collections biocultural diversity Estonian history folk medicine medicinal plants |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/20/2698 |
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