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“Star of India” Clematis
The clematis flowers are members of the Ranunculaceae family, which also includes the buttercups and the Acontium (wolfsbane or monk’s bane) genus. There are hundreds of species, and over a thousand cultivars of Clematus spp.
Found in European gardens (by way of the Japanese) by the 18th century, and in the United States since the mid-19th century, clematis flowers are hardy and perennial, but solely ornamental. Despite having a “pepper-like” taste, the seeds, sap, and everything else from the plant, is highly toxic, causing intense abdominal pain and intestinal bleeding when consumed.
The Floral World and Garden Guide. Edited by Shirley Hibbard, Esq., 1871.
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Plants of the coast of Coromandel by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.
London :Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. for G. Nicol, Bookseller,1795-1819..
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/280248 -
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Nehemiah Grew’s Anatomy of Plants, 1680
In the 82 illustrated plates included in his 1680 book The Anatomy of Plants, the English botanist Nehemiah Grew revealed for the first time the inner structure and function of plants in all their splendorous intricacy.
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Caesalpinia sappan by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.
“This plant has many uses. It possesses medicinal abilities as an antibacterial and for its anticoagulant properties. It also produces a valued type of reddish dye called brazilin, used for dyeing fabric as well as making red paints and inks.” (source)
See also: “Caesalpinia sappan A medicinal and dye yielding plant” (pdf)
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A voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.
London :Printed by B.M. for the author,1707-1725..
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9812 -
Butea superba by BioDivLibrary on Flickr. from ‘Plants of the coast of Coromandel’
“On the Coast of Coromandel
Where the early pumpkins blow,
In the middle of the woods
Lived the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo.”
The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo by Edward Lear, who was also an excellent scientific illustrator:
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n173_w1150 by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.
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A voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.
London :Printed by B.M. for the author,1707-1725.. biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9799
Interesting scanning artifacts…
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When is a pepper not a pepper?
Have you ever wondered what the relation between the ground black peppercorns in a pepper shaker is to the chili peppers and bell peppers on the plate? Turns out, they’re pretty much unrelated, aside from both being plants and from planet Earth.
Black (and white or green, for that matter) peppercorns (Piper nigrum) are a member of the Piper genus, and are native to South and South-East Asia. Peppercorns were one of the many luxury spices that came across the Eurasian continent on caravans, at least as far back as the Greek empire.
Like the other spices, they were relegated solely to the rich, and were used for medicinal purposes as well as in cooking. Black and long pepper (Piper longum) were used in treatments for diarrhea, cholera, constipation, hoarseness, gangrene, hernia, heart disease, insomnia, joint pain, sunburn, and tooth abscesses.
The active piquant compound in black pepper is called piperine, and while it is structurally and evolutionarily unique from the piquant compound in chili peppers (capsaicin), it interacts with the tastebuds in a way that triggers the same chemical pathways to the brain.
This similarity, in fact, is why chilies (Capsicum) are known as “chili peppers” - when Christopher Columbus brought the first chilies back to Europe in 1493, the warming, spicy taste that chilies imparted led to them being classified in the same group as black pepper. We now know that the “peppers” found in the New World belong to the family Solanaceae, and are related to deadly nightshade, potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco, among many other economically and pharmacologically important plants. Black pepper, meanwhile, is distantly related to magnolias, but otherwise in a group of relative-unknowns.
The sweet peppers or bell peppers are a close relative to the chili peppers, but are unique in the Capsicum genus in that they do not produce capsaicin, and as such are not “hot” like the others. By the way, what’s the difference between red and green bell peppers? Nothing but age! They’re the same species - a cultivar of Capsicum annum, which happens to be naturally somewhat hot. You won’t find a bell pepper in the wild, as they were developed by humans!
Images:
Top: Spices, Their Nature and Growth. McCormick and Co., 1915. Depicting Capsicum, chilies, and peppercorn varieties.
Bottom Left: Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem. 1885. Capsicum annum.
Bottom Right: Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem. 1885. Piper nigrum.
