"Vinterståndare" in the snow

[luzula]

I was out by the sea yesterday with a couple of friends (well, for a certain value of sea--it's very brackish), and it was beautiful, especially with the newly-fallen snow. There were lots of "vinterståndare", which is the Swedish word for what's left of a herbaceous plant in the wintertime. Is there an English word for that?


Ice and snow by the shore.


Angelica sylvestris, so named after an angel which appeared to a monk in the Middle Ages and told him the plant would cure the plague (or to be exact, the dream was about its close relative Angelica archangelica, which was thus cultivated in many cloister gardens). Sadly, it didn't actually cure the plague.


This is Filipendula ulmaria (Älggräs = moosegrass in Swedish, meadowsweet in English), which contains salicylic acid, and can be used as a painkiller.


The fluffy remains of some sort of hawkweed.


This is Sedum telephium (Kärleksört = Lovewort in Swedish, and it seems to have many English names). It's a succulent plant, but all the leaves have fallen off, so it's hard to see.


This one's only half dead! It's a Tanacetum vulgare (renfana in Swedish, tansy in English).

Comments

[mergatrude]

Fascinating and beautiful.

[luzula]

Yes, it is! There can be so much beauty in decaying things.

[julia-here.livejournal.com]

The only single word I know which would refer to those is "culm" which is botanical special vocabulary. Otherwise they're just dead stalks. I suspect there's a cultural factor at work here as well as a linguistic one (English is not as aglutinative as Swedish): such standing seed stalks are closely associated with wastelands, uncultivated corners and abandoned gardens. I see them and see finch-food.

Julia, my fennel seeds go to the birds every year, and then make a little mulch for the exposed soil.

[suzumenoko.livejournal.com]

Beautiful photographs! You have snow already?

You see so many wonderful things. It's great that you record them.

[luzula]

Yes, you're right about the agglutinative nature of the Swedish language--we make single words where there'd be several in English. In fact Swedish has been influenced by English in this regard, so that some people write "sjuk sköterska" instead of "sjuksköterska", which actually changes the meaning--the first means a nurse who is sick, and the other a nurse who treats the sick. Languages change, I know, but this change annoys me.

Ah, sorry for the tangent. Dead stalks, yes, I suppose that's rather descriptive. But the Swedish word is an old-fashioned one and sounds rather more poetic, which is why I like it.

[luzula]

I'm glad you enjoyed the photos! And yes, we do have snow already, but then, we're pretty far north.

By the way, thanks for reccing me Maxine Hong Kingston! I read one of her books and loved it.