12 research outputs found
Sámi reindeer herders’ perspective on herbivory of subarctic mountain birch forests by geometrid moths and reindeer: a case study from northernmost Finland
Archaeological ethnography of an indigenous movement: Revitalization and production in a Skolt Sámi community
Quantitative analysis of mitochondrial flocculent densities in rat hepatocytes during normothermic and hypothermic ischemia in vitro
Intercontinental Flows of Desire: Brass Kettles in Lapland and in the Colony of New Sweden
Scented grasses in Norway - Identity and uses
Published version. Source at http://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-015-0070-y.Background: Some grass species are richer in coumarin and thus more sweetly scented than others. These have
been eagerly sought after in parts of Norway, but the tradition has been weakly documented, both in terms of the
species collected, their vernacular names, and uses.
Methods: Based on literature data and a substantial body of information collected during my own ethnobotanical
field work, artefacts and voucher specimens, the grass species are identified, and their uses clarified.
Results: In Norwegian literature, the tradition of collecting and using scented grasses has received little attention,
and past authors largely refer it to Anthoxanthum spp. The tradition’s concentration to the Sámi strongholds of
northernmost Norway, and most authors’ lacking knowledge of the Sámi language, have contributed to the weak
and misleading coverage in previous publications. Coumarin-rich grass species are well known in folk tradition in
northernmost Norway, as luktegress (Norwegian, “scent grass”), háissasuoidni (North Sámi, “scent grass”), hajuheinä
(Finnish, “scent grass”), or similar terms. They have been (and still are) frequently collected, and used as perfume, for
storing with clothes, and a number of other purposes. Despite literature records identifying the species used as
Anthoxanthum odoratum coll. (including A. nipponicum), the main source utilized in North Norway is Hierochloë
odorata, both ssp. arctica and ssp. odorata. Anthoxanthum nipponicum and Milium effusum are alternative, but
infrequently used sources of material, depending on local tradition and availability.
Conclusion: By far the most important grass species hiding behind the “scented grass” tradition in Norway is
Hierochloë odorata. Anthoxanthum nipponicum is also used, but much less frequently, and only a single record
confirms the use of Milium effusum. Only the foliage of Hierochloë provides suitable material for making traditional
braids. The three major ethnic groups in Norway have all utilized scented grasses as perfume and for storing with
clothes, but the tradition’s geographical concentration to the far north of Norway (Finnmark and NE Troms),
suggests that it has originally mainly been a Sámi tradition, adopted by their neighbours