Gardening from the couch: Lives of the Trees
Diana Wells has a gift for finding curious information about the naming of plants and creatures in the natural world.
She is the author of "100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names" and "100 Birds and How They Got Their Names."
Her new book is "Lives of Trees: An Uncommon History," in which she explores a relationship between man and trees that goes back to the Garden of Eden.
Among the things we learn from her:
The coffee tree once led to death -- coffee-drinkers in Constantinople were punished by being sewn into a sack and tossed into the sea to drown.
The pine tree adorned the first revolutionary flags before the adoption of the starts and stripes.
The olive tree has regenerative properties – it regenerates from suckers at the base of the tree if the main trunk dies or is cut down. Some olive trees are thought to be more than a thousand years old.
Sassafras has been used as a medicinal healer for centuries -- it was once mixed with opium and advertised as "Godfrey's Cordial."
A bristlecone pine, at about 4,700 years old, is thought to be the oldest living plant on earth.
Comments
Sounds like a interesting book! I'll have to check it out.
Posted by: david | January 17, 2010 8:55 AM
Hey Susan, Gardening With Confidence ™ garden blog has moved to a new location. In doing so, I will have the ability to do more fun things I changed the design while I was at it to keep the same look as my website www.gardeningwithconfidence.com. Please make note of my new location and update your blogroll (if you please.) H.
GV readers. Check out this blog, if you haven't already. It is a gem. --Susan
Posted by: helen Yoest @ Gardening With Confidence™ | January 17, 2010 11:28 AM