Plant ID 1

One of the classes I'm taking at TAFE is Plant ID. We are given a set list to memorise plant's appearance, Common name and Binomial name (biological name). Our assignment was to present our flower-pressings of a couple of plants we chose for ourselves and wrote up info on them. That was fun! Microwaving leaves, pressing and changing tissues for weeks, gluing them onto the herberium board for presentation.

But... Xanthostemon chrysanthus... what? It's easier to understand what it means if you know that in Greek: 'xanthos' means 'yellow', 'stemon' means 'thread' referring to the plant's stemen, 'chrysos' means 'gold', and 'anthos' is 'flower'. It's commonly known as "Golden Penda" and, guess what, they have very yellow flowers when in season from summer to autumn.

The inate knowledge of Greek or Latin linguistic origin isn't available to all people though (myself included) and sometimes a more creative association needs to be excercised. Harpullia pendula "Tulipwood" - Harp, Pully, Pendulum... can you imagine pendulums of harps and tulips hanging from a tree getting pulled? They have pendula-like small orange fruits which help with association.

Please check out LOLPlant ID for more of the bizzar and entertaining ways I get to know plants better.

Introduction

Hi there, how goes?



My name is Mariko and I would like to take you on a journey of discovering herbs - everything from basic biology of what they look like, historical and cultural interests, cooking tips, spells, even ideal setting to grow them in! I'll occasionally throw in fruits and vegies for a bit of variety in this very tasty salad :) I'll share with you my experiences of using and growing them, and also handy tips on remembering those funky-sounding, sometimes intimidatingly long botanical names.



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I am currently studying Horticulture through TAFE which is keeping me in one spot for now. In the past I have gone adventuring with WWOOFing in Nimbin, NSW, and will be off on another very soon at a local Strawberry Farm for 2nd year in a row. Very excited to mix with back packers again and their adventuring! On the occasion I join my father in romping around the Glasshouse Mountains, especially Tibrogargan and waiting patiently for Beerwah to reopen to the public again. In quiet times I enjoy creating art which some are displayed here: http://guardienofthepyre.deviantart.com/ and have outings with other Deviants in Brisbane.



You can follow my environmental tweets @Eco_Fire



I look forward to hear from you your feedback, suggestions and discussions :)



Love and light always :)