Archives for the month of: July, 2012

15. PLANTS: Baobab and yage

July 23, 2012 //

In the old times, plants important to human cultures were attributed to divine forces. Stories articulated these simple themes: plants are heaven’s gift to people; people and plants are one; plants are energy beings with power and knowledge. In the end of the stories, there was usually something to be learned about wisdom, and the place of human beings in the cosmos. Here are a couple of plants whose origins reach way back into mythical time:

BAOBAB:

The baobab tree sprouted and grew up by a mirrored lake. Baobab saw his own reflection, and he did not like what he saw.

Baobab desired the showy red flowers of the flame tree. He was jealous of the palm’s slender and regal form. He wanted the shiny and smooth skin of mahogany, not his own wrinkly elephant hide bark. Night and day, Baobab complained and complained to the Creator.

Creator was tired of listening to Baobab’s whining. The creator gave the tree to hyena. Hyena pulled Baobab from his roots, and planted him upside down.

Thereafter, Baobab quietly served humanity, and gathered the community together for all the important events.

Know silence. Respect elders. Create unity.

YAGE:

The vine of the soul sprouted from the blood of the rainbow serpent’s tail.

As it grew, it gathered power and attracted the jaguars of the forest.

The spirit of yage is so strong that it can carry you into the realm of the dead, or up to the sky to converse with the spirits in the milky way.

Use this plant, if at all, with caution and respect. If you use the vine in anger and greed, your life and that of others will be ruined.

Categories Food and drug plants, mythology

14. FIRE: on the mountain

July 18, 2012 //

One summer day in the year 2008, Coyote was dreaming in a hole, underneath an oak tree on San Bruno Mountain’s Owl Canyon. Flames came roarin’ up through the cherries. The fire jumped from oak to manzanita, hopped onto fescue, and snuggled with lotus. Coyote said, “My prized cave!”

Coyote slid in by some crystals, next to horsetails and ferns, and waited for the fire to pass.

Canyons of dense green leaves turned into black earth.

It all went up in smoke.

After the fire cooled, Coyote followed old trails and ate a few broiled snakes.

The blackened earth went green soon after the first rains of the fall.

Three years passed. Blue blossom seeds buried deep in the shade made dense thickets.

Cramp ball fungus ate dead oak trees.

Yerba Santa, who hadn’t been seen around these parts in many years, bathed happily in the sun.

Fat and ancient black heads of fescues sprouted tender thin leaves.

Panther’s amanita bulged under the oak trees.

Coyote smiled at fire’s footprints and remains. What is Fire? Fire is mother earth’s gardener. She rakes clean the leaves. She prunes the trees and shrubs. She fertilizes the earth with carbon and phosphorous. Fire scars dormant seeds and bathes the land with light. Shady woods open their canopies. Old trees turn into a fungal feast. The young burst forth in grasslands rich with diversity.

Tired manzanita branches are burned to the ground. The new leaves come up from the base.

California bay is not dead, just renewed.

Fire is a chrysalis. Fire is the light of destruction. Fire is frightening. Fire is a being of energy.

Coyote came to an overlook, and saw this strange animal. Crouched in reverent prayer, or perhaps preying on her gophers?!

What is so funny?! This is home.

Categories ecology

13. VEGETABLE GARDENING: Kimchi and day length, hot and cold

July 17, 2012 //

Working in the garden growing vegetables is a grounding experience. The hands move soil and the smell of mints and sages knock you back into the earth. Thinking like a plant, you follow the sun, and work within the limits of your unique climate and geography. Pulling a carrot or cutting some chard after many quiet hours of labor is an exercise in thankfulness.

One of my favorite garden crops is a group of cruciferous vegetables known by many different common names. It encompasses coleslaw and sauerkraut, fresh tossed kale salad and creamy cauliflower soups.

There is always some uncertainty in growing vegetables. When do you put seeds in the ground? Is there going to be a heat wave? What happens if snails attack?!

The bulb onion lives for around two years; it is are called a biennial. We harvest them when the bulb is big and then sliced them up. Depending upon our skill and luck as a gardener, our plans can succeed, or not.

Plants live a balanced life with varying strategies for survival. There are mechanisms for coping with conditions that are not suitable for growing leaves:

Too cold? Go dormant! Rest until the sun returns! Go alpine! Get low low low!

The cherry tree cultivar ‘Akebono’ has massive blooms in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in March and April. It is known as a flowering cherry. But the cherries we eat do not grow around these parts. Gotta go somewhere with a warmer summer. June, July, August – at the road side farmer’s market!

The sun and heat make fruits fill with sugars. In my dreams I see bright fields of winding green leaves and snaking tendrils, watermelons and honeydews ripening on the ground.

The opposite is also true for other types of fruit trees. They need the cold, the chill, and the frost to make the jump into spring. A period of winter rest says, “Okay, it’s safe now, send out flowers, bees are coming for a visit.” Imagine that you put out buds and shoots before it’s time, and a cold snap comes and kput! Kills all the young growth. Oh well, better luck next year!

There are zone maps to help gardeners determine when and where to grow what plant. These maps take many factors into account: how cold it gets in winter, drying winds that blow out to sea, valley sinks of cold air, creeping low fog, dripping wet heat, and so on. Apply existing knowledge, but do not be afraid to experiment, that is part of the fun. Find your window of opportunity to put seeds into the ground and smile with flowers. Where is the best spot for the maiden hair fern? In other words, how do I best mimic its natural habitat – the shade and protection of oak trees, a meandering creek, and wet soils?

Say hello to the sun, receive the blessings of pure light. Catch!

Categories Food and drug plants

12. WATER, PLANTS & INVERTEBRATES: washing dishes, fixing decks, parasitic beetles

July 3, 2012 //

Any chance to play with water I am there! So washing dishes comes easily to me. Restaurant, home, or camp site – they are all good places to do some chores. Luckily there is the magical stuff called soap, otherwise the greasy film on the pots and pans would drive me nuts! The plastic forks and tupperware containers, boy they really hold on tight to the oils.

The water molecules gather around the tail of the sodium or potassium part of the soap, and keep the soap molecule suspended in the water. Meanwhile, the other end of the soap molecule grabs onto oils and dirt. Soap helps make an emulsion – a mix of two liquids that do not usually blend together. Then it’s off they go to the sewers, treatment plant, bays and oceans.

Another day I was working in the garden, cutting tree branches. Saw dust was flying in my eyes, the saw teeth were trying to jump on my arms, and the weight of the branch was starting to pinch. What is this stuff that is so strong? When I understood, I drew this picture. It is all in the structure. Wood shares some similarities with rebar and concrete, bones and muscles, wood frames and drywall.

There are organisms that like to eat wood and break it down into tasty morsels. Fungi! Some are picky eaters, and they only relish the brown lignin cores. They are called white rotters because they leave a bunch of stringy white fibers after their feasting. Here is one of them:

Fungi comes in many forms and colors, and can be found everywhere. Fungi loves moisture. Nature’s house cleaners take care of the dead, and sometimes parasitize the living. The dry rot that eats my deck is a brown rotter. It will slowly eat the cellulose (and hemicellulose) until the deck crumbles into little brown cubes. Arrgggghhh! Should have used redwood….

Here is a story about parasites in the Mojave desert. There are beetle larvae that take up residence in bee nests. It is a little disturbing, but still suitable for younger audiences.

Categories ecology, Fungi, soil and water, trees

11. PLANTS: Betel nuts and dosage

July 2, 2012 //

In Taiwan it was common in the old days to chew a palm nut to stay alert and awake. Coffee was not yet imported and popular, tea was drunk in more relaxed company. Tobacco, well that is another story. The Areca palm is one of the cash crops, planted in large plantations or in a vacant lot next to your house along with some bananas.

The palm is called bing lang in mandarin Chinese, Areca catechu is its scientific name. It has nice stilt roots.

Where you see large neon displays on the street, that is where the bing lang stands are. There is usually a female store keeper, ‘dressed to impress’, wrapping up the not quite ripe palm nuts in the betel leaf, while dabbing a bit of lime paste in the package. The betel leaf is heart shaped; its botanical name is Piper betle. Other species of Piper plants include the pepper (black and white pepper are from the same plant), as well as the Polynesian brew kava kava.

After you take a few chews a great warmth swarms over your body, as does a feeling of vigor and power. It is as if a small southeast Asian typhoon was inside. The leaf and nut are not swallowed, but sucked on and passed from cheek to cheek. Then you gotta spit. The spit is red. There is a lot of spitting, out the window or on the sidewalk. Check out the dashboard – another 200 kilometers to go…

Well, that is part of the reason for the decline of betel nut chewing. The sidewalks were all stained red. Besides, spitting is not really an acceptable aspect of civilized modern culture. Street cameras were installed, fines were levied. The taxi cab drivers still chew, but ppttuiiii into cups. Other pills, drinks, and remedies have now over taken this particular plant and human relationship.

What is consistent through time is the use of plant based chemicals in different forms to stay alert, whether in war time situations or in day to day working life. With any such substance, there is always the danger of addiction and abuse. Beware of dosage, reflect on your mind state. Maintain a healthy balance.