Herbarium of the Bizarre

By Meredith Hemphill

A podcast about strange, spooky, and misunderstood plants (and sometimes fungi).

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FAQs about Herbarium of the Bizarre:

How many episodes does Herbarium of the Bizarre have?

The podcast currently has 76 episodes available.

Herbarium of the Bizarre episodes:

September 22, 2024Death Caps
We’re getting a bit of a head start on Spooky Season. Poisonous mushrooms! Political intrigue! Murder most foul! Like, seriously. So foul. And I’m pretty sure this is at least the second time Nero has come up on this show. I can’t escape that guy.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/05/17/1175494500/new-hope-for-an-antidote-to-death-cap-mushrooms-and-other-poison-fungi

https://www.britannica.com/science/death-cap

“Death Cap mushrooms can kill” from British Columbia Centre for Disease Control

https://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/your-dogs-health/death-cap-mushrooms.html

https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/news/mushroom-poisoning-has-unreported-consequence-dog

The death of Claudius, or Mushrooms for murderers by R. Gordon Wasson (1972)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_phalloides
...more
13min
September 14, 2024Sunflowers
Happy Friday the 13th! This plant has nothing to do with that, I just wanted to say it. We’re actually talking about Sunflowers, because they’re seasonal and they have taken over our front yard for some reason.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://gardencollage.com/change/sustainability/scientists-using-sunflowers-clean-nuclear-radiation/

https://www.kew.org/plants/sunflower

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/a32638/sunflower-fun-facts/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-sunflowers-are-ukraines-national-flower-180979850/

The National Sunflower Association (https://www.sunflowernsa.com/)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/helianthus/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-disaster-sunflowers-idUSTRE77I0PG20110819/

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/helianthus_annuus.shtml

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_sunflower
...more
12min
September 06, 2024Kudzu
I’m back, everyone! My voice doesn’t sound the best still, but I’m plowing ahead anyway. For the belated final week of Southern Plant Month, let’s meet the most hated plant in the South: kudzu.

If you’re in North Carolina and would like to try some of the kudzu delicacies I mentioned, look up Carolina Kudzu Crazy (https://www.facebook.com/p/Carolina-Kudzu-Crazy-100063473593361/).

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/true-story-kudzu-vine-ate-south-180956325/

https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/dining/kudzu-edible-why-aren-eating/BXAct9CtIshpWaB8f9D2PO/

https://conservingcarolina.org/get-rid-of-kudzu/

https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/forestry-wildlife/the-history-and-use-of-kudzu-in-the-southeastern-united-states/

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/indiana/stories-in-indiana/kudzu-invasive-species/

A single dose of kudzu extract reduces alcohol consumption in a binge drinking paradigm by David M. Penetar, et al. (2015) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.05.025

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu

Fundamentals of Weed Science (6th ed.) by Robert L. Zimdahl
...more
13min
August 23, 2024Cotton
Today, we’re talking about the world’s favorite natural fiber. It’s pretty strange, if you think about it, that Cotton plants grow these fluffy, candy floss clouds.

To be clear, it’s cotton boll, not bowl. My accent is not my friend in this episode.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.fairindigo.com/blogs/news/what-is-pima-cotton-and-how-is-it-different

https://www.cottoninc.com/cotton-production/quality/classification-of-cotton/overview/

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/cotton-and-wool/cotton-sector-at-a-glance/

http://www.historyofclothing.com/textile-history/history-of-cotton/

“Cotton: From Field to Fabric” from the National Cotton Council of America

“The Story of Cotton” from the National Cotton Council of America

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/what-cotton

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/gossypium-hirsutum/

https://nymag.com/strategist/article/what-is-egyptian-cotton-explainer.html

https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cotton/evolution/

https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cotton/what/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossypium
...more
10min
August 16, 2024Magnolia
This one goes out to you, D’Bravius. I have never known anyone else to get so excited about a Magnolia tree.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://shop.arborday.org/treeguide/333

https://gardens.si.edu/learn/blog/the-botany-of-magnolias/

https://www.gardenia.net/genus/magnolia-tree

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/magnolia-virginiana-sweet-bay-magnolia

https://blog.natureplusme.com/types-of-magnolia

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/magnolia-acuminata/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/magnolia-fraseri/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/magnolia-macrophylla/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/magnolia-tripetala/

A review of pollination of Magnolia by beetles, with a collecting survey made in the Carolinas by Richard S. Peigler (1988) in Magnolia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_grandiflora
...more
12min
August 10, 2024Tobacco, Part 2
With (sort of) special appearances by Tobin Bell, Rosalind Franklin, and a 19th-century Dutch scientist whose name I certainly did not get right.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) - A model system for tissue culture interventions and genetic engineering by Thumballi R. Ganapathi, et al. (2004) [Abstract]

In vitro transformation of cultured cells from Nicotiana tabacum by Agrobacterium tumefaciens by L. Marton, et al. (1979) [Abstract]

https://www.pmiscience.com/en/smoke-free/nicotine/tobacco-plant-research/

On the historical significance of Beijerinck and his contagium vivum fluidum for modern virology by Neeraja Sankaran (2018)

Therapeutic potential and phytoremediation capabilities of the tobacco plant: Advancements through genetic engineering and cultivation techniques by Nidhi Selwal, et al. (2023) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcab.2023.102845

PLANT vs. PATHOGEN: Enlisting Tobacco in the Fight Against Anthrax by Graeme Stemp-Morlock (2006) https://doi.org/10.1289%2Fehp.114-a364

“Tobacco Research and Its Relevance to Science, Medicine and Industry” by T.C. Tso (2006) DOI: 10.2478/cttr-2013-0824

Phytochemicals derived from Nicotiana tabacum L. plant contribute to pharmaceutical development by Wenji Zhang, et al. (2024) https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffphar.2024.1372456
...more
13min
August 03, 2024Tobacco, Part 1
I actually planned to have two parts this time. And I hope this goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: this podcast is for entertainment and educational purposes, not medical advice. Please, please do not attempt using tobacco for any of the historical medical purposes mentioned in this episode just because I said it’s been done before. Not everything that has been done should be repeated.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
Medicinal uses of tobacco in history by Anne Charlton (2004) https://doi.org/10.1258%2Fjrsm.97.6.292

Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) by Marianna Jennifer Datiles & Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez (2014) https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.36326

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/tobacco-in-colonial-virginia/

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1677/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-the-americas/

https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/tobacco-the-early-history-of-a-new-world-crop.htm

https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/nicotiana/tabacum/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/nicotiana-tabacum/

https://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/plants400/Profiles/MN/Nicotiana

Tobacco smoking: the leading cause of preventable disease worldwide by Jonathan M. Samet (2013) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.thorsurg.2013.01.009

https://www.st-group.com/about-us/our-tobacco/history-of-tobacco/

https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Nicotiana+tabacum
...more
14min
July 26, 2024Mariposa Lily
Special thanks to Brooke for suggesting today’s episode topic, Mariposa Lilies. Also, “mariposa” and “lily” have ceased to sound like words to me.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://smmtc.org/plantofthemonth/Mariposa_Lily.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calochortus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpentine_soil
Butterfly Mariposa Lily
Phylogeography and population genetics reveal ring species patterns in a highly polymorphic California lily by Adriana I. Hernández, Jacob B. Landis, & Chelsea D. Specht (2022) [Abstract] https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14313

“Plant Guide: Mariposa Lily” from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA, & National Plant Data Center

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/calochortus_venustus.shtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calochortus_venustus
Catalina Mariposa Lily
https://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/plants/Liliaceae/Calochortus%20catalinae.htm

https://smmtc.org/plantofthemonth/Catalina_Mariposa_Lily.php

https://theodorepayne.org/nativeplantdatabase/index.php?title=Calochortus_catalinae
Plummer’s Mariposa Lily
https://messengermountainnews.com/the-rare-plummers-mariposa-lily/

https://lpfw.org/our-region/wildlife/mariposa-lily/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calochortus_plummerae

Causes and correlates of interannual variation in flowering of Calochortus plummerae (Liliaceae) by Kimberlyn Williams, Erica Burck, & Cesar L. Garcia (2021) https://doi.org/10.3120/0024-9637-68.4.360
...more
11min
July 20, 2024Lamb's Ear
Should there ever be another toilet paper shortage, just grow this plant in your yard, and you’ll be good to go.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2016/jul/29/plant-lambs-ears-and-keep-wool-carder-bees-happy

https://hilltop.indiana.edu/news-events/_news/news9i.html

https://mimiciftligi.com/en/blogs/gastronomi_ve_dogal_sifa/kuzu-kulagi-bitkisi-faydalari-nelerdir

https://www.joellane.org/history/the-gardens/lambs-ear

https://shorehomeandgarden.com/2022/08/02/the-lore-behind-alluring-lambs-ears/

https://ourpermaculturelife.com/edible-medicinal-ornamental-herb-lambs-ear/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/stachys-byzantina/

https://nativebeeology.com/2020/05/12/carder-bees-and-lambs-ear/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stachys_byzantina
...more
8min
July 12, 2024Dead Man's Fingers
We haven’t done a fungus in a while, and this one was separately sent to me by both of my parents. So, it was practically an order from on high.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/extension/dead-mans-fingers-purdue-landscape-report/

Xylaria polymorpha (Pers.)Grev. (Dead man's fingers) and its ethnomycological study by Ganesh Hedawoo (2021)

https://www.allianceforthebay.org/2019/10/from-the-grave-dead-mans-fingers/

https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/dead-mans-fingers

https://first-nature.com/fungi/xylaria-polymorpha.php

https://extension.psu.edu/spooktacular-flora-and-fungi

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylaria_polymorpha

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/dead-mans-fingers/

https://woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fungi-and-lichens/dead-mans-fingers/
...more
7min

FAQs about Herbarium of the Bizarre:

How many episodes does Herbarium of the Bizarre have?

The podcast currently has 76 episodes available.