Aquilegia (Common Name: Columbine)

The Latin word “columba” means dove or pigeon, and it is said that the petals of the columbine look like birds (doves) in flight which is how the flower acquired its common name. 

But the botanical name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin word “aquilinum” which means “like an eagle” because the bright yellow spurs in the center of the flower are said to resemble eagle’s talons or claws.  

Columbines are best utilized in a woodland garden. Flowers appear in spring along with delicate fern-like foliage (which, alas, is susceptible to leaf miner by mid-summer). Once flower production has ceased, allow the seeds to drop and propagate naturally. The plants can then be cut to the ground where they will lay dormant until the following spring. Combine with ferns, hostas, solomon’s seal, and other shade-loving perennials that will fill in the woodland border once the columbines are gone for the season.  

Gentiana catesbaei (Elliot’s Gentian).  Native perennial to the north- and southeastern United States, preferring boggy soils in sunny locations. Clusters of tubular, blue, funnel-shaped flowers appear October through November. The plant was widely used by Catawba Native Americans for medicinal purposes. The genus name Gentiana is derived from Gentius, an ancient King of Illyria (region of Southern Europe, Balkan Peninsula, 168 BC) who first recognized the tonic properties of the plant, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Illustration: Jacob Bigelow, American Medical Botany (1817-20), engraving by Annin and Smith. 

Gentiana catesbaei (Elliot’s Gentian). 

Native perennial to the north- and southeastern United States, preferring boggy soils in sunny locations. Clusters of tubular, blue, funnel-shaped flowers appear October through November. The plant was widely used by Catawba Native Americans for medicinal purposes. The genus name Gentiana is derived from Gentius, an ancient King of Illyria (region of Southern Europe, Balkan Peninsula, 168 BC) who first recognized the tonic properties of the plant, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Illustration: Jacob Bigelow, American Medical Botany (1817-20), engraving by Annin and Smith. 

Witch-hazel is a deciduous spring-flowering tree with fragrant fringe-like blossoms that appear on branches before the leaves emerge. Pictured: Hamamelis virginiana, a native to the eastern and central United States. This is another favorite under-story tree for the woodland garden, blooming mid-March here in Georgia, Zone 7B. 

The botanical name Hamamelis comes from two Greek words: one meaning “apple” (signifying a fruit), and the other meaning “at the same time.” Flowers on the witch hazel are produced “at the same time” the previous year’s fruit is maturing and scattering seeds from its branches. As to the common name (witch hazel), the word “witch” is a derivative of an Old English word “wych,” denoting the term “to bend” because the branches of the witch hazel are pliable. The plant is not related to the hazel nut tree at all, but the leaves do have a similar appearance, thus the common name “witch hazel.” 

Colonists and Native Americans used witch hazel for a number of maladies, particularly in the treatment of wounds, sore muscles, and abrasions. Today, plant extract from witch hazel leaves and bark is widely used in skin care products and is especially useful as an astringent. Cosmetically, it is used in the treatment acne, and medicinally for minor rashes, blisters and insect bites. Witch hazel is one of the few native medicinal plants approved by the FDA as a non-prescription ingredient in over-the-counter products. 

Botanical Illustration for the Witch Hazel: Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen. 

More information about Witch Hazel as a medicinal element, here.

Yes. One of my favorite conifers, and the perfect plant for Pi Day because its botanical name is Picea orientalis - and today we’re honoring the Pinophyta Division (conifers) of the Plant Kingdom, specifically, trees with botanical names that begin with “Pi” ~ like Picea. 

batesnursery:

WHOA. These Golden Oriental Spruces (Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’) are blowing my mind. Iseli Nursery never disappoints.

March 14th is Pi Day! 

And to celebrate we are going to honor the Pinophyta Division (conifers) of the Plant Kingdom, specifically, trees with botanical names that begin with “Pi” ~ like Picea and Pinus. 

Pinophytes are gymnosperms (seed-producing plants) that include conifers. The Latin word Coniferae means cone-bearing, or fruit-bearing of a conical shape. Conifers in the Pinophyta Division consist of cedar, fir, juniper, redwood, hemlock, spruce, yew, and pine, to name a few. Coniferous trees can be found on every continent in the world, except Antarctica (where they thrived during the Cretaceous period). 

Conifers are evergreen and highly adaptable to very cold climates. Their needles “harden off” before winter temperatures plunge, making them resistant to freezing snow and ice. Their symmetrically-tapered shape and downward-sloping limbs allow them to shed snow in winter so that their branches do not break under the weight of accumulated snow. Isn’t it ironic that conifers no longer exist on Antarctica?

Pinophytes do not flower. Rather, conifers produce both male and female cones on the same tree. The female cone (ovulate cone) contains ovules which are fertilized by pollen-bearing cones (the males). Pollen is transferred to the female cone by wind and insect movement in the spring. While the pollen grains develop into seeds, the scales on the cone remain tightly closed to protect the maturing seeds. Once the seeds have matured, the scales on the cone begin to open and seeds fall to the ground, or are carried off by wind and insects. March 14th is just days before spring…the perfect time to celebrate Pinophytes.

Pictured above: a few “Pi” trees and their cones. Pinus and Picea are both classified in the Pinophyta Division of the Plant Kingdom. 

Happy Pi Day! Celebrating the day with Pinophytes. 

Page from a Dutch book on paper-making, a rare edition published in Amsterdam by Jan Christiaan Sepp (1770). Research on paper-making and experiments with vegetable materials as an alternative to “rags” was crucial at this time. Rags (recycled fibers from used textiles), were in short supply, so transforming different types of material into paper, without the use of rag fibers, became a necessity. Plant materials that were converted into paper products included tree moss, grapevine bark, hemp, stinging nettle, cabbage stalks, and hop tendrils, to name a few. Jacob Christian Schäffer (1718-1790) was the key figure in the research for rag alternatives, producing several volumes on his research. 

Page from a Dutch book on paper-making, a rare edition published in Amsterdam by Jan Christiaan Sepp (1770).

Research on paper-making and experiments with vegetable materials as an alternative to “rags” was crucial at this time. Rags (recycled fibers from used textiles), were in short supply, so transforming different types of material into paper, without the use of rag fibers, became a necessity. Plant materials that were converted into paper products included tree moss, grapevine bark, hemp, stinging nettle, cabbage stalks, and hop tendrils, to name a few. Jacob Christian Schäffer (1718-1790) was the key figure in the research for rag alternatives, producing several volumes on his research.