Botany, Travel, and Art, Oh My!
The contents itself, while somewhat difficult to navigate at first, is informative and useful, each herb entry containing information for that plant’s common, scientific, and folk names, associated gender (masculine/feminine), ruling planet, element, and sometimes deity, and associated magical uses, rituals, and powers.
“In a bid to “save the economy,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stopped enforcing environmental laws. According to these newly relaxed regulations, businesses failing to meet previous standards of public health and environmental security will not be fined, penalized, or subject to any civil penalties, wrote Knickmeyer, of the Associated Press. Many of these businesses are from the oil and gas industry and are often routinely cited for dumping hazardous materials already.”
The world, or at least most of it is in the middle of an enforced isolation shut-down. Everyone’s stuck at home and if you particularly want to go for a stroll, or to the store, you have to be hyper-aware of those around you and wear protective gear. So, you might have a treadmill or yoga mat at home for physical exercise, but it’s just not the same as GOING somewhere. While perhaps not ideal this is our current reality and as such, it is a situation we need to work with.
…In our planet’s current health climate, it is important to keep a level head and understand what we’re dealing with. While I am completely in favor of people taking care of their own bodies and doing what they can to maintain their health through natural botanical and supportive means (previous medical ethnobotany posts), right now is not a time to be taking health into your own hands. …
Welcome to the experiments in voice editing and mic use that has been my life for the past week and a half.
In today's episode, we dive into the weird and wonderful world of the morning glory, specifically the Mexican morning glory (tlitliltzin, Ipomoea. tricolor), a vibrant blue and featured in the episode artwork, and the Beach moonflower (Ipomoea. violacea). Join me in discovering the... altered states and effects of this plant.
Hey, all! I wanted to come on here and let you know that I’ll be posting new articles shortly, but life, health, and new projects have kept me away. I’ve been sick off and on for the past two weeks, after a run-in with unlabeled butter in a bag of popcorn. Been dealing with bad head-cold symptoms ever since. I’m feeling loads better now, though so that’s a positive. Now my system just has to re-calibrate… again.
In other news, I’ve launched a new podcast. By the time this is posted, it should be linked in the upper right corner of the screen, but I’ll put a link below anyway. It’s entitled “Botany After Dark” and discusses the dark mysteries of the plant world. Here, we explore the darker and more potentially polarizing, side of botany.
New episodes will be uploaded every Wednesday or Thursday. Enjoy.
Kate
https://botanyafterdark.pinecast.co
Today, we’re talking about the only plant to currently have “rainbow” in its scientific designation: The Arctostaphylos rainbowensis, or Rainbow Manzanita. This dicot shrub is native and endemic to California (4,5), existing exclusively in the far southern portion of the state, specifically between northern San Diego to southern Riverside counties.
Hail and well met, everyone!
So, I’ve been posting here and uploading largely separate content on my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/Ethnobotanicam). I’m experimenting with still posting on the various platforms I currently use (Youtube, Instagram and the like), but cross-posting here as a method of aggregating all my botanical content into one place. Let me know what you think. Have a fab day, everyone, and happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
Kate
