Be a lavender menace.

Music provided by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023)
• https://bouqs.com/blog/capricorn-birth-flower/
• https://www.britannica.com/plant/lavender
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lavender-Scare
• Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014)
• Herb Magic for Beginners: Down-to-earth Enchantments by Ellen Dugan (2016)
• https://www.hrc.org/resources/lavender-graduation
• The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Greatest Drinks by Amy Stewart (2013)
• https://www.osgf.org/blog/2020/6/29/vi0rxptrmtd4v8n2epbm3otxj56z5o
• Lavender and the nervous system by Peir Hossein Koulivand, Maryam Khaleghi Ghadiri, and Ali Gorji (2013). Evidence-Based Complementary Alternative Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/681304
• Herbs at a Glance: A Quick Guide to Herbal Supplements by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2009)
• https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/lavender
• https://daily.jstor.org/four-flowering-plants-decidedly-queered/
• A Floral Grimoire: Plant charms, spells, recipes, and rituals by Patricia Telesco (2024)
• Nature’s Remedies: An Illustrated Guide to Healing Herbs by Jean Willoughby (2016)
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavandula
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavender_Scare

Support the Pansy Project and get a cute shirt: https://birdscanflystore.com/collection/the-pansy-project/

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023)
• https://bouqs.com/blog/capricorn-birth-flower/
• Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014)
• Garden Witch’s Herbal by Ellen Dugan (2011)
• https://www.osgf.org/blog/2020/6/29/vi0rxptrmtd4v8n2epbm3otxj56z5o
• Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd ed.) by Steven Foster and James A. Duke (2014)
• https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/plants-LGBTQ-symbols
• https://daily.jstor.org/four-flowering-plants-decidedly-queered/
• A Floral Grimoire: Plant charms, spells, recipes, and rituals by Patricia Telesco (2024)
• https://thepansyproject.com/about/
• https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/pansies/

Roses are (sometimes) red,

Violets are (sometimes) blue,

And if you ask Sappho,

Violets are gay, too!

Happy Pride Month 🌈

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023)
• https://bouqs.com/blog/violet-flower-meaning-symbolism/
• Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014)
• Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd ed.) by Steven Foster and James A. Duke (2014)
• https://www.osgf.org/blog/2020/6/29/vi0rxptrmtd4v8n2epbm3otxj56z5o
• Wild Flowers of North Carolina and Surrounding Areas by William S. Justice and C. Ritchie Bell (1979)
• https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2021/12/21/queer-botany-the-sapphic-violet/
• Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson (1977)
• PinkNews. (27 November 2024). Violet necklaces have become a sought-after lesbian accessory, but what is the history behind the trend? [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DC49dz8thuV/?igsh=X2xVeEQ2Y0Jl
• https://daily.jstor.org/four-flowering-plants-decidedly-queered/
• National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Eastern Region (2nd ed.) by John W. Thieret, William A. Niering, & Nancy C. Olmstead (2001)
• Collins Gem: Wild Flowers by Martin Walter (2002)
• https://wildfoods4wildlife.com/monographs/violets/
• https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/sweet-violet/

These extra-special trees are similar to both conifers and fruit trees, but they are actually something much, much older. Ginkgoes are the only tree species around today that was alive at the same time as dinosaurs! 🦕 How cool is that?

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ginkgo-biloba-benefits
• Medicinal Plants at Home by Maria Transito Lopez Luengo and Carlota Manez Ariso (2015)
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-ginkgo/art-20362032
• Herbs at a Glance: A Quick Guide to Herbal Supplements by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2009)
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/guest-blog/botanical-sexism-cultivates-home-grown-allergies/
• https://www.obga.ox.ac.uk/article/seeds-from-hiroshima-atomic-bomb-survivor-trees-planted-at-oxford-botanic-garden
• https://tylerarboretum.org/ginkgo-biloba-an-ancient-species-in-a-modern-world/
• https://arboretum.ua.edu/whats-growing-on/ginkgo-ginkgo-biloba/
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba
• Nature’s Remedies: An Illustrated Guide to Healing Herbs by Jean Willoughby (2016)

Is it really possible that these trees walk around the rainforest like the Ents in Lord of the Rings?

I forgot to mention that there won’t be an episode next week. Here’s your one-week notice that I’ll be on vacation next Friday. ✈️

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• Stilt-Root Walking by an Iriateoid Palm in the Peruvian Amazon by John H. Bodley and Foley C. Benson (1980). Biotropica, 12(1), pg. 67-71. https://doi.org/10.2307/2387775
• https://www.sciencealert.com/a-persistent-rumor-suggests-this-tree-can-walk-around-but-is-it-true
• The function of stilt roots in the growth strategy of Socratea exorrhiza (Arecaceae) at two neotropical sites by Gregory R. Goldsmith and Rakan A. Zahawi (2007). International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation, 55(3). https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v55i3-4.5955 [Abstract]
• https://www.treeres.com/the-walking-tree-phenomenon-unraveling-the-secrets-of-socratea-exorrhiza/
• https://www.natureandculture.org/directory/walking-palm-trees/
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratea_exorrhiza
• The epiphyte vegetation of the palm Socratea exorrhiza: Correlations with tree size, tree age and bryophyte cover by Gerhard Zotz and Birgit Vollrath (2003). Journal of Tropical Ecology, 19, pg. 81-90. DOI: 10.1017/S0266467403003092
• Tropical Plants of Costa Rica by Willow Zuchowski (2007)

Today, at long last, I am revealing my favorite fact about witches’ flying ointment. 🧹

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/witches-garden/witch-garden-feature/witches-garden-plants/henbane/
• Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023)
• https://www.britannica.com/plant/henbane
• Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (2014)
• Plants That Kill: A Natural History of the World’s Most Poisonous Plants by Elizabeth A. Dauncey and Sonny Larson (2018)
• Herbal Magick: A guide to herbal enchantments, folklore, and divination (2nd ed.) by Gerina Dunwich (2019)
• https://www.europeana.eu/en/exhibitions/magical-mystical-and-medicinal/henbane
• https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/henban23.html
• https://sites.evergreen.edu/plantchemeco/henbane-medicine-andor-magic/
• Collins Gem: Wild Flowers by Martin Walter (2002)
• https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany/Mind_and_Spirit/henbane.shtml
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyoscyamus_niger

A.k.a. the California Pitcher Plant or the Cobra Lily. It’s not a lily, not even a little bit, but it does look surprisingly serpentine. 🐍

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• The cobra's tongue: Rethinking the function of the “fishtail appendage” on the pitcher plant Darlingtonia californica by David W. Armitage (2016). American Journal of Botany, 103(4), pgs. 780-785. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1500524
• https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/darlingtonia_californica.shtml
• https://www.kqed.org/science/12317/predatory-plant-lure-of-the-cobra-lily
• https://www.carnivorousplantresource.com/the-plants/cobra-lily/
• Pollination Biology of Darlingtonia californica (Sarraceniaceae), the California Pitcher Plant by George A. Meindl and Michael R. Mesler (2011). Madroño, 58(1), pgs. 22-31. [Abstract] https://doi.org/10.3120/0024-9637-58.1.22
• https://www.cnps.org/citizen-science/carnivorous-plants-in-meadows-and-fens-6749
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlingtonia_californica

The carnivorous plants are back, and this time we’re looking at my favorite bug traps, Sundews!

I forgot to mention in the intro that I’m going to be at RavenCon in Richmond, VA this weekend—actually, as this airs, I’m probably already on my way—and AtomaCon in North Charleston, SC next weekend. Come say “hi!”

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd ed.) by Steven Foster and James A. Duke (2014)
• https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Sundews
• National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Eastern Region (2nd ed.) by John W. Thieret, William A. Niering, & Nancy C. Olmstead (2001)
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosera
• Nanofibers and nanoparticles from the insect-capturing adhesive of the Sundew (Drosera) for cell attachment by Mingjun Zhang, et al. (2010). Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 8(20). https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-3155-8-20

Watch the real-life Zombie Fungus in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• https://screenrant.com/girl-all-gifts-fungal-infection-hungries-explained/
• https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/cordyceps
• Interkingdom host jumping underground: Phylogenetic analysis of entomoparasitic fungi of the genus Cordyceps by Naruo Nikoh and Takema Fukatsu (2000). Molecular Biology and Evolution, 17(4), pg. 629-638. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026341
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/but-not-simpler/the-fungus-that-reduced-humanity-to-the-last-of-us/
• https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/cordyceps
• Unique bioactives from Zombie Fungus (Cordyceps) as promising multitargeted neuroprotective agents by Himadri Sharma, Niti Sharma, and Seong Soo A An (2023). Nutrients, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16010102
• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cordyceps-benefits
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyceps

Sometimes plants come in very silly shapes.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:

• https://sarracenia.proboards.com/thread/3891/nepenthes-bokorensis-wild
• Species composition of ant prey of the pitcher plant Nepenthes bokorensis Mey (Nepenthaceae) in Phnom Bokor National Park, Cambodia by Shingo Hosoishi, et al. (2012). Cambodian Journal of Natural History, 5(1), pg. 3-7.
• Report of carnivorous plants (Droseraceae, Lentibulariaceae and Nepenthaceae) from seasonally dry savannahs in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia by Pierre-Olivier Maquart, et al. (2021). Cambodian Journal of Natural History, 14(1), pg. 1-4.
• Nepenthes bokorensis, a new species of Nepenthaceae from Cambodia by Francois Sockhom Mey (2009). Carniflora Australis, 7(1), pg. 6-15.
• Nepenthes holdenii (Nepenthaceae), a new species of pyrophytic pitcher plant from the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia (2010) by Francois Stockhom Mey, et al. In: Carnivorous Plants in their Habitats by Stewart McPherson.
• https://www.livescience.com/carnivorous-penis-pitcher-plant-picked
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthes_bokorensis