People and Plants

The Pomegranate and the Myth of the Eternal Return

2011-06-28T03:18:00.000-07:00

One day when Persephone was picking violets (Viola odorata) and other plants.... the Earth opened and her uncle Hades, Lord of the Realm of the Dead, kidnapped her (the abduction of Persephone is a common theme in art: the Bernini sculpture in the Palace Villa/Galleria Borghese, Rome is an excellent example).
Persephone was the daughter of the goddess Demeter (both simply known as "The Goddesses") who ruled over the crops (especially wheat and other cereals). The mother tried to find her daughter during many weeks, looking for her in many places (there were specific places that the ancients said to have been visited by Demeter during her quest, where she had rested, etc.). When she finally knew the bitter fate of her daughter, she did not accept it and demanded that Persephone should returned to her.
An eternal law ruling all (including gods) said that whoever eat something in the Realm of the Dead could not return to the World of the Living .... Turns out that while in the Underworld, Persephone ate some pomegranate seeds .... so she could not return to her mother….but her mother threatened to kill all Humans by preventing the grain from growing in the fields ands the Fates and the Gods accepted that Persephone could return, but only for six months (not in vain had she broken an Eternal Law ....).
When Demeter receives Persephone, after six months of absence, her heart rejoices, full of joy and the fields are full of life (Spring ).... as time goes by the sweetness of the reunion gives way to the heat of Summer ...and Persephone must now go back to the Underworld ... her mother is sad again (Autumn ).... she misses her daughter (Winter) .. ... but behold, Persephone returns…and it is Spring is back again..... with this myth the Greeks explained the succession of the seasons .... a Law of Eternal Return ..... linked to the passion of Persephone for the pomegranate (Punica granatum).
Painting by Lord Leighton (c.1891).

Saffron (Crocus sativus)

2011-06-26T03:33:00.000-07:00

Saffron (Crocus sativus, family Iridaceae) is a bulbous plant that has its origin in Greece and Asia Minor.

From its stigmas (each flower has three stigmas that correspond to the upper structures of the female structures, where the pollen grains will fall and germinate), we obtain the most rare and expensive of all spices.

It takes about 100.000-150.000 flowers (picked by hand) to obtain one kilogram of saffron.

The use of saffron is very ancient, there are records of its use in the Minoan Civilization (Crete), in Egypt, etc.. Today, there are several saffron producing regions: La Mancha (Spain), Kashmir (India / Pakistan), Gatinais (France), Kozani (Greece), Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Italy, etc, but the most expensive is, in general, the Spanish saffron.

The molecule that is responsible for the color of saffron is a carotenoid - the crocin, which also exists in the fruits of gardenia (Gardenia grandiflora, family Rubiaceae). These fruits were used to dye with yellow the ceremonial robes of the emperor of China. The yellow silk was reserved for the Son of Heaven - a title used by the Chinese Emperor.

Jet, Araucaria and Queen Victoria

2011-06-24T05:29:00.000-07:00

Jet is a fossilized resin from trees that belong to the Araucariaceae family.

During the Victorian period (1837-1901) it was crafted in jewels used as a mourning sign.

Queen Victoria became a widow at the age of 42 (1861) and, until her death at 81, she always dressed in black.

During this long period, she occasionally used jet, thus contributing to its popularization.

Spiritualism, gothic novels, the limbo, death, grief, etc., were popular themes during the Victorian period; but when these “fashions” declined, jet disappeared from jewels’ markets.
The jet used in England came from Whitby, a small town by the sea.

The Yew Tree (Taxus baccata)

2011-06-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

The yew (Taxus baccata) belongs to the family Taxaceae and it is very easy to identify because of the scarlet aril surrounding the seed.

It is a highly toxic plant, except for the aril which intends to be seen and eaten by birds, with the seed itself, to make the seed dispersion. Birds see red very well and, in general, flowers with red petals are intended to attract bird pollinators or seed dispersers (there are exceptions - the poppy, etc.).

The yew was the primary source of taxol (obtained initially from the species Taxus brevifolia), a compound that inhibits mitosis and is used to treat certain forms of cancer of the mammary glands, lungs and ovaries.

In the United Kingdom, France, etc.., there are yews with hundreds of years, planted near the cemeteries. There are several explanations to justify why yews are planted in cemeteries. Probably it must have been a Christian appropriation of the symbolism associated with these primeval trees and ancestral places of worship where Christians later built churches and cemeteries.
Its wood is very flexible and was the raw material used to manufacture bows for the armies and also for hunting (Robin Hood, etc....)

The Legendary Silphium

2011-06-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

A coin from Cyrene (present day Lybia), representing the silphium, a plant of the Apiaceae family (the same of coriander, fennel, parsley, etc ...) which was extinct in the first century A.D..

Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, said that the last branch of it was offered to the Emperor Nero. This is probably the first historical record of a plant’s extinction.
The silphium was used as a condiment and also as a contraceptive.
In the nineteenth century, the French Academy of Sciences sent a mission to Libya in search of the legendary silphium, but without any results.
Some authors believe that silphium is asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida) and, as such, it is not extinct, but it is likely that it was indeed a distinct species (comparing the pictorial records left in coins with the current asafoetida plant).

The Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqua) and the Jewels of the Prince

2011-06-22T00:35:00.000-07:00

The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) is a plant belonging to the legume family (Fabaceae), the same family as beans (Cicer arietinum), mimosa (Acacia dealbata), arabic-gum (Acacia senegal) and thousands of other species ...
The carob tree is originally from Palestine/Israel/Arabian Peninsula and should have been introduced by the Moors in Iberia Peninsula (carob comes from the Arabic al-harruba).
In the past, the pods were used as animal food (horses, mules, pigs, etc.) and also in human food (in times of famine, and as festive food). Some Christian traditions state that it was the ascetics and prophets’ food (John the Baptist - so in English, it is called St. John's bread).
The carob seed flour contains mucilage that is used as a thickener in some foods (soups, ice cream) and also has pharmaceutical applications (bowel movements).
The word carat comes from the Greek kerátion (little horn) and come to some Europeans languages via the Arabic word qirat. Each carat is the equivalent to 200 mg (0.2 grams) - the approximate weight of a carob seed because in the past, these seeds were used as units of weight, especially for precious stones.
When referring to gemstones, carat corresponds to 200mg, when it comes to gold, carat is a measure of purity and not of weight. For example, 24 carat gold is pure gold, 18 carat gold represents 18 parts gold and the remaining 6 (to make up 24) are a mix of other metals.
A well-known romance of Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is Cat Among Pigeons, (1959) in which the Jewels of a Indian prince, weighting many carats, were hidden inside a ... well, I can not tell….

The last forests of cedars of Lebanon

2011-06-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

A relic ... one of the last forests of cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) ... these large trees were once used for the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem (the spiritual center of the ancient Jews), the thrones and the ceremonial boats of the Pharaohs, in vessels of the Phoenicians, etc. .... In 1876, Queen Victoria sponsored the construction of an wall that protects the last cedars in the forest of Bsharri (Becharre) (see photo) .... today, as in the past, the cedars of Lebanon are a symbol of the country, as we can see in its flag.