Field Gromwell (Lithospermum arvense) as a Dye Plant?
On Some Ethnobiological Facts in Linnaeus
In his Flora lapponica (1737), the young Carl Linnaeus described the use of field gromwell (Lithospermum arvense) as a kind of make-up for women. According to him, young women washed the fresh roots and used them to paint their faces. It gave the women a pleasant red colour on their cheeks, thus serving to allure suitors. This practice was particularly common in Hälsingland. Linnaeus repeated this claim briefly in his other books, e.g., Flora oeconomica (1749) and Flora svecica (1755). This same information, moreover, appears in many different floras (both Swedish and foreign), and Linnaeus is cited as the source; however, no new observations are ever reported.
There is no evidence in Linnaeus’ published travelogue from his Lapland tour of 1732 that he actually observed the use of field gromwell as a dye plant in Hälsingland or elsewhere. It is very difficult, accordingly, to prove that he ever actually saw the plant being used in this manner. The botanical handbooks often contain ethnobiological data of a sort I refer to as “ghost information”. Linnaeus was himself the source of a kind of ghost information in Flora suecica, wherein he mentioned the use of sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) berries as fish gravy on the Åland Islands. In fact, however, he never observed these berries being used in such a manner; even so, this information has been cited time and again in many books. In addition, Linnaeus claimed in Flora lapponica to have observed the use of wolfsbane (Aconitum septentrionale) as a food plant.
Yet this claim was quite simply a falsehood, as his travel diary directly proves. Yet Linnaeus may in fact have made the observation mentioned earlier about the use of field gromwell. True, ethnobotanical reports of such a use are scarce in the literature. However, the Polish ethnographer Kazimierz Moszyøski mentioned its use as a kind of face dye among peasant women in Russia, and the German ethnobotanist Heinrich Marzell referred to its use in Prussia. Certain German folk plant names indicate the same thing. In addition, further Swedish data can be found in Antonius Münchenberg’s herbaria notes from Gotland, which date from the early 18th century. Olof Rudbeck the Younger was probably the oral source hereof. Münchenberg wrote that the root in question was known as horlätta. This name, which is mentioned in several 17th century sources, indicates the use of this plant as a face dye among prostitutes. Linnaeus’ note about the use of field gromwell to dye the cheeks may therefore be based on an actual observation.
