Posts tagged plant

Bottom: Short Beaked Echidna [right] (Tachyglossus aculeatus) and Western Long-Beaked Echidna [left] (Zaglossus bruijni)
Center Left: Starfish (Echinodermata spp.)
Center Right: Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Top: Echidna (mythological)

Originally, “Echidna” was a Greek mythological figure, a monstrous snake-like creature, and the mother of Cerberus, the Chimera, the Gorgon, and more. Her name roughly translates to “she-snake”, and the monotreme known as the echidna is cited in many sources as being named after her.

However, it is becoming more accepted these days that the echidna has the same etymological origins as the Greek term “ekhinus”, or “sea-urchin/porcupine [spine-skinned]”. Though similar-sounding, “ekhidna” and “ekhinos” have distinct etymological histories, and should be recognized as different terms.

It’s unknown if “ekhinus” originally referred to the sea-urchin or the hedgehog/porcupine, but the use of the term in reference to Echinaceae (coneflowers) is a direct reference to the spiny nature of the sea-urchin.

Aconitum variegatum - Wolf’s Bane, Monkshood Aconitum is thought to be from the Greek ἀκόνιτον - “without struggle”. And it is without struggle that this plant causes death. This beautiful perennial flower can be seen through the autumn months in forests and taigas in Europe, and is popular as an ornamental in gardens, lending color long after summer blooms have faded. It can also be found in the traditional bikh poison, nepaline, in the writings of Ovid and Dioscorides, and in the bodies of murdered Borgia family members. Flora Conspicua; a selection of the most ornamental flowering, hardy, exotic and indigenous trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Richard Morris, 1826.

Aconitum variegatum - Wolf’s Bane, Monkshood

Aconitum is thought to be from the Greek ἀκόνιτον - “without struggle”. And it is without struggle that this plant causes death.

This beautiful perennial flower can be seen through the autumn months in forests and taigas in Europe, and is popular as an ornamental in gardens, lending color long after summer blooms have faded.

It can also be found in the traditional bikh poison, nepaline, in the writings of Ovid and Dioscorides, and in the bodies of murdered Borgia family members.

Flora Conspicua; a selection of the most ornamental flowering, hardy, exotic and indigenous trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Richard Morris, 1826.

Vanda sanderiana [Euanthe sanderiana] - Waling-Waling Orchid This Philippine native is currently rare in the wild due to over-collection, but is now protected by strict conservation laws. Its striking presence has led to it being called the “Queen of Philippine Orchids” (over two dozen other Orchidae) by flower breeders and traders. The native Bagobo people of the islands worship this species as a diwata - a spirit of nature similar to a fairy or nymph. Uber Orchideen. Frederick Boyle, 1896.

Vanda sanderiana [Euanthe sanderiana] - Waling-Waling Orchid

This Philippine native is currently rare in the wild due to over-collection, but is now protected by strict conservation laws. Its striking presence has led to it being called the “Queen of Philippine Orchids” (over two dozen other Orchidae) by flower breeders and traders.

The native Bagobo people of the islands worship this species as a diwata - a spirit of nature similar to a fairy or nymph.

Uber Orchideen. Frederick Boyle, 1896.

openlibrary.org

scientificillustration: The Avocado, Persea americana Miller [as Persea gratissima Gaertner f.] From: L’Illustration horticole, vol. 36: t. 75 (1889) Reblogging mostly for the link to the Botanicus source - this book has some of the nicest flower illustrations from the 19th century, and is a great source for anyone wanting good representations of plants. The other volumes of L’Illustration horticole are just as good.

scientificillustration:

The Avocado, Persea americana Miller [as Persea gratissima Gaertner f.]

From: L’Illustration horticole, vol. 36: t. 75 (1889)

Reblogging mostly for the link to the Botanicus source - this book has some of the nicest flower illustrations from the 19th century, and is a great source for anyone wanting good representations of plants. The other volumes of L’Illustration horticole are just as good.

You know you want some eggplant! We’ve got us lotsa eggplant down here! Aubergines (Solanum melongena) are a member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Other members of this family include tomatoes, potatoes, and tobacco.  Like the tomato, since the flowers of the aubergines were obviously in the same family as the nightshades, European scholars long considered it highly poisonous. It’s known to be native to India and to have been used in Indian and Chinese cuisine as far back as 544 C.E., though it’s suspected to have been known as a food in India for over 4000 years. Prospectus of the Tropical Development Company, Founders of the American City and Colony of McKinley Isle of Pines. 1904

You know you want some eggplant! We’ve got us lotsa eggplant down here!

Aubergines (Solanum melongena) are a member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Other members of this family include tomatoes, potatoes, and tobacco. 

Like the tomato, since the flowers of the aubergines were obviously in the same family as the nightshades, European scholars long considered it highly poisonous. It’s known to be native to India and to have been used in Indian and Chinese cuisine as far back as 544 C.E., though it’s suspected to have been known as a food in India for over 4000 years.

Prospectus of the Tropical Development Company, Founders of the American City and Colony of McKinley Isle of Pines. 1904

C’mon down to the Isle of Pines! We’ve got cocoa beans! The Isle of Pines was indefinitely leased to the US in the Platt Amendment, the same amendment that cordoned off the area that Guantanamo Bay is now located in. However, unlike Guantanamo Bay, the Isle of Pines was reclaimed by the Cuban government when the new Cuban Constitution was drafted in 1940. It’s now called Isla de la Juventud. Despite its extremely good soil for planting and its ideal climate for tropical fruits, the Tropical Development Company never turned a profit from their developments there. Prospectus of the Tropical Development Company, Founders of the American City and Colony of McKinley Isle of Pines. 1904.

C’mon down to the Isle of Pines! We’ve got cocoa beans!

The Isle of Pines was indefinitely leased to the US in the Platt Amendment, the same amendment that cordoned off the area that Guantanamo Bay is now located in.

However, unlike Guantanamo Bay, the Isle of Pines was reclaimed by the Cuban government when the new Cuban Constitution was drafted in 1940. It’s now called Isla de la Juventud. Despite its extremely good soil for planting and its ideal climate for tropical fruits, the Tropical Development Company never turned a profit from their developments there.

Prospectus of the Tropical Development Company, Founders of the American City and Colony of McKinley Isle of Pines. 1904.

Fruits Exotiques Including guava, papaya, mango, litchi fruit, passionfruit, pineapple, breadfruit, bergamot orange, coconut, and several other fruits, primarily from the equatorial Western hemisphere. Histoire Naturelle Ilustree: Les Plantes.Julien Costantin and F. Faideau, 1922

Fruits Exotiques

Including guava, papaya, mango, litchi fruit, passionfruit, pineapple, breadfruit, bergamot orange, coconut, and several other fruits, primarily from the equatorial Western hemisphere.

Histoire Naturelle Ilustree: Les Plantes.Julien Costantin and F. Faideau, 1922

Someone sick in the spleen or loin, or of a lung wound, should drink wine containing bunches of black ivy berries—first three, then five, and so on up to 21, running through the odd numbers only.

-Bald’s Leechbook vol. II -ca. 850 C.E.

I imagine that much wine would cure the “sickness” and pain of a lung wound with noooo problem.

[Retrieved from Extra-Medical Elements in Anglo-Saxon Medicine, by Audrey L. Meaney, in the Social History of Medicine, Vol. 24 No. 1.]

Cacao Tree and Cocoa Pod I’m sure you all know this, but chocolate (well, cocoa) doesn’t start out brown and powdery. Cacao starts out as lavender brown or reddish brown seeds encased in a gooey white mucilaginous pulp, in a relatively thick (~3 cm) leathery pod. There are usually about 30 to 50 seeds per pod, that are harvested throughout the year - the tree grows in tropical climates and doesn’t ripen its fruit all at once. Dictionnaire Pittoresque d’Histoire Naturelle et des Phenomenes de la Nature. F. E. Guerin, 1833.

Cacao Tree and Cocoa Pod

I’m sure you all know this, but chocolate (well, cocoa) doesn’t start out brown and powdery. Cacao starts out as lavender brown or reddish brown seeds encased in a gooey white mucilaginous pulp, in a relatively thick (~3 cm) leathery pod. There are usually about 30 to 50 seeds per pod, that are harvested throughout the year - the tree grows in tropical climates and doesn’t ripen its fruit all at once.

Dictionnaire Pittoresque d’Histoire Naturelle et des Phenomenes de la Nature. F. E. Guerin, 1833.

Henbane (left) and Foxglove (right) Hey, you want some plants?! Plants are super cool. But I don’t know a ton about them off-hand, so I don’t really post many. I like learning about them, but I’ve only taken two semesters of botany, and medicine/history always gets me distracted before I get very far on my own. Henbane and foxglove are both toxic. Foxglove, however, is the plant that digoxin (a cardiac glycoside - increases heart contraction, and is used in both heart failure and arrhythmia) was extracted from. In 2008, celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson recommended henbane as a “tasty addition to salad” in the August issue of Healthy and Organic Living magazine. Problem is, henbane is highly toxic and can be deadly in large doses. He had confused “henbane” with “fat hen”, a spinach relative. Clever. British Flowering Plants. W. F. Kirby, 1906.

Henbane (left) and Foxglove (right)

Hey, you want some plants?! Plants are super cool. But I don’t know a ton about them off-hand, so I don’t really post many. I like learning about them, but I’ve only taken two semesters of botany, and medicine/history always gets me distracted before I get very far on my own.

Henbane and foxglove are both toxic. Foxglove, however, is the plant that digoxin (a cardiac glycoside - increases heart contraction, and is used in both heart failure and arrhythmia) was extracted from.

In 2008, celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson recommended henbane as a “tasty addition to salad” in the August issue of Healthy and Organic Living magazine. Problem is, henbane is highly toxic and can be deadly in large doses. He had confused “henbane” with “fat hen”, a spinach relative. Clever.

British Flowering Plants. W. F. Kirby, 1906.

Thymus serpyllum - Wild Thyme/Creeping Thyme Wayside and Woodland Blossoms, a Pocket Guide to British Wild-Flowers for the Country Rambler. Edward Step, 1895.

Thymus serpyllum - Wild Thyme/Creeping Thyme

Wayside and Woodland Blossoms, a Pocket Guide to British Wild-Flowers for the Country Rambler. Edward Step, 1895.

Fragaria vesca - The wild or woodland strawberry plant.

These small strawberries grow in woodland clearings, along footpaths (both man-made and natural), in meadows and young partly-shady wooded areas, and have been eaten by humans since the Stone Age. Though they’ve been cultivated since the time of Ancient Persia, the vast majority of strawberries eaten since the 18th century have been the much larger garden strawberry. 

When I was 12, my family went camping at a place called Gooseberry Falls, in Minnesota. We had a walk-in campsite about 2 miles away from the main parking lot, away from everyone. After a couple days of hiking and exploring, we packed up to continue on to Canada. As I finished folding my tent, I saw a young deer about 20 meters away, in the woods beyond where I was standing. Despite the significant noise my brother and parents were making, it was intently focused on these tiny bright red spots on the ground. After my brother yelped because of something or other, the deer finally did trot away from the area.

I was intrigued as to what it was eating, since all the berries I knew in the area only grew in sunny clearings or on bushes. As I approached the tiny red berries and bright white flowers, I was transfixed. I wasn’t sure that they were strawberries, or that they were ripe, especially given their size, but I was so sick of dry, bland, and salty “camping food”, I was desperate for even a sour or unripe strawberry. I figured that if I was mistaken about its identity, it was small enough that it wouldn’t kill me, and I picked one of the little berries. It was about the size of a blueberry, but had more flavor than any strawberry - no, any fruit - that I’d ever tasted. I greedily munched down two of the three stalks of berries that the deer hadn’t eaten. The sweet, almost-tart, concentrated-but-not-unnatural flavor of these strawberries was mesmerizing, warming, and filled me with an crazy happiness that food had never given me before. As I slowly finished the second stalk, my brother barked at me to help load up the backpacks so that we could get back to the car. It took more than a small amount of willpower to drag myself away from those little marbles of joy, but I somehow managed it. 

Ever since then, I’ve looked for wild strawberries wherever I camp or hike. I once found the blooming flowers, but have never since found more of the fruits. 

- from an essay my old friend wrote during culinary school

Illustrations from Edward Step - 1895, and Otto Wilhelm Thome - 1885.

scientificillustration: Bactris gastovan From: ‘Sertum palmarum Brasiliensium ou relation des palmiers nouveaux du Brésil découverts, décrits et dessinés d’après nature’ by João Barbosa RODRIGUES (1842-1909)

scientificillustration:

Bactris gastovan

From: ‘Sertum palmarum Brasiliensium ou relation des palmiers nouveaux du Brésil découverts, décrits et dessinés d’après nature’ by João Barbosa RODRIGUES (1842-1909)

scientificillustration: Darlingtonia californica - California Pitcher plant From: ‘Flore des serres et des jardins de l’Europe V.14 (1861)’ By: Van Houtte, Louis,1810-1876.

scientificillustration:

Darlingtonia californica - California Pitcher plant

From: ‘Flore des serres et des jardins de l’Europe V.14 (1861)’ By: Van Houtte, Louis,1810-1876.