Daylily Variety Names as a Carrier of National and Regional Values

Abstract

Although much has been written about the names of flowers in the literature, the names of their varieties created by individual creators have not been studied so far. Meanwhile, they constitute a large collection, as evidenced by the fact that one flower species can occur in several thousand varieties. This data is confirmed by the national collection of daylilies gathered in the Arboretum in Wojsławice, which numbers over 4,000 varieties. From this collection, I have excerpted 416 phytonyms referring to varieties bred in Poland and at the same time referring to national and regional motifs. They can be treated as a carrier of cultural memory as their national and regional character is associated with the history and geography of Poland or its selected regions. Creators of proprias are most often inspired by historical figures or those active in the field of culture, as well as titles of literary and musical works and toponyms (e.g. oikonyms, oronyms and hydronyms). The name of an element of nature (plant) was used as a carrier of certain ideas and knowledge about Poland and its regions. The combination of material reality with ideational reality is not only conducive to perpetuating certain values in collective memory, but also to their creation. For guests of the arboretum, including foreigners, contact with nature becomes an opportunity to commune with Polish national and regional culture.