Ewa Pirożnikow

Plants used for making recreational tea in Europe: a review based on specific research sites

This paper is a review of local plants used in water infusions as aromatic and refreshing hot beverages (recreational tea) consumed in food-related settings in Europe, and not for specific medicinal purposes. The reviewed 29 areas are located across Europe, covering the post-Soviet countries, eastern and Mediterranean Europe. Altogether, 142 taxa belonging to 99 genera and 40 families were reported. The most important families for making herbal tea in all research areas were Lamiaceae and Asteraceae, while Rosaceae was popular only in eastern and central Europe. With regards to botanical genera, the dominant taxa included Mentha, Tilia, Thymus, Origanum, Rubus and Matricaria. The clear favorite was Origanum vulgare L., mentioned in 61% of the regions. Regionally, other important taxa included Rubus idaeus L. in eastern Europe, Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All. in southern Europe and Rosa canina L. in central Europe. Future research on the pharmacological, nutritional and chemical properties of the plants most frequently used in the tea-making process is essential to ensure their safety and appropriateness for daily consumption. Moreover, regional studies dedicated to the study of local plants used for making recreational tea are important to improve our understanding of their selection criteria, cultural importance and perceived properties in Europe and abroad.

Wild edible plants of Belarus: from Rostafiński’s questionnaire of 1883 to the present

BackgroundBelarus is an Eastern European country, which has been little studied ethnobotanically. The aim of the study was to compare largely unpublished 19th century sources with more contemporary data on the use of wild food plants.MethodsThe information on 19th century uses is based on twelve, mainly unpublished, responses to Józef Rostafiński’s questionnaire from 1883, and the newly discovered materials of the ethnographer Michał Federowski, who structured his data according to Rostafiński’s questionnaire and documented it with voucher specimens. Rostafiński’s questionnaire was concerned mainly with Polish territories, but for historical reasons this also encompassed a large part of Belarus, and we analyzed only the twelve responses (out of the few hundred Rostafiński obtained), which concerned the present Belarus. These data were compared with a few 20th century ethnographic sources, and our own 40 interviews and questionnaires from Belarus.Results and discussion58 taxa of wild food plants used in the 19th century were identified. Some of them are still used in modern Belarus, others are probably completely forgotten. In the 19th century several species of wild greens were widely used for making soups. Apart from Rumex, other wild greens are now either forgotten or rarely used. The list of species used in the 20th and 21st century encompasses 67 taxa. Nearly half of them were mentioned by Rostafiński’s respondents. The list of fruit species has not changed much, although in the 19th century fruits were mainly eaten raw, or with dairy or floury dishes, and now apart from being eaten raw, they are incorporated in sweet dishes like jams or cakes. Modern comparative data also contain several alien species, some of which have escaped from cultivation and are gathered from a semi-wild state, as well as childrens snacks, which were probably collected in the 19th century but were not recorded back then.ConclusionThe responses to Rostafiński from 1883 present extremely valuable historical material as the use of wild food plants in Belarus has since undergone drastic changes, similar to those, which have taken place in other Eastern European countries.

Selective Behaviour of Honeybees in Acquiring European Propolis Plant Precursors

Honey bees harvest resins from various plant species and use them in the hive as propolis. While there have been a number of studies concerning the chemical composition of this antimicrobial product, little is known about selective behavior and bee preference when different potential plant sources of resin are available. The main objective of this paper was to investigate some aspects of behavioral patterns of honeybees in the context of resin acquisition. Samples of propolis originating from temperate zones of Europe and the supposed botanical precursors of the product were analyzed. Taxonomical markers of bud resins of two white birch species, aspen, black poplar, horse-chestnut, black alder, and Scots pine were determined through GC-MS analysis. All these trees have been reported as sources of propolis, but comparisons of the chemical composition of their bud resins with the compositions of propolis samples from seven European countries have demonstrated the presence of taxonomical markers only from black poplar, aspen, and one species of birch. This suggests selective behavior during the collection of bud resins by honeybees. To examine the causes of such selectivity, the antimicrobial properties of bud resins were determined. Horse-chestnut resins had lower antimicrobial activity than the other resins which did not differ significantly.

Juniper Beer in Poland: The Story of the Revival of a Traditional Beverage

Low-alcohol beverages made of juniper pseudo-fruits were once common in parts of northern and northeastern Poland. The aim of this article is to investigate the history of juniper beer production, its role in local communities, changes in recipes, and signs of revival of the tradition. Archival ethnographic sources from all over the country were reviewed, and field research was carried out in two juniper beer producing areas in the Northeast region: (1) Kurpie, and (2) Podlasie. Juniper beers were made in central and northeastern Poland, mainly for weddings, holidays, or other special occasions. The tradition gradually declined throughout the twentieth century and has now practically disappeared. Juniper beer, however, recently has been popularized in the Kurpie region as a regional specialty, aimed at visitors to the area since the 1990s. The beverage is gaining increasing media attention, not only in the region but across Poland, and it is now produced in a large proportion of households in Kurpie (either for sale or for domestic use). In Podlasie, juniper beer is still mainly remembered as a drink from the past, with very few individuals still making it. Juniper beer is an example of a tradition revival combining a few emerging trends, among which are the use of wild foods and attention to local recipes and home-fermented dishes. The changing role of juniper berries in the history of the drink should also be noted. Originally, the berries were the richest local source of sugar, and thus they naturally became the main ingredient of fermented beverages. With time, the composition of the drink evolved and sugar and honey were added. The original juniper components now serve mainly as flavoring, giving the drink its characteristic resinous taste and fragrance.

Winter supplementary feeding influences forest soil seed banks and vegetation

Question To what extent does winter supplementary feeding influence vegetation and soil seed banks in forest ecosystems? Location Bialowieza Primaeval Forest, NE Poland. Methods Several dozen feeding stations, each composed of one to several haystacks, are used in Bialowieza Forest for supplementary winter feeding of European bison Bison bonasus. We checked the species composition and availability of seeds in hay in 15 haystacks of the eight oldest feeding stations, which could be a potential source of seeds. Vegetation and soil seed bank were sampled on the overlapping 10 m x 10 m plots distributed along 500 m long transects running south and north of the studied feeding stations. Seed content in the soil samples was studied by the seedling emergence method in an unheated greenhouse. Results We revealed high dissimilarity of species composition of the hayseed, soil seed bank and standing vegetation. The dissimilarity between soil seed banks and standing vegetation increased with the distance from the haystack. The species richness of the standing vegetation was not affected by the distance to the haystack, while seed bank species richness showed significant negative correlation with distance. The mean weighted ecological indicator values of the pH, light and soil fertility were negatively correlated with the distance from the haystack for the seed bank and the standing vegetation. The percentage of damaged bushes and juvenile trees was positively correlated with their density and decreased with the distance from the haystack. Conclusions We revealed distinct but local (25 m -50 m off the haystack) effect of the supplementary feeding on the vegetation and soil seed banks of forest ecosystems. Taking into account the ecosystem approach to nature conservation, the winter feeding in forest ecosystems should be concentrated in few places to avoid the expansion of non-native plant species in forest ecosystems. To prevent potential plant invasions, the origin of the hay used as supplementary winter fodder should be carefully selected, with a preference for local origin and making of hay of native plant species in the forests meadows or in its surroundings. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.