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It’s unbelievable how this Vampire phenomenon has hit our culture! On TV, in movies, in books – we just can’t seem to escape these blood sucking bachelors. And just as many vampire stories there are out there, there are even more vampire legends. What harms a vampire- Garlic? A wooden stake in the heart? How about a little flower.

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In the CW hit show “Vampire Diaries” we’re seen people use something called Vervain to combat a threatening vampire. It doesn’t kill the vampire. It just sort of evens the playing field, weakening a vampire enough to get a stake through the heart or lock him away in a casket.

If you think this Vervain is something totally made up by the people at the CW, well then you’re dead wrong. Vervain, also called Verbena, is a type of flower. It’s been in use since at least the middle ages where it was often used as a type of herb.

But Vervain is no simple flower or herb. Even before people have been writing about vampires falling in love with high school girls, the flower has been associated with divine and supernatural forces. There’s a popular story about how Vervain was used to try to stop Jesus’ wounds from bleeding after he was taken down from the cross. Other ancient legends claim this flower can protect you from vampires.

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It’s good to remember that while vampires may be the current hot thing in our culture, it’s definitely not new or original. So it’s great to see one of these vampire stories looking back into real culture and legends for elements to add to the tale.

So, here’s what you need to know to stay safe from vampires: Mix Vervain in a tea, wear it in your hair, put the oils in a bath. However you use it, just keep this stuff around and supposedly you and your neck will remain puncture-free. Unless, of course, you’ve become smitten with the likes of Edward, Damon and Stefan… then I guess Vervain is just not for you.

Monkey Cup

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Most pitcher plant prey are insects, maybe an occasional tree frog, but a recently discovered giant species, Nepenthe Attenboroughii, also has rodents and birds on the menu.

Hanging Pitcher Plmoants

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The Pitcher Plant uses visual lures and scent glands that smell like nectar to fool bugs into coming closer.  The sides are slippery and steep, so they end up falling into a Pitfall Trap where they drown.

Sarracenia Leucophylla Flower

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The pools inside the Pitcher Plant are called phytotelmata.  The plant secrets enzymes to dissolve the bodies of the insects.  Many Pitcher Plants have tiny little ecosystems inside these little bodies of liquid are miniature insects that also eat the drowned bugs and the Pitcher Plant absorbs the waste.

Purple Pitcher Plant

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Sarraceniopus Gibsoni, a mite found only in the Purple Pitcher Plant

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Wyeomyia Smithii a mosquito whose life cycle is spent nearly entirely in the Purple Pitcher plant.

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Nepenthes beccariana from Sibolga, Sumatra.

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California Cobra Lily, below, has false exits and a forked tongue that helpfully assists ants and other crawling insects inside.

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The hinged lids of many Pitcher Plants are meant to make it more difficult for flying insects to escape.

Albany Pitcher Plant

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New plants from stem. The stem has nodes, where leaves and buds are attached. Stem generally grow above the ground. But some plants have stems that grow underground. At first sight, they do not look like stems. But, on closer look, you will notice that like all other stems, they have nodes. So, they are called modified stems.

Onion is an example of a bulb. A bulb consists of a short stem base with one or more buds enclosed in many fleshy leaves, which store food. The upper part of the fleshy leaves is composed of the regular green and narrow leaves found above the ground. The short stem base can develop roots, and the bulb can grow into new plant. Lily and hyacinth are also bulbs. A corm is a thick stem base with scaly leaves at the nodes and contains stored food. This modified stem can develop buds and roots at the nodes and grow into new plants. Gladiola and begonia are some examples of corms. White potato (also called Irish potato) is an example of a tuber. A tuber is enlarged because of stored food. The “eyes” of potato are its nodes. It a piece of the potato with “eyes” is planted, buds and roots will appear there and grow into new plants.

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Ginger is an example of rhizome. Rhizome is an underground stem that grows horizontally near the soil surface. It is fleshy because of stored food. Buds and roots develop at the nodes and grow into new plants. Strawberry and Bermuda grass are examples of runners, also called stolons. These are stems that grow horizontally above the ground, along the surface. When a node touches the ground, roots and leaves develop and a new plant grows. The stored food of a modified stem is used by the new plant in the early part of its life. Remember that leaves do not appear and manufactured food right away.

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• New plants from roots. Plants like turnip, carrot, radish and sweet potato have storage roots. These storage roots contain food. When planted, storage roots grow into new plants.
• New plants from leaves. There are also plants that reproduce by means of their leaves. The new plant separate from the parent plant and continue to grow. Begonia produces new plants from their leaves that touch the soil.
• Artificial Vegetative Propagation is a method of propagating plants develops by people who are engaged in the reproduction of plants for food or decoration. Through their method, plants are produced more quickly and varieties are improved.
• Stem Cutting. Many ornamental plants such as San Francisco, mayana and rosal can be grown from stem cuttings. The cuttings are placed in water. When roots come out, they are transplanted.
• Layering. To produce new plants through layering, a branch that grows near the ground is bent and covered with soil. The parts of the branch covered with soil will grow roots and new shoots. The new plants are then cut away from the parent plant and planted in another place.

Some plants are propagated by a method called air layering. A part of the plant’s bark is removed. Then the exposed area is covered with peat moss. To hold the peat moss in place, a piece of plastic is wrapped around it. Coconut husk may also be used to wrap the area. Roots will form in the covered area. Then the branch is cut off and transplanted.

• Grafting and budding. Some plants are propagated by transplanting a branch or a bud of one plant to the trunk of another plant. This is done in order to improve the quality of fruits. Transplanting a branch of one plant to the trunk of another plant is called grafting. This is done by cutting a branch of a plant of good variety and attaching it to a plant rooted in the soil. The rooted plant is the stock while the attached branch is the scion. The stock provides the roots and stem for the scion. Budding is the same as grafting but, instead of a branch; a bud is used as the scion.

As a young girl growing up in the country, this is one flower I remember fondly. During the summer and early fall we would often have a fresh bouquet sitting in a vase on the table to show Mom we loved her. She taught us that a drop or two of food color in the vase could change the color of our bloom so we often had pink or blue Queen Anne ’s lace.

She Ate them!

Then when I moved to New York as a young woman, my minister’s wife, who happened to have a Girl Scout troop informed me that she taught the girls to cook and eat the flowers as part of their nature studies and survival training. Finally I got around to finding out if we can actually eat Queen Anne’s lace so I thought I would share my findings with you.

Myself, I like to look at them.  Look at the delicate white blossom with the numerous floweret’s and tiny purple centers.

Photo from the Society for Environment Education

If you are a nature lover like I am you may want to encourage this “weed” or wildflower from taking root near your gardens:

 Queen Anne’s lace Benefits Your Garden

Known as Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) or Wild Carrot, the plant provides us with numerous benefits:

• The caterpillar of the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly feast from the leaves

• Other insects drink the nectar

• Other predatory insects (those who rid our gardens of unwanted insects such as aphids) are drawn to this flower.

• The taproot was once familiar to us as the carrot and is edible. Its carrot is not consistent with the carrot we know now.

• The leaves of the plant, however, are not edible and may irritate the skin. I found other sites below that contradict this.

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/queen_annes_lace.htm

www.treknature.com

Used for Years as a Contraceptive

 While searching the web regarding this plant I came across an interesting site which claims Queen Anne’s lace has been used somewhat successfully as a contraceptive. For more information regarding these claims read: http://www.sisterzeus.com/qaluse.htm

 Prescribed for Gout and Digestive Disorders

 Ryan Drum at http://www.ryandrum.com/  states he has prescribed Queen Ann’s Lace (QAL). According to him while he has not used the flowers medicinally Phyllis Light of Clayton College, AL concocts leaf and blossom infusions and syrups for the treatment of endocrine disorders.

QAL seeds have been harvested while the flower is half mature and used for treatment for cancer, cystitis, and bladder and urinary tract infections. According to some of the personal experience of female staff he has worked with the mere handling of the seeds (for  long periods of time daily) would induce their menstrual cycle, and they were unable to become pregnant during the time they worked directly with the seeds.

Hemlock or Carrot Leaves/One is Poison

The leaves of the hemlock, which closely resemble the QAL leaves, are considered toxic:

http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/queen.html

At the carrot museum we learn more about the leaves of the wild carrot, with pointed differences between the hemlock and QAL leaves:

• A carrot scent – rub the leaves between gloved fingers. Smell the crushed leaves. If it smells like carrots, you have QAL. If not, do not ingest!

• Hemlock is on the right. It is smooth.

• QAL is on the left and it appears hairy.

How did the Flower get its Name?

The origin of Queen Anne’s lace was quite fascinating but also somewhat cloudy.

• The name Wild Carrot was first used by William Turner and dates back to 1548.

• While the name QAL is an American name, it also refers to plant in England known at cow parsley or antrhiscus sylvestris.

• Was it named after Queen Anne of Great Britain, second daughter of James II? She married Prince George of Denmark in 1683.

• The many florets in the flower resembled the collar often worn by Queen Anne, and the purple center represents the royalty of her majesty.

• Another fable states the tiny purple dot represents finger prick of blood the queen may have lost while creating her lace collar.

• An English botanist, Geoffrey Grigson suggests the plant actually comes from Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary and patron saint of lace makers.

• Queen Anne was quite proficient at creating lace and challenged the women of her court to produce a lace as delicate and beautiful as the flower.

Health Uses Found at Carrot Museum

• soothe the digestive tract
• stimulate the uterus
• aid in fertility and sexual potency
• aid in contraception
• menstrual problems
• diuretic
• treat threadworms
• urinary stones
• dropsy
• diabetes
• cystitis

At this site I also find a recipe for jelly, wild carrot cake and even paper made from the plant. For the sake of argument, I found the recipe for jelly which contains 18 large Queen Anne’s lace heads, so my minister’s wife was right. You can eat them.

Aren’t they pretty? I like them no matter what color they are.

www.emilycompost.com 

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Bleeding tooth is an inedible salmon pink fungus – often found under conifers. The spongy body exudes droplets of red fluid which contains a mushroom pigment called atromentin which has anticoagulant properties

Bioluminescent Mushrooms – (Mycena asterina)

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Some mushrooms emit light 24 hours per day – the luminescence is only visible at night. Around 65 separate varieties of mushrooms are known to be “glow in the dark” – however scientists are puzzled as to why they have developed this ability – what advantage it may offer to a species.

Stinkhorn Mushroom – (Phallales)

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The photographs are of a stinkhorn and a netted stinkhorn. As their name suggests, this variety is known for the foul smelling sticky spores on the tip. The “dung” smell attracts flies and other insects which then spread the spores.

Giant Puffball – (Calvatia gigantean)

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The giant puffball can grow up to 70cm diameter – they are edible and supposedly very tasty (whilst the flesh inside remains white) the inside of a mature puffball is a brown/green colour.

Coral Tooth Fungus – (Clavaria)

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This fungus is often found in very old and mature forests, only some varieties of this species are edible, but only when the plant is young and spongy – as it gets older, the flesh turns woody and fibrous – but reports are that the fungus has strong laxative effects.

REMEMBER – Never eat a mushroom or fungus if you are unsure of its variety….Recite this old adage

There are old mycologists

There are Bold Mycologists

But there are no old bold mycologists

An apples seeds believe it or not can kill you, not as many as a single fruit but if you ate an apple a day, over a month and ingested the seeds with chewing them, you could infact kill yourself. They contain a substance called cyanogen glycoside, red apples contain more of this substance and it is pretty easy to consume a fatal dose. The leaves and seeds of other fruits contain glycosides too, such as plums, peaches, apricots, almonds and cherries.

Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid salts, the oxalic acid salts will cause kidney stones and other kidney disorders, and they will wreck your kidneys ability to extract vitamins and minerals from your food that your blood will need to keep your body healthy. If a large amount of these acid salts are consumed they can lead to convulsions or even a coma. The Tomato vines and leaves contain alkaloid poisons, the seeds hold a trace of these poisons but they are not as damaging as the vines or leaves, the seeds can be digested and pass through your body with out releasing the poison into your system. These poisons will cause your digestive system to slow down the process of ingesting minerals or vitamins, causing other parts of the body to come to a stand still. The alkaloid poisons also effect the nervous system causing them to over react to a stimulus, and cause twitching and uncontrollable shakes.

Poisonous Berries

There are many poisonous berries in this world, some are common knowledge some have yet to still be discovered. Humans know that if we don’t know the berry we simply don’t eat them but animals are not as intelligent and most of them die as a result.

Actaea Pachypoda

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The Actaea Pachypoda is also known as Doll’s Eyes or the White Bane berry,  it is a flowering plant an is highly poisonous. These berries could be found worldwide and could even be in the shady part of your garden. They are very common in wooded areas that provide shade. They die off completely at the end of the growing season right after they have flowered, these plants are known as a herbaceous plant. New growth of these plants in the new season, form from surviving tissues of parts of the plant that lay on the ground. The fruits of these plants grow in clusters of about 10 cm and they berry themselves are about 1cm in diameter. This entire plant is considered to be highly poisonous to humans and animals. The berries contain a substance called cardiogenic toxins, these toxins will sedate a human and cause cardiac arrest, which causes your muscles to cease up including your heart and you will ultimately die.

Actaea Rubra

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These berries are a relative to the berries above only these ones are red in colour, they are also known as the Red Bane Berry or the China Berry. They are found in marshy grounds worldwide on riverbanks and in swampy areas. They have the same appearance as the white berry, but they are smaller and more sweet and they grow in larger clusters. The plant grows to be 31 inches tall, they have three leaves on the ends of their seperated stems, the underside of these leaves have hairs and the edges of the leaves are curled under with a jagged edge to them, unlike the white berry. As well as causing the effects of the white berry if ingested they have other damaging effects too, it can cause nausea, dizziness, gastrointestinal disfunction and can increase your pulse rate causing a fever. As little as 6 of these berries will kill an adult and it will only take two of them to kill a child.

Solanum Plants

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There are three types of this poisonous berry depending on its location, The Caribbean, The European and the American Solanum. They are more commonly known as the Nightshade Berry because of its appearance, it is a small black or dark purple colour and can be easily mistaken for a black current. The plant grows to 1.5 meters tall, depending on where they are in the world determines the size of the leaves. The leaves grow to be 10×7cm or a little smaller, they have a reddish purple colour on the underside of the leaf, this is very important to know because they are so similar to wild black currents. When these are fully mature they contain a substance called solanine which can be very dangerous to the human anatomy. The berry colour can differ depending on  the species and location of the Nightshade. They can vary from a purple colour to a dull green, or a light green to a yellow colour or the colour of the above species. The solanine in these berries can cause a range of disfunctions in the body including gastrointestinal and neurological disorders, diarrea, vomiting, hallucinations, fever, paralysation, stomach cramps, headaches, hypothermia, jaundice or burning of the throat. If you consume over 3-6 mg of this substance you will experiance all of these symtoms and you will die as a result.

Aster

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Aster is a perennial that is great for late summer and fall bloom.  Varieties of aster grow wild in a range of climates and almost any environment. They are available in a wide variety of colors. The aster tataricius pictured above is used in traditional Chinese medicine for antibacterial purposes.

Crocus

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Crocus is a  perennial and is first to bloom in spring. They are very hardy. If you live in a cold climate where snow and frost still occur in early spring, these flowers  are a good choice because their flowers and leaves are protected by a waxy cuticle. They are one of the few flowers that will flourish despite frost. Autumn crocus flower in September through November in the northern hemisphere when most flowers have long since passed.

Tulip

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Tulips are perennials grown from bulbs. They can be grown in the cold and snowy winter. Tulips do best in areas with cool springs and early summers.  Tulips are generally associated with Holland although they are commonly grown in gardens everywhere. A friend of mine just informed me that Pella, Iowa celebrates their annual Tulip Time Festival the first weekend in May. I would love to be there for the celebration.

Daisy

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Daisies are sometimes considered to be a weed. They spring up in lawns and are not affected by lawnmowers. Their name comes from “day’s eye” because the whole head of the flower closes at night and opens in the morning.  Daisies are extremely easy to grow and can fill a garden with sunshine with their bright color. Children love to make daisy chains from the flowers.

Morning Glory

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Morning glories are perennial plants, however in colder climates they are treated as annuals. Like daisies, morning glories are considered a weed by some. In parts of the Australian bush land, they grow in dense thickets. They spread quickly with their long creeping stems. They are invasive and can crowd out and smother other plants. They get their name because they flower in the morning. The flower dies in the afternoon and is replaced with a new bloom each day.

So Many Choices

These are just a few of the many flowers we can look forward to as spring approaches. I hope you’ve enjoyed this sneak peek and when spring does arrive, that you find time in your busy day to take time to smell the flowers.

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Funguses are part of nature’s cycling action for returning old, dead woody material back to the ecosystem. Far more unusual that expected, some researchers at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) recently discovered that white pine trees have an interesting symbiotic relationship with a certain type of fungus, -a fungus that actually eats bugs! The Laccaria bicolor fungus preys upon insects to extract their nitrogen, which the trees need. In exchange, the trees trade carbon to the fungus for the nitrogen the fungus supplies. Nutrient cycling can be more strange than we have believed. Not only are the fungus basically eating protein, but so are the trees!

I Think I Saw This in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

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Okay, -this just looks like Ewok village homes to me. Ewoks are those little fuzzy teddy bear warrior things from the Endor moon, in the George Lucas movie “Return of the Jedi.”

“Excuse Me, -Is This a Piece of Your Brain?”

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I love this one. Anytime I see anything that even remotely resembles a human brain, I can hear the voice of John Cleese from the comedy series “Faulty Towers” whom in one episode having picked up a piece of lint from the carpet near a particular snooty female guest (whom apparently was at that moment having difficulty with her hearing aid,) asked her rather loudly something to the effect of “I do say, -is this a piece of your brain?”

Something From a Disney Movie, Maybe?

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I can hear the music from the movie “Fantasia” and in my mind can see those mushroom people (apparently in the movie, these were Chinese mushrooms) dancing, spinning and skating around. Very magical.

Nature’s Canvas and Art Supplies

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Back in New York State, we would snap these things off of large dead Elm trees. They were fresh, moist and semi-soft but firm on the underside. Using a dulled nail point, wooden stick like a chopstick or the wrong end of an artist’s paint brush, we would scratch images and stuff on these. The fungii would eventually dry and become hard, but the dark, almost black lines would remain against the pale white background. Trace-art, on fungus.

Some diluted washy-paint would finish the artwork, painting the sky or the distant mountains, etc.

Miniature Forests of Fantasy

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I love mosses and mossy banks. Walking on these barefooted, feeling the moist springiness beneath my feet. The smell was amazingly clean, crisp and fresh. The air rich in negative ions, healthy and it just smelled oh so good! The forest is a wonderful place to be. I am longing for Springtime already, -and it’s not even really winter yet!

Coconut is a large palm, growing in a tropical countries. It grow vigorously on sandy soils and lightly tolerant of salty waters. It prefer an area with rich supply of sunlight and rainfall. It needs high humidity and not good in dry climate. It needs warm condition for successful growth.

It is made from a dry nut which is full of sinews and pulpy middle layer with a hard woody inner shell enclosing a single seed.

The coconut meat is the one that attach to the inside wall of the stone of the coconut. It is the white and fleshy edible part of the seed. It contain less fat which is saturated and contain less sugar, more protien, high in minerals like zinc, iron and phosphorous. If the coconut still green the meat is thin and tender. It can be made into nata de coco as snack and it is softer and more like jelly.

Coconut has a three bud outlet that are plainly perceptible to the eye when the husk is removed. It is the stone of the coconut which is the hardest part called the shell. It can be use as fuel and can be made as charcoal. The dried coconut shell with husk can be cut into half and it can be used as a floor scrub. It can be made also as wooden pin for cooking.

This is the picture of a coconut cream. It is made by grating the white and fleshy meat of a mature coconut and mix with warm water. The white thick is the cream will be used in cooking by most Asians and it can be made also as coconut candy mix with brown sugar. It can also be refrigerated or doing by a controlled heating to make a coconut virgin oil, which is the cream will rise to the top and separate out of the milk. The left over in making the coconut milk is used also as supply and can be a nourishment for the animals in the farm or ranch.

The coconut juice is produce by cutting the flower cluster of the coconut tree and can be drunk as wine known as “Tuba” in the Philippines.

The water from the immature coconut or not fully develop young coconut can be drunk also as fresh and sweet. It is highly nutritious refreshing drink when the weather is humid and use as a sports drink in the Philippines.

The coconut leaves can be made as materials to make baskets and straw for roof cover and the fiber of the husk of the coconut is used in making rope and the leaflets midribs tied together can be made as brooms and brushes. The trunk of the coconut is used to make furnitures and the roots can be use as dye.

All parts of the coconut are useful. It is an economic value and it is the tree of a thousand uses.

Image credit: Mimifroufrou

Corpse flower is native to Sumatra Islands. It is believed to be the largest flower in the world with 2.11 meter tall. Often this flower grows more than 25 feet long. The weight of this flower is 80 kilograms. It smells like decomposing mammal.

Hydnora Africana (Hydnoraceae)

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Hydnora Africana is native to Southern Africa. This parasitic plant grows underground, but the flower emerges above the ground. This flower emits an odor of feces to attract dung beetles, carrion beetles etc.

Helicodiceros muscivorus (Dead Horse Arum Lily)

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Dead Horse Arum Lily is native to the north-western Mediterranean region. This flower has an unpleasant odor of rotting meat. This has a rare feature of raising its temperature by thermogenesis.

Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum)

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Dragon Arum is native to Greece, Balkans, Crete and Aegean Islands. This flowers smells like rotting flesh. This has large spathe and spadix.

Rafflesia arnoldii

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Rafflesia is native to Sumatra and Borneo Islands. This is the largest individual flower. This flower can grow three feet across and weighs more than 10 kilograms. It smells like rotting flesh. Another interesting feature of this plant is, it has no leaves, stems and roots.

Stapelia

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Stapelia is widely prevalent in South Africa. This flower is hairy textured and emits the smell of rotten flesh to attract the blow flies.

Huernia

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Huernia is native to Eastern and South Africa. The flowers of this species are funnel or bell shaped. They emit the odor of dead flesh to attract flies.