Viewing comments posted by greene

43 found:

[ Mountain Corn (Chamaedorea tepejilote) | Posted on November 12, 2020 ]

Chamaedorea tepejilote - the immature male inflorescence is edible either raw or cooked.
Locals call it Pacaya.

[ Dwarf Flowered Heartleaf (Asarum naniflorum) | Posted on February 6, 2020 ]

Hexastylis nanifolia occurs naturally in only a few places in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Please tread lightly.

[ European Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) | Posted on October 27, 2018 ]

The berries are not only edible for birds but are used in some recipes. One example is Zereshk Polo.
Here is a link to one recipe:
https://www.myrecipes.com/reci...

Edit to add video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

[ New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonoides) | Posted on June 4, 2018 ]

Lately, I have been trying some recipes with ingredients from my local Indian grocery store. There is a dish called 'saag' which is normally made with spinach/Spinacia oleracea.
The recipe works just as well using New Zealand Spinach. If you search using the word 'warrigal' you may find other recipes.

[ Indian Bay Leaf (Cinnamomum tamala) | Posted on March 4, 2018 ]

Cinnamomum tamala is known in English as Indian Bay Leaf; the leaves are harvested from mature trees 9-10 years and older) and are used in North Indian cooking where it is called Tej-patta, Tejpat, Tejpatta . The leaves, bark, sap have been used in medicine. In some older texts, you may find references to Malabathra/Maalabathrum.

Please do not confuse this plant with Syzygium polyanthum/Eugenia polyantha which is also known as Indian Bay Leaf and is used in Indonesian and Malaysian cooking.

In many recipes, the term 'bay leaf' is used without specifying which type to use. In European and Western cooking it is most often the Bay Laurel aka Laurus nobilis. There is also the California Bay Leaf aka Umbellularia californica.

There is a West Indian Bay Tree aka Pimenta racemosa which is used to make Bay Rum.

[ Stargrass (Heteranthera zosterifolia) | Posted on February 14, 2018 ]

The image shows a sign/label for Heteranthera zosterifolia. but the larger foliage does not match that plant so the image is misleading.

I have not yet found an image that is not protected by copyright but I could take a photo at an aquarium store as this is a popular aquarium plant.

Here is a link to an image of H. zosterifolia showing the correct foliage at the Copenhagen Botanical Garden:
Image at Plantsystematics.org

Doing a Google Image search omitting 'Copenhagen Botanical Garden; the result shows the H. zosterifolia:
https://www.google.com/search?...

Thank you

[ Spineless Yucca (Yucca gigantea) | Posted on December 4, 2017 ]

My neighbor is from Guatemala where they harvest the flowers and cook them with eggs.

[ Winter's Sunflower (Helianthus winteri) | Posted on October 17, 2017 ]

New Perennial Species From the Southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, California
http://scholarship.claremont.e...

New Wild Sunflower Species
http://www.sunflowernsa.com/up...

[ Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi) | Posted on October 16, 2017 ]

The fruit of this plant is sometimes used to expel intestinal worms in humans - Ayurvedic medicine.

[ Florida Betony (Stachys floridana) | Posted on April 5, 2017 ]

I allow this to grow in part of my yard as it is one of the weeds I harvest
for the rabbits.

[ Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium reginae) | Posted on January 3, 2016 ]

January 3, 2016
This crazy warm winter weather has confused the plants. They sent up flower stalks and are ready to bloom.

Update:
The weather turned cold again and the flower stalks are black. Dead. I hope the plant will cooperate and send up new flower shoots when Spring arrives.

[ Alsike Clover (Trifolium hybridum) | Posted on November 28, 2015 ]

This link explains that Alsike Clover can cause liver damage in horses:
http://www.tsln.com/agliving/e...

[ Hairy Crabweed (Fatoua villosa) | Posted on October 15, 2015 ]

Fatoua villosa is native to temperate Asia, where the roots are used as medicine. The leaves and young stems are cooked as food, usually famine food as they have little taste. The plant found its way to the US, first discovered/described in Louisiana in the 50s-60s. It is a weed in the US, a very prolific seeder. The plant can produce seeds when only 3 inches tall. Ripe seeds are expelled and can be thrown three or four feet away. Unchecked, the plant can reach a height of up to four feet.
It is an agricultural weed, especially when fields are irrigated, and a pesky weed in greenhouses, where it can happily germinate in ideal conditions: damp/wet, warm and sunny. It is best to pull the weed as early as possible and to dispose of it. Do not compost. A layer of mulch may prevent germination of seed, but it's also possible that you can import the seed into your yard in a bag of commercial mulch.

[ Chipilin (Crotalaria longirostrata) | Posted on October 12, 2015 ]

When I first rescued seeds for this plant I did not know anything about it, only that my neighbor, who is from Guatemala, said it is good to eat and called it Chipilin. In the past I knew that members of the Crotalaria family are very pretty, they can become weeds, and many are poisonous. I would not advise anyone to eat any part of a plant without a correct identification.

Continuing research tells me that there are other Crotalaria plants used as food:
C. vitellina and C. pumila, called Chiplin or sometimes Chipil/Chepil, are eaten in Guatemala;
C. ochroleuca, also called Sunnhemp/Sun Hemp, and C. glauca are eaten in parts of Africa;
C. juncea, also called Sunnhemp/Sun Hemp, is eaten in India and Bangladesh.

[ Devil Tree (Alstonia scholaris) | Posted on September 24, 2015 ]

Alstonia was named for C. Alston, professor of Botany at Edinburgh. There are several types of Alstonia, which share the common name "Devil's Tree." There are differences of opinion as to how the name was attached to the trees. Some say that the flowers have such an overpowering sweet smell that people can be lured to sit in the shade of the tree and sleep forever. Some say that the flowers and fruit attract many animals and night pollinators to visit the tree during the night, the night/darkness being the Devil's time.

The wood of Alstonia scholaris was used to make blackboards for schoolrooms and to make slate boards for children. The wood has many varied uses from pencils and paper to coffins and corks. The wood is lightweight, so is useful in construction to make ceilings, carvings, and trim moldings. The wood is useful as fuel/firewood. Small twigs are used as toothbrushes as the wood has antibacterial properties. The pulp can be made into paper. Some wood from the lower part of the tree is used to make bottle corks and floats for fishing nets. Another common name in English is Milky Pine/Milkwood pine; the "milk" being the milky latex produced when the bark is cut. The latex has been used topically for skin ailments and is sometimes used to make chewing gum.

A. scholaris is native to southeast Asia and Australia; grown as an exotic in the US. There is one specimen at the Edison and Ford Estates in Fort Myers, Florida. In India the trees can be found planted in many cities along streets and in parks. For many people in India, the scent of the A. scholaris brings happy memories of their youth as the blooms signal the change of seasons. A single specimen tree in a garden would make a lovely shade tree and add a pleasing floral scent, but the huge numbers of trees in some cities are becoming a problem for some people. When hundreds of trees give off the strong floral scent, the smell can be overpowering; a cloyingly sweet and sickening smell for those who must live, walk, work, or attend school nearby. Once the seeds begin to fly, they can become a problem for people suffering with asthma. In India the city of Noida is making efforts to remove all of the Alstonia scholaris trees, replacing the trees with something less harmful to asthmatics. Removal of mature trees may be difficult as portions of the roots left in the ground can grow new sprouts after the tree has been felled.

Many parts of the tree have medicinal uses; too many medical uses to list here on a plant site, but one medicinal use is as a cure for asthma. :)

[ Rosy Milkweed (Oxystelma esculentum) | Posted on September 20, 2015 ]

The common name Rosy Milkweed refers to the normal flower color, which is a pink/white; plants producing all white flowers are rare.

[ Cow Itch (Mucuna pruriens) | Posted on September 20, 2015 ]

Mucuna pruriens produces seeds that vary in color from black to speckled white.

[ Mauve Clustervine (Jacquemontia paniculata) | Posted on September 20, 2015 ]

Jacquemontia paniculata has the common name Mauve Clustervine/Cluster Vine in English. Don't let the common name fool you; the blooms can be white, or light shades of blue, lilac, purple or mauve. In Chinese the plant has a much different common name: 小牵牛 which translates to 'Small Cows".

[ Carolina Dayflower (Commelina caroliniana) | Posted on September 15, 2015 ]

The plant is native to India. Arrived in the US with rice seed in the late 17th century. This plant can also be found in the Phillipines and Guam.

[ Philcoxia minensis | Posted on September 4, 2015 ]

This plant grows subterranean leaves, which attract tiny worms; the plant is carnivorous.

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