Code Breaking, Herb Style
posted by Rebecca Lerner | December 4, 2009
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IcerocketWhat if you could walk up to a plant you’ve never seen before and know immediately what it is and what it can do for you? This isn’t the stuff of fantasy — it’s really possible!
The botanist Thomas J. Elpel is known for his “Botany In A Day” books about the secret tricks anyone can use, even a total beginner.
All you have to do is learn to look for patterns and memorize a few distinctive features in each family. Plants in the mint family, like lemonbalm above, have square stems and and “opposite” leaves (which is botany jargon for leaves that line up directly across from each other). Most have pungent aromas, too.
Elpel has posted online articles about some of the most common plant families that you can read for free here:
http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/Plant_Families/Patterns_in_Plants.h...
**If you dig this post, you'll love my blog! http://www.FirstWays.com **
Comments
Thanks
— Dec 30, 2009
Thanks for the post. I just bookmarked both links...never thought I'd see a Zerzan reference on this site!!
But yeah, thank you for sharing valuable information. From your other posts, I contacted Trackers Bay Area and I'll be in Fairfax this Sunday learning how to identify edible mushrooms.
Happy gathering!!!
Yes I would
— Mar 10, 2011
"What if you could walk up to a plant you’ve never seen before and know immediately what it is and what it can do for you?"
I'd need a closer look at the photo but it looks like peppermint. Certainly a mint family relative. As you might know a quick check of the stem would confirm that. Mint is edible but is generally used as a seasoning or condiment to a dish. How did I do?
Plant lore is very localized, in that ecological communities vary across the globe so here I know a great deal somewhere else not so much. Your knowledge might serve you well wherever you are but in the desert maybe not so much.
