The uses of Betula pendula Roth among Hungarian Csángós and Székelys in Transylvania, Romania

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae

Cassandra L. Quave¹  Dóra Czégényi²  Anita Hegedűs³  Nóra Papp⁴  Tamás Morschhauser⁵  Kevin Cianfaglione⁶  Andrea Pieroni⁷ 

[1] Center for the Study of Human Health, Emory University, 550 Asbury Circle, Candler Library 107, Atlanta, GA 30322;Department of Hungarian Ethnography and Anthropology, University of Babeş-Bolyai of Cluj-Napoca, Horea 31, 400202 Cluj-Napoca;Department of Languages for Specific Purposes, University of Pécs, Rókus 2, 7624 Pécs;Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Pécs, Rókus 2, 7624 Pécs;Department of Plant Taxonomy and Geobotany, University of Pécs, Ifjúság 6, 7624 Pécs;School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Via Pontoni 5, 62032 Camerino (MC);University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 9, I-12060 Fr. Pollenzo, Bra (CN);

关键词: silver birch;    ethnobotany;    medicinal plant;    traditional knowledge;    birch sap;    virics;   

DOI  :  10.5586/asbp.2014.011

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The aim of this work is to evaluate the ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological use of Betula pendula Roth in various regions of Transylvania, in East and Central Romania. Silver birch is an important pioneer species in the country, which has traditionally been used in ethnomedicine, households and various customs. Among the ethnic groups, 55 informants from the Csángós and 68 from the Székelys were interviewed in six villages during field studies occurring between 2007 and 2012. Informants were asked questions about the medical and non-medical applications of B. pendula, focusing on the use of the leaf and woody parts in tools and customs, and on the collection and use of birch sap with its temporal change in local ethnomedicinal knowledge. Differences related to the use of birch among the studied areas were observed. The folk remedies prepared from the sap (“virics”) and leaves were documented in local customs, with similar symbolic roles assigned to birch used in other countries. Sap collection was performed during interviews and by manual means. Four special section types on the trunk were presented, and data concerning the nutritional and ethnomedicinal use of the sap was recorded. Both the significance and use of birch sap have drastically decreased in Transylvania due to the appearance of new phytotherapeutical sources and to social changes caused by migration of young people. We found that this phenomenon is gradually leading to the disappearance traditional harvesting techniques, frequency of use and ethnomedicinal knowledge concerning B. pendula in the studied regions.

【 授权许可】

Unknown