From: PULLUPYOURPLANTS.COM
Out in the near distance there is an unearthly presence. Its sprawling vines present angular sandpapery leaves. They are pointing toward the hot sun as if to indicate its place in the sky. There has been a protracted drought in the semi-desert scrublands for some time, yet, the plant is unaffected. Not even the locusts — which already ate everything else — go near it.
No harmless things are given such a wide berth.
Sure enough, below the surface, an eyeless 6-foot human-shaped tuber lurks. Traditionally, among the Kiowa, only people of particular authority were permitted to disturb…
FROM: PULLUPYOURPLANTS.COM
Medicinally, Yellow Dock has seemingly been used for everything — by every culture — forever. Unfortunately, it was also heavy-peddled on the medicine show circuit alongside glass bottles of snake oil liniment and sarsaparilla tonic.
Traveler, while it is hard to tell which medicinal uses came from ancient linages and which came from the ‘patent medicine’ quack carts of the 1800’s, you will be surprised to learn the YELLOW DOCK is a plant of EXQUISITE VIRTUE.
***The Narrator dons his cumber bun and top hat***
Whether you are looking for a YELLOW DYE, salad green, APHRODISIAC, TOOTHPASTE, or…
Austromyrtus dulcis
FROM: PULLUPYOURPLANTS.COM
Researching the Midyim berry (pronounced mid-JUM) is like walking through a house of mirrors. You enter the quest to find what appears to be a wealth of information. There are seemingly dozens upon dozens of really old books, spanning centuries, with at least a small blurb on the Midyim berry.
Quickly, though, you learn that appearances are funny things.
All paths lead you face-to-face with the reflection of 19th century Quaker missionary and botanist, James Backhouse. Backhouse tells you something like, “these are the tastiest wild berries I have found in Australia.”
Interesting.
You move to another resource…
FROM: PULLUPYOURPLANTS.COM
If a stranger calls you a “peanut” in America, I suppose you should prepare to physically defend yourself. As much as we all love peanut butter, the peanut is associated with weakness, insignificance, and the phrase “working for peanuts” (i.e. nothing). Now, the Bambara Ground Nut has an entirely different reputation.
Let’s imagine Vigna subterranea is the peanut’s insane third cousin. Where the Peanut needs the kind of coddling and protection only a devoted mother can provide, the Bambara Groundnut is born to kick ass… relatively speaking. It is covered in face tattoos. …
Capsicum annuum
FROM: PULLUPYOURPLANTS.COM
In any given bushel of Pueblo green chili peppers, you are bound to find a random pepper that will burn your face off. When publishing an article about Pueblo Green chilies — especially the regionally specific dish made with it, green chili — you can bet your bikinis that somebody is going to be randomly furious about something you’ve said, how you’ve spelled it, or even who the blank you think you are for writing about it. After all, where pride burns hottest, war is inevitable.
The narrator tears off his shirt revealing a heaving castle…
Ilex paraguariensis
FROM: PULLUPYOURPLANTS.COM
Ilex paraguariensis, a South American holly tree responsible for providing humankind with the caffeinated beverage called Yerba Maté, has been a celebrated infusion in South America since a time immemorial. The leaves and unopened buds are steeped in tradition, sweetened with affection, and served in friendship.
In the wild, Ilex paraguariensis was planted along rivers by the Toucan [9]. Today, Yerba Maté may be found in your local café or grocery store.
In this article we explore the plant, its traditional harvest by yerbateros, its medicinal uses, and even how to prepare maté as they did…
FROM: PULLUPYOURPLANTS.COM
The latest article is on a plant that most Medium denizens will have no problem finding. Simply walk to a grass lawn, extend your arm (palm upward), and swing it in a dramatic fashion to your right. Chances are, you just presented an active plantago habitat to yourself.
Plantago has an incredible history in relation to humankind as a medicine going back to when we were just a weeeeeeeeee toddling lot. Plantago has found its way into multiple Shakespearian plays, poetic works by Akenside, John Armstrong, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rudyard Kipling, Richard Lovelace, Chinese, and Irish legend.
If you…
Go forth, young documentary, and fly… *SPLAT…. NOOOOO!!!!!!
Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis
FROM: PULLUPYOURPLANTS.COM
One afternoon, under the shade of a citron tree, Gautama Buddha reached toward a bough weighted with fruit. He plucked one and considered it for a moment. It was large, round and unappealing to the eye. Biting into its flesh, he found only an offensive bitterness. The Buddha, being so displeased with the fruit, resolved to reach forward again to smite it from existence for its worthlessness. The Buddha would have exercised this power if not for compassion, because, in the same moment, he gave the…
Durio zibethinus
FROM: PULLUPYOURPLANTS.COM
In Malasia, the Selangor Sakai believe/d the moon to be an island of fruit trees laying in wait for the dead [4]. And being an important fruit among them, the durian tree doubtlessly stands proud in the moongroves of their ancestors. While it may be hard stitch images of a fruit jungle and a lunar landscape together, it must be equally difficult to understand how a fruit with an odor so widely described as sickening could possibly be celebrated. Well, in the land of incongruities, durian is a tenured king.
Dressed in viciously sharp spikes, the…
Pull Up Your Plants!
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