|
Darrera modificació: 2021-10-07
Bases de dades: Sciència.cat
Funk, Holger, "Early evidence of “Erica”: A linguistic and pictorial tracking from antiquity to the mid-16th century", Huntia, 16/2 (2018), 79-94.
- Resum
- Historically, the name "Erica" referred to different species of heather or to other members of the Ericaceae family. Moreover, species of the Tamaricaceae were also associated with "Erica." The present paper outlines how in a period that extended over 2,000 years from antiquity to early modern times descriptions and pictorial representations were based almost exclusively on Erica arborea (tree heather, a species native to the Mediterranean Basin). The emphasis on southern European plants, from regions where Greek and Roman authors were at home, later hampered the recognition of "Erica" by botanical writers based in more northern, transalpine regions. The handicap was not overcome until the mid-16th century when the English naturalist William Turner compared the authoritative ancient descriptions of heathers with the plants of his home country and pointed to Calluna vulgaris (formerly Erica vulgaris; ling or heather in modern English), a plant that is largely absent from the eastern Mediterranean. Naturalistic images of Calluna that supported this new focus can be found in herbals and manuscripts as early as the 1540s.
- Matèries
- Història natural - Vegetals
|