Guess which wild flower native to Central Asia took western Europe by storm in the 17th century, built and collapsed fortunes, served as currency,  led some to murder, others to suicide? None other than the tulip, of course!

Tulbend, the Turkish word for turban, which the flower resembles, is the source of the plant’s name, though it is called laleh in Persia and Turkey. The diversity of the genus is located in the Pamir and Hindu Kush ranges of the Himalayas and the steppes of Asia Minor. Most cultivars of tulip are derived from Tulipa gesneriana, and adorned the gardens of Sultans and the privileged who could afford such indulgence. The flamboyant colors and elegant chalice-shape of Tulips are instantly recoginzable and have been celebrated by artists, poets and folklorists, weavers and jewellers, architects and novelists, over many centuries. See more »

Andrejs :: Oct.05.2009 :: Tulipa :: Comments Off

Digitalis purpurea
Digitalis lutea

The plant takes its name from digitus, the Latin word for finger and was so called long before official Linnean nomenclature was the practice. The common English name, foxglove, may have originated from folk’s  (woodland folk or faeries) glove. The elongated bell-shaped flowers so easily fit the tip of a finger that their resemblance to a glove or a thimble is unmistakable. In Germany, the plant was called fingerhut or thimble; in Ireland Dead Man’s Thimbles; in Norwegian, Revbielde, meaning “Foxbell,” the only specific reference to fox.

The Common Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, is a favorite ornamental garden plant, valued for its showy flowers, its colors ranging from purple and magenta to pale pinks and whites, its intriguing speckles and freckles, its mottling and spotting. Every part of the plant is toxic, especially the leaves of the upper stem. See more »

Andrejs :: Oct.05.2009 :: Digitalis :: Comments Off

Convallaria majalis ‘Rosea’
Myosotis scorpioides
Polygonatum commutatum

Convallaria majalis  var. rosea (Pink Lily-of-the-Valley)

From the Latin convallis for valley—a favored habitat for the plant—and majalis or belonging to May, this fragrant spring bloom derives its botanical name. Its other names are May Lily, Ladder-to-Heaven, Our Lady’s Tears but most popular of all is the lily-of-the-valley. Its flowers are usually white, although pale to darker pinks are less common but also popular. See more »

Andrejs :: Oct.05.2009 :: Convallaria majalis, Myosotis scorpioides, Polygonatum commutatum :: Comments Off

Citrus sinensis  “Valencia”  (Valencia orange)

Mention “orange” and you instantly conjure up a host of associations—brilliant colors, a fresh, clean scent and a juicy explosion of tart, sweet, tangy flavors.

Oranges originating in Asia centuries ago, slowly made their way across continents and oceans to Europe and the Americas. The Vedas (composed between 1,400 and 800 B.C.E.) refer to citrons and lemons; in Chinese literature 27 varieties of the fruit are mentioned in a book of tributes to Emperor Ta Yu (2205-2197 B.C.E.) by Han Yen Chih in 1178 C.E; Theophrastus (ca. 372-287 B.C.) describes them in his accounts. More recently a Mr. Columbus brought seeds to the New World from his older one. See more »

Andrejs :: Oct.05.2009 :: Citrus :: Comments Off