originally posted: December 25, 2001 | by chelsie

Etiene Leopold Trouvelot was a portrait artist. In 1852, Louis Napoleon (Bonaparte's nephew) managed a parliamentary coup d'etat and named himself Emperor Napoleon III. Trouvelot fled France. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: December 18, 2001 | by chelsie

In The Herbal (1633), Gerard places high value on the mistletoe (Viscum album Linnaeus) for manufacture of birdlime, "...small clusters of white translucent berries, which are so clear that a man may see through them, and are full of clammy or viscous moisture whereof the best Bird-lime is made...the Learned have set down that it comes of the dung of the bird called a Thrush, ... eating his own bane...a most fit matter to make lime (glue) of to intrap and catch birds withal." It seems thrush- and manmade birdlime was important for the trapping of birds, but no explanation was given for why small birds were taken. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: December 11, 2001 | by chelsie

Britain's silk industry started in the 1200s, but the cool, damp climate kept production low and sporadic. In 1603, King James I sent silkworm eggs and mulberry (Morus alba) seeds to Virginia. Silk production did not fare much better in the colonies. It was impractical to ship cocoons back to England; the spinning of silk thread was left to the cocoon producers. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: December 4, 2001 | by chelsie

Temujin was born near the Onon River sometime in the 1160s. His father, a chieftain, was murdered by poison when Temujin was nine. The family was left destitute. Temujin and his brothers caught fish, their mother gathered berries and wild foods, the family survived. Temujin spent his youth making friends and allies. Then he went for revenge. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: November 27, 2001 | by chelsie

There are approximately 300 varieties of bananas (Musa X paradisiaca), but in the northern temperate regions, little attention is paid to the fruit. The yellow banana is familiar; but few northerners know that the popularity of bananas and snow skiing went hand-in-hand. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: November 20, 2001 | by chelsie

The coconut (Cocos nucifera) [co cos' nu sif' er a] brings to mind tropical islands; vacations in the sun with slow warm days, seductive nights, and tall palms swaying in the breeze. But few would ever think of the coconut as an economic plant. The coconut is considered the single most useful "tree" on Earth. Palms, though, are not trees, but are related to grasses. They do not produce wood; the trunks are composed of bundles of strong fibers. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: November 13, 2001 | by chelsie

From the Crusades (1100) until 1800, Europe had a problem. The Crusaders returned with a taste for the sweet spice (sugar). It was controlled first by the Arabs through the Middle East and later by the Spanish, Portuguese, and English importing it from the New World. Sugar was an expensive commodity. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: November 6, 2001 | by chelsie

All plants produce sugars, but there are only two that produce and store the sugar, sucrose, in enough quantity to make it feasible to extract and refine, sugarcane and sugar beet. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: October 30, 2001 | by chelsie

It was called the ordeal bean of Calabar (Physostigma venenosum Balfour) [fi zo stig' ma ven' en o sum], a plant of such toxicity that missionaries' descriptions of its use horrified listeners. With such virulence, the ordeal bean came to the attention of doctors, but it was just another poisonous plant to add to their lists. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: October 23, 2001 | by chelsie

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) [ip' o me a ba ta' tas] is a member of the morning glory family. It yields more nutrition (carbohydrates and beta-carotene) per acre than any other crop and it has become a vital food resource throughout the tropics. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: October 16, 2001 | by chelsie

The cassava plant (Manihot esculenta Crantz) [man' i hot es' cue lent' ah] does not look like a food crop and without proper preparation, it isn't. It contains two cyanogenic glycosides, sugar complexes that release hydrogen cyanide upon ingestion. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: October 9, 2001 | by chelsie

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) [soh lan' um tu ber oh' sum] is often thought of as a lowly thing; a vegetable adjunct, but not central, to our diet. But, worldwide, the potato is the single most important vegetable. It provides nutrition to more than 3 billion people. Only do the grains--rice, wheat, and corn--exceed the production of potatoes. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: October 2, 2001 | by chelsie

Soybeans (Glycine max) [gli' seen max] are considered sacred in China, one of the five precious grains--rice, soybean, wheat, barley, and millet. At least 3,100 years ago, farmers in northeastern China began growing what was essentially a weed. Now, there are more than 1,000 varieties in Southeast Asia with colorful names like Brings Happiness, Heaven's Bird, and Great Treasure. Soybeans are eaten as a garden vegetable, used to make doufu (bean curd) and soy sauce, and refined soy flour is a low carbohydrate alternative for diabetics. [Click here to read more...]