June 19, 2010 Saturday Six Mile Creek-Wildflower Reserve

June 19, 2010 MY 100th POST

"Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions" Earl Gray Stevens

I should say this weekend, "Confidence, like plant identification never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all questions." PF, Ithaca

No one has all the answers. The closest to that statement would be your Higher Power, or GOD. I do not have all answers in medicine. At this time in my life I will admit if I do not know the answers. I'd rather tell someone I am not sure, but will find out for you, rather than saying something that sounds good, but in reality I know it is not correct. Why lie? Why be dishonest? There is no need to be dishonest. I am now open to all the questions.

Today was a perfect example. As a Botany class we had to key out a specific plant using the plant bible, Gleason and Conquist. It is a heavy book to bring all the way from New York City, but I did. It was very interesting to attempt to conquer identifying a figwort. We have not finished so I cannot tell you the genus yet. The more we went along, I became more familar with using the Key in the Book (a lot different than Newcombe's Wildflower Guide). I didn't know all the questions, and I should not have. I am not a botanist. I am an individual interested in botany--plants and herbs.

At Six Mile Creek - the Wildflower Preserve, our professor/mentor guided us through lengthy discussion on more than 39 plant species. I took photographs of every one and I will have to coordinate them with the correct spelling of genus and species when at home. I know I did not spell all the genus and species names correctly while he was speaking. I am alright with it--so maybe I am not the DOSHA PITTA, but the DOSHA VATA. I will discuss aruyvedic medicine (Indian) at another time.

Some of the other plants we identified were Avens (from the Rose Family), Garlic mustard (which is edible), Japanese Barberry (from which the yellow berberine is found- a yellow strong antioxidant used in gastrointestinal diseases). Privet (from the Olive family), Mugwort, Motherwort (L. cardiaca- I use motherwort in my practice for the treatment of heart palpitations, especially atrial fibrillation), Honeysuckle, the trees-Sycamore, Box Elder and Basswood and last but not least, Poison Hemlock. It was a serene, peaceful and loving day.
If you cannot tell I am excited about this learning experience.

When I am back in the Big Apple, I will continue blogging about supplements and vitamins for cancer. After this weekend I might even start writing about Herbal Therapies used in Cancer treatment and support.

Until Tomorrow...

Below is a description from Wikipedia about Nipple Wort (top photo) and Dame's Rocket (second photo) respectively:

Lapsana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, containing a single species, Lapsana communis (Nipplewort). It is native to Europe and northern Asia.
It is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant growing to 1-1.2 m tall, with hairy stems and clear (not milky) sap. The leaves are spirally arranged; larger leaves at the base of the flowering stem are often pinnate, with a large oval terminal leaflet and one to four small side leaflets, while smaller leaves higher on the stem are simple oval; all leaves have a toothed margin. The flowers are yellow, produced in a capitulum 1-2 cm diameter, the capitula being numerous in loose clusters at the top of the stem.

Hesperis matronalis is a herbaceous plant species in the mustard family, Brassicaceae. It has numerous common names including: Dame’s Rocket, Damask Violet, Dame’s Violet, Dames-wort, Dame’s Gilliflower, Night Scented Gilliflower, Queen’s Gilliflower, Rogue’s Gilliflower, Summer Lilac, Sweet Rocket, Mother-of-the-evening and, Winter Gilliflower. Plants are biennials or short lived perennials, native to Eurasia and cultivated in many other areas of the world for their attractive spring blooming flowers. In some of those areas, it has escaped cultivation and become a weed species. The genus name Hesperis is Greek for evening, and the name was probably given because the scent of the flowers becomes more conspicuous towards evening.