originally posted: March 29, 2002 | by chelsie

The Osage-orange (Maclura pomifera (Raf.) C.K. Schneider) is the single most planted tree in the continental United States. It was first cultivated by native Americans and later by settlers. The Pima of the Southwest called the trees "s'hoitgam kawli" meaning thorny fence. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: March 22, 2002 | by chelsie

The shamrock sold by florists (Oxalis acetosella and other spp.) is not the shamrock of Ireland. In The Herbal (1633 ed.), Gerard wrote of five plants called the meadow trefoils. The first trefoil he called the Irish Shamrock (Trifolium pratense) saying, "...whereon do grow leaves consisting of three joined together..having for the most part in the midst a white spot like a halfe moon. The flowers grow on the tops of the stalkes in a tuft...of a purple color, and sweet of taste." [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: March 15, 2002 | by chelsie

The Franklin tree (Franklinia alatamaha Marshall) did not get named quite what John and William Bartram intended. A number of things are strange about the name. Franklinia was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, a close friend of John Bartram. The species epithet, alatamaha was to be the name of the river, Altamaha, where the tree was discovered in 1765. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: March 8, 2002 | by chelsie

If one picks a single flower from a snapdragon (Antirrhinum spp.) and gently squeezes the sides, the 'mouth' of the flower will open and close. John Gerard in The Herbal (1633 ed.) attributed the common name, "...fashioned like a frogs mouth, or rather a dragons mouth, from whence the women have taken the name Snapdragon." [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: March 1, 2002 | by chelsie

Smyrna was the ancient Greek name for the myrrh tree, but she was not always a tree. According to the Greek poet, Panyasis, Smyrna was the daughter of King Theias of Assyria. The queen bragged of her daughter's beauty, declaring Smyrna more beautiful than Aphrodite. As Smyrna grew up, she neglected the worship of Aphrodite and failed to pay homage at her Temple. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: February 22, 2002 | by chelsie

The pot marigold (Calendula officinalis Linnaeus) is a native of southern Europe and has been used since ancient times. Calendula flowers open in the morning and close in the late afternoon. This behavior gave them the name, solis sponsa, the sun's bride. In monasteries, the flower was called Oculus Christi, the eye of the Anointed (Christ) or Marygold and associated with the Virgin Mary. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: February 15, 2002 | by chelsie

The Greek legends say that Anemos the wind announces the advent of spring. His heralds, the Anemones [a nee moe' nees] open during the rough and blustery days. The life of the windflower is short; the wind is said to open the flower, then take the petals away. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: February 8, 2002 | by chelsie

In Greek, the trees were called akakia meaning thorns from this we derived the name Acacia.

In ancient Egypt, the trees were called shent. The Egyptian thorn trees were used to make barges to float stone to the construction sites of temples and burial chambers. In a translation of Weni the Elder, he describes a barge of shent 60 cubits (90 feet or 28 meters) by 30 cubits (45 feet or 14 meters) built to float a single slab of Hatnub alabaster for the "Mernere-appears-in-splendor" pyramid. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: February 1, 2002 | by chelsie

The dandelion has had a long medicinal history. Its herbal uses, especially its strong diuretic action, have given the plant several names. In French, the plant is called, pissenlit, which roughly translates to its old vulgar English name, pissabed, a caution on the use of this herb. When a preparation of dandelion diuretic was needed, the apothecary shop offered it under the name, Urinaria. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: January 25, 2002 | by chelsie

Saracens Consound is an odd reference; words no longer used and little mentioned in older writings. The Greeks and Romans called the Arabs of the Syrian Desert, Saracens. In the Eighth Century, north African tribes raided along the coasts of Italy, but the barbaric tribes were replaced by civilized and educated Arabs. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: January 18, 2002 | by chelsie

The word litmus comes from the Old Norse word litmosi. The word was built from litr-, color implying brightness and mosi meaning moss. Litmosi was the name of a lichen growing in northern Europe. It was used to dye wool and other textiles. Litmosi provided color in the lives of the Northmen during the long months of snow. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: January 11, 2002 | by chelsie

The source of colchicine, Colchicum autumnale, is often called mysteria, but the derivation of this name is lost. Because the plant was used by the Greeks to treat gout, it has been suggested the name, mysteria, may date back to the ancient Greeks and that perhaps the plant was associated with the Eleusinian Mysteria (secret rites) of the goddess, Demeter. The toxic Colchicum blooms in the autumn when Demeter's daughter, Persephone must leave the land of the living to spend four months with Pluto the god of the underworld. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: January 4, 2002 | by chelsie

"Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloe..." so Solomon wrote of the love of his life (Song of Solomon 4:14). Saffron is the single rarest spice. It has been cultivated in the Middle East for at least 35 centuries. Saffron was used to flavor foods, to dye the clothing of royalty, and as an aphrodisiac. [Click here to read more...]