originally posted: September 8, 2003 | by chelsie

John Gerard recognized three of the four main varieties of faba or fava (Vicia faba Linnaeus). He separated them as Faba major hortensis, the great garden Beane, Faba sylvestris, the wilde Beane, and a blacke Beane which "is not used with us at all...sowne onely in a few mens gardens, who be delighted in varietie and studie of herbes." [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: September 1, 2003 | by chelsie

King Sithon of Thrace had three daughters: Pallene, so beautiful that men were willing to risk death for her hand in marriage, Rhoeteia, so beloved that the promontory of Troy was named for her, and Phyllis 'green leaf' who fell in love with a soldier. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 25, 2003 | by chelsie

Mai'a is the Hawaiian name for the banana (Musa species). The plants were carried to the islands with the first peoples who arrived in outrigger canoes. Hawaiians gave specific names to the many varieties grown on the islands. Both the fruit and the plants provided a wealth of materials to the resourceful Polynesians. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 18, 2003 | by chelsie

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg) has an unusual trait. The fruiting branches die back after the fruit has ripened and is gone. Usually ants move into the dead branches; eventually the branches fall. The breadfruit, 'ulu, was important for both food and materials (lumber, cloth). The tree is wrapped in legends and traditions. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 11, 2003 | by chelsie

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg) is thought native to the Malaysian Archipelago and adjacent areas--New Guinea and Western Micronesia. As a tropical tree, breadfruit is not tolerant of temperatures below 60 degrees F nor does it grow well where temperatures regularly climb over 100 degrees. Numerous varieties developed as breadfruit were introduced throughout the Pacific Islands by Polynesians. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 4, 2003 | by chelsie

Common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris Linnaeus) is a weedy member of the Asteraceae (Compositae) native to Eurasia. It was introduced wherever Europeans settled, probably arriving with animal bedding and fodder. Common groundsel has become a nuisance species in most temperate areas of the world. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 28, 2003 | by chelsie

Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana Linnaeus) is a highly toxic herbaceous plant native to eastern North America. It contains phytolaccatoxin which causes immediate effects: vomiting, diarrhea, vertigo, stupor, convulsions, and death. According to Lewis and Elvin-Lewis, the plant including ripe berries contains phytolaccigenin, a triterpene saponin causing "severe gastrointestinal disturbances...weakened pulse and respiration...death occurs if the dose is sufficient." Pokeweed has a third toxin, a lectin called PWM (pokeweed mitogen). It binds to ß-D-acetylglucosamine, a surface glycoprotein on B and T lymphocytes "causing serious blood aberrations." (Medical Botany, Plants affecting Man's Health, W.H. Lewis and M.P.F. Elvin-Lewis, Wiley and Sons, 1977) [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 21, 2003 | by chelsie

When seagrapes (Coccoloba uvifera (L.) Linnaeus) were first introduced to Europe, they were called Indian Poplar trees, Populus Americana. John Gerard included a drawing and a brief description of "This strange Poplar..." Although, he offered no uses for the seagrape, he noted the leaves "...of an astringent taste, somewhat heating the mouth, and saltish." (The Herbal, 1633 edition) [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 14, 2003 | by chelsie

Ololiuqui [o lo' lee ou' ke] remained a mystery until 1941 when Harvard professor Richard Evans Schultes investigated the bindweeds or morning glories of Mexico, in particular, Christmasvine, Rivea corymbosa (=Turbina corymbosa (L.) Rafinsque) and heavenly blue, Ipomoea violacea Linnaeus. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 7, 2003 | by chelsie

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum Linnaeus) [os' i mum ba sil' i cum] is a fragrant herb native to the Old World tropics--central Africa or Southeast Asia. Basil has been cultivated for so long and introduced to so many countries that its nativity is uncertain. It is a highly polymorphic (many forms) plant with at least sixty known varieties ranging from the 'regular' basil to lemon, licorice, cinnamon, and camphor scented. To further confuse matters, taxonomic authorities estimate that there are anywhere from fifty to one hundred-fifty species of Ocimum and many hybridize with sweet basil. [Click here to read more...]