Interpretation

Nature’s Medicine Cabinet BENEFICIAL QUALITIES OF PLANTS Healing Yarrow Achillea milefolium, commonly known as Yarrow, has been used for millennia as a powerful medicinal plant around the world. Yarrow was found in the teeth of Neanderthal skulls in Spain dated to 60,000 years ago. Legend tells that Achilles, the great warrior in the battle of Troy, used yarrow to clean his wounds and stop the bleeding. There are around 130…

Nature’s Medicine Cabinet BENEFICIAL QUALITIES OF PLANTS Healing Yarrow Achillea milefolium, commonly known as Yarrow, has been used for millennia as a powerful medicinal plant around the world. Yarrow was found in the teeth of Neanderthal skulls in Spain dated to 60,000 years ago. Legend tells that Achilles, the great warrior in the battle of Troy, used yarrow to clean his wounds and stop the bleeding. There are around 130…

Friendly Fungi SOIL BIOLOGY Forest Floor Biodiversity Plant root systems are active and complex. There is more than meets the eye in these seemingly simple – typically out-of-view below ground – forms. The root exists in the rhizosphere, a wonderfully alive zone filled with bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. Plant roots secrete a solution known as exudate to manage, nourish, and protect this zone. Chemical messages from the exudate communicate to nearby…

Beautiful Butterflies GARDENING FOR POLLINATORS Pollinator Syndromes The co-evolution of flowering plants and pollinators, like butterflies, is awe-inspiring. Each organism involved in the pollination process has evolved morphological characteristics to ensure the most successful interaction possible. Flower type, shape, color, odor, nectar, and structure vary by the type of pollinator they wish to attract, and that specific pollinator’s vision, mouthparts, sense of smell, and physical capabilities fit these flowers perfectly! These…

Bananas VERSATILE FRUIT Panama Disease Did you know that the common bananas you get from the grocery store are all the same variety? The Cavendish is now the most common banana, although that was not always the case. Until the later 19th century, the Gros Michelle was the most delicious and popular banana variety. Unfortunately, Panama disease (Fusarium oxysporum) decimated the global plantations growing the Gros Michel banana in the 1950’s and…

Bamboo AN AMAZING PLANT Spreading vs. Clumping Varieties Removing the human spine-like rhysomal runners of a decades-old planting of running bamboo from a backyard can lead to much consternation and extraction efforts. For Houstonians who have had this experience, bamboo is considered a wildly problematic plant. They are half right. Bamboo, the fast growing plant on the planet, and the largest grass genera, comes in two major catergories: clumping and running. For…