Phyto-toponyms of Arbutus unedo L. and their distribution in Sardinia (Italy)

Pinna, Claudia M.A.; Carta, Luisa; Deiana, Vitale; Camarda, Ignazio

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0181174

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Similarly, Shi et al [ 28 ] mentioned that plant names often used in daily life appear frequently in phytotoponyms. In Socotra, trees and large shrubs easily distinguished in the landscape, such as Commiphora and Maerua , represent landmarks (Wolf 1998: Camarda 2005 cited by Pinna et al [ 37 ]), and these categories give a good sign for orientation and recognizing the landscape. Water was in the last position, with 5.3% names related to water existence or its amount.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the historical distribution of Dracaena cinnabari using ethnobotanical knowledge on Socotra Island, Yemen

Al-Okaishi

2021

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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Background In this study, we present and analyze toponyms referring to Socotra Island’s endemic dragon’s blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) in four areas on the Socotra Archipelago UNESCO World Heritage site (Republic of Yemen). The motivation is the understanding of the past distribution of D. cinnabari trees which is an important part of conservation efforts by using ethnobotanical data. We assumed that dragon’s blood trees had a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past. Methods This research was based on field surveys and interviews with the indigenous people. The place names (toponyms) were recorded in both Arabic and the indigenous Socotri language. We grouped all toponyms into five different categories according to the main descriptor: terrain, human, plant, water, and NA (unknown). Also, this study identified current and historical Arabic names of dragon’s blood trees of the genus Dracaena through literature review. Results A total of 301 toponyms were recorded from the four study areas in Socotra Island. Among names related to plants, we could attribute toponyms to nine different plants species, of which six toponyms referred to the D. cinnabari tree, representing 14.63% of the total phytotoponyms in the category. Three historical naming periods prior to 2000 could be identified. The most commonly used name for dragon’s blood trees (D. cinnabari, D. serrulata, D. ombet) appears to be “ahrieb” “إعريهب” and its resin “dum al-akhawin” “دم الأخوين,” while derived (mixed-cooked) products are called “eda’a” “إيدع,” while regionally different names can be found. Conclusion The place names that refer to D. cinnabari are herein suggested to represent remnant areas of once large populations. Therefore, the toponyms may support known hypotheses based on climate models that D. cinnabari had a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past. This study also confirmed the historical importance of dragon’s blood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All areas have a similar percentage of names referring to animals that can be explained by the fact that grazing is common in the selected areas and on the island in general. Names with unknown meaning could be linked to ancient language as suggested by Wagner (1960–1964) cited by Pinna et al [ 37 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the historical distribution of Dracaena cinnabari using ethnobotanical knowledge on Socotra Island, Yemen

Al-Okaishi

2021

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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“…Phytotoponyms, not just the common plant names, describe also the usage of the species as food, medicine, fabric or for other activities [ 29,30 ], and their interaction with the surrounding environment [ 31,32 ]. Therefore, these speci c types of place names can be used for the reconstruction of past events, speci c vegetation or certain species [ 10,[33][34][35][36][37][38] ].…”

Section: Background Ethnobotany and Toponymymentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the historical distribution of Dracaena cinnabari using ethnobotanical knowledge on Socotra Island, Yemen

Al-Okaishi

2021

Preprint

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BackgroundIn this study, we present and analyze toponyms referring to Socotra Island’s endemic dragon’s blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) in four areas of the Socotra Archipelago UNESCO World Heritage site (Republic of Yemen). The motivation is understanding of the past distribution of D. cinnabari trees which is an important part of conservation efforts by using ethnobotanical data. We assumed that dragon’s blood trees had a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past. MethodsThis research was based on field surveys and interviews with the indigenous people. The place names (toponyms) were recorded in both, Arabic and indigenous Socotri language. We grouped all toponyms into five different categories according to the main descriptor: Terrain, Human, Plant, Water and NA (unknown). In addition, this study identified current and historical Arabic names of dragon’s blood trees of the genus Dracaena, through literature review. ResultsA total of 301 toponyms were recorded from the four study areas in Socotra Island. Among names related to plants, we could attribute toponyms to nine different plant species, of which six names referred to the D. cinnabari tree, representing 14.63% of total phytotoponyms in the category. Three historical naming periods prior to 2000 could be identified. The most commonly used Arabic name for dragon’s blood trees (D. cinnabari, D. serrulata. D. ombet) appears to be “ahrieb” "إعريهب", its resin “dum al-akhawin” “دم الأخوين”, while derived (mixed-cooked) products are called “edah” “إيدع”; while regionally different names can be found.ConclusionThe place names that refer to D. cinnabari are herein suggested to represent remnant areas of once large populations. The toponyms may therefore support known hypotheses based on climate models that D. cinnabari had a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past. This study also confirmed the historical importance of dragon’s blood

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“…Italian toponymy is also particularly rich in phytotoponyms [3]. However, available studies on this topic have mainly adopted a linguistic perspective and there are few studies examining the possibility of combining linguistic analysis with cartographic methodologies and botanical correlation to reconstruct past vegetation [31][32][33][34]. Calabria is a region where several cultures and languages have crossed over history [35][36][37].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the Forest Landscape and Its Transformations through Phytotoponyms: A Case Study in Calabria (Southern Italy)

Spampinato

Crisarà²,

Cameriere³

et al. 2022

Land

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Place names, or toponyms, provide a useful geographical reference system; they can help analyse past landscapes, recover history and understand changes. Among place names, plant place names (phytotoponyms) can be used to analyse the current and past distribution of plants and plant communities and to highlight changes in land use due to human impacts and climate change. We assessed the feasibility of using place names related to species and forest ecosystems to evaluate changes that have affected the forest landscape. As a case study, we considered Calabria, a region in southern Italy rich in toponymic studies. We used the official topographic maps of Calabria, at scales of 1:25,000 and 1: 10,000, and literature data on Calabrian toponymy. To interpret toponyms related to plants and avoid errors, we performed a joint linguistic and naturalistic analysis. A total of 1609 phytotoponyms were identified relating to 45 forest species (28 trees and 17 shrubs) and 399 place names generically related to woods and forests. The most frequent plants associated with place names were Castanea sativa (8.3% of all plant place names), Quercus pubescens s.l. (7.2%), Salix sp. pl. (6.9%) and Quercus frainetto (5.6%). All the phytotoponyms were georeferenced and mapped in a GIS. Phytotoponym distribution maps were compared with current Calabrian forest vegetation, using digital orthophotos, land use maps and literature data. A close correspondence between phytotoponyms and forest vegetation for the mountain belt was identified. In contrast, in the basal belt, we found poor correspondence between phytotoponyms and current forest vegetation, especially for wet forests, that can be accounted for by the severe changes in the landscape due to the agricultural and urban transformations that have occurred. The spread of phytotoponyms concerning species linked to forest degradation, such as Spartium junceum, emphasises the ancient anthropic impacts on forests. Our study shows that phytotoponyms are an important tool for analysing changes in vegetation over time. They make it possible to reconstruct changes in the landscape and the intended use of the territory and provide useful information on the restoration of forest ecosystems.

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Phyto-toponyms of Arbutus unedo L. and their distribution in Sardinia (Italy)

Cited by 9 publications

References 20 publications

Exploring the historical distribution of Dracaena cinnabari using ethnobotanical knowledge on Socotra Island, Yemen

Exploring the historical distribution of Dracaena cinnabari using ethnobotanical knowledge on Socotra Island, Yemen

Exploring the historical distribution of Dracaena cinnabari using ethnobotanical knowledge on Socotra Island, Yemen

Analysis of the Forest Landscape and Its Transformations through Phytotoponyms: A Case Study in Calabria (Southern Italy)

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