Department of Ecotoxicology, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Rzeszów, Werynia 502, 36-100 Kolbuszowa, Poland.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Jun 26;142(1):228-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.04.049. Epub 2012 May 7.
Herbal wreaths are blessed all over Poland on the eighth day of the Corpus Christi Octave (usually in June). They used to contain many species of aromatic and medicinal plants, both collected from the wild and cultivated. The aim of this study was to document the present composition of wreaths using photographs (etic perspective) and questionnaires (emic perspective) and compare it with the local pharmacopoeia, the composition of Assumption Day bouquets (blessed in August) and historical data on the composition of the wreaths.
The study was carried out in SE Poland (near Krosno). Photographs of 245 wreaths were taken and 133 questionnaires concerning the blessed plants and their medical use were obtained.
On average a photographed wreath contained over five species of plants and an average informant listed six species. The frequency of species in photos and questionnaires was similar. Several medicinal plants which used to be the key elements of the wreaths (e.g. Sedum acre, Asarum europaeum, Matricaria recutita, Thymus pulegioides, Alchemilla spp.) are now less frequently seen, mainly due to vegetation transformations. Nowadays only about a quarter of species in the wreaths are medicinal plants, the remaining are mainly ornamental flowers. Only a part of the local pharmacopoeia is represented in the blessed wreaths and bouquets. The wreaths were often used in fumigation practices (whole wreaths or single species taken out) for a whole continuum of purposes: from purely ritual to medicinal. Nowadays they serve a mainly apotropaic function, but help to preserve traditional ethnomedicinal knowledge.
The blessing of herbal wreaths in Poland seems to be the last relic of a more widespread custom found in medieval times throughout northern and central Europe originally associated with summer solstice.
在耶稣圣体节的第八天（通常在 6 月），波兰各地都会对草药花环进行祝福。它们曾经包含许多芳香和药用植物，既有来自野外的，也有种植的。本研究的目的是通过照片（外在视角）和问卷（内在视角）记录目前花环的组成，并将其与当地药典、圣母升天节花束（在 8 月祝福）和过去花环组成的历史数据进行比较。
该研究在波兰东南部（靠近克罗诺什）进行。拍摄了 245 个花环的照片，并获得了 133 份关于受祝福植物及其药用用途的问卷。
平均每个拍摄的花环包含超过五种植物，平均每个受访者列出六种植物。照片和问卷中出现的物种频率相似。一些曾经是花环主要元素的药用植物（如景天、细辛、苦艾、百里香、鸭儿芹）现在已较少见，主要是由于植被发生了变化。如今，花环中只有约四分之一的物种是药用植物，其余的主要是观赏花卉。只有当地药典的一部分在受祝福的花环和花束中得到体现。花环经常用于熏蒸实践（整个花环或单个物种取出），用于一系列目的：从纯粹的仪式到药用。如今，它们主要起到辟邪的作用，但有助于保留传统的民族医学知识。
在波兰，对草药花环的祝福似乎是中世纪在北欧和中欧更为广泛的习俗的最后遗迹，最初与夏至有关。
