Plants in the Songbooks of Castilla y León, Spain

Abstract

Man’s relationship with plants is reflected in cultural manifestations such as music. This work aims to present the most important plants in the traditional songs of Castilla y León, Spain. Thirty-three publications were reviewed, from which 7012 songs collected from the oral tradition were transcribed and information about the botanical quotations in these songs was extracted. Plant species were listed in 1316 songs, and 2756 botanical quotes were collected, alluding to 150 species. The most frequently mentioned plants were rose (12.7%), grape (7.1%), carnation (6.3%), and wheat (5.1%). In 32.7% of the citations, the use of the plants could be deduced, and in 64.6% of the citations, the plant organ alluded to was determined. The most frequently mentioned plants symbolize values of beauty or they are plants of significant economic value in the region of study. Food and decoration are the uses most frequently mentioned, the fruit or flower being alluded to most in the songs.