Pagina 48 - Juliana_Book_eng

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deep into the heart of the Alps. It is most probable that Hacquet found the last specimens of this species, while his
successors did not, given that the plant had already gone extinct on the western slopes of Mt Triglav.
It was only later that Kugy learned how the enigma had already been solved. May as it be, Scabiosa trenta became one
of his most precious poetic symbols, the symbol of something unreachable, searched for, beautiful and young.
As a memory of the former times, the Common Pale Round-head now prospers in the Juliana Botanical garden in the
Trenta Valley, where it blossoms from late summer to the first frosts.
Cirsium erisithales (Jacq.) Scop. – Yellow Melancholy Thistle
This plant reaches up to 1.5 m in height. Its Slovenian name (sticky thistle) was
given to it owing to the sticky upper part of the stem. The involucral bracts are
sticky as well. The leaves, covered by fluffy hairs, are deeply pinnately divided
and encircling the stem. The yellow melancholy thistle has yellow tubular
flowers arranged in nodding heads.
It can be found in forest meadows, clear cuts, on scree and in grasslands from
the lowlands to the subalpine belt all over Slovenia. It is also distributed in the
Alps, as well as in other montane parts of Europe.
Convallaria majalis L. – Lily of the Valley
In May, the lilies of the valley start flowering among shrubs, in forests and
meadows. The month of May is dedicated to Mary; to whom the lilies of the
valley are dedicated. As they bloom around Whitsun, they are also called
‘whitsuns’ here and there.
This plant has a creeping, branched, underground rhizome and a simple stem
with two to three leaves which is 10-20 cm tall, bearing a one-sided raceme.
The snow-white flowers with a wide, bell-shaped perianth have a pleasant
scent. The fruit is a red berry. The species can be found in the whole of
Slovenia and has a wide Eurasian distribution.
The lily of the valley is a toxic plant, since it contains glycosides that function
as cardiac poisons. Poisoning often takes place in children who have been eating ripe and invitingly red berries,
chewing leaves or even drinking water from vases in which lilies of the valley had been kept.
This was one of the oldest folk medicine plants. Its concoctions were used to mitigate nervous nausea and epilepsy. In
one of the old prescriptions from 1720, one can read that distilled water from lilies of the valley alleviates pain and at
the same time sharpens the memory.
In the Slovenian literature, it was Prežihov Voranc who wrote about teardrops, as lilies of the valley are called in the
Slovenian region of Koroška. With his novelette he raised a monument to mothers’ love.
Cyanus triumfetti (All.) Dostál ex Á. Löve & D. Löve – Trionfetti’s
Knapweed
(Centaurea triumfettii)
This plant acquired its species name after the 17th century Italian physician and
botanist G. B. Trionfetti, who was also Director of the Botanical Gardens in
Rome.
Trionfetti’s knapweed is a perennial herb with a narrowly winged stalk and
narrow, lanceolate, smooth-edged and fairly rigid leaves. The flowers are
gathered in heads, the marginal ones are elongated and blue, while the central
ones are reddish violet.
The species thrives in open forests, among shrubs and in rocky grasslands from
the lowlands to the subalpine belt, in the Dinaric Mts, Kras (Karst) region and
in Slovenian Istria. The general distribution extends to the mountains of central
and southern Europe and Asia Minor.
Cyclamen purpurascens Mill. subsp. purpurascens – Purple Cyclamen
The Slovenian writer Janko Kersnik was rummaging through some old dusty papers: “Suddenly, a yellow little packet
appears in front of me from all that paper chaos, and when I open it, I lay my eyes on a small dry, but well preserved
cyclamen flower, or korchek, as we call it.”