When I first rolled into Mumbai I was immediately aware this wasn’t the best air in the world. When you can see the density of the air at a 50ft distance  you know something is up. Besides the daily traffic jams that pile up at least 4 times a day outside my window, many of the roads are covered in dust and muck that’s kicked up easily, with no rain to wash things away or knock things out of the air once they’re in it. If I stay in, I dramatically notice I feel better– more normal in the sort of breath I can take and generally more energetic, which I’m supposing is because I’m just not breathing in so much junk. But I digress… Can’t just complain about the matter and not take action. I went and bought $15 worth of air cleaning plants.

Here’s a list of goof air filtering plants from NASA… ( I know I’m not sure why NASA was studying theses plants, but I can’t say I mind ).

1. Philodendron scandens `oxycardium’, heartleaf philodendron

2. Philodendron domesticum, elephant ear philodendron

3. Dracaena fragrans `Massangeana’, cornstalk dracaena

4. Hedera helix, English ivy

5. Chlorophytum comosum, spider plant

6. Dracaena deremensis `Janet Craig’, Janet Craig dracaena

7. Dracaena deremensis `Warneckii’, Warneck dracaena

8. Ficus benjamina, weeping fig

9. Epipiremnum aureum, golden pothos

10. Spathiphyllum `Mauna Loa’, peace lily

11. Philodendron selloum, selloum philodendron

12. Aglaonema modestum, Chinese evergreen

13. Chamaedorea sefritzii, bamboo or reed palm

14. Sansevieria trifasciata, snake plant

15. Dracaena marginata , red-edged dracaena

For an average home of under 2,000 square feet, the study recommends using at least fifteen samples of a good variety of these common houseplants to help improve air quality. They also recommend that the plants be grown in six inch containers or larger.

I recently went walking with a friend in search of morels. No morels, but I did find a plant I’d never seen before and picked a flower and leaf to take home for identification. To my dismay, the description and image of the plant I identified as a large-flowered trillum was accompanied by the suggestion:

“Trillium should never be picked!”

The plant shoots up three leaves which are apparently crucial to it’s sunlight supply. Trillium are illegal to pick in some states ( though not Pennsylvania), and are also said to be frequently troubled by deer grazing- interesting because the area I found it in is overpopulated by deer, but there seemed to be several thriving patches of the plant.

None the less I have to issue my formal apology: Sorry botanists everywhere- sorry Trillium- my bad.

Having no stem and no leaves, the rare ghost orchid is like a living torso…

Read more:

http://earthfriendlygardening.wordpress.com/2007/07/12/rare-ghost-orchid-found-in-florida/#more-304

(above) Sweet Chestnut (edible)

(above) Horse Chestnut, aka Buckeye (not so edible)

Public Service announcement for something you’ll never look up…but I will!

Walking recently with a friend, I noticed a chestnut tree and decided once and for all to figure out how to eat these spiny yet appealing nuts….on NOT!!What I discovered is that the chestnut most of us are seeing is likely not the “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” we’ve heard about in Christmas songs…

Horse chestnuts are medicinal when used in small doses. But in large quantities and without proper processing, horse chestnuts contain Aesculin, a bitter, poisonous glycoside which breaks down blood proteins. This property has led to the development of the common rat poison, warfarin, extracted from clovers, which contain a similar toxin. YIKES!!!

Last year, I met a woman who was gathering horse chestnuts because she was trying to make medicine for her mother who had circulation problems. She was poor and this was a free natural source of what seemed curative. Whether or not this is a good idea to try on your own seems debatable, but sources I’ve come across in books and online, do seem to agree that the medicinal value is legitimate.

Active constituents and Benefits of the Horse Chestnut:

Horse chestnut seeds are the most commonly used plant part for making medicinal remedies and herbal preparations. The seeds of the horse chestnut contain a chemical saponin known as aescin, which in clinical studies has been reported to promote increased blood circulation. Aescin purportedly is able too promote blood circulation through the veins by increasing the tone in the walls of the veins, whereby enabling blood to flow unrestricted.

Its ability to promote blood circulation has made horse chestnut a popular treatment, both topically and internally, for both chronic venous insufficiency and varicose veins.More recent studies indicate that aescin (extracted from horse chestnut seeds) may also possess anti-inflammatory effects useful in reducing edema, swelling caused by excess fluid, as result of injuries. As a topical application, aescin is also popular in Europe for treating sprains. Additionally, poultices of the seed have been used in connection with skin ulcers and skin cancer, although there are no studies to confirm the effectiveness of this application.

So what is up with the Christmas song? Well one species of Chestnut is edible, and that’s the Sweet chestnut. I guess I’ve actually only seen it “in the flesh” once and that was last year when I picked up a nut from a very small and scraggly tree in Bloomfield, a section of Pittsburgh, PA. It’s spiky, porcupine like shell attracted me. See images above..the super spiky shell is the Sweet Chestnut, ..and the less spiky, probably more familiar nut is the Horse chestnut or Buckeye. Too bad the Horse Chestnuts are a no-go- they’re everywhere right now if you haven’t tripped on one yet…

Nice descriptive sketches and further distinguishing traits of Chestnut varieties are available at:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h401chestnuts.html

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 16th, 2007 at 6:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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