Origin:
Southern and Western Europe, North Africa.
Description:
Perennial, glabrous plant about 1 m tall, with square, scrambling or climbing stems bearing hooked prickles on the angles. Leaves leathery, whorled, oval-lanceolate with marginal hooks. Flowers bloom May–August in axillary cymes with long-pointed corolla lobes.
Propagation:
Mainly by creeping rhizomes; also by seeds.
Ecology:
Common in woodlands, scrublands and calcareous hillsides of southern France, western Europe (up to Ireland), and North Africa.
Uses:
Roots historically used as red dye. In herbal medicine: treatment for urinary stones, jaundice, and blood disorders.
Threats:
No major threats. Listed as Least Concern in national red lists.
Descriere:
Plantă perenă glabră, ~1 m, cu tulpini pătrate, cățărătoare sau târâtoare, cu ghimpi pe muchii. Frunze coriacee, lanceolate, verticilate, cu cârlige marginale. Florile (mai–august) în cime axilare, corolă cu vârfuri lungi.
Propagare:
Prin rizomi târâtori (principal) sau semințe.
Ecologie:
Păduri, tufărișuri și dealuri calcaroase din sudul Franței, vestul Europei până în Irlanda și nordul Africii.
Utilizare:
Rădăcina ca pigment roșu. Fitoterapie: calculi renali, icter, boli de sânge.
Amenințări:
Specie comună, fără pericol major. Interes scăzut.
Προέλευση:
Νότια και δυτική Ευρώπη, βόρεια Αφρική.
Περιγραφή:
Πολυετές φυτό ~1 μ., άτριχο, με τετραγωνικούς αναρριχώμενους βλαστούς και αγκαθωτές ακμές. Φύλλα δερματώδη, λογχοειδή, σε σπονδυλωτή διάταξη, με μικρά αγκίστρια. Άνθη Μάιο–Αύγουστο, μασχαλιαίες ταξιανθίες, στεφάνη με αιχμηρούς λοβούς.
Διάδοση:
Κυρίως με ριζώματα, επίσης με σπόρους.
Οικολογία:
Δάση, φράκτες, ασβεστολιθικά εδάφη στη νότια Γαλλία, δυτική Ευρώπη και βόρεια Αφρική.
Χρήση:
Ρίζα για κόκκινη βαφή. Παραδοσιακή ιατρική: πέτρες στα νεφρά, ίκτερος, διαταραχές αίματος.
Απειλές:
Δεν απειλείται σοβαρά. Κατηγορία ελάχιστης ανησυχίας.
Creative writing inspired by Rubia peregrina
The journey of hidden beauty
In a vegetable garden bursting with color and fragrance, a little green stem had made its way from the nearby forest and stood alone in a corner of the garden, gazing with envy and admiration at all the beautiful flowers: the red roses strutted before the astonished eyes of blackbirds, sparrows and titmice; the peonies, eagerly gathered by bees, majestically unfurled their colorful petals; and her? She was just a simple stem, frail, lacklustre and almost invisible, a stem that no-one noticed. Every day, she stretched out her stem a little further to get closer to the others, observing them with a touch of sadness and jealousy, sometimes allowing herself to dream, wondering if one day she too would experience this beauty, this attention, this love that the others received. And, in her heart, a question persisted: was there a place where she could finally be seen for what she really was?
One morning, as the sun was rising, the little green stem saw a man, his hands full of earth and his eyes focused, picking the most beautiful flowers in the garden. But that day, something unexpected happened. Without realizing it, the man had taken her with him, and she found herself discreetly in the van, in spite of herself, among the other flowers. Without knowing where she was going, she felt a sweet excitement mix with uncertainty. Perhaps this trip would change her life and lead her to the greatness she had always hoped for.
After several hours on the road, the van finally stopped. The man took out a crate in which he placed all the flowers he'd picked that morning. The green stem went out with the other flowers, amazed by the beautiful scenery and the radiant sunshine. The man walked on for a while, and then displayed them amidst piles of other flowers, some prettier than others. She realized then that she was at a flower market, and that here or elsewhere, nothing had changed... nobody would notice her. She began to regret having come, until a man stopped to watch her attentively. He was both attracted and intrigued by her. He thought the stem had potential and wondered why such a specimen had landed in the midst of beautiful flowers. He decided to pick it up and take it home. He began by planting it in a pot of earth, watering it and exposing it to the sun.
After a few weeks of gentle care, attention and affection - everything she'd dreamed of - the little green stem began to feel good, and little white flowers began to grow, reflecting the sunlight like little stars. Once the plant was fully grown, the man who was actually a very famous artist decided to paint a portrait of this budding transformation. His painting, entitled “La Garance Voyageuse”, was a great success and became a world-famous work of art. The little green stem was very proud to see her own portrait exhibited in museums ranging from small country villages to major cities. But after a while, the little green stem realized that it was the artist, not her, who was being admired. She felt sad and abandoned in a corner of the house, on a windowsill. She looked up at the sky and wondered where her portrait had traveled...without realizing it, it had grown and spread its arms to cover and embrace the whole artist's house, so that people came to see this magnificent house in bloom. Hadn't she found her place?
Le voyage de la beauté cachée
Dans un potager où les fleurs éclataient de couleurs et de parfum, une petite tige verte s’était frayé un chemin depuis la forêt voisine et se tenait seule dans un coin du jardin à regarder avec envie et admiration toutes ces belles fleurs : Les roses rouges se pavanaient sous les yeux ébahis des merles, des moineaux et des mésanges, les pivoines, que les abeilles butinaient avec ardeur, déployaient majestueusement leurs pétales de couleurs et elle ? Elle n’était qu’une simple tige, toute frêle sans éclat, presque invisible, une tige que personne ne remarquait. Chaque jour, elle étendait un peu plus sa tige pour mieux s’approcher des autres et les observer avec une pointe de tristesse et de jalousie, se laissant parfois à rêver, se demandant si un jour, elle aussi, connaîtrait cette beauté, cette attention, cet amour que les autres recevaient. Et, dans son cœur, une question persistait : existait-il un endroit où elle pourrait enfin être vue pour ce qu’elle était vraiment ?
Un matin, alors que le soleil se levait, la petite tige verte aperçut un homme, les mains pleines de terre et le regard concentré, cueillir les plus belles fleurs du jardin. Mais ce jour-là, quelque chose d’inattendu se produisit. L’homme sans s’en apercevoir, l’avait embarqué avec lui et elle se retrouva discrètement dans la camionnette, malgré elle, au milieu des autres fleurs. Sans savoir où elle allait, elle sentit une douce excitation se mélanger à l’incertitude. Ce voyage allait peut-être changer sa vie et lui faire découvrir la grandeur qu’elle avait toujours espérée.
Après plusieurs heures de trajet, la camionnette s’arrêta enfin. L’homme sortit une cagette dans laquelle il déposa toutes les fleurs qu’il avait cueillies le matin même. La tige verte sortit, avec les autres fleurs, émerveillée par les beaux paysages et le soleil radieux. L’homme marcha un moment puis les exposa au milieu de tas d’autres fleurs, les unes plus jolies que les autres. Elle comprit alors qu’elle était sur un marché aux fleurs et qu’ici ou ailleurs, rien n’avait changé...personne ne la remarquerait. Elle commença à regretter d’être venue jusqu’à ce qu’un homme s’arrêta pour l’observer attentivement. Il était à la fois attiré et intrigué par celle-ci. Il pensa que cette tige avait du potentiel et se demanda pourquoi un tel spécimen avait atterri au milieu de jolies fleurs. Il décida alors de la ramasser et de l’emmener chez lui. Il commença par s’occuper d’elle en la plantant dans un pot de terre, en l’arrosant et en l’exposant au soleil.
Après quelques semaines de petits soins, de marques d’attention et d’affection, tout ce dont elle avait rêvé, la petite tige verte commença à se sentir bien et de petites fleurs blanches reflétant la lumière du soleil pareilles à de petites étoiles commencèrent à pousser. Une fois que la plante eût bien grandi, l’homme qui était en fait un artiste très connu décida alors de peindre le portrait de cette transformation naissante. Son tableau intitulé « la Garance Voyageuse » eût un grand succès et devint une œuvre d’art connue dans le monde entier. La petite tige verte était très fière de voir son propre portrait exposé dans les musées de petits villages de campagne aux musées de grandes villes de renom. Mais au bout d’un moment, la petite tige verte réalisa que c’était l’artiste et non elle que l’on venait admirer. Elle se sentit bien triste et abandonnée dans un coin de la maison, sur le rebord d’une fenêtre. Elle regardait le ciel et se demandait où son portrait avait bien pu voyager...sans s’en apercevoir, elle avait grandi et avait étendu ses bras à recouvrir et étreindre toute la maison de l’artiste si bien que les gens venaient voir cette magnifique maison fleurie. N’avait-elle pas trouvé sa place ?
Călătoria frumuseții ascunse
Într-o grădină de legume, unde florile explodau de culori și parfum, o mică tulpină verde își croise drumul din pădurea vecină și stătea singură într-un colț al grădinii, privind cu invidie și admirație toate acele flori frumoase. Trandafirii roșii se făleau sub privirile uimite ale mierlelor, vrăbiilor și pițigoilor, bujorii, din care albinele culegeau cu sârg, își desfășurau maiestuos petalele colorate, iar ea? Ea nu era decât o simplă tulpină, firavă, lipsită de strălucire, aproape invizibilă, o tulpină pe care nimeni nu o remarca.
În fiecare zi, își întindea puțin câte puțin tulpina pentru a se apropia mai mult de celelalte și pentru a le observa, cu o urmă de tristețe și gelozie, lăsându-se uneori pradă visării, întrebându-se dacă, într-o zi, și ea avea să cunoască acea frumusețe, acea atenție, acea iubire pe care celelalte flori o primeau. Și, în inima ei, o întrebare stăruia: Oare exista un loc în care ea să poată fi, în sfârșit, văzută așa cum era cu adevărat?
Într-o dimineață, când soarele răsărea, mica tulpină verde zări un bărbat cu mâinile pline de pământ și cu o privire concentrată, care culegea cele mai frumoase flori din grădină. Dar în acea zi, se întâmplă ceva neașteptat. Fără să-și dea seama, bărbatul o luă cu el, iar ea se trezi discret în camionetă, fără voia ei, în mijlocul celorlalte flori. Fără să știe unde merge, simți un fior de emoție amestecată cu incertitudine. Acea călătorie avea să-i schimbe, poate, viața și să-i dezvăluie măreția pe care o visase întotdeauna.
După câteva ore de drum, camioneta se opri în sfârșit. Bărbatul scoase o ladă în care puse toate florile culese în acea dimineață. Tulpina verde ieși, împreună cu celelalte flori, uimită de peisajele frumoase și soarele strălucitor. Bărbatul merse puțin și apoi le expuse în mijlocul altor grămezi de flori, unele mai frumoase decât altele. Atunci înțelese că se afla într-o piață de flori și că aici sau oriunde altundeva, nimic nu se schimbase... nimeni nu avea să o observe. Începu să regrete că venise, până când un bărbat se opri să o privească cu atenție. Era în același timp atras și intrigat de ea. Atunci decise să o ia cu el acasă. Începu prin a avea grijă de ea: o plantă într-un ghiveci cu pământ, o udă și o așeză la soare.
După câteva săptămâni de îngrijire atentă, de semne de afecțiune și atenție – tot ce visase ea vreodată – mica tulpină verde începu să se simtă bine și mici flori albe, care reflectau lumina soarelui asemenea unor stele, începură să răsară. Când planta creșcu bine, bărbatul, care era de fapt un artist foarte cunoscut, decise să picteze portretul acestei transformări în plină desfășurare. Tabloul său, intitulat „Garancea Călătoare”, avu un mare succes și deveni o operă de artă cunoscută în toată lumea. Mica tulpină verde era foarte mândră să-și vadă propriul portret expus în muzee din sate de câmpie și până în muzee din mari orașe renumite. Dar, după un timp, tulpina verde realiză că de fapt artistul, nu ea, era cel care atrăgea admirația vizitatorilor. Se simți tristă și părăsită într-un colț al casei, pe pervazul unei ferestre. Privea cerul și se întreba pe unde o fi călătorit portretul ei... Fără să-și dea seama, ea crescuse și își întinsese brațele până acoperise și îmbrățișase întreaga casă a artistului, atât de frumos, încât oamenii veneau să vadă această casă înflorită. Oare nu-și găsise, într-un final, locul?
Το ταξίδι της κρυμμένης ομορφιάς
Σε έναν λαχανόκηπο γεμάτο χρώμα και άρωμα, ένα μικρό πράσινο βλαστάρι είχε έρθει από το κοντινό δάσος και στεκόταν μόνο του σε μια γωνιά του κήπου, κοιτάζοντας με φθόνο και θαυμασμό όλα τα όμορφα λουλούδια: τα κόκκινα τριαντάφυλλα καμάρωναν μπροστά στα έκπληκτα μάτια των κοτσυφιών, των σπουργιτιών και των καλόγερων· οι παιώνιες, που τις περιτριγύριζαν με ενθουσιασμό οι μέλισσες, ξεδίπλωναν μεγαλόπρεπα τα χρωματιστά τους πέταλα· κι εκείνη; Ήταν απλώς ένα απλό βλαστάρι, εύθραυστο, άτονο και σχεδόν αόρατο, ένα βλαστάρι που κανείς δεν πρόσεχε. Κάθε μέρα, τεντωνόταν λίγο ακόμα για να πλησιάσει τα υπόλοιπα, παρατηρώντας τα με λίγη λύπη και ζήλια, επιτρέποντας πού και πού στον εαυτό της να ονειρευτεί, αναρωτώμενη αν κάποια μέρα θα ζήσει κι εκείνη αυτή την ομορφιά, αυτή την προσοχή, αυτή την αγάπη που λάμβαναν τα άλλα.
Ένα πρωί, καθώς ανέτειλε ο ήλιος, το μικρό πράσινο βλαστάρι είδε έναν άντρα, με χέρια γεμάτα χώμα και μάτια συγκεντρωμένα, να μαζεύει τα πιο όμορφα λουλούδια του κήπου. Όμως εκείνη την ημέρα συνέβη κάτι απρόσμενο. Χωρίς να το καταλάβει, ο άντρας την πήρε μαζί του, κι εκείνη βρέθηκε διακριτικά μέσα στο φορτηγάκι, χωρίς να το θέλει, ανάμεσα στα άλλα λουλούδια. Χωρίς να ξέρει πού πήγαινε, ένιωσε ένα γλυκό σκιρτήμα ενθουσιασμού να αναμιγνύεται με αβεβαιότητα. Ίσως αυτό το ταξίδι να άλλαζε τη ζωή της και να την οδηγούσε στη σπουδαιότητα που πάντα είχε ελπίσει.
Μετά από αρκετές ώρες στον δρόμο, το φορτηγάκι σταμάτησε. Ο άντρας έβγαλε ένα τελάρο στο οποίο είχε βάλει όλα τα λουλούδια που είχε μαζέψει το πρωί. Το πράσινο βλαστάρι βγήκε μαζί με τα υπόλοιπα λουλούδια, θαμπωμένο από το υπέροχο τοπίο και την εκτυφλωτική λιακάδα. Ο άντρας περπάτησε για λίγο και έπειτα τα εξέθεσε ανάμεσα σε σωρούς από άλλα λουλούδια, μερικά ομορφότερα από άλλα. Τότε κατάλαβε ότι βρισκόταν σε ανθοκομική αγορά, και ότι εδώ —όπως και αλλού— τίποτα δεν είχε αλλάξει… κανείς δεν θα την πρόσεχε. Άρχισε να μετανιώνει που είχε έρθει, μέχρι που ένας άντρας σταμάτησε να την κοιτάξει με προσοχή. Ήταν ταυτόχρονα γοητευμένος και περίεργος. Σκέφτηκε πως το βλαστάρι είχε προοπτική και αναρωτήθηκε γιατί ένα τέτοιο δείγμα είχε βρεθεί ανάμεσα σε τόσα όμορφα λουλούδια. Αποφάσισε να το πάρει στο σπίτι του. Άρχισε να το φυτεύει σε γλάστρα με χώμα, να το ποτίζει και να το εκθέτει στον ήλιο.
Μετά από λίγες εβδομάδες με απαλή φροντίδα, προσοχή και στοργή —ό,τι είχε ονειρευτεί— το μικρό πράσινο βλαστάρι άρχισε να αισθάνεται καλά, και μικρά λευκά άνθη άρχισαν να φυτρώνουν, αντανακλώντας το ηλιακό φως σαν μικρά αστέρια. Όταν το φυτό αναπτύχθηκε πλήρως, ο άντρας, που ήταν στην πραγματικότητα ένας πολύ διάσημος καλλιτέχνης, αποφάσισε να ζωγραφίσει το πορτρέτο αυτής της μεταμόρφωσης. Ο πίνακας, με τίτλο «Η Ταξιδεύουσα Γαράντσα», είχε μεγάλη επιτυχία και έγινε διάσημος σε όλο τον κόσμο. Το μικρό βλαστάρι ήταν πολύ περήφανο να δει το πορτρέτο του εκτεθειμένο σε μουσεία από μικρά χωριά μέχρι μεγάλες πόλεις. Αλλά μετά από λίγο, συνειδητοποίησε ότι ήταν ο καλλιτέχνης, και όχι εκείνο, που λάμβανε τα θαυμαστικά βλέμματα. Ένιωσε λυπημένο και εγκαταλελειμμένο σε μια γωνιά του σπιτιού, στο περβάζι ενός παραθύρου. Κοίταξε τον ουρανό και αναρωτήθηκε πού είχε ταξιδέψει το πορτρέτο του... Χωρίς να το καταλάβει, είχε μεγαλώσει και είχε απλώσει τα χέρια του ώστε να αγκαλιάσει ολόκληρο το σπίτι του καλλιτέχνη, κάνοντας τους ανθρώπους να έρχονται να δουν αυτό το υπέροχο ανθισμένο σπίτι. Δεν είχε βρει, τελικά, τη θέση του;
