Last modified: 2008-07-05 by dov gutterman
Keywords: bjelovarsko-bilogorska | bjelovar bilogora | hercegovac | potato flower | flower |
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Hercegovac is a community in the Bjelovar and Bilogora County,
about 2,800 inhabitants, about half of that number in the village
of the same name, some 40 km south-east of Bjelovar.
The coat of arms of Hercegovac is vert a (potato?) flower argent
seeded or. Similar design is seen on the coat of arms of Belica. The coat of arms is designed by
the Heraldic Art d.o.o. company
from Rijeka.
There is probably a flag to go with it, but for the moment,
unknown.
Željko Heimer, 2 November 2007
I have no reason not to believe this a potato flower. The
rendition of the flower is quite nice. Potato flowers are often
pink or purple. It could be the flower of the black nightshade
(Solanum nigrum L., the type species of the family), but I don't
expect a nasty weed producing toxic berries (so are potato
berries) to be portrayed on a coat of arms, unless they are
associated with a local legend.
Potato (Solanum tuberosum) belongs to the family Solanaceae,
together with tomatoes (S. lycopersicum and wild relatives),
eggplant (S. melongena), pepino (S. muricatum), nightshades,
tobacco, belladonna (deadly nightshades), henbane, datura,
bittersweet, petunia and tobacco. Several Solanaceae are very
poisonous, at least some parts of the plant, producing several
drugs and alkaloids sometimes very useful when carefully handled.
Everything you ever wanted on Solanaceae and even more can be
found on the Solanaceae
Source project website, set up by the Natural History Museum.
Ivan Sache, 2 November 2007
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image by Željko Heimer, 2 November 2007