Folk botanical nomenclature and classification
in Bulgarian traditional knowledge
Anely NEDELCHEVA1 and Yunus DOGAN 2
1
2
Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, Bulgaria
Buca Faculty of Education, Dokuz Eylül University, Buca, Izmir, Turkey
Abstract (Bulgarian)
Народните наименования на растенията са точката на познанието, в която се срещат ботаниката с митология, фолклор,
лингвистика и филология. Народите са изобретателни да дават наименования на растенията или да превеждат или
видоизменят чужди наименования до неузнаваемост. Обект на народното познание са растенията, които човекът познава
и използва. Около 23% от растенията в България имат народни наименования. Подбудите да бъде дадено едно или друго
име са различни, както при отделните народи, така и в различи области на една страна. Давайки имена на растенията
народа създава собствена номенклатура подреждане и структуриране на растенията в групи. Създаването на народните
имена е плод на народно творчество и динамичен процес. Проучването на тяхното разнообразие и връзката им с научното
знание за растенията във всеки един исторически момент е от значение за разкриване отношението на българския народ
към природата и в частност растенията, неговата наблюдателност и способност да анализира и подрежда в съподчиненост
видяното по комплекс от белези и явления. Установяването на тези закономерности и тенденции разкрива начина на
таксономично мислене на българския народ. Настоящето проучване дава представа за разнообразието от народни
наименования и разкрие закономерностите при тяхното създаване от ботаническа гледна точка.
Introduction
The beginning of all knowledge is the name, because
each term is specified by its name. The folkloric
knowledge and the differentiation of the plants is the base
on which the botanical nomenclature has been created (the
scientific names for the plants and their groups).
The studying of this part of the knowledge of each
people or region of the world is a subject of a series of
ethnobotanical studies (Al Azharia Jahn 2006). A
theoretical model of ethnotaxonomic systems based on
ethnobotanical studies in Central and South America was
developed by Berlin et al. (1966). The same author
elaborated the general principles of the folktaxonomy and
drew convincing parallels with the taxonomic way of
thinking among the European people, which have become
the basis of the taxonomy in the Western science.
In Bulgaria traditions in the studying of the way in
which the people get to know and name the plants as
well as how they use this knowledge in their everyday
life do exist. Such data is found mainly in ethnographic
studies (Gerov 1899; Vakarelski 1977; Marinov 1994a,
1994b; Georgiev 1999; Kitanova 2004) but it can also
be discovered in some botanical ones (Achtarov et al.
1939; Stojanov and Kitanov 1960; Stranski 1963). There
is no doubt that the issue of “Materials for Bulgarian
Botanical Glossary” (Achtarov et al. 1939) is of greatest
importance. The folkloric names, their synonyms, data
about the region in which they are used and explanations
about the meaning and the origin of the name are all
gathered in it. The introduction of the book is a profound
for its time phytolinguistic analysis of the folk names in
the botany written by Bozhimir Davidov. The local
names derive from the people and their creation is a
dynamic process. The studying of their diversity and
their relation to the historical knowledge of plants in the
course of time is important because it can reveal the
attitude of the Bulgarian people towards the nature and
the plants in particular, its power of observation and its
ability to analyze and put the observed into a subordinate
order taking into consideration a combination of marks
and occurrences. The establishment of these regularities
and trends reveals the taxonomic way of thinking of the
Bulgarian people and generally the taxonomic way of
thinking of the Europeans, which has become the basis
of the taxonomy in the Botanical science.
These aspects define the purpose of the present study
- that is to give general idea about the diversity of the
folk names and to reveal the regularities in their creation
from a botanical point of view.
Material and methods
Study area: Bulgaria is situated in Southeastern
Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula and is a historical
crossroad of the ancient cultures of Europe and Asia. The
Bulgarian population consists mainly of ethnic
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FOLK BOTANICAL NOMENCLATURE AND CLASSIFICATION IN BULGARIAN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
Bulgarians (83.9%), with two sizable minorities, Turks
(9.4%) and Roma (4.7%) (N.S.I. 2001). The official
language of the country is Bulgarian (written in Cyrillic
alphabet), a member of the Slavic linguistic group. The
Bulgarian flora comprises 159 families, 906 genera and
3900 species, 12.8% of which are endemics (Petrova et
al. 2005).
The study was carried out for five years (2003-2008).
The information is gathered mainly from the literature
(the main source) as well as from field collected data and
interviewed informants.
Results and discussion
It is difficult to point out the total number of the
folkloric names because of a series of reasons- a lot of
synonyms are present, some of the names are out of date
and are not used actively, and new names are created all
the time. In one of the most profound sources of
information concerning this matter – “Materials for
Bulgarian botanical glossary” (Achtarov et al. 1939) –
11250 folk names are included. About 23% of the plants
have folk names. About 800 are actively and widely
used, while 500 are present today (Petkov 1982;
Dimitrova 1987; Kitanova 2004).
The folkloric nomenclature gives names to the plants
by taking into consideration the people’s point of view (a
collective author). The people create these names in their
willingness to distinguish the different species from one
another and to be precise in their verbal communication.
Unlike the scientific names, the folk ones don’t have an
author. As everywhere else, here, in Bulgaria, the plants
which are just close to the people and are in their favour
and which are a part of the customs and the culture of the
Bulgarians have folk names.
The botanical nomenclature (the formal naming of
the plants from a scientific point of view), represents a
name that consists of two parts or a binary name for any
taxon below the rank of the genus, and includes the rank
of the species (I.C.N.C.P. 2004, I.C.B.N. 2006). A binary
name comprises the name of a genus and an epithet.
Unlike the scientific terms and in accordance with the
peculiarities of the Bulgarian grammar, the epithet
comes first: Abies alba (Bg: “byala ela”: white fin-tree).
We often say that the botanical classification (a
method by which botanists group and categorize the
species) is a form of scientific taxonomy and should be
distinguished from the folktaxonomy, which lacks
scientific basis. A variety of examples though illustrate
very well the capability of the people to see and analyse
the similarities of the nature as well as to distinguish the
differences and to put them into a hierarchical structure
by revealing the relationships between the plants.
The
Bulgarians
distinguish
clearly
the
representatives of the plant and fungi kingdoms. Some
difficult for classification subjects, usually with unclear
origin and background, are named in a way that can
show their mysterious character (a striving for
explanation with a mystical interference). The Witches’
brooms are a clear example of this. They are deformities
on trees or shrubs that are result of infections caused by
different agents. The rates of the plant growth, size and
symmetry are disrupted. A certain part of the plant may
look like a bird’s nest (closely packed distorted twigs).
Such a name is given to these deformities by other
peoples, too (Nedelcheva et al. 2007).
The normal and the most familiar name that people
give to a plant is a genus name - Urtica (Bg: “kopriva”),
Pinus (Bg: “bor”), etc. The plants in a genus are often
easily recognizable. The generic names are usually
monomial.
Polytypic generic species (which have more than two
members) are found among plants which are well known
and widely used by the people. These are both cultivated
and wild species. The Bulgarians correctly group
completely different plants into one genus
phenotypically - Sambucus (Bg: “baz”: elder): S. ebulus
(Bg: “trevist baz”: grass elder), S. racemosa (Bg:
“cherven baz”: red elder), S. nigra (Bg: “cheren baz”:
black elder).
The single plants are defined by the species’ name.
The name often shows some characteristics of the plant
– the colour of the flowers, the size, the shape – or it may
be named after the place where it was found for the first
time. Together, the genus and species name (epithet)
refer to only one plant, and they are used to identify that
particular plant.
A variety in form of a plant within a species exists
when there are slightly or minor botanical differences
from the species plant such as colour of the flower or the
shape of the leaves - Trifolium speciosum (Bg: “sinya
detelina”: blue clover), Trifolium patens (Bg: “zhulta
detelina”: yellow clover), Trifolium repens (Bg: “byala
detelina”: white clover).
The name of the cultivated plants (cultivars) often
represents the way of growth with epithets such as
garden, sowing, domestic - ”gradinska chubritsa”:
garden savory (Satureja hortensis), which are wellknown to the people. In order to distinguish from them
the garden plants, the latter are given the name “wild”:
Bg: “div”: diva krastavitsa”: wild cucumber (Ecbalium
elaterium), ”div badem”: wild almond (Amygdalus
nana). The adjective common is often used in opposition
in the meaning of widely spread, ruderal, different from
cultivated. The origin of some cultivated plants is
obvious from the name: “turski sedef”: originated from
Turkey (Peganum harmala), ”bozhigrobski bosilek”:
originated from the land of Jesus’ Tomb, Jerusalem,
(Artemisia abrotanum), “stambolche”: originated from
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ANELY NEDELCHEVA, YUNUS DOGAN
1. - Stem and leaves from Horse-tongue (Ruscus hypoglossum).
2. - Chicory - blossom (Cichorium intybus).
Istanbul (Dahlia variabilis), ”praskova”: originated from
Persia (Persica vulgaris); in this way the common names
represent the economic and social relations of the
population from the historical aspect.
Synonyms: The Bulgarians use one and the same
name for two or more obviously different species of one
botanical genus - for Taraxacum spp. (mostly T.
officinale) are used more than thirty (30) common
names, related to different characteristics of the plant:
Bg: “gluharche”: hollow stem, “zhlachka”: bitter test,
“magareshka mlechka”: donkey’ milk, “radika”: root,
“salata”: salad and etc. This is often due to the use of
different names in the different regions of the country,
having their own features and way of perceiving the
environment. The homonyms (the use of the same name
for two or more morphologically different
species belonging to one botanical genus)
exist for the same reasons - Bg: “orlovi
nokti”: eagle’ nails is used for Astragalus,
Cytisus, Erodium cicutarium and Lonicera
(because of the twist shape of the fruits or
flowers).
The folk botanical nomenclature and
classification is well developed with the
familiar to the people plants that can be
found in the environment and that are used
by the population.
A series of names represent the general
outlook and the behaviour of the whole
plant or its parts - Bg: “ostra treva”: sharp
grass (Carex), “samodivsko darvo”: elf tree
(Sorbus aucuparia).
This shows knowledge of the live forms
and their classification. The size of the
plant is described with the adjectives small
- Bg: “malak karamfil”: small carnation
(Dianthus microlepis) or with a diminutive
- Bg: “gologlavche”: hatless (Globularia
vulgaris), large or big - Bg: “golyam repei”:
big burdock (Arctium lappa).
In the folk nomenclature superiority for
presenting the vegetative organs over the
generative ones exists.
The direction in which the stem grows
or the position of the over-ground
vegetative organs “kompasna mlechka”:
compass milk grass (Lactuca seriola),
“klek”: squat (Pinus mugo).
An interesting example is the Ruscus
hypoglossum. The name of the plant
”zalist” means “something which is
caught to leaves”. Indeed, this species has
flowers and fruits that are caught to its
leaves. Its stem is deformed and has the
shape of a leaf, but the people don’t know
this fact (fig. 1).
General content and consistency of the plant - “debelets”: tick (Sedum), “zhilovlyak”: elastic (Plantago).
The substance, found in the inner part of the plant or
in its organs - “maslina”: oil (Olea europaea), “mlechka”:
milk (Euphorbia), “sapunche”: soap (Saponaria).
Small and bigger formations on the surface of the
plants - “tranka”: with thorns (Prunus spinosa), “lepka”:
stick on, attach to something (Galium aparine). They
contain information about the way in which the plant
overspreads.
The colour of the flowers (perigonium or corolla) “sinchets”: blue (Scilla bifolia) or “sinya metlichina”: blue
small broom (Centaurea cyanus) (fig. 2), “zhalturche”:
yellow (Ranunculus ficaria); as direct use of the name of
certain flower or indirect - via resemblance to objects or
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FOLK BOTANICAL NOMENCLATURE AND CLASSIFICATION IN BULGARIAN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
3. - Flowering shrub (Spiraea media).
phenomena - “ogniche”: like fire (Anagalis arvensis),
“karvaviche”: like blood (Agrostemma); the colour of the
fruits - “chernitsa”: blackish (Morus).
The taste and the flavour of the plants (bitter, sweet,
sour) - “kiselets”: with sour taste (Rumex), “sladka paprat”: with sweet taste (Polipodium vulgare),”zhlachka”:
like bile, bitterness, (Cichorium intybus) or smell - smelly
dianthus (Dianthus barbatus). A combination of
characteristics - “sinya zhlachka”: blue and like bile
(Cichorium intybus).
Knowledge of the phenology of the plants: for
example the time of flowering - “velikdenche”:
flowering around Easter (Veronica chamaedrys), “maiski
snyag”: flowering in May (Spirea media) (fig. 3), the life
of the leaves and of the whole plant - “zimzelen”: green
in winter (Vinca minor), “noshtna krasavitsa”: beautiful
at night (Oenothera biennis), “bezsmartniche”: immortal
(Xeranthemum annuum), “esenche”: flowering in
autumn (Crocus palasianus), “zimen hvosht”: winter
horse-tail (Equisetum hiemale).
Chronological information - the names of the places,
where the species are found as well as folk names show
knowledge of their distribution - especially for the
species which have limited spreading on the territory of
the country and for the endemic ones - Bg: “rilska
iglika”: from Rila Mt. (Primula deorum) - endemic plant
from Rila Mt.
Habitat, place of dwelling - some species grow really
well in one specific habitat and this is obvious from their
names - “gorotsvet”: flowering in forest (Adonis
vernalis), “blatnyak”: in the marsh (Caltha palustris),
“zidar”: on the walls (Sedum album), “livadina”: in the
meadows (Poa spp.), “’podrumiche”: around roads
(Matricaria), “poddabiche”: under
the oak (Teucrium chamaedrys),
“planinska smrika”: mountain
juniper (Juniperus nana), water
plants - “vodna leshta”: water
lentils (Lemna minor).
Medicinal plants - medicinal
tea - Bg: “pirinski chai”: tea from
Pirin Mt. (Sideristis scardica name
of the disease or of some of the
symptoms - “mayasal” is the old
name if haemorrhoids. Many
plants (more than 10) used for
treatment of it are named as
“mayasalniche” (Filago arvensis),
“mayasalche” (Sideritis montana,
Erysimum spp., Lythrum salicaria,
Teucrium polium, Peucedanum
spp., Polygonum hydropiper).
Well distinguished group are
edible plants - “edliv papyrus”:
edible
papyrus
(Cyperus
esculentus), poisonous plants - Bg: “otrova”: poison,
“otrovachka” (Taxus baccata), “otrovna mlechka”
(Euphorbia myrsinites) or the effects, they can cause
when being touched - “parliva treva”: burning grass
(Urtica dioica).
It looks like that the main authors of the Bulgarian
names of the plants are the women which pay greater
attention to the plants. They know more plant names
than the men. The names created by women are nicer
and more euphonic.
The denomination and re-denomination of the plants
has the characteristics of a collective work. It is done
imperceptibly by unknown authors and is spread among
the people afterwards.
In case of not knowing the plants, the people use
directly plants’ foreign names. Some of them are easily
taken in and win recognition. The history shows that
other names sometimes change beyond recognition or
become less frequently used in the course of time. They
acquire the characteristics of the indigenous language.
This process is liable to philological changes and
regularities.
The challenge that the modern times set to the
folknomenclature is the transliteration of the folkloric
names – representing the names (originally written in
Cyrillic alphabet) in their corresponding Latin version.
This often leads to errors in the names, different records,
etc.
In the latest fashion, for some ornamental plants,
scientific genus names are used instead of the nice
common ones – nowadays used “ Iris” instead of
Bulgarian folk name ”perunika” (Iris).
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ANELY NEDELCHEVA, YUNUS DOGAN
Conclusion
Common names clearly show how the plants are
viewed, either as a whole or in terms of its separate
parts, as similar to objects, people or animals, or are
reminiscent of their actions and properties. Names
conjure up sounds, smells and colours typical of the
plant or provide information about it; this may concern
its distribution and habitat, its characteristics,
compounds and texture, its usage in daily life or
whether or not it is poisonous. Many plant names are
symbols related to folk beliefs, legends and traditional
customs.
«Apart from the way they are formed structurally,
Bulgarian plant folk names are similar to those found in
other nations, because the same reasons and rules guide
people when naming plants. No matter where they live
in the world, what counts is their close contact with
nature. Bulgarians have demonstrated a remarkable
attention in their plant observations, showing a
sensitivity to typical plant characteristics and folk art
when naming them. A knowledge of plants is necessary
to appreciate just how picturesque and vivid their names
are. Plants often become symbols because of their
names. A plant folk name recounts a story or evokes a
gentle melody. Sometimes the name, or common name,
can be obscene, but they are so expressive, so truly
unique, that they are poetic» Bozhimir Davidov (18701927), Bulgarian botanist.
Plant folk names are the area of overlap where
Botany meets Ethnology, Mythology, Folklore,
Linguistics and Philology. People can be very creative
when giving names to plants, generally translating or
altering foreign plant names, sometimes beyond
recognition. The reasons for choosing one name or
another vary from nation to nation, as well as region to
region. They reflect the country’s ethno-psychology,
national history and geopolitical position. Folk plant
names allow us a clear insight into Bulgarian national
spiritual culture and heritage.
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