On October 27, 2017, the next issue of âFields of Miraclesâ devoted to the theme âForestâ was released on the screens of the Russian Federation. In this program, players and viewers were asked to guess the ancient and almost forgotten names of impassable or dense species of woodland. Let us remember them, and also consider which of the impenetrable forests were not mentioned in that issue.
What is a forest?
Before dealing with its special species, it is worth recalling the meaning of the term âforestâ.
In a broader sense, this is the name of the ecological system in which the dominant life form is trees.
If you interpret this concept in a simpler language, then they call the large-scale areas of the earth densely covered with trees.
Types of woodland
Forests are classified according to different criteria:
- Origin - natural (virgin, spontaneous, economic) and artificial.
- Aged trees.
- The composition of forest-forming species is coniferous, deciduous, mixed.
- Form of ownership.
- The place of growth (according to climatic geographical zones) is tropical, subtropical, temperate forests.
Also, depending on the density of growth of trees, rare-standing forests (the so-called light forests) stand out as closed.
In addition to the listed species, there are also such species as evergreen (moist tropical, coniferous or hard-leaved) and deciduous (deciduous in the temperate zone, monsoon, dry-tropical deciduous), as well as semi-deciduous and mixed.
What is called impenetrable forest
Having examined the basic typology of a wooded area, you should finally find out the main thing - what is impassable forest.
From the very name of this term, it is clear that those are named after them, in which the density of growth of trees, shrubs and other plants is too dense (closed), which prevents them from moving freely through them. Because of this feature, such an impenetrable forest is also called dense.
Jungle as an example of impenetrable forest
Oddly enough, but the classic example of such a phenomenon is the jungle. So-called impassable forests in the tropics and subtropics.
The main plants that inhabit them are not trees, but tall cereals and shrubs, tied with numerous vines.
Trees are represented in such impenetrable forests in the minority. These are mainly fast-growing softwood species.
Debry. Thicket and Pushcha: what is common and how do these words differ among themselves
However, not only in the tropics and subtropics can be found impassable forests, but also in temperate zones. Judging by the number of synonyms for such a concept, there were many of them on Russian lands too.
One of the most famous is the word "wilds". In addition to it, people who speak Russian have a dense impassable forest associated with two others: a thicket and a forest. Moreover, many believe that both terms mean almost the same thing. But this is not entirely true, since they have different shades of meaning.
The thicket is an impenetrable closed forest, thickets. It is formed from the word "frequent", that is, in such an area, trees grow very close to each other. It is for this reason that it is quite dark in such a place, compared to a sparse forest.
Pushcha is an impenetrable virgin primeval forest. This means that a personâs foot hasnât stepped inside him, thanks to which his own unique ecosystem, including rare breeds of animals, birds and plants, could be preserved.
By the way, the noun itself was formed from the words "empty" and "neglected" - that is, a place in which the human foot did not step.
Unfortunately, there are very few true forests today. That is why this name of impassable forest with windbreaks and perennial thickets is more often used today as a complete synonym for the word "thicket".
However, the possibility of the emergence of new forests is not ruled out. So, for example, after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, most of the surrounding land within a radius of 30 km was declared an infected zone and all its inhabitants were evicted. Fearing radiation, human beings almost never come here, but the animals, not being afraid of hunters, bred in huge numbers. The same goes for plants and trees. Thanks to this, the Chernobyl forests have become a miraculous reserve of wildlife for thirty years, and if they remain so in the next few decades, they can rightfully be called forest.
What is the name of a dense impassable forest littered with windbreaks, according to the dictionary of V.I. Dahl?
The nouns "wilds", "Pushcha" and "thicket" are familiar to almost everyone and continue to be actively used in speech today. But there are outdated names in the Russian language for dense impassable forest, windbreak.
This is the word slum. Today, for most of us, it is a term that means "impoverished residential neighborhoods or criminal brothels." However, initially the word meant impassable thicket.
One of the proofs of this is the existence of this term in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language of 1863, written by V. I. Dahl. Earlier this name was recorded in the Academic Dictionary of 1847.
It is interesting that the slum along Dahl is a âdense impenetrable forestâ or a deep overgrown ravine, as well as any depression, a hollow, a close impassable place.
By the way, in the second round of âField of Miraclesâ of October 27, 2017, it was this noun that was made up.
What in the old days was called impenetrable forest with ravines?
Continuing to consider the types of impassable forest terrain specified in the Field of Miracles, you should pay attention to the question of the final game.
It asked about the ancient name of the forest with ravines or impassable terrain.
Surprisingly to be aware of this, among ancestors such a place was called the word âinfectionâ.
Why is that? Perhaps this will help to understand the etymology of the term. And it was formed from the verb âinfectâ, which in turn arose on the basis of the word âsmashâ with the meaning of âhurtâ, âsmashâ or âpoundâ.
Probably an impenetrable forest with ravines was named so because the person who got out of there looked as if he had been decently beaten.
By the way, it is possible that the habit of using the word âinfectionâ as an abusive one could also be connected with this interpretation of it, and not with the name of the infection.
Siberia and taiga - what is it?
Having learned what word in ancient times called the forest ravines and impassable terrain, it is worth considering two more terms that ancestors called impassable wilderness.
One of them was made up in the third round of the same issue of âField of Miraclesâ. This is a word that in ancient times was called a forest swampy thicket covered with birch trees. It turns out that this is the noun "Siberia". Scientists believe that a similar name came to Russian from the Mongolian language.
And the last of the considered names of impassable forest is the noun âtaigaâ, well known to many.
This is the name of the strip of wild impassable or completely impassable wilds. Moreover, in contrast to the above, we are talking about coniferous, not deciduous areas.
There are dark coniferous and light coniferous forests of this kind. In the first of them, spruce and fir mainly grow, in the second - larch, pine and cedar.
Sometimes deciduous trees can grow in the taiga. This is mainly birch, mountain ash or bird cherry.
Uganda Bwindi National Park
Considering the various impenetrable wilds, one can not help but mention the Bwindi National Park. The peculiarity of this place is that its visitors get the opportunity to visit an almost virgin forest and enjoy observing wildlife that is almost unaffected by humans.
However, it is worth remembering that in the impenetrable forests of Bwindi, many dangers await tourists, because many plants can be poisonous, and the forest inhabitants are not at all friendly. Therefore, this resting place is suitable only for people who are ready to meet with dangers.