Daniel Atha put on his waders and ventured slowly into the Pool, near West 103rd Street, one of several bodies of water in Central Park. He was after a broad-leaved yellow pond lily and an iris of indeterminate species.
He carefully collected the two specimens, along with a baseball bearing Derek Jeter’s signature. After he studied the iris for a moment, his face brightened. He thought the flower might not … Read more
There are roughly 3 trillion trees on Earth—more than seven times the number previously estimated—according to a tally by an international team of scientists. The study also finds that human activity is detrimental to tree abundance worldwide. Around 15 billion trees are cut down each year, the researchers estimate; since the onset of agriculture about 12,000 years ago, the number of trees worldwide has dropped by 46%.
– Ken … Read more
Michelle Posey of Pelican Produce. Upper Ninth Ward
By Elsa Hahne
Sometimes the vacant lot next door, overgrown with weeds, turns into a beautiful garden. Not by itself, of course, but since nobody’s moved in and no houses are being built there, it can seem like magic.
That’s true for hundreds of neighbors in the Lower and Upper Ninth Ward as well as for residents throughout the city. And in … Read more
Believe it or not there has been a steady demand In China for American ginseng for well over two hundred years.
In fact, for a brief time, ginseng was America’s #1 export in terms of dollars and it’s still in demand n China. American ginseng is believed to have a different effect (“yin”) vs. Chinese ginseng (“yang”)
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
Dr. James A. Duke, PhD, Ethnobotanist, PhD in Botany (UNC, Chapel Hill; Phi Beta Kappa; Distinguished Alumnus), served 3 years with Missouri Botanical Garden, 7 years with Battelle Memorial Institute in Panama, Colombia and Columbus Ohio, as an ecologist; and 27 years as economic botanist, with USDA in Beltsville, Md.
On Sept. 30, 1995, he retired from the USDA. Before retiring, Dr. Duke brought his ethnobotanical and phytochemical database online … Read more
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
Psychoactive plants have been omnipresent during all the stages of hominid evolution – but is there any evidence that they may have had an important influence or been the evolutionary catalyst for the emergence of modern humans?
Mythological tales of a “forbidden fruit” acting to awaken humankind from their “natural” or protohuman state are not uncommon, but some recent findings of science now seem to give new meaning to such … Read more
Site of Herb Walk in Chicago on Milwaukee and Kedzie Avenues in Logan Square
Amaranth — Amaranthus retroflexus — Ancient food of the Americas; very high mineral and protein content. Excellent for anemia
Sheep Sorrel — Rumex acetosella — Good food for salads, kidney aid
Milkweed — Asclepias syriaca — white milky sap for warts, edible flowers and very young pods
Prairie Dock — Silphium terebinthinaceum — decorative prairie plant… Read more
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
