Students of Ethnobotany: The Mystery of the Killer Bean

This killer, and ultimate, edition of Students of Ethnobotany comes from the mysterious E. Green.

One of the draws of botanical research, in my opinion, is the chance that you will discover something extraordinary, some intricate mechanism, adaptation, or chemical that has implications able to expand the scope of human knowledge.  However, there are times when less information can be more exciting than a thorough chemical or physiological analysis.  These are the instances where investigation into the mystery surrounding a plant actually reveals more about humans than the plant in question.

Students of Ethnobotany: Botanical gold

Figure 1: Saffron crocus. Photographer: Gut Gimritz (Germany) from Wikimedia Commons

This flavorful edition of Students of Ethnobotany comes from the glittering Fiona Thompson.

At between $1,000 and $10,000 USD per kilo, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Why is it that the stigma of this small flower is worth (one fifth) its weight in gold?

Students of Ethnobotany: Iboga

This psychotropic edition of Students of Ethnobotany is brought to you by Kate Dumbrell.

Tabaranthe iboga

Ever wondered how to sort out personal issues through psychoanalysis, without seeing a psychologist?

Students of Ethnobotany: Where does paper come from?

This enthusiastic and detailed edition of Students of Ethnobotany was contributed by paper-themed rabble-rouser, So Young Chang.

Where does paper come from?

Figure 1. Think paper comes from trees?

Vernacular fail: Common names

So you think that’s a yam, hmmm?

Eaten by North Americans only on Thanksgiving.

Henbane, you make my heart go thumpty, thumpty…

And you give me the visions.

Chicha from the great beyond

The basic recipe for beer goes something like this.You take starch from a cereal grain (the fruit of a domesticated species of Poaceae, or Grass family), use enzymes to convert that starch into sugar, feed the sugar to a microbe capable of fermentation (such as a yeast or bacteria), which then poops out alcohol and carbon dioxide. It’s a beautiful process. You see the barley – brewer’s yeast – hops combo all the time. But why be so predictable?

This sh*t is bananas

Green bananas, Chan Chich, Belize. Photo by me.

Gwen was right.

Belize, land of tasty fruits

Just came back from Belize, where I saw many interesting and tasty plants.

Chile peppers are for the birds!

But we like them too.