Ethnobotany is a multidisciplinary science studying the relationship between man and plants. This relationship can also be perceived through the study of oral and written traditions, that is, through folk tales, fables or folk songs. In this research, we wanted to find out how often plants occur Slovene love folk songs, which plant taxa are represented and what is their role and symbolic significance. In the past centuries, Slovene population was predominantly rural and lived in harmony with nature. We were thus interested in the ratio of indigenous and cultivated plants occuring in folk songs and plants that do not occur in this region. In the present study we analyzed 3722 Slovene folk love songs written up to the beginning of the 20th century and published in the second volume of the collection of the Slovene National Song: The Songs of Love, collected by Karel Strekelj. The analysis showed that plant taxa are mentioned in 410 songs, and the total number of references of different plants is 555. in most of the analyzed poems mentioning plants, only one plant taxon per song is mentioned (72%). The maximum number of taxa appearing in songs is four. In total, we recorded 63 different plant taxa. The most commonly mentioned were rosemary (89 references), carnation (73), apple tree (along with the fruit) (25), wheat (24) and cotton lavender (21), followed by maple, lily, grape vine, rose, linden and others. Fourteen taxa, such as common elder, barberry, peas, ginger, strawberries, sorrel, lentils, moss, box, rye, poplar, cherries, cabbage and grain, are mentioned only once. Three species referenced by songs do not grow in the region, namely ginger, coffee and orange. Most references of plants in the analyzed songs are associated with love, beauty, sadness or death. Despite the high plant species diversity of the territory, cultivated plants are predominant among the referenced plant species. The predominantly rural population, often hungry and craving for a better life, appreciated cultivated plants over wild species, whether for decoration or use. Only in the last few decades, the overwhelming wealth of material resources has encouraged us to return to nature, which is becoming increasingly appreciated in today's world.
