ETHNOBOTANICAL DATA ON GHOMI CULTURE IN GEORGIA

Abstract

The cultural flora of Georgia is a treasury of the material culture of the nation. This is the result of natural selection and traditional „folk“ breeding, conditioned by the diverse soil and climatic conditions of the country. Along with botanicalarchaeological-historical data, ethnobotanical data also indicate the existence of developed agriculture in Georgia since ancient times. Unfortunately, ethnobotanical knowledge - this most important cultural heritage - is being lost along with
the diversity of agrarian cultures. One of the examples of this is Ghomi, foxtail millet. Before the introduction of corn culture in Georgia (XVII century), millets occupied an important place in the country’s economy; the main cereal crop was foxtail millet Setaria italica (L.) P.Beauv, „Ghomi” (in Georgian) and an everyday meal, a porridge “Ghomis-ghomi” was used as bread. The article presents botanical and ethnobotanical data related to the distribution, cultivation, consumption, medicinal and ritual uses of this culture.