AN ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY REGARDING PLANT NAMES IN ROMANIAN FOLK POETRY

Abstract

Romanian folklore may be regarded as a consistent source of data about the role and importance of plants in day by day life of Romanian people. The folk poetry is an apparent "database" of uncensored elements formed through the cultural evolution and emerging from the collective unconscious. Within these elements, plants represent a constant and strong part, occurring as a pivotal component of the vision about life. In this study, plant names extracted from a collection of Romanian folk poetry were analyzed fromseveral points of view; their relevance in respect with frequency, botanical diversity and their multiple implications in everyday life are also discussed. Several subtle aspects derived from the use of plants are also given. The study reveals that plant names can contribute to further elucidation of issues related to Romanian ethnogenesis, psychology and history.