THE BOTANICAL ACTIVITY OF ELIZA ORZESZKOWA IN GRODNO

The biography and works of the well-known Polish novelist Eliza Orzeszkowa (1841-1910) abound in traces of her interest in medicine and herbal remedies. As an inhabitant of the town of Grodno since 1869, Orzeszkowa engaged not only in literary and journalistic writing, but also in the study of plants and the popularization of their curative properties. In the herbarium that she collected and constantly updated, a key role was played by local plants, used predominantly for medicinal purposes. The current paper discusses the ways in which the novelist gathered, described and used her collection. It also contains information on a number of naturalist-ethnographic works of reportage, which Orzeszkowa published in the journal 'Wisla'.