When not displayed as an aesthetic innovation, succulents are used in medicinal remedies. They contain natural healing agents that are extracted for vitamins and ointments. Sour Fig, or Carpobrotus, is a succulent that you can grow at home. It is used to treat several oral and throat infections. An ointment made from the fruit can be applied to cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Also, the leaf juice can be squeezed onto to sunburns or eczema for instant relief. Pigs Ear, or Cotyledon orbiculata, is another example of the natural healing powers of succulents. The fleshy leaves of Pigs Ear have helped fix skin conditions, and when prepared by an herbalist, the juice from the plant is used to treat ear infections. Africa contains the widest variety of medicinal succulents. Aloes, mesembs, and asclepiads are all in abundance in Africa, where they help cure thousands of illnesses. A common misunderstanding is that succulents are narrowed to desert environments. While it is true that plants with succulence are much more common in arid regions, they are not exclusively a desert plant. In the Florida panhandle, succulents thrive because they do not require constant direct sunlight. Consequently, they can live and stay healthy through the weeks of the rainy season. When succulent flowers are placed in homes and businesses, they bring with them the essence of healing and survival, but they also carry many spiritual traditions. Business owners place the succulent “money plant� in a southeast location to bring prosperity and success. Many beliefs such as these are prominent in Eastern Asia. Succulents play a symbolic role in the Chinese New Year for luck, but they are also a vital New Year decoration. The physiognomy of succulent flowers has also inspired fictitious flora. Cartoonists base their flowers and shrubs on succulents because of their signature dreamlike quality. In prominent films such as Jumanji and Avatar, many of the invented plants are based on succulents. The exotic and magical plants in Avatar were developed from succulents
Photos by: Left to right; Anyu, CasparGirl, Andesine, Jeff Turner
because of their medicinal usefulness. Succulents are extraordinary. Their popularity as a domestic aesthetic is both beautiful and complex. Succulents have replaced other common blossoms in arrangements. Along with their distinct beauty, they have a splendor that represents healing, longevity, and cultural tradition. The exquisiteness of succulent flowers has inspired everything from succulent-themed weddings to magical succulents in fiction. They survive harsh climates because of their ability to store water, which essentially makes them the camels of the flora world.
June 2014
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