J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2015; 11: 83.
Published online 2015 Dec 23. doi: 10.1186/s13002-015-0070-y
PMCID: PMC4690224
Abstract
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.
Keywords: Anthoxanthum nipponicum, Hierochloë odorata, Milium effusum, Braids, Perfume
Background
Scented
or coumarin-rich grasses have found a variety of uses in the northern
hemisphere, mainly on account of their sweet and pleasant scent – as
perfume for people and dwellings, but also to flavour food and drink,
e.g. the well-known żubrówka of Poland, in folk medicine, and,
at least among the indigenous tribes of North America, in various
religious rituals. It is, however, not my intention to provide a global
review of scented grasses – a daunting task even for Europe, given the
paucity of accounts available, and certainly so in the major western
languages.
In the northernmost part of Norway, sweetly
scented grasses constitute a well established part of folk tradition.
Grass material intended for perfume and similar purposes has been
collected at numerous sites. Despite this, such grasses have received
little attention in Norwegian ethnobotanical literature. The first,
brief comment was made by Johan Ernst Gunnerus in 1772 ([1]: 117), who noted marigras (“Mary’s grass”) and lugtgrass (“scent-grass”) as Norwegian vernacular names for Holcus odoratus, i.e. Hierochloë odorata (L.) Wahlenb. A more extensive comment is provided by Fredrik Christian Schübeler in 1886 ([2]: 259), who noted their main uses, and depicted a North Sámi grass braid (reproduced in Fig. 1), according to him made of Anthoxanthum odoratum L. coll. Just Qvigstad ([3]: 59, cf. [4]: 305) and Kristian Nissen ([5]: 2–3), commenting on Sámi tradition, suggested that both Anthoxanthum odoratum L. (coll.) and Hierochloë odorata provided source material. Ove Arbo Høeg ([6]: 224) and Olav Johansen [7] identified the species used as Anthoxanthum odoratum, although the former, in his vast collection of Norwegian plant lore, noted that Hierochloë odorata
could also be used, at least locally; an example is given from Beitstad
in Trøndelag, central Norway. No voucher specimens are cited in any of
these works. In his compilation of Sámi folk medicine, Adolf Steen [8] has a brief entry on such grasses. It is listed among cures utilizing starr (the Norwegian term for Carex spp.), probably mislead by the fact that both are regarded as suoinnit (singular suoidni), “graminoids”, in Sámi terminology.
