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 89 episodes available.

Herbarium of the Bizarre episodes:

December 20, 2024Gingerbread Tree
Happy Holidays! This tree tastes like gingerbread!

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://500wordsmag.com/food/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doum-palm-fruit/

Influence of doum (Hyphaene thebaica L.) flour addition on dough mixing properties, bread quality and antioxidant potential by Waleed Aboshora, et al. (2015) https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-015-2063-1

https://infonet-biovision.org/trees/doum-palm

Desert Plants of Egypt’s Wadi El Gemal National Park by Tamer Mahmoud (2010)

https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Hyphaene+thebaica

https://shevaundoherty.com/the-fruits-of-doum/

https://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Hyphaene_thebaica

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphaene_thebaica
...more
8min
December 14, 2024English Ivy
It’s festive Friday the 13th! Today we’re looking at English Ivy, a plant that makes me want to rage.

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)

Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (1985)

Garden Witch’s Herbal by Ellen Dugan (2009)

Herbal Magick: A Guide to Herbal Enchantments, Folklore, and Divination by Gerina Dunwich (2019)

The attachment strategy of English ivy: a complex mechanism acting on several hierarchical levels by Björn Melzer, et al. (2010) https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2010.0140

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hedera-helix/

https://www.rxlist.com/supplements/english_ivy.htm

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedera_helix
...more
11min
December 07, 2024Holly
I’m returning to my tradition of wintry and holiday-themed plants for December. You can call it a tradition once you’ve done it two years in a row, right? First up is Holly, which I’ve always considered a bush, but apparently it’s a tree? Maybe it’s just a matter of perspective.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.cloudforests.ie/blog/the-holly-tree

Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd ed.) by Scott Cunningham (1985)

Garden Witch’s Herbal by Ellen Dugan (2009)

https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/trees/holly/holly-mythology-and-folklore/

https://www.moonfallmetaphysical.com/s/stories/holly-uses-in-witchcraft

https://www.thespruce.com/eighteen-species-holly-trees-and-shrubs-3269647

https://thepresenttree.com/blogs/tree-meanings/holly-tree-meaning

Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide by Stan Tekiela (2007)
...more
11min
November 30, 2024Plants and Fungi Discovered in 2024
Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the U.S., so Happy Harvest! This week, we’re reviewing the year in new botanical discoveries.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/new-fungus-species-at-worlds-end.htm

Exophiala chapopotensis sp. nov., an extremotolerant black yeast from an oil-polluted soil in Mexico; phylophenetic approach to species hypothesis in the Herpotrichiellaceae family by Martin R. Ide-Perez, et al. (2024) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297232

https://phys.org/news/2024-02-species-story.html

Simocybe ramosa, a new species from the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area by Libelje Mortier, et al. (2024) [Abstract] https://doi.org/10.1656/045.031.0108

https://blog.pensoft.net/2024/10/09/drone-discovers-new-plant-species-in-hawaii/

https://blog.pensoft.net/2024/03/07/five-new-plant-species-with-striking-flowers-discovered-in-china/

Revealing brownish Mycena diversity in China: New discoveries and taxonomic insights by Renxui Wei, et al. (2024) [Abstract] https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10060439
...more
16min
November 23, 2024Bananas, feat. Fusarium
I broke out my Intro to Plant Biology textbook from college for this. I just want you to know that.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.britannica.com/plant/banana-plant

Raven Biology of Plants (8th ed.) by Evert Eichhorn (2013)

A Dictionary of Plant Pathology by Paul Holliday (1989)

https://asm.org/articles/2021/june/clone-wars-how-fusarium-fungi-control-the-banana-i

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/8-things-you-didnt-know-about-bananas

PBS News Hour. (16 January 2016). Inside the fight to save the bananas we know (and love). [Video]

https://www.thespruce.com/banana-tree-growing-profile-3269353

https://www.inverse.com/science/artificial-banana-flavor-real-science

https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.365.6450.207

Tropical Plants of Costa Rica by Willow Zuchowski (2007)
...more
14min
November 15, 2024Pawpaw Tree
If you’ve ever eaten a Pawpaw, let me you what you think it tastes like. Is it “sunny and electric”?

You can buy frozen Pawpaw pulp (and other forest-foraged goodies) from Integration Acres: https://integrationacres.com/

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.seriouseats.com/what-are-pawpaws-wild-fruit-midwest-how-to-prep-and-eat-pawpaws

https://wilkes.ces.ncsu.edu/2024/01/establishing-a-pawpaw-tree-in-your-backyard/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/pawpaw.htm

“Where’s a Good Giant Ground Sloth When You Need One?” by Carol Ann McCormick (March-April 2010) in North Carolina Botanical Garden Newsletter.

Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson (1977)

Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide by Stan Tekiela (2007)

The Appalachian Project. (2024, Sept. 21). The pawpaw, often referred to as "America's forgotten fruit," holds a special place in the history and culture of Appalachia. [Social media post] Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/AppalachianProject/posts/pfbid02xtvQgHH4f4NDMw5gfh1RQn75ji8Bk89xHSPkZBZQUBL1Fwoty3TYVEXtAU6xXigEl

https://heritageconservancy.org/pawpaw-a-big-fruit-in-need-of-bigger-love/
...more
13min
November 08, 2024Desert Squash
Oh my stars, I finished editing early this time! Which is good, because I’ll be in Berlin next week, and I need to hustle to get an episode banked for when I’m gone.

Give a holler in the comments if you also have childhood head lice trauma. 🙃

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.feedipedia.org/node/594

Bitter apple (Citrullus colocynthis) - A review of a wild plant growing from Asia to Africa with high medicinal potentials by Sidra Jabeen, et al. (2017)

Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad (Bitter Apple Fruit): Promising Traditional Uses, Pharmacological Effects, Aspects, and Potential Applications by Qin-Yuan Li, et al. (2022) https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.791049

Desert Plants of Egypt’s Wadi El Gemal National Park by Tamer Mahmoud (2010)

“Citrullus colocynthis: Colocynth, Bitter Apple, Bitter Gourd” by Abdalbasit Adam Mariod, et al. (2017) in Unconventional Oilseeds and Oil Sources

Citrullus colocynthis (bitter apple): bioactive compounds, nutritional profile, nutraceutical properties and potential food applications: a review by Vasundhara Rao and Amrita Poonia (2023) https://doi.org/10.1186/s43014-022-00118-9
...more
10min
November 02, 2024Elephant Foot Yam
Less late than last time! We are approaching being back on schedule! Moving into my first house is harder than I thought, y’all.

Recipe for Bengali Mashed Elephant Food Yam: https://seasonalflavours.net/ol-bhaate-elephant-foot-yam/#google_vignette

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2002/amorphophallus-paeoniifolius.html

https://conservatory.cals.cornell.edu/2016/05/18/featured-plant-amorphophallus-paeoniifolius/

A phytopharmacological review on an important medicinal plant - Amorphophallus paeoniifolius by Yadu Nandan Dey, et al. (2012) https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8520.100303

https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/collierco/2021/07/15/the-mystery-of-the-missing-amorphophallus/

https://garden.org/plants/view/177687/Elephant-Yam-Amorphophallus-paeoniifolius/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphophallus_paeoniifolius
...more
9min
October 28, 2024Bloodroot
This time, we’re going to talk about something truly terrifying: medical fraud! 😱 But also a bleeding plant, because you have to have balance. And no, we are not going to talk about how late this episode is. In fact, I don’t even know what you’re talking about.

If you want to know more about black salve, check out episode 253 of Sawbones (link below).

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/bloodroot-4175168

Sanguinaria canadensis: Traditional medicine, phytochemical composition, biological activities, and current uses by Andrew Croaker, et al. (2016) https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms17091414

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://dsps.lib.uiowa.edu/roots/bloodroot/

Wild Flowers of North Carolina and Surrounding Areas by William S. Justice and C. Ritchie Bell (1979)

McElroy, Sydnee and McElroy, Justin. (2018, 16 November). Black Salve (No. 253). In Sawbones. Maximum Fun. https://maximumfun.org/episodes/sawbones/sawbones-black-salve/

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/bloodroot-sanguinaria-canadensis-l

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

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanguinaria
...more
13min
October 19, 2024Audrey II
Special thanks to the production of the Little Shop of Horrors stage musical I saw at NC State when I was in college. That was a first class play. I say as someone who goes to the theater maybe twice a year. But I have seen my fair share of horror musicals. There are more of them than you think.

I don’t quite have my recording setup ready in the new house yet, so sorry the audio is kind of bleh.

Music by James Milor from Pixabay

Information provided by:
https://www.carnivorousplantresource.com/the-plants/audrey-ii/

The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). Roger Corman [Dir.].

https://playbill.com/article/did-you-know-that-audrey-ii-in-little-shop-of-horrors-is-a-female-man-eating-plant

https://littleshop.fandom.com/wiki/Audrey_II

Little Shop of Horrors (1986). Frank Oz [Dir.].
...more
14min

FAQs about Herbarium of the Bizarre:

How many episodes does Herbarium of the Bizarre have?

The podcast currently has 89 episodes available.