I remember as a young boy watching the
movie The Three Stooges Meet Hercules, and pretty much I
bought into the whole story. An inventor's time machine took Moe,
Larry and Curly back into ancient Greece where they endured harrowing
adventures. You can google the film to see a trailer, but constantly
look over your shoulder to be sure nobody is watching you. I just did
and I was promised that the movie is an “Entertainment of a
Lafftime,” and it actually is. Anyway, I think if I could get into
a time machine and go back into history, I would go back to ancient
Greece and hang out with old Aristotle and his plant-wise sidekick
Theophrastus. The mixture of their empirically-minded brains,
combined with the culture's lucid imagination of gods, goddesses,
flying horses, woodland and sea nymphs etc., all give a lively
perspective on plants and their origins. Although world events
existed and were recorded prior to the Greeks, the Grecian prism
through which life was understood and explained is what I find
absolutely fascinating.
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| Aglaia |
The Panax genus belongs to the
Araliaceae (or ivy) family, with Panax ginseng being the
well-known Asian ginseng. Linnaeus coined the genus name which means
“all-healing” in Greek because he was aware of its use in Chinese
medicine. Panax shares the same origin as the word panacea and
in Greek mythology Panakeia* (daughter of Asclepius and
Epione) was a goddess of “universal remedy.” She had four
sisters: Hygeia was the goddess of health, cleanliness and
sanitation; Laso the goddess of recuperation from illness;
Aceso the goddess of the healing process; and Aglaia
the goddess of beauty, magnificence and adornment, and of course the
latter would be my preferred goddess.
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| Hippocrates |
*Panakeia is mentioned in the opening
of the Hippocratic Oath: I swear, calling upon Apollo the
physician and Asclepius [Greek god of medicine], Hygeia and Panaceia
and all the gods and goddesses as witnesses, that I will fulfill this
oath and this contract according to my ability and judgement...” A
translation of the entire oath appears at the end of this blog, if
you care.
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| Panax ginseng |
Back to Panax ginseng, I don't grow the
plant, nor have I ever knowingly used it as medicine or for pleasure.
Chinese ginseng (or jin-sim) is the root of the plant which is
characteristically forked, resembling a person's legs. I was in
Beijing in the 1980's, just a few years before the Tiananmen Square
affair, and we wandered into a dusty little herb shop which also
featured a white-coated “doctor” sitting on a low chair
dispensing advice (I guess). I was with a plant-hunting group and we
all noticed jars of ginseng on the shelf and the listed prices ranged
from a lot of money to an unbelievable lot of money –
up to the equivalent of $17,000 for just one root. Our Chinese
interpreters explained that the shape of the root was the deciding
factor in its cost. We marveled at such expense and asked, “who
in China could afford $17,000?” Our interpreters exchanged furtive
glances, grinned and shrugged their shoulders. Remember that in the
1980's China had not yet blossomed economically, so who had $17,000?
Pseudopanax crassifolius
While I don't grow Panax, I do grow a
large specimen of
Pseudopanax crassifolius, an endemic to New
Zealand, but I must keep it protected in a warm greenhouse. I am
clueless as why the genus is so-named because it certainly does not
resemble Panax, though both are in the Araliaceae family. P.
crassifolius is commonly known as “lancewood,” but the narrow
sword-like evergreen leaves occur only when the tree is relatively
young. As the plant matures the leaves change from
simple to
compound*, with a totally different appearance. One theory is
that the fierce leaves on young plants serves to protect it against
browsing by the
moa, the large flightless bird from
prehistoric times. As you can see from the side photo, my daughter
liked to play “wicked fingernails” with the leaves, while I
worried that she'd poke her little sister in the eye.
*Changing leaves is known as
“heteroblastic.”
Paeonia lutea ludlowii
Paeonia mlokosewitschii
A couple of weeks ago we hosted the
American Peony (Paeonia) Society, a group of people who, if they
indulge in that genus, also most likely enjoy other plants such as
our maples, ginkgoes, conifers etc. The Flora Wonder Arboretum hosts
a small number of Paeonia species and hybrid cultivars with two of my
favorites being P. mlokosewitschii and P. lutea ludlowii.
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| Asclepius |
The common name Peony is from
Greek paionia – yep, lots of vowels – and that from
Paeion, the “Physician of the Gods,” its reputed
discoverer.* He was closely associated with Asclepius, both of whom
were invoked as Paian (Healer). Hymns were chanted to Apollo
to ward off evil and were also sung before or during a battle. The
names vary in their spelling, and the gods themselves are shifty; for
example the name Paean is sometimes the alternative name of
Apollo. In the Odyssey, Homer says about the land of Egypt:
There the earth, the giver of grain, bears the greatest store of
drugs, many that are healing when mixed, and many that are baneful;
there every man is a physician, wise above human kind; for they are
the race of Paeeon.
*However it was the Greek
Theophrastus who first gave name to the genus.
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| Iris species |
The iris is the colored portion
of the eye, with the pupil in its center. In botany the genus with
the same name is a group of plants with showy flowers and
sword-shaped leaves, and it was Theophrastus who coined that name
too. In Greek mythology Iris was a messenger of the Olympian gods
(especially of Hera) which sometimes took the form of a rainbow. From
the oldest parts of the Iliad the word is used for both the
messenger and the rainbow.
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| Iris 'Blueberry Parfait' |
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| Iris 'Dancing In Pink' |
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| Iris 'Mexican Holiday' |
I grow a number of Iris species in the
garden, but I'm not really a fan of the big gaudy hybrids with
cutsie-poo names like 'Blueberry Parfait', 'Dancing in Pink',
'Mexican Holiday' etc. Sadly my species plants cannot all be
identified because 1) I'm not an Iris expert and 2) my crew threw
away many of the labels when they cleaned up the leaves in the
autumn. The labels were metal and each had an 18” bamboo stake next
to the label so they would be easy to find. It was painful to realize
that my employees – at least some of them – have no clue to the
importance of a plant name for me. I really feel that I deserve a
lifetime achievement award for my enormous patience and restraint
when dealing with mindless label-losing workers.
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| Crocus species |
Crocus (croci plural) are in the
Iris family and the name is from Greek krokos, and that is a
word derived from Hebrew karkom, Aramaic kurkama and
Arabic kurkum. The word ultimately goes back to the Sanskrit
kunkumam which means “saffron.” In Greek mythology Krokus
was a mortal youth who was unhappy with his love affair with the
goddess Smilax, so the gods turned him into the plant that bears his
name.
The problem was that Smilax was a
nymph, and love always is unfulfilled and tragic when mortal
men mess with goddesses. Smilax, for her part, was transformed from a
woodland nymph into a brambly vine. Smilax is a genus of about 300
species found in the tropics and subtropics worldwide, and common
names included greenbriers, prickly-ivies and catbriers. S. regelii
is from Jamaica and is commonly known as “sarsaparilla,” which is
also a catch-all name for all American species. Anyway it seems as if
the mortal youth came out floristically better than poor Smilax.
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| Minoan Saffron Fresco |
Saffron croci were used to dye the
garments of women of high status, like priestesses, and the preferred
color was yellow to deep orange-red. It originated as a sacred flower
in Crete and eventually made its way into India, and to this day
saffron robes are associated with Buddhist and Hindu priests, monks
and nuns. A pottery discovery at Knossos was decorated with an
apron-like garment with images of croci blossoms. Worn at the waist
they were believed to relieve menstrual cramps, and saffron spice was
used medicinally for the same purpose. Besides that, saffron was
believed to increase the level of potency in men. A Minoan fresco
found at Thera (now Thira) shows women dressed in yellow and
orange-red, gathering saffron stigmas* from croci and offering them
to a seated goddess or priestess.
*The stigma receives pollen and it
is where pollen grain germinates.
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| Hermes |
A lot of myths exist concerning plants
such as crocus. Krokos was a flower-boy who became the lover of the
androgynous Hermes. Since Krokos was mortal, rough play between he
and Hermes resulted in a mortal wound. Wherever the blood of Krokos
fell, a saffron flower grew, the red style* colored the same as his
blood. Interestingly the saffron crocus, the “flower-boy,” is
sterile and cannot produce seeds, and can only reproduce by offsets
on the corms. Eventually traders spread it to Europe, India and China
where the saffron dye and spice had a greater value than jewels or
precious metals. The species (C. cartwrightianus) became the most
widespread species in the Ancient World, at least a thousand years
before the rise of Athens.
*The style is a narrow upward
extension of the ovary, connecting it to the stigma.
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| Narcissus species |
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| Narcissus |
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| Nemesis |
You probably think that the Narcissus
flower was named for the vain youth who marveled at his own
reflection in a pool, then fell in and drowned. That's not how the
story actually goes...but first, in Greek
narcissus means
“numbness” because its bulb houses a toxic substance, a narcotic.
In one legend Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a
stream and remained there to admire it, then eventually died of
starvation. The thoughtful gods transformed him into a flower so he
could remain beside the stream forever. It was the goddess
Nemesis*
who led him to the water in the first place because she didn't like
his proud behavior. No one is certain if the flower is named for the
myth, or the myth for the flower, or if there's any connection at
all. Roman Pliny the Elder claimed that the plant was named for its
fragrance (
narkao) which means “I grow numb,” but long
before that Theophrastus and Dioscorides referred to N. poeticus –
nice name. Eventually Linnaeus in his 1753 Species Plantarum
described the genus when there were six known species (the plural is
narcissi). The name
daffodil is from
affodel,
and that from Greek
asphodelos, but the latter is a completely
different plant genus. But it too was mentioned in Greek mythology,
when Homer described it as “covering a great meadow, the haunt of
the dead.”
*Nemesis: her name was derived from
the Greek word “nemo” meaning “dispenser of dues.” Happiness
and unhappiness were measured out by her, especially with matters of
love, and she made sure that happiness was not too frequent or too
excessive. Geeze – really a bitch!
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| Liriope muscara 'Okina' |
By the way the mother of Narcissus was
Liriope, and she became pregnant when she was raped by the
river-god Cephissus. This time the (Liriope) plant was named
for the goddess. It is a low grass-like genus from east and southeast
Asia, and it is somewhat like another grass-like genus, Ophiopogon,
and both are placed in the Asparagaceae family. The name ophiopogon
is derived from Greek ophis for “snake” and pogon
for “beard.” The Asparagus family includes 114 genera and about
2900 species, the genera which vary from Agave, Beschorneria,
Camassia, Chionodoxa (Greek for “glory of the snow”), Dracaena,
Hosta, Muscari, Polygonatum, Scilla and more.
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| Scilla peruviana |
It was the Greek Theophrastus who
coined the name aspharagos, and so too the name skilla.
From there it became Scilla in Latin and was named for a “sea
onion,” a squill (Urginea maritima). There is a plant also named
Urginea maritima in the Hyacinthaceae family, and its name is due to
one species coming from Beni Urgin, a place or tribal name in
Algeria.
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| Anemone nemorosa |
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| Ovid |
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| Pliny the Elder |
I always have trouble spelling
anemone,
even saying it too, but I love the plant and the fact that it is
Greek for “wind flower,” literally “daughter of the wind.”
The Roman Pliny the Elder said the plant was so-called because the
flowers opened only when the wind blew. I think old Pliny was blowing
wind on that one because I have a number of species that flower when
the wind is completely still.
The Metamorphoses of Ovid tells
us that the plant was created by the goddess
Venus when she
sprinkled nectar on the blood of her dead lover
Adonis. Ovid
lived from 43 BC - 18 AD, but before his Venus story our
“know-it-all” Theophrastus gave the name of
anemone to the
plant.
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| Cassiope mertensiana var. mertensiana |
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| Cassiope species |
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| Murex mollusk shell |
Cassiope is rarely found in gardens
because it is not so easy to grow. It is a genus of low tufted shrubs
in the Ericaceae family, and from my experience it is native to
mountainous regions where the drainage is sharp, including Oregon.
The name is from Greek
kassiope who was the mythical queen of
Ethiopia and mother of Andromeda.* In another legend she was the wife
of Phoenix, the king of Phoenicia. The land of Phoenicia is from
ancient Greek
Phoinike which means “purple country,” and
was of course a Semitic civilization in the eastern Mediterranean.
The “purple” reference was due to the major export of the region,
cloth dyed “Tyrian purple” from the Murex mollusk, a sea snail.
Extracting the dye involved thousands of snails and a great deal of
labor so it was highly valued. It came in various shades but the most
valuable was that of
blackish-clotted blood.
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| Pieris japonica 'Bonsai' |
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| Nereids |
*Cassiope boasted to the Nereids
(fifty sea-nymph daughters of Nereus, the old man of the sea) that
Andromeda was extremely beautiful, so in revenge Poseidon sent a sea
monster to devastate her husband's kingdom. Since only Andromeda's
sacrifice would appease the gods she was chained to a rock and left
to be devoured by the monster. Alas, Perseus flew by on the winged
horse Pegasus and saved the day. The flower panicles of the Andromeda
plant resemble the “chain” used to secure poor Andromeda.
Cardiocrinum giganteum var. yunnanense
We grow too forms of Cardiocrinum –
var. giganteum and var. yunnanense. The word cardio is from
Greek kardia for “heart” due to the shape of the leaves.
Crinum is the Greek word for “lily,” and the genus
Cardiocrinum is commonly known as the “giant lily” due to the
huge flower stalks. Var. giganteum is the larger form of the two, and
is native to Tibet, Bhutan, Assam, Myanmar, Nepal and Sikkim. Var.
yunnanense is less tall, usually growing to no more than 8' tall, but
its flowers are equally impressive, being white with purple-red
streaks inside. The plant was first described by Nathaniel Wallich in
1824 and was introduced into commercial production in England about
30 years later. It was originally described as Lilium
giganteum before being moved into its current generic classification,
but one must wonder if the two genera, Lilium and Cardiocrinum, would
successfully hybridize. Probably not, for I suppose that it would
have already been accomplished.
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| Abies cephalonica 'Meyer's Dwarf' |
Abies cephalonica is the “Greek fir”
and it grows in the mountains of southern Greece, but was first
described by those growing on the island of Kefalonia. We grow only
one cultivar – 'Meyer's Dwarf' – which forms a dense mound and
with shorter needles than the type. Kefalonia is the largest of the
Ionian Islands in western Greece and was named for the mythological
Kephalos, the founding “head” of a great family that includes
Odysseus. The word kephalos is Greek for “head.” Athenians
furthered the myth that Cephalus was married to
Procris, a
daughter of
Erechtheus, an ancient founding-figure of Athens.
A lot happened to test their marriage, including Eos – the goddess
of dawn – kidnapping Cephalus while he was hunting. Eight years
later he was returned and Procris gave him a javelin that never
missed its mark. Unfortunately, upon hearing a rustling in the bushes
which Cephalus took to be an animal, he actually impaled his beloved
wife. He eventually remarried but never forgave himself over the
death of Procris, and he committed suicide by leaping into the sea.
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| Eos |
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| Aurora |
Cephalus really should have stayed with
Eos, goddess of the dawn (Roman Aurora). Her siblings
were Helios (the sun) and Selene (the moon), and each day Eos rose
into the sky from the river Okeanos (Oceanus), and with her rays of
light she dispersed the mists of night.
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| Homer |
When you think about Aglaia, Eos,
Cephalus, Panacea, Krokus, Homer with the Iliad and the Odyssey and
all the other fantasies of ancient times, we're fortunate that the
internet wasn't around then, or we would probably have none of these
wonderful stories.
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Hippocratic Oath
I swear by Apollo the Healer, by
Asclepius, by Hygeia, by Panacea, and by all the gods and goddesses,
making them my witnesses, that I will carry out, according to my
ability and judgment, this oath and this indenture.
To hold my teacher in this art equal
to my own parents; to make him partner in my livelihood; when he is
in need of money to share mine with him; to consider his family as my
own brothers, and to teach them this art, if they want to learn it,
without fee or indenture; to impart precept, oral instruction, and
all other instruction to my own sons, the sons of my teacher, and to
indentured pupils who have taken the physician’s oath, but to
nobody else.
I will use treatment to help the
sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to
injury and wrong-doing. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody
when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. Similarly I
will not give to a woman a pessary to cause abortion. But I will keep
pure and holy both my life and my art. I will not use the knife, not
even, verily, on sufferers from stone, but I will give place to such
as are craftsmen therein.
Into whatsoever houses I enter, I
will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional
wrong-doing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of man or
woman, bond or free. And whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course
of my profession, as well as outside my profession in my intercourse
with men, if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never
divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets.
Now if I carry out this oath, and
break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all men for my
life and for my art; but if I break it and forswear myself, may the
opposite befall me. - Translation by James Loeb.
