Herbarium of the Bizarre

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 [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://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.moonfallmetaphysical.com/s/stories/holly-uses-in-witchcraft] * https://www.thespruce.com/eighteen-species-holly-trees-and-shrubs-3269647 [https://www.thespruce.com/eighteen-species-holly-trees-and-shrubs-3269647] * https://thepresenttree.com/blogs/tree-meanings/holly-tree-meaning [https://thepresenttree.com/blogs/tree-meanings/holly-tree-meaning] * Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide by Stan Tekiela (2007)

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: 1. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/new-fungus-species-at-worlds-end.htm [https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/new-fungus-species-at-worlds-end.htm] 2. 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] 3. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-species-story.html [https://phys.org/news/2024-02-species-story.html] 4. 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/] 5. https://blog.pensoft.net/2024/10/09/drone-discovers-new-plant-species-in-hawaii/ [https://blog.pensoft.net/2024/10/09/drone-discovers-new-plant-species-in-hawaii/] 6. https://blog.pensoft.net/2024/03/07/five-new-plant-species-with-striking-flowers-discovered-in-china/ [https://blog.pensoft.net/2024/03/07/five-new-plant-species-with-striking-flowers-discovered-in-china/] 7. Revealing brownish Mycena diversity in China: New discoveries and taxonomic insights by Renxui Wei, et al. (2024) [Abstract] https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10060439 [https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10060439]

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 [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://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 [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.thespruce.com/banana-tree-growing-profile-3269353] * https://www.inverse.com/science/artificial-banana-flavor-real-science [https://www.inverse.com/science/artificial-banana-flavor-real-science] * https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.365.6450.207 [https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.365.6450.207] * Tropical Plants of Costa Rica by Willow Zuchowski (2007)

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/ [https://integrationacres.com/] Music by James Milor from Pixabay Information provided by: 1. https://www.seriouseats.com/what-are-pawpaws-wild-fruit-midwest-how-to-prep-and-eat-pawpaws [https://www.seriouseats.com/what-are-pawpaws-wild-fruit-midwest-how-to-prep-and-eat-pawpaws] 2. https://wilkes.ces.ncsu.edu/2024/01/establishing-a-pawpaw-tree-in-your-backyard/ [https://wilkes.ces.ncsu.edu/2024/01/establishing-a-pawpaw-tree-in-your-backyard/] 3. https://www.nps.gov/articles/pawpaw.htm [https://www.nps.gov/articles/pawpaw.htm] 4. “Where’s a Good Giant Ground Sloth When You Need One?” by Carol Ann McCormick (March-April 2010) in North Carolina Botanical Garden Newsletter. 5. Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson (1977) 6. Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide by Stan Tekiela (2007) 7. 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://www.facebook.com/AppalachianProject/posts/pfbid02xtvQgHH4f4NDMw5gfh1RQn75ji8Bk89xHSPkZBZQUBL1Fwoty3TYVEXtAU6xXigEl] 8. https://heritageconservancy.org/pawpaw-a-big-fruit-in-need-of-bigger-love/ [https://heritageconservancy.org/pawpaw-a-big-fruit-in-need-of-bigger-love/]

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: 1. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/594 [https://www.feedipedia.org/node/594] 2. 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) 3. 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 [https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.791049] 4. Desert Plants of Egypt’s Wadi El Gemal National Park by Tamer Mahmoud (2010) 5. “Citrullus colocynthis: Colocynth, Bitter Apple, Bitter Gourd” by Abdalbasit Adam Mariod, et al. (2017) in Unconventional Oilseeds and Oil Sources 6. 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 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s43014-022-00118-9]