RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Although ferns are often known under collective names in Norway, e.g. blom, a substantial number of vernacular names for individual fern species are known, in particular for useful or poisonous taxa. In the past, the rhizomes (Norwegian: moldfôr) of selected species were collected for fodder. Only scattered records of such use are available from southern Norway, and the tradition's core area is found in the two North Norwegian counties of Nordland and Troms, in accordance with the longer winters encountered in the north, frequently leading to fodder shortage in early spring. The tradition extends northeastwards into Finnmark, but is less well documented there. Although numerous sources mention the use of fern rhizomes for fodder, the fern species hiding behind the tradition are incompletely known. This paper aims at reviewing available data in terms of identifyng the species used for fodder, the history and geographical distribution of such use, and other relevant traditions, e.g. the timing and mode of collection, and the way the rhizomes were used. METHODS: The study is based on data extracted from a variety of archival and literature sources; the latter retrived from my database of more than 7500 publications providing information on plant names and plant uses in Norway. RESULTS: More than 200 individual records mention the use of fern rhizomes for fodder in Norway. Only a fraction of these, typically made by botanist recording data on plant uses, provides information on the identity of the species used. Based on these, Dryopteris filix-mas and Matteuccia struthiopteris stand out as the most important species serving as sources of fern rhizomes for fodder. Locally, Dryopteris expansa was the preferred species, and this taxon may to some extent be overlooked in the records so far available. With a few exceptions, Norwegian folk tradition singles out Athyrium filix-femina as a harmful and poisonous species, causing livestock to go blind and lame, but whether this is true or not, remains unknown; the symptoms are in fact documented elsewhere as a consequence of poisoning due to Dryopteris filix-mas. In coastal north Norway, fern rhizomes were regularly collected for fodder, both in late autumn and early spring, and used to remedy a recurrent shortage of fodder in late winter and spring. Locally, the tradition of collecting fern rhizomes lived on until the 1940's or 1950's. Although mainly a tradition of the ethnic Norwegians, it had also been adopted by the farmers belonging to the Finnish and Sámi ethnic minorities. CONCLUSION: Fern rhizomes have a long tradition as an additional fodder for livestock in Norway. Preferred species were Matteuccia struthiopteris and Dryopteris filix-mas, locally also Dryopteris expansa. Athyrium filix-femina was considered to be poisonous, and usually avoided.
Assuntos
Ração Animal , Gleiquênias , Rizoma , NoruegaRESUMO
Se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo y transversal de 40 estudiantes de segundo y tercer años de medicina pertenecientes al Policlínico Docente "Carlos Juan Finlay" de Santiago de Cuba, desde enero hasta marzo de 2010, con vistas a caracterizar la conducta sexual de dichas féminas. Entre las variables analizadas figuraron: edad de comienzo de las relaciones sexuales, motivación para estas, estabilidad de la pareja y uso del preservativo en la primera relación sexual. La información obtenida fue procesada a través de métodos computarizados y se utilizó el porcentaje como medida de resumen, de lo cual resultó que la mayoría de las encuestadas comenzaron sus relaciones sexuales entre los 14 y 15 años, sin pareja estable y desprotegidas, motivadas porque todas las amigas ya lo habían hecho.
An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in 40 medical students of second and third years, belonging to "Carlos Juan Finlay" Teaching Polyclinic of Santiago de Cuba, from January to March 2010, with the purpose of characterizing the sexual behavior of these women. Among the analyzed variates were age at onset of sex, motivation for this, couple stability and use of the condom in the first intercourse. The information obtained was processed through computerized methods and the percentage was used as summary measure, from which resulted that most of respondents began their sexual relations between 14 and 15 years, without a regular partner and with unprotected sex, motivated because all their friends had already sex.
RESUMO
Se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo y transversal de 40 estudiantes de segundo y tercer años de medicina pertenecientes al Policlínico Docente Carlos Juan Finlay de Santiago de Cuba, desde enero hasta marzo de 2010, con vistas a caracterizar la conducta sexual de dichas féminas. Entre las variables analizadas figuraron: edad de comienzo de las relaciones sexuales, motivación para estas, estabilidad de la pareja y uso del preservativo en la primera relación sexual. La información obtenida fue procesada a través de métodos computarizados y se utilizó el porcentaje como medida de resumen, de lo cual resultó que la mayoría de las encuestadas comenzaron sus relaciones sexuales entre los 14 y 15 años, sin pareja estable y desprotegidas, motivadas porque todas las amigas ya lo habían hecho(AU)
An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in 40 medical students of second and third years, belonging to Carlos Juan Finlay Teaching Polyclinic of Santiago de Cuba, from January to March 2010, with the purpose of characterizing the sexual behavior of these women. Among the analyzed variates were age at onset of sex, motivation for this, couple stability and use of the condom in the first intercourse. The information obtained was processed through computerized methods and the percentage was used as summary measure, from which resulted that most of respondents began their sexual relations between 14 and 15 years, without a regular partner and with unprotected sex, motivated because all their friends had already sex(AU)
