Transcript Myth or Medicine Plants from films & folklore

Myth or Medicine
Miscellaneous Facts & Fiction about
Plants from Folklore &Films
Mrs. Schalles
Botany, RHS
Plants & Gardens have
been used in storytelling &
for healing for hundreds of
years- here is a compilation
of interesting stories &
facts
• Beginning In Ancient
Egypt & Africa:
Queen Hatshepshut
The first known plant hunting expedition recorded
in history was by Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt,
http://www.plantexplorers.com/explorers/history/index.html
Queen Hatshepsut (around 1500 BC)
• Eygyptians imported resins from plants:
Boswellia (Frankincense) &
Commiphora (Myrrh),
• She wanted sustainable supplies
• ordered living specimens of these desert
trees be brought back & planted at the
Temple of Karnack.
• Inscriptions on the temple wall show at
least 31 of the transplants survived &
were established in temple grounds.
Frankincense Trees
• The word means the true, or
frank, incense.
• Pleasing aroma when burned.
• Used for thousands of years
for everything form colds &
digestive problems to mental
health & cancer.
• Actually has antibiotic &
antifungal chemicals – Modern
Medical uses.
• It was traditionally VERY
EXPENSIVE.
http://www.naha.org/articles/frankincense%20and%20myrrh.htm
http://pangaiastore.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Incense_100_Frankincense.jpg
Frankincense Tree Trade
• Great economic
significance
• TODAY: In Somalia, Africa
(one of the poorest countries
in the world)
• New trials to plant new stands
of frankincense trees.
• Current interest in frankincense
essential oil in the West has helped
develop a small but strong market for
Somali frankincense.
http://www.naha.org/articles/frankincense%20and%20myrrh.htm
Myrrh -from Commiphora trees.
• name from Hebrew murr or
maror, means bitter.
• Historical uses include
Embalming the dead.
• Also used for a wide range of
conditions medical conditions,
with virtually no toxicity.
• It is still used in modern
medicine.
http://www.naha.org/articles/frankincense%20and%20myrrh.htm
http://www.acneresearchlabs.com/v/vspfiles/images/myr.jpg
Frankincense & Myrrh
• Many of the therapeutic
functions are the same in
both tree resins.
• myrrh is more astringent,
antiseptic, disinfectant, bitter,
and tonic,
• while frankincense is more
anti-inflammatory, blood
vitalizing, and mentally
uplifting.
• The two are often combined.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Somali_man_My...
Frankincense & Myrrh
• Gold, frankincense, and
myrrh were the gifts
that were given to Jesus
by the wise men.
• And they came into the
house and saw the Child
with Mary His mother;
and they fell down and
worshiped Him; and
opening their treasures
they presented to Him
gifts of gold and
frankincense and myrrh.
(NASB) Matt. 2:11
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/_borders/myrrh.jpg
Beginning in Arabia
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• History says
they were built
by King
Nebuchadnezzar
II around 600 BC
to please his
sick wife, Amytis
of Media
http://www.all-in-travel.com/hanging-gardens-of-babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Did the legendary
gardens exist?
• Or was it an
embellishment by
Greek poets more
than any real
space on earth?
http://www.plantexplorers.com/explorers/history/babylon.htm
Another interpretation of the
hanging gardens- one of the “Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World.”
http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm
Evidence for their existence?
• Many clay tablets from that period in
Babylon exist but have no records of
the Hanging Gardens.
• Maybe Alexander the Great's army,
upon entering the city from the desert,
were amazed by the lush growth of the
date palms, olive trees, and other fruit
trees, - and later recounted their time in
the city with increasingly fanciful
detail?
Archaeological excavations
• In modern Iraq
• Uncovered the foundation of the palace.
• Found the “Vaulted Building” with thick walls
and an irrigation well near the southern
palace.
• Greek historians said the gardens were
situated by the River Euphrates & some argue
that the site is too far from the Euphrates to
support the theory.
• On the river banks, recently discovered
massive walls 25 m thick may have been
stepped to form terraces... the ones described
in Greek references
Here is a photo of an excavation site
(with reconstruction) in Iraq that may
be part of the gardens.(but some say
it is too far from the Euphrates river)
www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/2102-470
Garden Story from ancient Asia
Is there an Evergreen Garden
Shangri-la paradise?
• Is there an Garden paradise
in the Himalayan region ?
• 7 such places are described
in ancient religious Buddhist
books,
• with waterfalls & gardens
• “Nghe-Beyul Khimpalung” a mystical and spectacularly
beautiful evergreen place
where no one gets old.
• One is supposedly in the
Makalu-Barun region of the
Himalayas'- shown in this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhilung/3904555723/
photo..
“Shangri-La”
• Is also a fictional place
described in the 1933 novel
Lost Horizon by British
author James Hilton.
• In the book, "Shangri-La" is
a mystical, harmonious
valley, gently guided from a
lamasery, enclosed in the
western end of the Kunlun
Mountains.
This place in China was actually named
Shangri-la after the book was published,
• This Photo shows a turn of Yangtze River
flowing into Shangri-la, in Diqing County,
southwest China's Yunan Province.
http://english.people.com.cn/200506/07/print20050607_188868.html
Asian Mountain View
• An now for a plant story
that started in Greek
times & continues today:
Zeus’ tears
• One version of the story goes like this:
• Zeus was carrying on with a water nymph
named Io & his wife- Hera- would not have
been pleased to find this out!
• so Zeus transformed the nymph into a
white heifer - for her own safety.
• When she began to cry because she had
to eat nasty grass, he turned her tears
into sweet smelling flowers- violets.
• The Greek word for Violets is Ion!
From: Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild
by Brill & Dean
Zeus’ tears (Violets)
(Ion is the Greek word for violet)
• Viola species contain:
• Ionone -an aromatic compound
– also found in carrots, raspberries, & black tea.
•
•
•
•
beta-carotene (pro vitamin A)
vitamin C
Salicylic acid (compound used in aspirin)
Anti- oxidants
http://www.minervaclassics.com/HeraZeus.jpg
Medicinal Uses of Violets
• have been used medicinally for centuries.
• extracts have been studied to treat cancers
• have expectorant properties (work well in
cases of respiratory disorders- bronchitis,
colds, coughs)
• Tea made of violet
leaves is reportedly
effective as a laxative
• has antiseptic properties
• Can relieve pain.
http://www.gardensablaze.com/HerbVioletMed.htm
Desert:
• chocolate nest
• Violet flavored
ice cream
• carrot filaments
• Blackberries
• Flowers are
“johny-jump-ups”
(Viola cornuta)
http://www.playingwithfireandwater.com/foodplay/2009/04/chocolate-violet-carrot.html
Napoleon & Violets
• Napoleon shared a devotion to violets
with the Empress Josephine.
• During his exile at Elba, he promised
his followers that he would return in
the spring with the violets.
• This set off a loyalist obsession with the flower,
immortalizing the violet as the emblem of the
Imperial party, and earning him the nickname
"Corporal Violette".
• He is said to have been buried with a lock of
Josephine's hair and violets in a locket.
http://www.playingwithfireandwater.com/foodplay/2009/04/chocolate-violet-carrot.html
• And now- something
from the Vikings:
Fly Agaric Mushrooms
& the Vikings
Not a plant- but the Vikings thought
mushrooms were plants.
• Mushrooms- not classified as fungi until
Carl Linnaeus used modern taxonomy.
• Found throughout the Northern Hemisphere
• Genus & Species: Amanita muscaria
• Its Poisonous properties have had a
fascination for humans over the centuries.
.
http://www.biology.ie/article-single.php?a=42
http://files.shroomery.org/files/08-47/703065548-Fly_Agaric.jpg
Viking Lore
• When the Vikings
invaded Ireland they are
said to have eaten Fly
Agaric before battle to
make them demonic &
behave in a berserk
manner.
• Viking Folklore often
refers to Fly Agaric as a
gift from the gods to
provide men with
www.flyagaric-amanita.com/berserker_rages.html
fearlessness & strength.
http://www.biology.ie/article-single.php?a=42
Medieval
times
• In Europe its use has
given rise to the idea
of 'little people' such as fairies & leprechauns.
• In medieval times the mushroom was used to
stupefy flies. It was added to milk and left
around the house in dishes. In fact, in those
times it was called the Bug Agaric
http://www.biology.ie/article-single.php?a=42
In Walt Disney films:
• Alice in Wonderland
–
–
–
–
caterpillar sitting on a mushroom
(Fly Agaric) smoking a pipe
Alice is mushroom height.
She nibbles on the mushroom to
make herself bigger and smaller
• Fantasia
– a fairy ring of Fly Agaric shimmers in color and
shapes
– to the music of Tchailkovsky's Nutcracker Suite.
http://www.biology.ie/article-single.php?a=42
Poisonous Mushrooms
Agaric poison is not usually deadly, but
its effects are unpredictable and it may
cause death in some people.
Since they are red with white spots- they
are hard to confuse with the really deadly
poisonous Amanitas mushrooms -which
are white-capped & have hepatotoxic
(liver-destroying) amatoxins.
Amanita phalloides
•
•
•
•
The “death cap”
one of many in the genus Amanita.
Associates with broadleaf trees
responsible for the majority of fatal
mushroom poisonings worldwide.
• It is estimated that 30 grams (1 oz), or half
a cap, of this mushroom is enough to kill a
human
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_cap#cite
_note-benjamin211-37
Death Cap
The color of the cap can be white,
pale-, yellowish-, or olive-green,
The smell is sickly sweet &
the fruiting body (the cap)
is large.
Back to Greek & also Central
American folktales
Amaranth – the food of the gods
• Plant associated with immortality
• Nutritious grain; also cultivated as a
leaf vegetable in many parts of the world
• Greek meaning "one that does not wither”
• Genus: Amaranthus
• Approximately
60 species
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth
Aesop's Fables
(6th century BC)
• compares the Rose to the Amaranth
• to illustrate the difference between
fleeting & everlasting beauty.
A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in
a garden,and the Amaranth said to her neighbour,
"How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent!
No wonder you are such a universal favourite."
But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her
voice, "Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time:
my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die. But
your flowers never fade, even if they are cut; for they
are everlasting
From John Milton's epic poem
Paradise Lost (1667):
"Immortal amarant, a flower which once
In paradise, fast by the tree of life,
Began to bloom; but soon for man's offence
To heaven removed, where first it grew, there
grows,
And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life”
Amaranth was grown 5000 years ago
in Central America & is still cultivated
• used in Aztec ceremonies,
• images of gods were made
of amaranth mixed with honey.
The images were eaten.
• Aztecs called it a “super food”.
• Today- it is known that this grain is very
nutritious.
• It is also sometimes recommended for
people with a low blood count
http://www.marintellect.com/portfolio/www.sacredfoods.com/amaranth.html
Amaranth Today
• There is a renewed interest in this easy
to grow, nutritious plant- especially in
Mexico
• Every February - there is a colorful
celebration near Mexico City called the
Fiesta de Amaranto.
• Today Amaranth treats are called
Alegria which means "Happy Food."
http://www.marintellect.com/portfolio/www.sacredfoods.com/amaranth.html
Amaranth snacks
http://www.gastronomiaycia.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/pan_amaranto_sesamo.jpg
And now for some USA stories:
Johnny
Appleseed
• Johnny Appleseed was a legendary American who
planted and supplied apple trees to much of the
United States of America.
• Many people think that Johnny Appleseed was
a fictional character, but he was a real person.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/usa/people/Appleseedindex.shtml
Johnny Appleseed’s real name
was John Chapman
• He grew trees and supplied apple seeds to the
pioneers in the mid-western USA.
• He owned nurseries in Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, where he grew
his beloved apple trees.
• Although he was a very successful man,
Appleseed lived a simple life.
• It is said that as Johnny traveled, he wore his
cooking pot on his head as a hat!
• born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on
September 26, 1774. died at the age of 70.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/usa/people/Appleseedindex.shtml
Apple Facts
• The crabapple is the only apple native to North
America.
• Apples come in all shades of reds, greens, and
yellows.
• Apples are grown in all 50 states.
• Apples are fat, sodium, and cholesterol free.
• A medium apple is about 80 calories.
• Apples are a great source of the fiber pectin.
One apple has five grams of fiber.
• The pilgrims planted the first United States
apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/apples/facts.cfm
More Apple Facts
• The pilgrims planted the first United
States apple trees in the Massachusetts
Bay Colony.
• The science of apple growing is called
pomology.
• Apples were the favorite fruit of ancient
Greeks and Romans.
• Apples are a member of the rose family.
• Malus domestica is in the rose family
Rosaceae
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/apples/facts.cfm
Still more apple facts:
• Most apples can be grown farther north
than most other fruits, because they
blossom late in spring, minimizing frost
damage.
• It takes the energy from 50 leaves to
produce one apple.
• Apples are the second most valuable
fruit grown in the United States.
Oranges are first.
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/apples/facts.cfm
And- even more apple facts!!!!
• Apples have five seed
pockets or carpels. Each
pocket contains seeds.
Different varieties of apples
will have different number
of seeds.
• World's top apple producers are China,
United States, Turkey, Poland and Italy
http://samson.kean.edu/~breid/flower_lab/apple1.jpg
“An apple a day, keeps the
doctor away.”
• This saying comes from an old English
adage, “To eat an apple before going to
bed, will make the doctor beg his
bread.”
• Don't peel your apple. Two-thirds of the
fiber and lots of antioxidants are found
in the peel.
• Antioxidants help to reduce damage to
cells, which can trigger some diseases
• And now for another nutritious
food- but one not as popular as
apples!!!
Popeye and Spinach
• When Popeye was created - Spinach was
mistakenly believed to contain ten times more
iron than it does (it was a misprint in a medical
journal) that's probably why it became the
strong man's source of strength.
• By the time the truth was known, the character
was already famous for eating spinach.
• He'd inspired children to give spinach a
chance, too.
• Now if we could only get them to eat their
broccoli, too!
http://cdn-write.demandstudios.com/upload//6000/700/00/4/46704.jpg
And what you have been waiting to hear about:
Plants in Harry Potter Stories
• Many remedies & magical potions
are discussed.
• Are any of these real plants?
• Are any based on real medicinal
properties?
Harry Potter's Magic Plants
• Flowers so deadly a single touch can
be fatal, fruit that makes you believe
you can fly and leaves that allow you to
conquer the highest mountains.
• It might be hard to believe, but some of
the plants of Harry Potter, in real life,
are stranger than fiction itself.
http://www.student.chula.ac.th/~51373177/images/harry-potter.jpg
First- Plants that appear to have
been invented entirely by JKR
• Abyssinian shrivelfig
When peeled, shrivelfigs are used as an ingredient in Shrinking Solution
• Alihotsy
Eating the leaves causes hysteria.
• Bouncing bulb
Repotted during Herbology class one wriggled free from Harry's grasp
and banged him in the face
• Bubotuber
looks like a thick, black, giant slug (it even squirms slightly) with a
yellow-green pus that reacts oddly with human skin. Undiluted, it will
raise horribly painful boils on contact but properly diluted and processed
can be used to cure acne.
• Devil's Snare
a mass of soft, springy tendrils and vines that possess some sense of
touch & uses its creepers to ensnare anyone who touches it
More plants invented by JKR
• Fanged Geranium
plant will bite humans & owls.
• Flutterby bush
This kind of bush quivers and shakes.
"Flutterby" is an old name for "butterfly"
• Gillyweed
this water plant, when eaten, gives a person gills
to breathe underwater and gives them webbed
hands and feet for swimming.
•
Whomping Willow
A species superficially resembling the willow, this
large, violent tree attacks anyone who gets too
close
A real plant, a newly discovered,
rare jungle flower, has been named
after a Harry Potter spell.
• A new species, Macrocarpaea apparata,
is named after the term, to "apparate", used
in J.K. Rowling's books.
• By Lena Struwe, professor Rutgers' Cook
College is a fan of the Harry Potter series,
• Has been exploring Andes region, Ecuador.
• The flowers on this plant just suddenly
appear as it gets dark!
http://www.broomsticksandowls.com/
Flowers appear quickly after dark
And now- Real Plants used by
Harry Potter
A comparison of their
fictional & actual uses:
(I didn’t find anything that would really cure a
dragon bite, but there are some true medical
uses for these plants.)
Mandrake: The Myth
• an essential part of most antidotes
– including one for Petrification.
– returns people who have been
“Transfigured” or cursed to their original state.)
• Seedlings are purplish green with what look like
tiny babies growing where roots would be.
• The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to humans
• Even as a baby, the Mandrake's howls can knock a person out for
a couple of hours.
• Special care must be taken when growing them.
www.potter-and-all.com/Portfolio_thirty_one.html
Mandrake in Harry Potter
What a mandrake
really looks like
http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides
/Mandrake.jpg
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/
m/mandra10-l.jpg
Mandrakes:
www.alchemy-works.com/mandrake_experiment.html
Mandrake In Reality - Mandragora sp.:
• Was once believed to have almost all the
properties that Harry Potter’s have…
• The plant only sort of looks human-shaped
instead of having the “baby” roots
• In the 17th century they even dressed up the
dried human-shaped roots as amulets to ward
off evil – something like a European version
of a voodoo doll.
• In 17th century- the belief of the Mandrake’s
deadly scream was so common, that they
were harvested by tying mad dogs to the
stump and (while standing far back) waiting
for the dog to yank the root out of the ground.
There are many allusions to
the Mandrake in ancient
writers
• From the earliest times people believed
that the Mandrake would remove sterility.
• There is a reference to this belief in the
Bible in Genesis 30 where Rachel &
Leah both are desirous of mandrakes
leaves because they want to have children.
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mandra10.html
In Old Anglo-Saxon writings:
• Among the herbals -both Mandrake &
periwinkle are endowed with mysterious
powers against demoniacal possession.
• in Herbarium of Apuleius is this prescription:
'For witlessness, that is devil sickness or
demoniacal possession, take from the body of
this wort mandrake by the weight of 3 pennies,
administer to drink in warm water as he may
find most convenient - soon he will be healed.'
Shakespeare also wrote
about the mandrake:
• From Antony and Cleopatra I.v
–"Shrieks like mandrakes' torn out of
the earth."
• From: Romeo and Juliet IV.iii
–"Would curses kill, as doth the
mandrake's groan"
•
Wikipedia.com
Mandragora officinarum - Mandrake
• named for its resemblance
to the human form.
• The name Mandragora is
derived from two Greek
words implying 'hurtful to
cattle. '
• Arabs call it “Satan's
apple.”
•
•
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/m
andra10.html
Image from MEDICINA ANTIQUA: LIBRI
QUATTUOR MEDICINAE, 13TH CENTURY.
Codex Vindobonensis 93. (Washington
University, Becker Library)
•
Mandrake
: real uses
Roots: fresh or dried
– contains highly poisonous alkaloids
– is cathartic, strongly emetic, hallucinogenic and
narcotic.
• It can induce a state of oblivion
• Was used as an anesthetic for operations in
early surgery.
• Used in the past for its pain relieving and
stupor inducing properties.
• In large doses, it is said to excite delirium &
madness.
• Member of the deadly nightshade plant family.
Wolfsbane - In Harry Potter
• Guards against the
dementia that would
normally follow the
transformation from
human to werewolf
• Scott Cunningham's
Encyclopedia of Magical
Herbs informs us that a folk
name for the highly
poisonous Wolf's Bane is
"Dumbledore's Delight".
www.werewolves.com/destruction-wolfsbane/
Wolfsbane-In Reality: Aconitum sp.
• Extremely poisonous
• Was used to bait (poison)
wolves in the Middle
Ages, mixed with honey
and powdered glass.
• Actually responsible for
the deaths of most of
Europe’s wolves.
• For this reason it was
thought to protect from
werewolves.
Real Wolfsbane uses:
• Used in traditional medicine as an
anesthetic.
• Before morphine was invented,
it was extremely important in
western medicine.
• Still widely used in homeopathy &
traditional Chinese medicine.
• Was used to create the first chemical
weapons in 5th century China (mixed with
gunpowder bombs, acted like a nerve gas)
http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/Aconitum_sp.htm
Aconitum (Monkshood, wolfsbane)
• Family: Ranunculaceae
• Also called monkshood because the shape of the
flowers resembles a monk's cowl.
• Eye-catching blue, purple, white, yellow or pink
zygomorphic flowers.
• Grown in gardens for its attractive spike like
inflorescences and showy flowers.
• All Aconitum plants contain poisonous alkaloids
that can, in sufficient quantity, be deadly.
Holly In Harry Potter:
• Qualifies as a "wand tree", in that its wood
can be used in the making of wands. Harry's
wand is the only wand in the series to date
known to be made of holly.
• According to www.botanical.com
there are several interesting
magical properties to Holly,
– protection from poison, lightning,
and witchcraft.
– Harry, of course, has had close
encounters with poison on several
occasions & in Chamber of Secrets
Holly : folklore stories
• In winter the druids would advise people to take
holly into their homes, as they believed it would
shelter the elves and fairies who could join humans
at this time without causing them injury.
• An old country saying states that if the smoothleaved holly is brought into the house first at
yuletide the wife will rule the household for the
coming year, and if the prickly holly enters first, the
husband will rule.
Prickly & smooth leaf Holly
http://possumpatty.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/holly-berry.18091607.jpg
http://www.naturenet.net/blogs/media/blogs/eating/holly-smooth.jpg
Holly in Reality
• Genus:
Ilex
-there are about 600 species
• Some species of South American Holly are
used by shamans as a powerful stimulant.
• This is the famous Mate de Coca tea you can
find in trendy health food shops. It stimulates
the central nervous system, helping fight
fatigue and altitude sickness.
• It was used by some Incan tribes to “conquer
the highest mountains”.
Holly In Reality
• Long believed to protect against
lightning and witchcraft, Holly was
often planted near the house.
• It has been proved that the spikes of the
holly leaves act like miniature lightning
conductors, and so DO protect the tree.
Holly
• is a traditional symbol of resurrection, but in a
much more upbeat sense than yew (being
associated with Christmas rather than cemeteries
helps its image considerably).
• To the Celts holly symbolized resurrection,
and was used during the winter solstice to
‘resurrect the sun’. Hence why we still use it to
decorate our homes at Christmas time.
Belladonna (Deadly Nightshade)
• In Harry Potter
• The essence of this plant is a standard part of a
Hogwart’s students potion making kit. It
appears repeatedly throughout the series.
• In reality:
• All parts of the plant are analgesic,
antidote, antispasmodic, diuretic,
hallucinogenic, mydriatic, narcotic and
sedative.
Deadly nightshade
(Atropa belladonna)
www.lookoutnow.com/animal/nite_sh.htm
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/poison/plants/slides/1061lg.jpg
Nightshade- History
• Mixed with Wolfsbane, this was applied in a
‘flying ointment’ used by witches of the middle
ages. It’s powerful hallucinogenic properties,
very much akin to those of LSD, made them
believe they could fly.
• Romans used it to poison enemy food
supplies.
• Contrarily, it was also developed as an
antidote to a (never deployed) nerve gas in
World War II.
Medical uses: Atropa belladonna
(Deadly Nightshade)
• Although it is poisonous, deadly
nightshade has a long history of
medicinal use and has a wide
range of applications, in particular
it is used in modern medicine to
dilate the pupils in eye operations,
to relieve intestinal colic and to
treat peptic ulcers.
Atropine- from
Atropa belladonna
• Atropine
• is a chemical that dilates
the pupils of the eyes
• In the past Italian renaissance
women used to put the drops in
their eyes in order to make them
look larger and thus 'more beautiful',
hence the name Bella Donna (Italian
for Beautiful Woman)
Belladonna (Deadly night shade)
modern medical uses:
• The plant can be used to treat the
symptoms of Parkinson's disease,
reducing tremors and rigidity whilst
improving speech and mobility.
• It has also been used as an antidote
in cases of mushroom or toadstool
poisoning.
Yew - In Harry Potter
• Tom Riddle's wand is the only wand in the
series to date known to be made of yew.
Yew trees grow in the churchyard at Little
Hangleton.
• Yew trees grow in parts of the Forbidden
Forest.
• In a nice bit of foreshadowing, Harry noticed
them in the clearing where Hagrid first taught
the fifth years about thestrals.
Yew In Reality: Taxus
sp.
• are symbolic of death and resurrection the wood is particularly resistant to rotting
- and were once a traditional feature of
churchyards.
• The Ancient Celts believed Yew to be a symbol
of resurrection (as it remained green even in
winter). It was planted on the graves of their
dead, and was believed to be sacred.
• When Christianity came along, churches were
built on top of Celtic sites of worship, where
many of these celtic yews still live today.
3000+ year old Yew tree in
Scotland churchyard
http://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow_fortingall.htm
Pacific Yew- Taxus brevifolia
-use in modern medicine
• Taxol, a chemical extracted from
yew, is vital to treating breast and
ovarian cancer, and makes up an
important part of chemotherapy.
• Bringing new meaning to the
resurrecting properties of yew.
Willow
• In Harry Potter- A species of tree that qualifies as
a "wand tree", in that its wood can be used in the
making of wands.
• In reality:
• Chemical in the bark identified as
• salicylic acid
• has been used since ancient times for pain & fevers
• Now is buffered & Used in Aspirin,
• Medical uses include many skin treatments for acne
& warts
Willow Tree
http://en.wikivisual.com/images/b/b8/Willow.jpg
Willow- Pain medicine
• Native Americans and early settlers used willow bark
for toothaches and applied it to the source of other
pains
• In 1899, a German chemist Felix Hoffmann, worked for
a German company Bayer, & convinced Bayer to
market a new wonder drug.
• Aspirin was patented on February 27, 1900.
• In the 20th century, over one trillion aspirin, the
first medicine created by techniques of modern
chemistry, were consumed globally to regulate blood
vessel elasticity, reduce fevers and aches, prevent
cardiovascular ailments, affect blood clotting, or ease
inflammation.
http://www.bluestem.ca/willow-article1.htm
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blaspirin.htm
Willow- salicylic Acid – Aspirin
Willow water
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blaspirin.htm
http://www.bluestem.ca/willow-article1.htm
The Daisy
In Harry Potter:
• Chopped daisy roots are used in Shrinking
Solution
In Reality:
• It was once believed that dressing a child in a
daisy chain would protect them from being stolen
by the fairies.
• In the Middle Ages the daisy was often used to
treat battle wounds; bandages containing crushed
daisies were thought to give relief from pain and
aid healing.
• Today- The young leaves, flowerbuds and petals
are edible & can behttp://www.simplesite.com/theapothecary/4732205
added to salads
•The end
References
• http://www.bgci.org/education/1687/
• http://www.hplex.info/magic/herbology.html
• http://www.bgci.org/education/harrypotter/