Category Archives: Botany

Blame it on my northern bias, but I cannot think of a single food in the orchid family beyond vanilla (Vanilla spp.). For the largest plant family (or second largest; depending on who you ask, Asteraceae may be the largest plant family), there is a real dearth  of edible species in the Orchidaceae family. WeContinue reading “Orchid Foods”

How could it be that this flower so closely resembles an elephant? What sort of cosmic genetic shuffling must of taken place? There is a precedent where orchids will mimic their highly specialized pollinator, recreating an image of their mate with petals, stamens, pistils… but there is motive there, and direct relationship. What does thisContinue reading “Elephant’s Head”

I saw these blooming today – a lovely, very abundant parasympathomimetic and smooth muscle relaxant – Garrya elliptica, aka Coast Silk Tassel. This plant is dioecious – meaning that some plants have only male flowers (pollen producing), and the others have only female flowers (seed producing).  The flowers are borne on an inflorescence named aContinue reading “Garrya elliptica”