I was very happy to see Sweet Cicely offered in this swap - there's a recipe for a fruit compote simmered overnight in a crockpot with quince, pears, apples, spices, etc. and sweetened with its root. With this recipe, you don't have to wait for some quince and pears to ripen in their own time after frost, but can store them without fossil fuel assistance well into the winter, for use whenever convenient for you. I'm assuming this is true, because I used to make a tasty ginger/pear/walnut conserve in the fall while the pears were only good for door stops. And in the quince/sweet cicely recipe, no sugar is required.

But the Sweet Cicely offered in this swap, although considered edible, looks a little different and has been confused with water hemlock, which is poisonous. So I thought this might be good to know.

The Sweet Cicely commonly and safely used over the centuries is Myrrhis odorata - http://www.missouribotanicalga...

And the other Sweet Cicely that might (dangerously) be confused with Water Hemlock is http://www.missouribotanicalga...

@Dave - this potentially dangerous reliance on a common name is one reason why I wish plants in our PlantFiles were organized by their scientific, botanical names.

Hope I haven't offended anyone, because I am very grateful to Dave and folks who keep these seed swaps and related garden activities alive.

Thank you everyone and be nice to nerds,
karen

Bluespiral said:But the Sweet Cicely offered in this swap, although considered edible, looks a little different and has been confused with water hemlock, which is poisonous. So I thought this might be good to know.

And the other Sweet Cicely that might (dangerously) be confused with Water Hemlock is http://www.missouribotanicalga...

Comparing the seeds is a sure way to tell them apart.

Bluespiral said:@Dave - this potentially dangerous reliance on a common name is one reason why I wish plants in our PlantFiles were organized by their scientific, botanical names.

Me, too!

Karen,
Speaking of useless common names, is there another name for the poisonous "water hemlock" you mentioned? I googled "water hemlock " and got pictures of huge trees in the genus Tsuga.

Diana - Osmorhiza longistylis and Myrrhis odorata are both in the same plant family: Apiaceae, sometimes known as the carrot family. Links for these two are given in my first post here.

Also in the Apiaceae family are other plants that also go by the name of Water Hemlock. Four of them are all species belonging to the genus Cicuta - https://www.google.com/search?... .

I'm not a botanist, but when it comes to medical safety and plants, I think scientific nomenclature is more precise than common names.

It's not that I prefer common names to Latin names in general, just that within different contexts, one may be more appropriate than the other. There's a website that begins many of its plant pages with a poem, thus linking poetry and science: www.paghat.com So, if Shakespeare had substituted scientific nomenclature for common, much of the poetic aspect of his writings would have been lost.

It's possible that Socrates was executed by water hemlock, and as to what exactly it might have been, there's a labyrinthian trip through various languages and periods of history here: http://stimpson.allfunandgames...

need to go uncross my eyes
karen

Thank you for pointing that out Karen.

@Dave you do a WONDERFUL job with this site and I am one of those folks who can't stand the common names first bit in plant listings. Most of the "common" names that are used are very unfamiliar to me.

It isn't as though it helps the people who don't know the scientific names - as, say with herbs or veggies - Basils don't all start with Basil or with Ocimum - they might be under purple or cinnamon or lettuce leaf. Ditto all tomatoes aren't under tomato or Solanum - they're all over the place and peppers... I'd never heard of Cowhorn pepper - turns out some call what I've been growing for years that. At first I thought you'd need volunteers to help re-type - but as all the scientific names are within parenthesis, don't doubt you could write something that would make the words in parens appear first, comma whatever words are currently first. So Stokes' Aster (Stokesia laevis 'Honeysong Purple') becomes Stokesia laevis 'Honeysong Purple', Stokes' Aster. But, this site is free and we do appreciate your efforts at helping us seed swap.

Anyhoo - thought I'd bring it up - more and more people are becoming more familiar with common names as many seed companies now use them (people now search for Rudbeckia for instance or see them at their local big box store).

Karen - I know they may not, but do wish folks who like plant remedies would search them first. Many are quite dangerous and can cause liver damage. I was just texting with Lisa last night that as much as the local critters frustrate my gardening efforts - I won't grow the highly poisonous plants like Datura, Euphorbia and Ricinus. It's difficult to avoid all poisonous plants - so many of them are.

It really would be nice to have the botanical names listed. BUT ~ thought I would mention, it seems like this (botanical names vs common names in the swap listing) has been an issue for a long time, practically since the swaps began. If I recall correctly, Dave said it would be a huge undertaking to make the change. Let's just hope someday he will have some time to tackle this for us.

Well maybe we could help with that. There is a way to change info in the plant details. If we could do that with the names we could all work on getting them changed to the botanical names.

To add to the general frustration, there have been many scientific names that have been changed lately.
Despite that, Karen, I totally agree that the scientific names are still more reliable and consistent than common names.
I think I'll dib on those Osmorhyza seeds, just to see what grows out. Someone at the Missouri Conservation Department may be able to positively ID them for me before I try making any quince jelly with them.

Osmorhiza longistylis seeds:
https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com...
Conium maculatum seeds:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/w...

Thanks, Janine.
Now I'll be able to see if it is the right seed before I ever plant them.

It certainly takes a lot of nerve to pick a bunch of my seeds after accusing me of sending out poisonous plants instead of edible plants.

@Nature Crone"
I doubt if that was meant as an accusation. It's hard to be sure of people's expertise. However, I was betting on you knowing what you are doing, which is why I dibbed on a packet.

After I had dibbed, I happened to stop in at the Missouri Department of Conservation's educational center (for a total emergency bathroom stop that I had no intention of making in the first place). Since I was already there, I asked if it would be difficult to ID the edible plants versus the poisonous one. They informed me that the poisonous one's flowers have an unpleasant smell, totally different from the edible varieties.
The whole discussion did me a favor. I didn't know what it was, or that I would like to grow it until I researched it.
You offered many wonderful seeds, and I missed out on a few of yours I had wishlisted.
I am very sorry if my comments hurt your feelings.

NatureCrone, I hope you will accept my apology, because I never meant to offend you. In the beginning, I was curious how the Osmorhiza would compare with Myrrhis, and had no idea to where the research and conversation would lead.

My late DH and I lived for weekends when we could hike through local trails, where, to us, it was like walking through paintings, as well as through time with remains of different periods of history under our feet - beauty, art, science - all surrounded us as we walked.

So I especially felt a kinship with you on account of your name, which I love. Plus, for various reasons, I won't see those trails again, so some of the seeds you and others here shared will hopefully bring some of those wildflowers and old-time cottage flowers still blooming around the ruins - to my home.

Anything can be a poison, if too much or too little is used, so we all in the same boat when it comes to risks with what we don't know, as well as don't know that we don't know.

I appreciate all the seeds that you have shared - and most of all the Osmorhiza, because the process of discovery that evolved from my initial curiosity was a fascinating odyssey.

And I hope we can start over and be friends.

karen

@naturecrone. I'm quite certain that is not what Karen meant when she posted what she did. Karen is very knowledgeable and was just sharing some information with others in the swap.

I had no idea that one was poisonous and one was not and I did not see anywhere in Karen's comments where she insinuated that you were sending out poisonous plants . I saw a simple warning because two plants are known as one.

Let's try and keep this group a fun and drama-free place. This is where we come to share our seeds and knowledge.