The Daily Croissant

Eclectic Perambulations in the Noosphere

  • The Book of Kudzu: a Culinary and Healing Guide

    • 9 Nov 2011
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    • 08November11 Herbs Invasive Kudzu Medicinal Weeds ethnobotany
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    read it all via books.google.com

     

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    Copyright (c) Sarah "Sallie" Thayer

     

    Kudzu Rising
    Copyright 2004 © Ronald W. Hull


    With kudzu rising it's not surprising,
    That the killer bee moves north. 
    The sparrow sings while the bee stings,
    And the black starling has no worth. 

    Bamboo inches, its tendrils itches,
    To slowly cover earth.
    Eucalyptus grows in stately rows,
    Pissing acid rain like it was Perth. 

    Fire ant mounds, daily hounds,
    The grazing brahma’s berth. 
    Kudzu crawls up our walls,
    And peeks into our mirth.

    Treetop high, it shades the sky,
    Creeping beneath a sea of green. 
    Not the first, nor the last,
    To conquer our pristine scene. 

    Asian men walked a thin slice,
    Thirty thousand years before,
    Crossing over a bridge of ice,
    To reach this hallowed shore.

    The steeds of conquistadors,
    Came and played to preen.
    The Irish come from Ireland,
    For the “wearin’ of the green.”

    And now the South is wearin’ it,
    As the kudzu crawls on north.
    “Watch out bamboo, here I come.”
    Another alien among us, …
    … for what it’s worth!


     

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  • Echium vulgare ( Viper's Bugloss or Blueweed )

    • 21 Mar 2011
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    • 21Mar11 Flora Honeybees Toxins Wyoming ethnobotany
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    Blue, Beautiful and Bee-Loved

    It has been introduced to North America and is naturalised in parts of the continent, being listed as an invasive species in Washington.[3]

    Echium is grown as an oilseed crop because of the fatty acid composition of the seed oil. Like borage and evening primrose oil, it contains significant amounts of gamma linolenic acid (GLA), but it also contains the rarer stearidonic acid (SdA).[5]

    Reasons for Concern: Contact dermatitis for humans, potential toxicity to livestock due to pyrrolizodine alkaloids, a host for several crop pathogens, and a potential increaser on grazed rangelands due to its unpalatable nature (this concern probably precludes worries of toxicity for cattle ranchers; however, sheep and horses may be a different story)  

    Current Wyoming Distribution: Recently found in Laramie County, just west of Cheyenne along a 5 mile stretch of rail-road tracks. The Wyoming Pest Detection Program has initiated a detailed mapping effort of the area and will be finished soon. 

    The good news appears to be that the Laramie County infestation has only spread a few miles in 18 years. However, the infestation appears to be expanding out away from the railroad corridor into both grazed and un-grazed rangeland and along the roadside.  
    How did it get to Laramie county? We don’t yet know, but the railroad is a good candidate based upon the location of the infestation.

    via en.wikipedia.org

     

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  • Common weed petty spurge vs skin cancer

    • 26 Jan 2011
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    • 26Jan11 Cancer Flora Health ethnobotany
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    "Sap from the common garden weed petty spurge appears to treat non-melanoma skin cancers, experts are reporting in the British Journal of Dermatology.  

    The plant sap has been used for centuries as a traditional medicine, and the researchers wanted to put it through its paces in a proper clinical trial.

    After a one month, 41 of the 48 cancers had shown a complete clinical response to the treatment, meaning no trace of the tumour could be found on clinical examination."

    via bbc.co.uk

     

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  • Nigella sativa

    • 18 Sep 2010
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    • 9.18.10 Flora Spices ethnobotany
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    via en.wikipedia.org

    "In English, Nigella sativa seed is variously called fennel flower, nutmeg flower, Roman coriander, blackseed or black caraway. Other names used, sometimes misleadingly, are onion seed and black sesame, both of which are similar-looking but unrelated. The seeds are frequently referred to as black cumin (as in Bengali: kalo jira, kalo jeera, kali jeera), but this is also used for a different spice, Bunium persicum. The scientific name is a derivative of Latin niger "black"."

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  • Passiflora pinnatistipula

    • 17 Sep 2010
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    • 9.17.10 Flora ethnobotany
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    via ubcbotanicalgarden.org

    "According to USDA GRIN database, this species is native to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. However, other references suggest it is perhaps only native to Bolivia, and has since been cultivated elsewhere in South America for its edible fruit (not quite ripe in that photo). Known in Spanish as purotacso, tacso or tintin (and to some indigenous peoples as jampaijhuay, the fruits are sometimes exported to Europe, where they are sold as cholupa or gulupa. Ulmer and MacDouglas, authors of Passiflora: Passionflowers of the World, describe the edible grayish-white pulp of the fruit as being "sweetish to flavorless to slightly sour" and point out that it can be freshly eaten or used in desserts or drinks."

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  • Moringa oleifera

    • 17 Sep 2010
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    • 9.17.10 Ecology Flora Food Natural Resources ethnobotany
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    image via botu07.bio.uu.nl
    via en.wikipedia.org

    Moringa oleifera, referred to simply as Moringa or Drumstick Tree
    is an exceptionally nutritious vegetable tree with a variety of potential uses. 

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  • Maclura pomifera {Osage Orange)

    • 8 Dec 2009
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    • Flora ethnobotany
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    via ubcbotanicalgarden.org

     

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  • Welcome to Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages

    • 25 Nov 2009
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    • Flora Spices ethnobotany
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    via uni-graz.at

     

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  • Hyptis crenata (Brazilian Mint Tea) as pain reliever

    • 25 Nov 2009
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    • Health ethnobotany
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    via docsaleeby4.blogspot.com

     

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  • Turmeric: the genus Curcuma - Google Books

    • 19 Nov 2009
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    • Food Health Spices ethnobotany
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    via books.google.com

     

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