Brindusa de Toamna

Brindusa de Toamna


Romania’s beauty is in its countryside and a good deal of that beauty is covered in wildflowers. Many of the trees and shrubs are surprisingly familiar to me, having migrated from the old world to the new, or vice versa. Especially in springtime it is comforting to see old familiar species. A Romanian garden, either flower or vegetable would be very similar to an American with the exception of a difference in the preference of a variety of peppers, both here and there. Domesticated flowers and most vegetable and even many field crops are similar but many of the wildflowers that sprout in the meadows and hillsides are unfamiliar to me. It has been a joy to watch the various blooms and colors of the fields and pastures. Whenever I manage to find a way to travel in the countryside I take real pleasure as one season's flowers turn into another.

One that we do have in the United States is the fall crocus, but it is not nearly as common there as here. In Romania, it has naturalized completely. Certain fields, particularly those along the stream floodplains, are covered in the pale purple cups the last week of September and the first week of October. Romanian for crocus is Brandusa. Thus Brindusa de Toamna are the fall crocus and along with common asters are about the last of the cycle of color.

All women’s names in Romania end with the letter A, with the one exception of Carmen. There are very many pretty names, all softened by the addition of that A. We are much indebted to a young couple Marius and Brindusa, and whenever I see a field blooming with the fall crocus I think of the kindnesses that he and she have offered.

Last weekend a small group of us paid a visit to the mountain resort of Vatra Dornei. It is a small city with a small ski slope. The mountains are covered in pine and spruce forests and the colors of the fall were spread along the hillsides. Unlike everywhere else in the country, farm houses and fenced areas dot the cultivated plots. In the woods in this area grow mushrooms. I haven’t tried any that I’ve picked myself, but there is a local industry that gathers and sells the autumn mushrooms. I’ve included a picture of mushrooms taken in the old Jewish cemetery at Vatra Dornei.