ORIGIN:  Mexico / Central America 

cocoxichtle in Nuatle - water tube flower

HISTORY: 

1345-1521 -  Aztecs used Dahlia  stems to carry water.  tubers eaten as food and medicine.  Traditional alfombra (carpet) art made from flower heads. Nation flower of Mexico - botanical richness and culture of Mexico - pride 

1500 - tree Dahlias brought back to Spain from Mexico and Guatemalan mountains by King Phillip II

1800 - introduced to Queen Victoria in England (elegance and grace as one of her favorite flowers)

TODAY - The Netherlands are the leading producer of Dahlias. There are over 57,000 different registered cultivars! - beauty & creativity 

MEDICINE: INULIN - reduces glucose levels (2) SULFURETIN - fights multiple sclerosis & some cancers (2) cooking water can be saved for: teas, coffee, chocolate, fruit drinks (3) - inner strength

digestion 

ORIGIN:  The northern hemisphere 35 million years ago (antarctic sheets first forming and Himalayas were young - big diversity and changes).  

Native PNW Rose: Nootka Rose grow naturally in Oregon 

HISTORY: 

-1299-1922 - Ottoman Empire (Mediterranean area) - cultivated for rose water, deserts (turkish delight), used in weddings and religious celebrations - adoration 

Syria  farming legacy, cultivation of the Damask rose (cultivated for it's smell), celebration, medicine, & song in Arabic: "the roses are wondering who will have them. I promise you, my roses, only the sweetest & the most beautiful deserve you, I tell them..." 

*Damask common name comes from Damaskus, the capital of Syria

-5-15 C - The Middle Ages - Christianity devotion and association with the purity of the virgin Mary (Christianity, crusades, & black death) 

-1480 - The Birth of Venus, the ancient creek Goddess of love, painted by Botticelli ("Ancient times") 

-1700 - China rose came to Europe  - The wild rose becomes cultivated and changes from the "old rose" to the "modern rose"

LOCAL - Portland is the city of Rose - test garden set up to protect the roses from WWI. The original rose garden is 2 blocks north of the cascade campus at the peninsula rose garden!

MEDICINE:

petals: salad & tea (eye wash is good for irritated eyes)

rosehips: syrups & jam (antimicrobial = helps the bodies immune system & diuretic = increases the flow of urine)

ORIGIN: 

Fossil records suggest lilies have existed for at least 58 million years! One of the oldest bulbs.

Found  wild in northern hemisphere.  From Egypt, Iran, Greece, Japan, India, Canada & US

Cultivation began 3,000-4,000 years ago (ornamental & medicinal)

over 100 Lily species

Native PNW Lily: 8 species of Lily grow naturally in Oregon 

3000 BC "flower of life" images date back to Abydos temple of life in Egypt - connected to Osiris, lord of death and rebirth

1000 BC Ancient Greece, the Lily was connected to Goddess Hera, queen of the gods - purity & motherhood

Madonna lily (Lilium candidum) often painted without pistil and stamen - purity 

 Lily Asiatic - native to several areas in Asia - Hong Kong Lily / Chinese Lily "bai he" - "unity of spirits and 100 years of love" - The Princess Lily - Chinese Folktale  - love & innocence

Lily oriental - native to Japan (stronger smell and larger flowers) - Japanese Lily festival in Sakai city every June ("Yuri" is Lily in Japanese)

MEDICINE:  Chinese Lily (Lilium brownii) "BAI HE" is considered a super food and herbal remedy - 

Treating sore throat, hoarseness, and other respiratory conditions -Promoting digestion and treating stomach ulcers

-Reducing inflammation and treating skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis -Improving vision and reducing eye fatigue

-Enhancing the immune system and promoting overall health and vitality -Lily contains a variety of nutrients...

Chinese Lily - Lilium brownii var. viridulum  - petals can be candied, sauteed, dried or raw

Orange Lily - Hemerocallis fulva  - similar to zucchini & asparagus too much can be a laxative

Tiger Lily  Lilium lancifolium - roots sauteed with high nutrients

NATIVE TO: The native range of this genus is Europe to W. Himalaya, Macaronesia, Medit. to Sahara and Arabian Peninsula.

HISTORY: 

The current name of its botanical genus, Calendula, was that of marigold in Classical Rome. It was formed on the Latin term Kalendae, which identified the first day of the months, since marigold was believed to grow and bloom at the beginning of every month and was considered a natural calendar. This explanation—that is, the etymology of the term marigold—apparently botanical in nature, was in fact astronomical. Thanks to this astral connection, marigold was invested with magical powers.

MEDICINE:  skin problems, bites and stings, sprains and wounds

(Flowers used as Antiseptic, astringent, antiviral, diaphoretic, detoxifying, antispasmodic, estrogenic, anti-inflammatory, bitter tonic, diuretic)

annual but self sewing and maintains itself 

ORIGIN:  East Asia

"If you would be happy for a lifetime, grow Chrysanthemums," -  Chinese proverb 

HISTORY:  

-Shang Dynasty (c.1600–1046 BC)

In China, it was believed to have the power of life  - immortality

-15th Century B.C. in China, where the chrysanthemum was cultivated. Used as a culinary herb and leaves to brew tea 

12th Century AD  adopted by Japanese royalty as a symbol of power. Emperor Go-Toba was a poet, calligrapher, and swordsmith. He would use the 16 petaled and beautifully symmetrical crest as a symbol of refinement and endurance matching the strength of his own. 

As the national flower of Japan, Chōyō no Sekku, the chrysanthemum festival is celebrated  on the 9th day of the 9th month (said to have started in 910!)

"kiku" is Chrysanthemum is Japanese

- 17th Century AD introduced to Europe - adopting it as a symbol of death to use at funerals & graves condolences

Chrysanthemum is the flower of November - starts to bloom when there are less than 14 hours daylight - Autumn

MEDICINE: (eastern medicine) Meridians: Liver, Lung, Spleen, Kidney "lightening of the spirit" connected to immortality

Chrysanthemum morifolium & indicum - Tea - East Asia

vit A/C/B + antioxidant +anti-inflammatory + calming properties - longevity

What?! mums have a natural insecticide from the pyrethrins and attack the nervous system of insects! 

ORIGIN:  Central Asia, the Middle East, parts of Eastern Europe, and North Africa, including countries like Turkey, Iran, Kazakhstan, and the Himalayan mountains

100 species and 3,000 varietals 

HISTORY: 

The tulip originates in Iran.  

10th century - cultivated in Persia  - Myth of the prince's blood creating the first red tulip from true love

13th Century - decorate art in Turkey

15-16 century - most prized flowers & popular in northern Europe "tulip mania" - Semper Augustus tulip was worth a lot! ( today 250k-1mil) - perfection

MEDICINE:

Purple tulip extract has flavonoids which are antioxidants - used in skincare to reduce signs on aging

local: 

Wooden shoe tulip festival in Woodburn, Oregon

ORIGIN:  Asia (w/ smaller numbers native to Europe, N America, & NW Africa)

SYMBOLISM: love, passion, adoration, devotion

HISTORY: 

MEDICINE:

NATIVE TO: Europe 

moorlands - uncultivated hill lands heathlands - 

ETYMOLOGY

botanical name: Calluna: from the Greek kallunein, to clean or sweep - ancient practice of using heather branches as brooms

common name: The name heather is believed to come from the Scottish word haeddre, which was used to describe a heathland or a shrubland habitat 

The German name for heather, “Heide”, from old Germanic word “haithio”, meaning unknown, wild green land or woodlands - lands that were at best hunting grounds

HISTORY

After the last ice age (120,000 years ago), heather colonized the sandy, boulder-strewn areas left behind by the melting glaciers. Moors with peat bogs were strewn among the hills. Heather still covers thousands of acres in Scotland, Northern England, Scandinavia,and Northern Germany.  

middle ages - beer brewed using heather hops by the "Picts" 

uses - heather clods to build shelters, thatch roofs, bed down animals, make brooms, scrubbing brushes, tan leather, and produce a yellow dye to color yarns and cloth.

MEDICINE:  "bumblebee medicine" key medicinal plant to wild bees  in UK as it has a natural nectar chemical called "callunene". It protects bumblebees from crithidia bombi parasite.  - kew gardens

important food source for sheep (Heidschnucke = ovis ammon f. aries), deer, grouse and hare feed on it 

Medicinal uses included treatments for the common cold, arthritis,  rheumatism, and urinary problems - Lena Wegner

NATIVE TO: China North-Central, China Southeast, Japan, Korea, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan

HISTORY:

stories go back to 2737 BCE(!) in China of tea drinking

6th Century BCE Lao-tzu (the founder of Taoism) believed the tea was an essential ingredient in the elixir of life 

607 CE - Japanese gift to China during a cultural exchange

600 CE - 9 poems in the Manyoshu collection about nature and the changing of seasons

1662 - Portugese Catherine of Braganza marries Charles II and introduces tea to the English court

1692 - German naturalist and surgeon brought japonica to Europe

1773 - Boston tea party - protestors empty 3 shiploads of tea into the harbor

MEDICINE: The Camellia Japonica's fruit is pressed into sweet tasting cooking oil and fuel - anti-oxidants. It is pollinated and an important food source (pollen and nectar) for warbling white-eye and  brown-eared bulbul birds, as well as fruit for the macaques (primates)

Camellia sinensis' leaves, petals, & puds dried for TEA  - digestion, skin fungus, strengthen teeth, and increase longevity. The effects of the plant depend on the variety and timing of harvest, and how the leaves are processed. Raw, green tea is cooling, while oxidation and other treatments lend tea warming properties. - LanSu garden

japonica is an important food source of pollen and nectar for warbling white-eye and  brown eared bulbul as well as a food source for the macaques (primates)

evergreen and winter flowering