June West, one of our original Friends of the Garden, took today's photo in our North Garden. Our sincere thanks go to June for this quite generous contribution to Botany Photo of the Day.

Styracaceae is a rather small family of flowering plants, counting about 11 genera and 160 tree and shrubby species among its ranks. The family is broadly distributed throughout the temperate and subtropical areas of the northern hemisphere, from Asia to Europe and west to North America. Generally, species don spirally arranged leaves and white flowers equipped with fused petals. We considered the family in greater detail when we featured Styrax confusus in late June, an entry you can access by clicking here.

Halesia—commonly referred to as the Silverbell or Snowdrop tree—consists of about 5 small tree and shrubby species that are native to Asia and eastern North America. The genus, which received its name in honour of the renowned British chemist and physiologist Stephen Hales (1677-1761), puts forth alternately arranged ovate leaves along with clusters of pendulous flowers that range from white to pink in colour. Plants also produce dry, four-winged fruit.

Today's plant, Halesia tetraptera, is a deciduous tree species native to a region of the eastern United States that reaches north from Florida to West Virginia and Illinois, and west from the Atlantic coast to Oklahoma and Minnesota. A trunk wrapped in lovely, striated grey-brown bark hoists the tree's apex up to a height of about 10 metres, where the branches and foliage form a rounded crown. The species, which U.S. authorities have declared threatened, puts forth four-lobed, pendulous white and light green flowers, and a lime-green fruit. Trees are common as ornamentals, and they enjoy full sun to partial shade as well as moist, acidic, and well-drained soils.

Today we once again feature a photo from the album that Douglas Justice collected while traveling through China this past May. Douglas kindly provided us with the entry as well.

Artemisia vulgaris, or mugwort, is a common weedy species throughout much of the world. And although known for its toxic, nerve poisoning qualities, it was occasionally served as a side dish to our group—the delegates to the Second International Symposium on the Family Magnoliaceae (held in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China)—as an accompaniment to fatty meat dishes, such as goose and pork. When asked the identity of this intensively bitter accompaniment, our Chinese hosts identified it as "chrysanthemum." This is somewhat confusing, as Leucanthemum coronarium is a common constituent of dishes in Cantonese cuisine, whereas there is little mention of the culinary uses of mugwort. The two species were easily distinguished, however: whole, stir-fried stems of garland chrysanthemum were served, tasting of mildly bitter lettuce, while the wormwood was presented pickle-style, and had the overwhelming tang and excruciatingly long medicinal burn of sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)—that is, to my western North American palate. My research tells me that in a number of cultures wormwood and its relatives are used for stimulating the appetite, correcting "bilious disorders" and expelling worms.

Ian Crown took today's Botany Photo of the Day on his farm in Puerto Rico, where he planted the featured specimen almost a decade ago. He included a short write-up with the image, which we here include as the first section of the day's entry.

Ian writes:

"I planted the Paullinia cupana maybe 8 years ago, and I remember seeing references to it being either a vine or a shrub. In a sense, these references are correct, for years of selection by people wanting an easier harvest led to shorter and fuller growth; but the tendrils identify this "cultigen" as a vining shrub trying to reach for support. I rarely have enough time to make morning coffee when I am on the farm, so I frequently pop out a Paullinia seed (with its distinctive white powdery cup attached to the basal end) and crush it in my mouth just enough to release the caffeine and other alkaloids. Though rather bitter, it is a great pick-me-up. The flowers are also quite beautiful. But the plants? The fact that we did not provide support means that we have heaps of guaraná with tendrils reaching everywhere but with nothing to fasten on to; they therefore look like brush piles. My morning wake up plant".

Sapindaceae (soapberry family) consists of between 140 and 150 genera and between 1400 and 2000 flowering plant species that are distributed throughout the world's temperate and tropical regions. The genus that includes today's plant, Paullinia, is, along with the maples, one of the family's largest. It derives its name from its European discoverer, the 18th century German botanist Christian Franz Paullini, and counts liana (woody climbing plants), tree, and shrubby species among its ranks, the majority of which are native to Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America (Brazil, Venezuela, Peru).

Paullinia cupana can grow to a height of 12 metres in its native habitat, which is centered in Amazonian Brazil. The plant puts forth dense clusters of small round fruit, the shells of which range from red to orange in colour. When the fruit opens to reveal its shiny black seed, these clusters tend to resemble a collection of gazing eyeballs yoked together, a trait that has inspired several legends concerning the plant (See here for more information). It derives its common name, guaraná, from Satere-Mawe, the language of one of Brazil's native tribes. The Guarinis—the tribe that, historically, has most regularly treated the plant as an edible—dry and roast the seeds, subsequently including them in a paste that serves a wide variety of culinary and medicinal functions. That is to say that beyond its raw power as a stimulant—which makes it a quite lucrative crop in the South American beverage business—the plant has also served as a treatment for digestive problems and as a means by which to thin the blood.

"Georgia O'Keeffe would so approve," writes buildingadesert, who posted this masterful image in our Flickr Pool in early June of this year.

Indeed; for while the close-up of the flower itself would have pleased the Wisconsin-born artist, I suspect that the flower's shape would have gone some way toward capturing her imagination as well.

The particular family to which today's featured plant, Dicentra uniflora, belongs remains a matter of some contention: Fumariaceae is variously treated either as a distinct and discrete family, or, under the alternative appellation of Fumarioideae, as a subfamily of Papaveraceae (the poppy family). Either way, the relevant group—of which there are 19 genera and 450 species in the flora of North America—consists of flowering plants, most of which are annual and perennial herbs.

Dicentra, which includes the bleeding hearts, counts about 20 species among its numbers, the majority of which are native to Asia and North America. Species generally put forth bilaterally symmetrical flowers equipped with swollen or basally spurred outer petals along with inner petals that are oblong to oblanceolate in shape.

Dicentra uniflora, commonly known as the longhorn steer's head, is an herbaceous perennial plant native to the rocky, sandy, and somewhat elevated soils of North America's western half (between 1600 and 3700 m. in elevation). The variously pink, purple, or white flowers—the curved horn-like shape of which inspires the plant's common name—are borne singly on erect, leafy stems up to 10 cm. in length. The plant produces an ovate capsule fruit that measures about 12 millimeters in diameter.

(Original Image)

Douglas Justice took today's photo and wrote the accompanying entry in the final days of last month.

Peter Wharton, late curator of the David C. Lam Asian Garden, collected seed of this fine, if floppy, species in 2006 in Sichuan Province, China, near Hongxi (Hung-hsi) at an altitude of 2780 metres. Thalictrum delavayi is not exactly rare in cultivation, but the double-flowered cultivar, 'Hewitt's Double', is more often seen than this or other "unimproved" forms. Here the lax stems of the Thalictrum are supported and set off by a planting of Astilbe chinensis.

Thalictrum species (the meadow rues) are easy plants in the Vancouver area, and we grow about a dozen of the 120 or so different species in the Botanical Garden. These herbaceous perennials are common constituents in moist-to-wet meadows and forest margins throughout the Northern Hemisphere, as well as in southern Africa and parts of South America. In leaf and habit, they are somewhat akin to the related columbines (Aquilegia species): they have slender stems with alternately arranged, compound leaves, as well as leaflets in threes (which are usually lobed or deeply toothed at their apices). The flowers of Thalictrum are borne without petals and most are tiny, composed primarily of numerous stamens, and looking basically like little powder-puffs in yellow, white, mauve, pink or purple. However, some—like this species (and T. rochebruneanum, which was previously showcased in these pages )—have flowers with showy petal-like sepals.

In today's Botany Photo of the Day, we feature Sempervivum 'Pekinese', another perennial succulent sited among the sand and rocks of the greenhouse wall in our E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden. In terms of habit, shape, and color, the genus allows for a good deal of interest and novelty even among a collection of apparently quite similar plants.

Like most other Sempervivum species—most of which are native to Europe and western Asia—'Pekinese' thrives in full sun and well-drained, sandy soil. The plant requires little water and is drought tolerant.

In the 3rd or 4th year of its life, 'Pekinese' thrusts a star-shaped, devil's pitchfork of a stalk up to around 25 cm. into the air that surrounds its low-growing colony of light green. In late summer of that year, the stalk puts forth pinkish flowers that remain in bloom for several weeks. After flowering, the parent plants (the hens) die, leaving behind a tight cluster of offsets (the chicks) that continue on until the year in which they too reach maturity.

Among the most interesting and humorous of folk traditions that involve Sempervivum species relates to marriage, and particularly to a woman's choosing of a spouse: supposedly, a country maiden would pick a Sempervivum plant for each of her potential husbands, and the suitor affiliated with the plant that bloomed best and lasted longest would gain her hand in marriage.

Source:

Rowley, Gordon. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Succulents. New York: Crown Publishers, 1978.

J.G. took today's Botany Photo of the Day at the San Francisco Botanical Garden, and then posted the image in our Flickr Pool late last month. As always, our thanks go to J.G. for his consistently breathtaking photos. (Original Image)

A member of the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae), Symphoricarpos—which is most commonly known as snowberry—counts about 15 low-branching deciduous shrub species among its ranks. All but one are native to the New World (in this case North and Central America); the single exception, S. sinensis, is, as its name intimates, a native of China. Symphoricarpos species generally bear lobed and rounded green leaves that can grow to 5 cm. in length. Additionally, plants put forth variously arranged dense clusters of nectar-rich, bell-shaped flowers that range from white and pink to green in colour. Lastly, species produce the type of conspicuous—though to humans (mostly) poisonous—waxy, berry-type fruits rendered so beautifully in today's photo. That the fruits are borne in clusters explains the genus's name: (from the Greek) symphoreo = to bear together + karpos = fruit.

Symphoricarpos albus var. albus is native to most North America, primarily east of the Rocky Mountains, while the variety laevigatus, which is featured in today's image, is native to the Pacific slope (i.e., west of the Rockies), where it thrives in the under-story of coniferous forests, particularly in the shaded conditions associated with forest boundaries. Both varieties are rhizomatous—and thus spreading—and tolerant of soil conditions ranging from moist river terraces to rocky slopes and hillsides. Though the berries are somewhat unfriendly to human bodies if ingested (in some cases inducing vomiting, dizziness, or worse), they serve as an important source of sustenance to a number of large forest animals and birds (quail, grouse), and these last operate as the species' primary means of propagation.

Symphoricarpos albus has a history of cultivation in Europe that extends at least as far back as the initial years of the 19th century. Both the eastern and western varieties are known as the common snowberry. Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus (laevigatus = smooth—referring to the relative paucity of hairs on the stems and leaf undersides of these plants) can grow to about 2 metres in height, which is somewhat larger than its eastern counterpart. Both varieties are common garden ornamentals.

Drew Avery posted today's absolute jewel of a photo in our Flickr Pool late last month. We are grateful to him both for a wonderful image and for the opportunity to write a few lines about an exceedingly beautiful and interesting plant. (Original Image)

Nepenthaceae is a monotypic (i.e., single genus) family of about 120 non-woody vining species distributed throughout the tropical mainland and island regions of southeastern Asia. The genus name, which refers to an episode in Homer's Odyssey, was coined by Linnaeus in order to convey something of the plant's singular beauty and fascination: a mere sighting of the plant, the master botanist here seems to suggest, purges the viewer of all feelings grave and grim. Species and their preferred habitats vary greatly, with the latter ranging from hot and humid soils and climates through to the cool and at times frost-prone elevations of the montane tropics. Species are often referred to collectively as the "tropical pitcher plants" to differentiate them from the decidedly temperate and grounded Sarracenia, which share the fantastical vase-like modified leaves—the visual patterning, rich nectar reservoirs, and liquid-filled cavities of which attract, trap, and dissolve insects for sustenance. This carnivorous faculty is a somewhat common adaptation to living in soils deficient in nitrogen.

Nepenthes rafflesiana occurs in the wet, sandy lowlands of Borneo, Sumatra, peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore. The species, which was first discovered by Scottish botanist William Jack in 1819, in fact derives its name from one of Jack's traveling companions, the British imperialist and founder of present day Singapore, Stamford Raffles. The vines scramble up to 15 metres in height, and can grow at altitudes as high as 1200 metres. The species' unisexual flowers exhibit a wide range of colouration, and are often coated with a thin layer of indumentum (fine hairs). The plants are hardy to a variety of habitats and climate conditions, but prefer the high heat and humidity of their native tropical lowlands. With the help of a heated greenhouse, species can be grown in a cool temperate area like Vancouver, but enamored and ambitious gardeners should note that the family's carnivory does not extend to mammalian meat, which, according to experts, frequently causes unpleasant odours and lethal rot when fed to the plant.

Today's Botany Photo of the Day comes once again from the album of Ian Gillam, one of our Friends of the Garden. Our thanks go to Ian for another great image and write-up.

Umbilicus rupestris, photographed this past June in the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden, is a short-lived perennial member of the Crassula family (Crassulaceae). The family thrives in dry environments that range from frank desert to rock faces, and from gravel slopes to walls and even rooftops. It is represented most plentifully in southern Africa, though several members grow in temperate regions as well. Umbilicus rupestris occurs across southwestern Europe in suitable locations, which are usually dry (though not excessively so). The fleshy leaves are circular, about 2 cm. in diameter, and they are attached to the stem at the centre (i.e., peltate). A depression there suggests the name, Umbilicus, which means 'navel'. The flowering spikes grow to about 15 cm. and set copious seed, after which point the plants tend to die. As indicated by the name Crassula (coming from the diminutive of the Latin word for thick or fat), family members typically have thickened leaves that reduce water loss by decreasing surface area to volume ratio, and they often have waxy cuticles with sunken pores that further reduce water loss. Detached stems and leaves are resistant to wilting, and, once fallen, they are capable of rooting and developing into new plants.

Green plants use the energy of sunlight to fix atmospheric carbon dioxide in the production of sugars; thence all of their other organic components. In order to reach the cellular sites of this process, air must be admitted into the spaces within the leaf through pores that open or close on demand. In dry environments this exchange of air during the brightest and hottest part of the day too readily leads to dehydration. Members of Crassulaceae exploit a variant procedure, opening their pores during the cooler conditions of night. Carbon dioxide is then captured in organic acids of low molecular weight (at the cost of some stored energy). When sunlight returns, the pores close and the acids are degraded to release carbon dioxide in close proximity to the fixation apparatus. The process was first elucidated in this plant family and is therefore called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM). It permits photosynthesis to proceed, though at some cost in efficiency, while simultaneously minimizing water loss. CAM has evolved independently in a number of other families, giving advantages in growth under conditions of water stress.

Our sincere thanks go to Rusty@storiescarvedinstone, who posted today's awesome Botany Photo of the Day in our Flickr Pool.

Due to its preference for the moist soils that line bodies of water (lakes and rivers), Ranunculaceae—commonly known either as the buttercup or the crowfoot family—derives its scientific name from the Latin for frog. The family, which includes the well-known Anemone genus, consists of about 60 genera and between 1700 and 2500 herbaceous and flowering vine species that are distributed throughout the world, though the majority are concentrated in the northern temperate region. Species generally put forth showy, fragrant flowers in terminal racemes, panicles, or cymes.

Clematis, another genus first described by Linnaeus in the 18th century, counts about 300 robust herbaceous perennial vine and shrubby species among its ranks. Generally speaking, species that inhabit cooler northern regions are deciduous while their counterparts in warmer climate zones are evergreen. The genus has achieved a measure of notoriety for the toxic chemical compounds that its species contain in their sap, flowers, leaves, and shoots, several of which can cause skin irritation, allergic reaction, and internal bleeding if incautiously consumed.

Clematis virginiana is a twisting climber dressed in palmately compound, sharply toothed leaves that are arranged either oppositely or in whorls. Plants are dioecious (separate male and female flowers) and grow up to 5 metres in height, thriving when sited in moist, organic-rich soils. In the summer months (July through September), plants put forth lovely clusters of fragrant, white flowers that are equipped with 4 petals and 4 sepals (07/29/2009). The species' common names include virgin's bower and old man's beard, the latter of which refers to the large tufts of plumose seed heads that emerge in late summer and remain on the plant throughout the cold winter months.

Agavaceae consists of about 18 genera and 550-600 species, among them the well-known Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia). The family is distributed throughout the planet's tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions, and species generally develop as woody shrubs or trees that put forth rosettes of sharply pointed leaves. Extracts from several Agavaceae plants are used in the production of alcoholic beverages, particularly Mezcal, varieties of which are made with 28 different species. The drink was of course made nightmarishly famous in Under the Volcano, a novel that Malcolm Lowry wrote and published while living here in British Columbia in the 1940s.

Yucca includes about 50 perennial, shrubby, and tree species renowned for their sharp leaves and their terminal clusters of creamy white flowers. The genus is native to the rocky montane and woodland soils of North, Central, and South America's hot and arid climate regions. Yucca enjoys a mutualistic relationship with the Yucca moth (Tegeticula yuccasella), which serves as its only means of pollination: the insect transports pollen from one specimen to another and in so doing lays an egg in one flower which, when hatched, feeds on some of the plant's developing seeds. Plants are often cultivated as ornamentals, through they produce fruits, seeds, and stems that are edible as well.

The pendulous flowers of today's plant, Yucca gloriosa 'Nobilis', were glazed with a few drops of rain when I passed them one afternoon a few weeks ago. This multi-stemmed specimen—which bears a paniculate inflorescence equipped with large cream-coloured flowers stained by a few drops of purple—is planted in a large concrete pot across the way from our Medieval Physic Garden, and rises to about 1.5 metres in height (the species reach up to 2.5 metres). In the wild, plants grow on sand dunes, and though they demand little care when cultivated, they do require well-drained soils. Readers are advised not to be fooled by the plant's serene and welcoming posture, for it is known to irritate the skin and, in some cases, to cause allergic reactions.

The Garden's Curator of Collections, Douglas Justice, took today's Botany Photo of the Day. He wrote the accompanying entry as well.

Koelreuteria paniculata, or golden rain tree, is a drought resistant tree from China, grown for its abundant summer flowers and its papery, lantern-like fruit. It forms a broad crown (to 15 m) with pinnate leaves that emerge hot-pink before turning green. Known as Luan in China, its flowers are used both as a yellow dye and in traditional medicine, and the tree is planted over the graves of scholars. The inflated capsular fruit are wind-blown, and they ultimately shatter in order to disseminate the seeds. Though it is naturalized in many places (Korea, Japan, and the U.S.), because of its drought tolerance and capacity for long-distance dispersal K. paniculata does not generally spread under Vancouver's wet winter conditions.

This specimen, planted at the Botanical Garden entrance, was grown from wild seed collected in South Korea. Another specimen from the same seed batch faced this tree from across the courtyard. The other tree was less compact in growth and considerably inferior with respect to flowering, but its seed capsules were always coloured bright red and very showy, whereas this specimen's fruits are always dull brown. Note the bald eagle perched on the Douglas fir snag in the distance.

Almost two years ago, nearly two years after the photo itself was taken, Michael Charters posted this lovely image in our Botany Photo of the Day Submissions Forum. Today the photo finally gets the recognition that it deserves. Thank you to Michael for also including the brief write-up with which we formally begin today's entry.

"This is the very rare Eureka Dunes evening primrose, Oenothera californica subsp. eurekensis, that is only known from three locations in the southern Eureka Valley, which is part of Death Valley National Park. Eureka Dunes is the 2nd highest sand dune system in the United States at about 700' tall. This evening primrose grows on the lower slopes of the sand dunes and blooms from April to June with large, showy white flowers that age to red. These pictures were taken in 2005 (our last good rainfall year) on a field trip with the Jepson Herbarium."

Onagraceae, commonly known as the willowherb family, includes about 24 genera and 650 species among its ranks, and is distributed throughout each of the earth's continents (except Antarctica). Plants bear simple and lanceolate leaves that are generally arranged oppositely or in whorls, and they put forth flowers equipped with four petals and four sepals. Perhaps the most interesting characteristic of the family is that the pollen produced by many of its genera is held together by viscin threads, which renders it accessible only to specialized bees.

Oenothera consists of 125 annual, biennial, and perennial herbaceous species that are native to North and South America. These tough species reach up to three metres in height and grow deeply-lobed leaves. Oenothera species thrive in fertile soils when exposed to full sun or partial shade and when protected from rival plants. The genus's roots and shoots are both edible, and the plant has been thought, though not confirmed, to have some medicinal properties; readers should note in this regard that some authorities are unequivocally skeptical about the plant's beneficial effects in terms of human health. Perhaps the most idiosyncratic feature of this genus is that its flowers, which range from white to yellow in colour, are mostly nocturnal.

The plant featured in the serene sand and shadow of today's photo, Oenothera californica ssp. eurekensis, is a fragrant, rhizomatous, perennial herb endemic to California. Local authorities have declared it endangered. List of endangered flora in the United States of America.

Today our gratitude goes to Ontario Wanderer, who, a few weeks ago, posted this great photo of an exceedingly interesting tree in our Flickr Pool. Along with the image, Wanderer included a brief write-up, which we here attach in its entirety as the first part of the day's entry. (Original Image)

Wanderer writes: "In Euell Gibbons' book, Stalking the Healthful Herbs, I was introduced to the idea of listening and smelling for trees. He was searching for the basswood tree (Tilia americana). The photo above is of a close European relative, Tilia cordata or small-leaved lime, also called the small-leaved linden. It too can be found by sound and smell. The smell is of the tens of thousands of small flowers and the sound is of the many insects that it attracts. The tree area just buzzes with insect wing noises. It's a totally neat experience to be there when it blooms. This is one of several of the species that live in the RBG {Royal Botanic Garden, Hamilton, Ontario} Arboretum".

Malvaceae, commonly known as the mallow family, consists of about 200 genera and 2300 flowering plant species. Its ranks, which include the well-known genera Hibiscus and Abutilon, are filled primarily by herbs and shrubs, though there are some tree and liana (woody climbing) species as well. Species generally grow alternately-arranged leaves and nectary-bearing, actinomorphic flowers that are subtended by conspicuous bracts. Among the agriculturally important crops the family produces are cotton (Gossypium spp.) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus).

Tilia includes about 30 large, deciduous tree species that reach up to 40 metres in height. These species are native to the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly those located in Asia, Europe, and eastern North America. Plants put forth richly fragrant flowers that produce an important form of mono-floral honey. Tilia goes by many names, among them lime (Britain), linden (Europe and North America), and basswood (also North America). The genus has a singularly robust symbolic resonance in the German poetic tradition, and appears significantly in medieval legends as well as in Goethe's 1774 epistolary novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther.

Tilia cordata, the deciduous tree brilliantly featured in today's photo, is native to Britain, continental Europe, and western Asia. The tree serves as a veritable medicine cabinet, offering treatments for restlessness, hysteria, headaches, colds, fevers, inflammation, coughs, high blood pressure, infection, and other ailments as well. Beyond its own catalogue of medical offerings, the tree's soft wood regularly acts as raw material in the production of musical instruments, particularly those in the string and wind families.

Shyzaboy took today's Botany Photo of the Day in Roanoke, Virginia, and then posted it in our Flickr Pool early last week. Our thanks go to him for a great image. (Original Image)

Rubiaceae, commonly known as the madder or coffee family, consists of about 650 genera and 13000 species of (mostly) herbaceous flowering plants. The family, which includes the genus Gardenia, is commonly divided into the three subfamilies of Rubioideae, Cinchonoideae, and Ixoroideae, though a fourth subfamily, Antirheoideae, is sometimes used as well.

Cephalanthus—which, due to its tightly clustered, globose, and terminal inflorescences derives its name from the ancient Greek for 'head flower'—is a genus that counts between 6 and 15 species among its ranks. Commonly known as buttonbush, these species tend to bear their simple leaves either oppositely arranged or in whorls of three. They are native to the temperate and tropical climate zones of Asia, the Americas, and Africa.

The plant featured in today's photo, Cephalanthus occidentalis, is a deciduous shrub that reaches to between 2 and, rarely, 15 metres in height. It generally grows multiple, glabrous, woody stems, and it thrives in wetland habitats and moist, well-shaded, loamy soils. From June to August, the plant puts forth the tightly packed orb of a flower typical of Cephalanthus species, which in this case boasts a fused, four-lobed corolla, and rests elegantly upon a short peduncle. Distributed throughout most of the eastern half of North America, buttonbush provides sensuous pleasure to humans and building materials to the Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), while its seed and nut-cluster of a fruit variously offer sustenance to deer, insects, and hummingbirds. Historically, humans have used an extract from the plant for medicinal purposes, but readers should note that the plant's cephalatin content renders it toxic if not properly treated.

Should you like to see a previous entry on this flower, click here.