2018 Herbarist 83

The

Herbarist

A PUBLICATION OF THE HERB SOCIETY OF AMERICA ISSUE 83 ~ 2018

Medicinal Comments on BAY Bay and Old Bay® An Herb Society of America Guide

HSA Board of Directors Rie Sluder President Amy Schiavone Vice President Maryann Readal Secretary Linda Lange Treasurer Karen O’Brien Botany & Horticulture Chair Jen Munson Education Chair Open Development Chair Gloria Hunter Membership Chair Rae McKimm Nominating and Awards Chair/ Past President Pat Greathead Central District Membership Delegate Bonnie Great Lakes District Porterfield Membership Delegate Kim Labash Mid-Atlantic District Membership Delegate Open Northeast District Membership Delegate Bill Varney South Central District Membership Delegate Open Southeast District Membership Delegate Joan Keif West District Membership Delegate Susan Belsinger Honorary President

Administrative Staff Gretchen Faro Karen Kennedy Chris Wilkinson Holly Gielink

Paula Byrne

Interim Office Manager Education Coordinator Librarian/Archivist Membership/Administrative Assistant Accountant

The Herbarist Debbi Paterno

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Publication Design, Debbi Paterno Graphic Design Printer

The Herbarist Committee

Maryann Readal Secretary Lois Sutton, Ph.D. Chair Jean Berry Henry Flowers Shirley Hercules Gayle Southerland Barbara Williams The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of The Society. Manuscripts, advertisements, comments and letters to the editor may be sent to: The Herbarist, The Herb Society of America 9019 Kirtland-Chardon Rd. Kirtland, Ohio 44094 440.256.0514 www.herbsociety.org editor@herbsociety.org The Herbarist, No. 83

James A. “Jim” Duke, Ph.D.

Contents 1

Medicinal Comments on Bay and Old Bay®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

By James A. “Jim” Duke, Ph.D.

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Designing Garden Rooms with Fun and Focus in Mind . . . . . . 7

By P. Allen Smith Herbs in the Extreme. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

By Lois Sutton, Ph.D.

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Chocolate: Improving Upon “Perfection” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

By Christine Moore 4

Herbs in British Folk Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

By Mary Bellis Williams, Ph.D. Herbs Play Historic and Modern Role in Beer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

By Paris Wolfe

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Fruit of the Bine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

By Jacqui Highton Annual Research Grant Report (2015/2016) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

By Delini K. Samarasinghe On the cover: illustration of Salvia greggii by Lotus McElfish Sponsors for this issue of The Herbarist include William Donley, Andy MacPhillimy, Maryann Readal, and Lois Sutton.

It is the policy of The Herb Society of America not to advise or recommend herbs for medicinal or health use. This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation or an endorsement of any particular medical or health treatment.

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Editor’s Note: The following first appeared in The Herb Society of America’s Essential Guide to Bay, 2009. We have chosen to reprint it in The Herbarist in Dr. Duke’s memory, hoping to bring smiles and memories to those who knew him and, perhaps, to introduce his broad knowledge and irascible teaching style to those who did not meet him during his life.

IssueChardon 83 2018Road, Kirtland, Ohio 44094 THE HERB SOCIETY OF AMERICA 9019 Kirtland © 2009 The Herb Society of America

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MEDICINAL COMMENTS ON BAY AND OLD BAY® Recently I published Duke’s Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible. Many Biblical species have what I call level two evidence, with clinical proof (much more important, and usually from recent research) or historical approval by Commission E (A German commission that assessed the safety and efficacy of herbs) for certain indications. I have scored over 3,000 medicinal herbs on a four-level classification for efficacy. f = folkloric evidence only 1 = animal, chemical (isolated phytochemical, in vitro, or in vivo) or epidemiological evidence 2 = clinical proof for a plant’s extracts (or historical approval by Germany’s Commission E, or by the Caribbean TRAMIL Commission) 3 = clinical proof for the plant itself (for example, bilberry, garlic, ginger, turmeric, etc.) (or historical approval by Germany’s Commission E, or by the Caribbean TRAMIL Commission)

DIABETES In the case of bay, the Herb of the Year™, I still have no level 2 evidence for any indication. But bay leaf was one of four spices (bay, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric) studied by USDA’s Dr. Richard Anderson. He suggested that less than a spoonful of any could improve insulin

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taste. pper, and paprika to until tender; salt, pe or urs ho o tw for r Simme ugreek, too bitter for cutting back on the fen I’m g, tin tas r day after, be After my Novem was much better the ugh my sample soup ho onion. alt e, raw lat ed pa l dic th nta wi my occide r of fact, it was great tte Ma ss. ne ter bit losing most of the hence bay, y parthenolide, and Note: More importantl soup. til len ing ost mune bo can be added to an im

MEDICINAL COMMENTS ON BAY AND OLD BAY® metabolism dramatically. So, in my The Green Pharmacy (1997) I created the formula “dia-beanie soup” food pharmacy for diabetes.

An outstanding USDA scientist, Dr. Richard Anderson demonstrated bay leaves experimentally help improve insulin utility.

The leaves do lower blood sugar levels in experimental animals. I add bay leaves to my Dia-Beanie Soup (yes, a soup with medicinal intent, something the FDA is trying to curb, and I am trying to stimulate).

Most beans contain slow release carbohydrates and the beans themselves are hypoglycemic. So is the bay, as proven experimentally

by Dr. Anderson. Let’s add some other compatible spices, especially garlic and onion, and hot pepper, each of which offers other substances against the diabetes. Dashes of rosemary, sage, and tarragon also add their anti-diabetic potential, such that the soup contains more than a dozen anti-diabetic phytochemicals.

I enjoy the bay-bean Dia-Beanie soup with the bay “insulinade” that I proposed in The Green Pharmacy. Start out with Anderson’s mix: bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric. Add a pinch or two of each of them to a teapot and steep for ten minutes. I’d also add fenugreek that is well proven and a pinch of coriander and cumin (evidence not so strong). In animal studies, both have been shown to lower blood sugar somewhat, and the rosemary, sage, and tarragon go as well with the insulinade. Don’t use sugar with the tea. Instead add stevia, a non-nutritive sweetener that has its own hypoglycemic phytochemicals.

These days, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is getting worse and worse, especially that acquired in hospitals.

Hospitals may discharge patients with MRSA infections if they can be safely treated at home. There are now a number of antibiotics used to effectively treat methicillin resistant staphylococcal infections. Bay is just one of several spices that contain anti-MRSA phytochemicals.

In 2008, Japanese scientists identified two chemicals in bay leaf extracts (probably bay leaf tea) that were active, not only against MRSA but also another bacterium, Enterococcus (which is developing resistance to vancomycin, but is fortunately sensitive to newer antibiotics).

But this scores only a one in my evidence base. These two compounds are just two, in dilute concentrations, among thousands of other biologically active compounds in bay. They would need to be concentrated to have any effect against the serious MSRA infection.

Even if these were used pure, just one or two compounds, the MRSA would quickly become resistant to them. You’d need a cocktail of several natural anti-MRSA phytochemicals to reinforce the pure synthetic antibiotics. Other herbs with anti-MRSA activity include the Biblical garlic, leek and onion, also green tea and turmeric.

ARTHRITIS The bay contains half a dozen natural COX-2-Inhibitors that your genes may have known for thousands or millions of years, depending on whether you are faith-based (bay does occur in the Holy Land) or evolutionist. (Natural COX-2-Inhibitors, like the synthetic Celebrex or Vioxx, can relieve inflammation.)

Here are six compounds that are COX-2-Inhibitors in bay (+) catechin kaempferol caffeic acid parthenolide eugenol quercetin You can find dozens of other activities of these and dozens of other useful phytochemicals on my public domain USDA database: http://phytochem.nal.usda.gov

OLD BAY® SEASONINGS COX-2-INHIBITORS AND ARTHRITIS

• Anti-inflammatory (+) catchin; (-) epicatechin; 1, 8 cineole; alpha pinene; alpha terpineol; artecanin; beta pinene; boldine; borneol; caffeic acid; carvacrol; caryophyllene; caryophyllene oxide; cinnamic acid; delta 3 carene; eugenol; eugenyl acetate; isoquercitrin; kaempferol; limonene; linalool; mannitol; parthenolide; quercetin; quercitrin; rutin; salicylates; santamarin; santamarine; thymol • Anti-migraine Parthenolide • Anti-neuralgic Camphor; parthenolide

Arthritis away with OLD BAY®? Wow – OLD BAY® Seasoning has many other COX-2 inhibiting spices in its formulation too. I suppose our Herb of the Year™, bay, like Chesapeake Bay, contributed to the name of the familiar Old Bay®. Both the black and red pepper are important, the red p epp er’s ver y p otent capsaicin and the black pepper’s piperine that facilitates the uptake of the curcumin.

O l d B ay ® c o nt a i n s several spices that contain collectively more than 13 COX-2-Inhibitors: apigenin, caffeic acid, capsaicin (more potent than Vioxx), (+) catechin, cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, 10-gingerol, kaempferol, oleanolic acid, 8-paradol, parthenolide, quercetin, salicylates, and shogaol.

HEADACHE I am perhaps still alone in suggesting that bay leaf might work like the very bitter feverfew in preventing migraines. But bay contains some of the same compounds, parthenolides, suggested by some scientists of underlying the antimigraine activity of feverfew. I’d mix the feverfew and bay if I targeted for migraine.

Here are some phytochemicals from bay that might contribute to the relief of migraine in addition to those natural COX-2-Is.

• Anti-nociceptive (+) gallocatechin; 1,8 cineole; isoquercitrin; myrcene; quercetin; rutin • Antispasmodic 1,8 cineole; alpha pinene; alpha terpinene; benzaldehyde; beta pinene; borneol; bornyl acetate; caffeic acid; camphor; carvacrol; caryophyllene; cinnamic acid; eugenol; eugenyl acetate; geraniol; kaempferol; limonene; linalool; mannitol; myrcene; neral; p coumaric acid; parthenolide; quercetin; quercitrin; reticuline; rutin; santamarin; santamarine; terpinen 4 ol; terpineol; thymol; valerianic acid • COX-2 Inhibitor (+) catechin; caffeic acid; eugenol; kaempferol; limonene; parthenolide; quercetin • Counter-irritant 1,8 cineole; camphor; formic acid; thymol • Cyclooxygenase Inhibitor (+) catechin; carvacrol; kaempferol; parthenolide; quercetin; thymol • Myorelaxant 1,8 cineole; boldine; borneol; bornyl acetate; eugenol methyl ether; limonene; methyl eugenol; myrcene; rutin; thymol • Sedative 1,8 cineole; alpha pinene; alpha terpineol; benzaldehyde; beta eudesmol; borneol; bornyl acetate; caffeic acid; carvone; caryophyllne; citral; eugenol; geraniol; geranyl acetate; limonene; linalool; methyl eugenol; nerol; p-cymene; thymol • Tranquilizer Alpha pinene; borneol

BAY PHYTOCHEMICALS AND MIGRAINE (http://www.phytochem.nal.usda.gov) • 5 HT Inhibitor Parthenolide; rutin • Analgesic Borneol; caffeic acid; camphor; caryophyllene; eugenol; linalool; mannitol; myrcene; p-cymene; quercetin; reticuline; terpineol; thymol

• Vasodilator (-) epicatechin; eugenol; kaempferol; proanthocyanidins; quercetin; rutin Back in the days of the anthrax scare at Brentwood outside Washington, I figured that garlic and bay might boost the immune system to ward off an anthrax infection. The authorities always tell us that we are more liable to get infection if we have a depressed

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MEDICINAL COMMENTS ON BAY AND OLD BAY®

immune system. I’ve never heard them tell us that boosting the immune systems can help prevent the infection from getting the upper hand.

Garlic will keep the neighbors away but not their germs. When it comes to stray anthrax or bubonic plague, it might help to at least complement the several antibiotics used to treat these serious infections. There are no clinical trials comparing these antibiotics with lentil soup or garlic or bay leaf. Perhaps this will never happen.

However, I’d bet more on garlic or bay leaf than the lentil soup, that dilutes garlic and bay leaf. Lentil soup, if pleasing, can boost the immune system (if you’ll take your mind off anthraciphobia), while providing hundreds of gentle antiseptic phytochemicals.

• Anesthetic 1,8 cineole; benzaldehyde; camphor; carvacrol; cinnamic acid; eugenol; linalool; methyl eugenol; thymol • Antibacterial (-) epicatechin; (-) epigallocatechin; 1,8 cineole; acetic acid; alpha pinene; alpha terpineol; benzaldehyde; bornyl acetate; caffeic acid; carvacrol; caryophyllene; cinnamic acid; citral; delta 3 carene; delta cadinene; eugenol; geraniol; isoquercitrin; kaempferol; limonene; linalool; methyl eugenol; myrcene; neral; nerol; p coumaric acid; parthenolide; perillyl alcohol; quercetin; quercitrin; reticuline; rutin; terpinen 4 ol; terpineol; terpinyl acetate; thymol • Anti-nocioceptive Myrcene

BAYLEAF AND BUBONIC BUZZWORDS Saturday, I dressed down my sister-in-law for leaving big pieces of bay leaf in that great stew she whipped up. I told her that there have been a few deaths due to pieces of bay leaf lodging in the gullet or esophagus. So, you should steep it in your stews and remove, as in a muslin tea bag, or you should completely pulverize it. Little could I have predicted then that two days later, I’d be suggesting that bay leaf be added to my pox-busting lentil soup.

If the anthraciphobia led you to drink too much booze, Japanese scientists identified half a dozen ethanol-absorption-inhibitors from bay leaf. Through a bioassay-guided separation using inhibitory activity on blood ethanol elevation in oral ethanolloaded rats, various sesquiterpenes [costunolide, dehydrocostus lactone, zaluzanin-D, reynosis, santamarine, 3alphaacetoxyeudesma-1,4(15),11(13)-trien-12, 6alpha-+ ++olide (6), and 3-oxoeudesma-1,4,11(13)-triuen-12, 6alpha-olide] were identified as the active principles from the leaves. Some of the sesquiterpenes seem to selectively inhibit ethanol absorption.

• Antiseptic 1,8 cineole; actinodaphnine; alpha terpineol; benzaldehyde; beta pinene; caffeic acid; camphor; carvacrol; carvone; citral; eugenol; formic acid; geraniol; guaijaverin; hexanal; hexanol; kaempferol; limonene; linalool; methyl eugenol; nerol; parthenolide; proanthocyanidins; terpinen 4 ol; terpineol; thymol

BAY LEAF FOR INFECTION

• Fungistatic Formic acid; limonene; methyl eugenol

• Analgesic Borneol; caffeic acid; camphor; eugenol; myrcene; p-cymene; quercetin; reticuline

• Antiviral (-) epicatechin; alpha pinene; beta bisabolene; bornyl acetate; caffeic acid; kaempferol; limonene; linalool; neryl acetate; p-cymene; proanthocyanidins; quercetin; quercitrin; rutin • Fungicide 1,8 cineole; acetic acid; caffeic acid; camphor; caprylic acid; carvacrol; cinnamic acid; citral; elemicin; eugenol; geraniol; linalool; methyl eugenol; myrcene; p coumaric acid; p-cymene; parthenolide; perillyl alcohol; propionic acid; reticuline; terpinen 4 ol; terpinolene; thymol

• Immunostimulant (+) catechin; (-) epicatchin; astragalin; benzyldehyde; caffeic acid

Photo credits from left to right: Theresa Mieseler, Pat Crocker, Susan Belsinger, Henry Oakeley

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The HERBARIST

P. Allen Smith

or many of us, design of any kind is a daunting subject; it frightens us because we are afraid of making a mistake. In Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, the author’s brother, who has put off completing a school report on birds until the last minute, is paralyzed by fear as he stares at the blank sheet of paper before him. Feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, he is uncertain how to begin. The solution comes in some simple advice offered by his father. “Bird-by-bird, Buddy. Just take it birdby-bird.”

In that same spirit, my 12 principles of design are a “bird-by-bird” method of designing a garden.

These universal principles have become the set of tools I use to create gardens that can embody the key elements of the world’s greatest landscapes but are scaled to each individual’s site, taste, and budget.

When woven into the plan of the garden, they are unifying components that magically transform the space into a place of enchantment and beauty.

I used these principles when creating the garden rooms at Moss Mountain Farm, my home in Arkansas.

The principles are divided naturally into two main categories. The first six focus on building the framework or bones of the garden. The second six principles add decorative or finishing touches to your garden, as well as personality, charm, and, last but not least, fun!

1. Enclosure Enclosures anchor a garden to its location, giving bot h t he hou se a nd t he ga rden a sense of permanence and lasting beauty. Establishing clearly defined enclosures made from a wide selection of materials, including plants, fences, and walls, is a vital element in the design of a garden home. This framework allows you to rearrange the “furniture” (in this case the perennials, small shrubs, and annuals) as often as you’d like without remodeling the entire “house.” Enclosures also add a sense of security and comfort and establish order by creating manageably sized spaces.

2. Shape and form We generally notice a plant’s flowers, color, or foliage before considering its shape. Different plant shapes convey “personality.” While a columnar plant creates an air of formality, a climbing plant adds a casual and

I chose a circular layout for this room of the Terrace Garden. The vase-shaped chaste trees (Vitex) give this room a regal feel.

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DESIGNING GARDEN ROOMS WITH FUNCTION AND FUN IN MIND

sometimes wild effect to the garden room. Consider how to combine plants of different shapes to create the borders of your garden rooms.

The overall shape of a garden room can have symbolic associations. Circles, for example, can represent infinity because they lack a beginning and an end. Planning the shape and form of your garden room is important, as it determines the feeling of the spaces within it.

3. Framing the view The goal of framing a view is to draw attention to an object or scene. You can accomplish this by opening a sight line to the desired object and screening and blocking surrounding distractions. Views inside or outside the garden room may be framed.

DESIGNING GARDEN ROOMS WITH FUNCTION AND FUN IN MIND

to something that holds our interest. When a single object dominates a space, it has a way of radiating its own energy— almost a center of gravity that anchors and organizes a space. With attention focused toward something of interest, the stage is set for the opportunity of surprise.

For instance, upon entering a garden room you may see a sculpture in the distance that draws you in. Wanting to have a closer look, you walk toward the sculpture but are surprised to discover there are other garden rooms to the left and right. Your curiosity is piqued, encouraging you to explore more of the garden.

6. Structures There is something exhilarating about embellishing an ordinary outbuilding to make it more attractive and then integrating it into the framework of a garden. Out of practical and sometimes mundane objects, we can create beauty.

Structures add to the sense of enclosure, screen views, and provide a center of visual interest. They also represent an anchoring element, a firm point from which we can begin to absorb the richness and diversity of the entire space.

reds and oranges stir warmth and excitement.

Limit your selections in each garden room to the range of a single-color family, with perhaps a bit of its complement for contrast.

Each enclosure should have its own color theme, just like each room of your home. A garden room can be simple and monochromatic, or it can have a well-coordinated range of colors with just a splash of contrast to invigorate the feeling of space.

Broad sweeps of color are more effective than dabs and patches.

The cadence created when three or more objects are equally spaced in an obvious pattern implies rhythm, order, and dependability.

Repeated objects placed closely together tend to quicken the rhythm and the same objects spaced farther apart slow it down.

9. Abundance Gardens are about making a bold statement.

The credit for this idea goes to Mother Nature.

As you look around natural settings, you will find that plants often grow in large colonies. If you follow this lead, growing plants in a large drift or colonies, then your garden will appear more spontaneous and natural.

To gain its full effect, abundance must be contained to the point where it is not a distraction. A few “workhorse plants” used generously establish abundance without excess.

Generous plantings allow selective cuttings without diminishing the overall visual impact.

Staggered bloom times extend the impact of the display while maximizing the use of the bed space.

8. Texture, pattern, and rhythm Use surface characteristics, recognizable motifs, a nd t he cadence created by the spacing of The yellow hues of the coleus foliage objects as elements of design. These elements add layers of richness and complement the purple flowers of the Mexican sage. interest to a garden. Contrasting surface characteristics of plants and materials heighten the visual impact in garden rooms. Repeating 10. Whimsy motifs create a feeling of continuum within a garden room and I love using whimsical touches to personalize the garden. These give harmony to the design. elements add harmony, wit, and surprise. Silly sculptures, gnomes,

A tunnel leading from the Terrace Gardens into the East Garden at Moss Mountain Farm frames the view of Miss Big Fig. 4. Entry An entry to a garden is often a visitor’s first impression. It represents your personal invitation to everything that lies beyond and should be part of each garden room. Symbolically, entrances are signs of welcome. They also serve as directional guides and transition points from one area to the next.

Ju s t a s w e a c c e nt t h e entrance to our homes with “welcome” mats and pots bursting with seasonal blooms, we are compelled to embellish significant thresholds in the garden.

5. Focal point A focal point serves as a visual “hook,” drawing the eye

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The HERBARIST

7. Color Create a green framework that holds the garden together.

Shades of green serve as a frame, just as wall color in an i nterior room prov ides a unifying element for the other colors in the room’s furniture, draperies, and accessories. I find it useful to match the mood of the garden room with colors that evoke that feeling.

Blues and lavenders soothe, helping us to feel restful and calm, while hot colors such as

My favorite reason for applying the principle of abundance to the garden - ample plantings provide enough to share!

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DESIGNING GARDEN ROOMS WITH FUNCTION AND FUN IN MIND or a favorite quote engraved into stepping stones are fun additions to the garden.

Houses, pens, and coops for our animals can also add a touch of whimsy, serving both function and fantasy. My honeybees reside in a hive altered to look like an Italian villa —a Bee Palace —fit for a queen and her court.

Certain plants, because of nostalgia or their strange appearance,

offer their own form of delight. Gourds, pumpkins, Japanese lanterns, elephant ears, and banana trees are jolly in an almost defiant way, f lying in the face of modern efficiency and pragmatism.

The garden is a place that reminds us to not take things too seriously. When you relax and let things happen, all kinds of wonderful surprises develop.

11. Mystery Using the unknown, the unseen, and the imagination, mystery piques a sense of curiosity, excitement, and occasional apprehension through the garden’s design. Simple effects such as moving water will inspire curiosity and beckon visitors toward its sound.

A partia lly obscured view of a spectacular rambling rose in full bloom can also lure people down a path to get a closer look. A gate, door, or portal that suggests something beyond in a garden will play to our subconscious since we long to see through to the other side.

Paths are one of the best ways to embrace mystery. A curve in a path, positioned in a way to hide the next vantage point in the garden, will always encourage the curious visitor to follow its course.

12. Time As you design your garden, try to assemble plants and materials that are appropriate to the age of the property or architectural style of your house. Gardens have certain “spirits of age” that should be met to feel authentic. Understanding a sense of place is about recognizing its history and connecting the design of your garden with that time.

Herbs in the Lois Sutton, Ph.D. When I study herbs, generally I’m reading about plants in cultivated gardens. Fortunately, there are Herb Society of America members who take us out of the usual garden settings. For example, Patricia Kenny and Katherine Schlosser have taught us about sea herbs, and Rhonda Fleming Hayes described her move to a wetland herbal garden (Kenny 2017; Schlosser 2017; Hayes 2009). Recent hikes in the Big Bend National Park (Texas) vividly reminded me that herbs, intriguing plants that they are, successfully grow in another extreme, one with scant water.

There are four major deserts in the United States: the Chihuahuan, the Sonoran, the Mojave, and the Great Basin (a simplified map of these desert regions may be found at http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/desert/ofworld.htm). The Chihuahuan Desert is the largest, covering 175,000 square

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The HERBARIST

miles. It may be the most accessible as there are two Texas parks, the Big Bend Ranch State Park and the Big Bend National Park, within its boundaries. Combined, these two parks comprise more than one million acres of desert, much of it accessible by driving, paddling, or hiking.

Creosote bush in bloom

Editor’s note: These principles are covered in more detail in P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home: Creating a Garden for Everyday Living. For more views of Moss Mountain Farm and gardens designed by P. Allen Smith visit www.pallensmith.com or www. pallensmith.com/garden-home

Visitors to the farm are always enchanted by the tunnel of dipper gourds in the vegetable garden. I grow them for amusement and use them as decorations.

HERBS IN THE EXTREME

A scattering of creosote bush and ocotillo in Big Bend State Park, Texas

Shrubs and low growing cacti dominate the botanical landscape of Big Bend. Jay Sharp, a writer for the e-newsletter DesertUSA, notes that these shrubs exhibit the survival strategies of small leaves, protective thorns, multiple branches, disagreeable smells and tastes, and extensive root systems. He further describes a group of shrubs as “drought avoiders” with the additional characteristic of shedding their leaves and twigs when little water is available. The North American creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens Engelm.) are two shrubs

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HERBS IN THE EXTREME frequently seen in the Big Bend parks.

For a remarkable desert plant with a host of anecdotal stories, the creosote bush offers a relatively unattractive appearance.

There are five species of Larrea, four occurring in South America and one in North America (Mabry, Hunziker and Difeo, Jr. 1977). The bush grows three to nine feet high. Creosote bush branches, stems, and small bifurcated leaves are olive-green throughout most of the year.

Only after spring rains do the leaves change in color to dark-green, and yellow flowers appear. A sticky resinous substance covers the entire creosote bush, producing an old-fashioned medicinal odor. When the flowers and fruits mature, they contain less resin.

The shrubs tend to grow in an evenlyspaced arrangement. This may be because of creosote’s root system growing such that it does not compete spatially with other nearby plants, root secretions of tannins or phenols that prohibit nearby growth of competing plants, or soil saturation by water-soluble phytochemicals in the leaves and stems (Mabry, Hunziker and Difeo, Jr. 1977; Bown 2001). This characteristic is so well known that it is mentioned in the memoirs of Mary King Rodge, a woman

Ocotillo in bloom with short lived green leaves 12

HERBS IN THE EXTREME who grew up in El Paso, Texas, in the 20s and 30s. She relates this exchange between her mother and their gardener.

“After Mr. Stone finished the trench, he pointed to a clump of creosote bushes in the far corner of the yard … ‘I can get rid of that there creosote for you, Mrs. King, so it won’t bother you no more.’ ‘Why would I want to kill it?’ she asked. ‘Creosote, that’s why.

Don’t nothing grow under creosote … Drops some kind of poison on the ground, k i l l i n g i t s o w n y o u n g.

Wherever you got creosote, you ain’t got nothing else.’…

‘No don’t chop it down. I sort of like it.’” (Rodge 1999, 77).

Matt Turner states in his book, The Remarkable Plants of Texas, that creosote has no culinary uses for humans or other mammals (Turner 2009). However, buried

Residual spines along stem of ocotillo The HERBARIST

in t he histor y of t he Big Bend a re experiments assessing camels as useful pack animals in this desert environment.

In 1859 Lt. Edward Hartz and Lt. William Echols set out across a section of the Chihuahuan Desert with both mules and camels. They brought no feed for the camels but reported that the camels ate such desert plants as creosote, ocotillo, prickly pear, and catclaw (Maxwell 1971; Texas Highways 2014).

B. N. Timmerman, citing studies at the New Mexico Agriculture Experimental Station, notes the leaf residue (after processing to remove most of the resins) provides as much protein as alfalfa for cattle (Mabry, Hunziker and Difeo, Jr. 1977, 255). Alma Hutchens offers a testimonial from Ralph W. Davis, a longtime cattle rancher in North Dakota, to its nutritive value: “In springtime if an old cow can pull through until the creosote bush puts out tender shoots, she will get fat, shed her old rough winter coat, and be glossy and pretty in four weeks, and she will bring her calf and be able to nurse it into a fine animal. This drama of life I have witnessed year after year for the past 50 or more.” (Hutchens 1992, 78).

The shrub, because of its numbers, provides habitat for many insects (thirty species in five orders) as well as providing necta r for hu mmingbirds on t heir northern migration (Mabry, Hunziker and Difeo, Jr. 1977, 176, 184-185). The plants are a water and nutrient source despite the plants’ natural defenses of resinous leaf coating and fine hairs on mature fruits (Mabry, Hunziker and Difeo, Jr. 1977, 177).

Additionally, the shrubs may provide a place to hide from other predatory insects and birds and offer a protected place to deposit eggs.

As late as the 1960s the food and textile industries used an antioxidant found in creosote, NDGA, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, to prevent rancidity in fats and oils (Bown 2001) and to serve as a preservative for natural fibers (Arteaga, Andrade-Cetto and Cárdenas 2005). Reports of renal and kidney toxicity led the US Food and Drug Administration to ban its use as a food additive by 1981 (Arteaga, Andrade-Cetto

Use of ocotillo stems as shade cover and Cárdenas 2005).

Traditional medicinal uses of creosote abound by native peoples, ranchers, and cowboys. In 1848 a U.S. – Mexican boundar y sur vey commission recommended creosote as a treatment for rheumatism (Hutchens 1992). An antiseptic solution made by soaking leaves and twigs in boiling water has been used for ailments ranging from saddle sores to cuts, bruises, and bites. A salve made by boiling the leaves in lard has been used for fungal infections such as ringworm and athlete’s foot (Turner 2009, 142).

A second desert shrub, Fouquieria splendens Engelm. or ocotillo, reminds us of the ingenuity and observational skills of peoples living in stressful environments.

Ocotillo’s desert profile is a clump of slender, leafless branches, ranging from three to twenty feet in height. The minimal trunk makes it appear that the branches are dead, stuck upright in the ground. Within 24 – 48 hours of rain short-shoot leaves grow between the main stem and the spine; these leaves last only a few weeks. More continuous spring rains stimulate the growth of long-shoot leaves and tubular reddish-orange flowers on the ends of the stems. Part of the leaf will harden later into a sharp, stif f, persistent spine t hat contributes to the knobby appearance of the dry-weather leafless branches.

Considered a characteristic species of the Chihuahuan Desert, ocotillo provides hikers with a vision of history when they Issue 83 2018

find an old livestock enclosure fenced by ocotillo branches (Turner 2009, 129).

Turner describes ocotillo buildings ranging from simple houses (perhaps with adobe used to reinforce the walls) to temporary hunting or storage sheds (Turner 2009, 131-132; Native American Et h nob ot a ny D at a b a s e 19 72). A n interesting added benefit of an ocotillo structure is that even after the branches have been cut from the trunk, they retain the ability to generate ephemeral leaves when it rains. If the branches are stuck in the ground, they may eventually root and create a living fence (Maxwell 1971).

There is little wonder with this vibrant response to water that native peoples living in the desert looked for ocotillo uses beyond that of a construction material.

Perhaps hummingbirds on their spring nor t her n m ig rat ion sug gested t he usefulness of ocotillo blossoms as a nectar, i.e. sugar, source to these peoples. The Cahuilla Indians used the blossoms to f lavor water (Native American Ethnobotany Database 1972). Sucking on the end of a f lower gives one a burst of sweetness (Native American Ethnobotany Database 1936). The Papago Indians, who lived in similar areas, pressed the nectar out of the flowers, allowed it to harden, and t hen chewed it l i ke ca ndy (Nat ive American Ethnobotany Database 1935).

The Cahuilla also ground the dried seeds into f lour that they then used to make porridge or cakes, like hotcakes or f lat cor n mea l ca kes (Nat ive A mer ica n Ethnobotany Database 1972).

There have been a variety of medicinal uses for the f lowers, stems, and roots.

Immersing oneself, or simply one’s feet, in a root decoction will fight fatigue (Turner 2009, 132). Michael Moore writes in his book Los Remedios that the primary use of teas from the stems and flowers has been for coughs and sore throat. (Moore 1990). While his book provides a tea recipe, he also notes the addition of whiskey to the tea!

In a treeless environment ocotillo stems, especially with their resins, provide fuel for ca mpf ires or r ust ic stoves (Nat ive American Ethnobotany Database 1972;

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HERBS IN THE EXTREME Maxwell 1971). The stems burn for a long time, a value outweighing ocotillo’s oily smoke. Among the common names for ocotillo is candlewood, which Turner associates with this use as fuel. He also

CHOCOLATE: IMPROVING UPON “PERFECTION” notes that ocotillo translates from Spanish as “little torch” (Turner 2009, 133).

Certainly, creosote bush and ocotillo remind us that herbs, useful plants, may appear in surprising places. It is our charge

to make note of them as we pass by and to appreciate what they historically, and still, add to the complexity of our natural surroundings.

Literature Cited Arteaga, Silvia, Adolfo Andrade-Cetto, René Cárdenas. Larrea tridentata (creosote bush), an abundant plant of Mexican and US-American deserts and its metabolite nordihydroguaiaretic acid. 2005. J of Ethnopharmacology. 98: 231-39.

Christine Moore

Bown, Deni. The Herb Society of America’s new encyclopedia of herbs & their uses. 2001. New York & London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.

Hayes, Rhonda Fleming. Herb gardening at the water’s edge. The Herbarist. 2009. 75: 36-40.

Hutchens, Alma R. A handbook of Native American herbs. 1992. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc.

ew things in life are “perfect” but chocolate might be one of

Kenny, Pat. Sea vegetables and ocean herbs. July 2017. Available from www.herbsociety.org, members-only section, past webinars.

them. While a decadent chocolate dessert is always welcome,

Mabry, T.J., J.H. Hunziker and D.R. Difeo, Jr., eds. Creosote bush: biology and chemistry of Larrea in New World deserts. 1977.

Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc. Maxwell, Ross. The Big Bend of the Rio Grande. 1971. Austin, TX: The University of Texas Press.

Moore, Michael. Los remedios.1990. Santa Fe, NM: Red Crane Books.

Native American Ethnobotany Database. Fouquieriaceae Fouquieria splendens Engm. Ocotillo Accessed November 15, 2017. Available from http://naeb.brit.org -Castetter, Edward F. and Ruth M. Underhill. 1935. Ethnobiological studies in the American Southwest II. The ethnobiology of the Papago Indians.

-Gifford, E.W. 1936. Northeastern and Western Yavapai.

-Bean, Lowell John and Katherine Siva Saubel. 1972. Temalpakh (From the earth): Cahuilla Indian knowledge and usage of plants.

Rodge, Mary King. Where the creosote blooms. A memoir by Mary King Rodge. 1999. Ft. Worth TX: Texas Christian University Press (Number Nineteen in the Chisholm Trail Series).

sometimes a little foil-wrapped candy can hit the spot when the need for something sweet suddenly grips us. Appearing in everything from Easter confections to exquisite sculptures, chocolate has become even trendier of late with companies blending in novel ingredients, such as chili peppers and sea salt or touting their fair trade status. Some even list the chocolate’s specific origins, a characteristic that contributes to different flavor nuances in the final product.

Schlosser, Katherine. Herbs by the sea. Fall 2017. Available www.herbsociety.org, members only section, Green Bridges Notes.

Sharp, Jay. How desert plants survive: the desert food chain part 3. Available from http://www.desertusa.com/food_chain_k12/ kids_3.html Accessed October 17, 2016.

Texas Highways. The great camel experiment. 2014. Accessed October 2, 2017. Available from http://www.texashighwas.com/history/ item/7475-the-great-camel-experiment-texas-camel-corps Turner, Matt W. Remarkable plants of Texas: uncommon accounts of our common natives. 2009. Austin TX: University of Texas Press.

All photographs by Andy MacPhillimy

Amazing chocolate shop interior Source: timeout.com

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Issue 83 2018

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CHOCOLATE: IMPROVING UPON “PERFECTION”

CHOCOLATE: IMPROVING UPON “PERFECTION”

R

have been known for almost 4,000 years! Addictive Behavior Later evidence of the cultural uses of cacao World grindings of cocoa beans for the b e a n s a nd c ho c ol at e i n re l i g iou s food industry reached a staggering 3.6 ceremonies, as the base for a bitter drink, million tons in 2010 (Food and Agriculture and for currency and trade comes from the Organization 2010). We have become Mayans who left written records. (Coe and “hooked” on chocolate in the centuries Coe 2007). In fact, cacao was so prized that since Columbus. In the 1990s, a more taxes were paid and goods purchased with insidious kind of addiction was ushered in, its seeds even into the 18th century (Food one more lethal than just an overactive & Ag r ic u lt u re Orga n i z at ion 2011; sweet tooth. Illegal drug abuse was Ghirardelli Chocolate Company 2007; ICE advancing through segments of the United Futures U.S. 2012).

States population with great speed. The When Christopher Columbus first Federal Government initiated a “war on encountered cacao in the New World in the drugs” hoping to stem the tide of illicit early 16th century, he and his fellow material coming across the borders. This Chocolate Legacy travelers thought it was worthless and never “war” presented an interesting dilemma The migration of Theobroma cacao gave it further consideration (Coe and Coe for government officials. The United States (cacao) through the Americas and beyond 1996). By the end of the 16th century, Department of State realized that, in is well-documented. Historically, cacao’s however, Spaniards in Europe were theory, removing undesirable plants from Image 2 World map showing distribution of four major varieties of cacao native range runs through the South consuming cacao as a specialty drink. In the certain countries might be a worthwhile https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cacao species - World distribution map -blank.svg American rainforests of Ecuador, Bolivia, 17th and 18th centuries, cacao made its way cause, but, if something more profitable Credit: Semhur Peru, and Brazil. Indigenous peoples through the rest of Europe, with sugar did not replace them, the ensuing void moved the plant as far north as Central added for sweetness and milk products for would likely send farmers back to drug A merica (Guatema a nd sout hern smoothness.

From that point forward, plant cultivation.

Image 2 World map la showing distribution of four major varieties of cacao Mex ico).

A rchaeolog ic a l e v idence chocolate’s place in global history was sealed mapState Department representatives met https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cacao species - World distribution -blank.svg identifies theobromine, a major component (Coe and Coe 1996).

(See also The Chocolate w it h United States Depa r t ment of Credit: Semhur of cacao, in the lining of vessels dating Tree: A Natural History of Cacao by Allen M. Agricu lture (USDA) researchers to around 1800 B.C.E., suggesting that the Young for another comprehensive history determine if there was a suitable crop that steps of converting cacao seeds to chocolate of Theobroma cacao.) would act as a good replacement for the egardless of its social or culinary status, all chocolate goes through a series of proprieta r y steps during which chocolatiers manipulate the beans to create custom blends to their liking (Coe & Coe 1996; Food & Agriculture Organization 2011). As important as that process is, it’s the genetics of the cacao tree that plays the most significant role in the beans’ character and quality. Therefore, it’s no surprise that scientists have now turned to the tree’s genes for improving its overall growth, performance, and flavor.

Theobroma cacao (Trinitarios) Theobroma cacao (Criollos) Theobroma (Trinitarios) Theobroma cacaocacao (Trinitarios)

Theobroma cacaocacao (Criollos)(Criollos) Theobroma

Theobroma cacaocacao (Forasteros) Theobroma (Forasteros) Theobroma cacaocacao (Nacional) Theobroma (Nacional)

World mapTheobroma showing distribution of four major varieties of cacao cacao (Forasteros) credit: Semhur Theobroma cacao (Nacional)

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The HERBARIST

illicit crops and that would also help st abi l i z e loc a l gover n ment s . T h i s collaboration initiated the establishment of t he Sustainable Perennia l Crops Laboratory (SPCL), aka “the chocolate lab,” at the Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, MD. I happened to stumble upon the SPCL during a 2010 USDA poster session in Washington, D.C. Their display, which highlighted their research on Theobroma cacao, was the most popular exhibit at the program. SPCL has three primar y research goa ls: germplasm evaluation, preservation and conservation, and technolog y improvement. I was immediately intrigued, so I contacted Dr. Lyndel Meinhardt, research leader of SPCL, to discover more about the work that he and his colleagues were performing with this prized herbal tree.

“As it turns out,” Dr. Meinha rdt explained, “Theobroma is a very good substitute for the illicit plant material

cultivated in South America. For example, it requires many of the same growing conditions as coca (Erythroxylum coca), the source of cocaine, and is a more stable crop overall.” But, when researchers first embarked on this new venture, cacao’s yields were not as high as coca’s, so SPCL needed to make a convincing case that cacao was a viable alternative for farmers.

Ironically, these farmers soon learned that chocolate is very profitable as global demand for chocolate is significantly greater than it is for drugs, said Meinhardt.

But, dampening the impact of drug cultivation in foreign countries wasn’t the only concern for SPCL. Ultimately, to be a viable alternative, cacao also had to live up to hefty expectations: perfection.

cacao production [Ghirardelli Chocolate Company 2007]). Criollo has excellent flavor and is, by far, the highest quality of the three varieties, but it is also more susceptible to disease making it a very expensive form of cacao. Trinitario is a n at u r a l l y- o c c u r r i n g hybrid of the two that combi nes t he hig her yields and greater disease resistance of Forastero with the better quality and flavor of Criollo (Coe and Coe 1996). Despite its superiority, Trinitario Narrowing the Playing Field production still trails far Scientists believe that in the early days of b eh i nd t he c he ap er, cacao cultivation and consumption, the easier-to-grow Forastero. people of Central and South America A January 12, 2011 The favored some trees more than others based New York Times article by on which tree’s fruit had superior flavor. Florence Fabricant, “A According to The Ghirardelli Chocolate E u re k a Mom e nt for Cookbook, the three most common Chocolate”, described a varieties of cacao are Forastero, Criollo, rare Forestero variation, and Trinitario. Of these, Forastero is the Naciona l, t hat ha s a most frequently used as it produces the mutation for white seeds greatest yields and is the most disease as well as the common resistant. However, it lacks superior flavor. purple seeds. This tree had been widely (Forastero makes up roughly 80% of global grown in Ecuador but died out due to d isea se. Two men bringing supplies to miners in a Peruvian mou nta i n va l ley rediscovered some of these trees and sent plant materials to the Agricultural Research Service for study. Dr. Meinhardt found that these trees were pure Nacional and described t hem as “very rare.” He further explained t hat t he white-seeded t y pe Three varieties of Theobroma cacao – Criollo, produces fruit (and Trinitario, Forestero seeds) with a milder flavor than the purple credit: Tamorlan Issue 83 2018

Fruit of Nacional variety credit: Luchoastudillo

variety. Franz Zeigler, a Swiss chocolate expert also quoted in the article, labeled the resultant chocolate as having an “intense, f loral aroma and a persistent mellow r ich ne s s . It s lac k of bit ter ne s s i s remarkable.” Because of its rarity (most of the trees in cultivation had succumbed to disease by the 20th century), Nacional is extremely expensive; only four chocolatiers in Europe and North America are using this delicate form of cacao.

Even though early 20th century seed collecting trips resulted in millions of tons of wonderful chocolate over the years, a question remains: Could there be even tastier chocolate awaiting us? This is a major reason the SPCL is earnestly seeking out new, wild-collected plant material in the species’ native range. Like other domesticated crops, cacao’s wild relatives possess diverse, genetically-controlled

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CHOCOLATE: IMPROVING UPON “PERFECTION” traits not found in cultivated plants. These serve as a valuable resource for breeders looking for genetic solutions to modern cacao production challenges. New genetic material could vastly improve cacao breeding lines and may result in superior f lavor in t he f ina l products. More important than improved flavor, however, is the overall health of cacao crops grown around the world, for a dead tree is undoubtedly a poor producer!

Even though early 20th century seed collecting trips resulted in millions of tons of wonderful chocolate over the years, a question remains: Could there be even tastier chocolate awaiting us?

Challenges and Importance of Cacao Genetic Diversity

The need for new genetic diversity in cacao may be at the forefront of chocolate science today, but it has been a recognized need for much longer: “Since the early part of the 20th century, numerous missions have been undertaken to collect and conserve cacao ex situ in gene banks. The catastrophic impact of cacao diseases led expeditions to collect disease-resistant germplasm from the Upper Amazon region in the 1930s” (CacaoNet 2012).

Unfortunately, those early botanists could only access the rainforest by watercraft, which limited their seed collecting to trees found along Amazonian waterways.

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CHOCOLATE: IMPROVING UPON “PERFECTION”

Because cacao seeds are highly perishable, “losing their viability quickly after being harvested” (Durham 2011), traveling greater distances inland to collect from a broader selection of trees wasn’t feasible without proper seed storage equipment.

Nevertheless, the collected seeds were sent to germplasm banks in the Americas.

Dr. Meinhardt states, “There are more than 5,000 different varieties of cacao currently in [germplasm] collections around the world. While this sounds like a large amount, most are breeding lines derived from a small number of [original] types, so it actually represents a small fraction of the genetic diversity that still exists in the wild” (Durham 2011). Today, most of the cacao tree stock used in production lines around the world is descended from those same seeds collected in the early 1900s. “In recent years more emphasis has been placed on systematic collections to capture genetic diversity” (CacaoNet 2012). This genetic diversity may u lt i mately cha nge t he face of chocolate production in the modern era.

As our love for chocolate continues to grow (Food and Agriculture Organization 2001; Food and Agriculture Organization 2010; International Cocoa Organization 2010; Pay 2009), issues of sustainability loom ever closer. Among the greatest challenges of low genetic diversity in agricultural crops are pest and disease pressure. In a species monoculture, the incidence of disease increases exponentially. “Cacao has always been plagued by serious losses from pests and diseases, with estimates of losses as high as 30% to 40% of global production” or one t w o b i l l i o n i n U S d o l l a r s ( L MC International 2011). Fungal infections are particularly devastating and “can cause yield losses of 75% in susceptible varieties” (Case 2011; Durham 2011). The biggest offenders are fungal witches’ broom disease (Crinipellis perniciosa), frosty pod rot (Moniliophthora roreri), black pod (Phytophthora spp.) and vascular streak dieback (Oncobasidium theobroma) (LMC International, 2011). If trees become i n fec ted w it h a ny of t hese f u nga l pathogens, farmers risk losing significant The HERBARIST

por tions of t heir har vest, w it h t he potential for large swings in overall cacao production and farm income. Production variations also affect the global market price index resulting in significantly higher prices for finished chocolate products (Internat iona l Cocoa Organization 2010; ICE Futures U.S. 2012). Loss of crops and income are particularly devastating for small farmers who are the primary growers in many c ac ao produci ng cou nt r ies. T he International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) est imates t hat 90% of world cacao production comes from farms of only two to five hectares (five to twelve acres) (Food and Agriculture Organization 2001; Inter nat iona l C ocoa Orga n i z at ion 2011[2]). According to the World Cocoa Foundation the number of people who depend upon cacao for their livelihood is 40-50 million (CacaoNet 2012).

Dr. Meinhardt’s group, along with scientists from Peru’s Instituto de Cultivos Tropicales, is working diligently to ident i f y a nd preser ve new a nd distinctive cacao strains not already in germplasm collections and to identify any wild trees that show increased resistance to witches’ broom disease or frosty pod rot pathogens. As of 2009, they had acquired more than 300 cacao specimens collected during Peruvian expeditions, which represents a significant increase in cacao germplasm diversity.

With increased diversity comes the opportunity for valuable discoveries.

Among those 300+ specimens collected, the group found a new type that differs in flavor from previous types—a potentially great find for the chocolate industry. The group also introduces new cultivars for production: “… in 2011, they released nine new, high-yielding selections of Theobroma cacao. The new selections could offset some disease losses because they yield more beans than current varieties” (Case 2011).

Other scientists from around the world are also contributing to the knowledge base. Claire Lanaud of CIRAD, France, and Mark Guiltinan of Pennsylvania State University, along with their international team of scientists have mapped the Criollo

variety’s genome to better identify the traits that lead to disease resistance, as well as better f lavor. For example, Siela Ma x i mova, Associate Professor of Hor ticu lture at Pennsylvania State University stated, “Our analysis of the Criollo genome has uncovered the genetic basis of pathways leading to the most important quality traits of chocolate… It has also led to the discovery of hundreds of genes potentially involved in pathogen resistance, all of which can be used to accelerate the development of elite varieties of cacao in the future” (Messer 2010).

Ancient Plant, Modern Farming

Since the early 1990s, scientists have been developing ways to make chocolate production more sustainable for thousands of cacao farmers in producing countries. In 2000, a key stakeholder, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), began working with cacao scientists and companies worldwide to promote better industry practices. Its core com m it ments a re ensu r i ng a sustainable supply of quality cocoa that b enef it s b ot h g rower s a nd u s er s ; empowering farmers to make choices that help develop strong, prosperous cocoa communities; and promoting sustainable production practices that maintain and increase biodiversit y a nd crop diversification (LMC International 2011; World Cocoa Foundation 2012).

T heobroma need s 50% shade i n equatorial regions. This requirement alone encourages better agroforestr y and farming practices. By necessity, farmers need to maintain significant forest cover to prov ide t hat essentia l shade (LMC International 2011; Messer 2010). This discourages cutting down rainforest for timber or ranching.

B e t t er s a mpl i ng a nd t e s t i ng of T h e o b r o m a g e r mpl a s m a l s o a i d s identification of disease-resistant traits, which when incorporated into current breeding lines, may decrease the likelihood of crop failure from witches’ broom disease, frosty pod rot or other diseases.

Additionally, if researchers working alongside farmers can identify plants that

yield greater harvests per tree, then fewer tracts of land are necessary for cultivation to produce the same amount of product.

Fair Trade Chocolate

“Fair trade” chocolate—one of the newer angles in chocolate production—has become a topic of much discussion. Fair trade is “a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade.

It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, disadvantaged producers and workers” (World Fair Trade Organization 2009). Groups like the WCF and other non-governmental organizations are helping direct the cocoa industry toward more ethical and sustainable practices. The WCF states that two of its primary goals are “to build partnerships with the cocoa farmers, origin governments and environmental organizations… and to support training and education that improve the well-being of cocoa farming families” (World Cocoa Foundation 2012; Pay 2009). Because most cocoa is grown by impoverished fa rmers, ma ny la rge chocolate companies are joining the effort to “promote a sustainable cocoa economy through economic and social development and environmental stewardship in cocoagrowing communities” (World Cocoa F o u n d a t i o n , 2 01 2) . (S e e h t t p : // worldcocoafoundation.org/about-wcf/ members/ for a list of WCF members.)

Between five and six million farmers grow cacao world-wide, most of whom are small producers in small communities.

These same small farms produce 90% of the world’s cocoa (Food and Agriculture Organization 2001; International Cocoa Organization 2011[2]). Since cacao ha r vest i ng does not lend it sel f to automation (the fruit needs to be harvested by hand), ethical labor and fair trade laws are always going to be industry-wide concerns.

Big Business

To focus on the cocoa industry as a stand-alone entity, however, gives an incomplete picture. From the inception of Issue 83 2018

chocolate confectionery, thousands of other businesses have relied on chocolate production for their survival, including those involved with marketing, sales, and distribution of finished products. The success of agricultural products associated with the chocolate industry rises and falls with the success of cacao production itself.

“The U.S. chocolate industry is comprised of approximately 450 companies that manufacture more than 90% of the chocolate and confectionery products; another 250 companies supply those manufacturers” (World Cocoa Foundation 2009).

The International Cocoa Organization, which promotes a sustainable world cocoa economy, notes that within that economy resides a host of other internationallytraded commodities. “For every dollar of cocoa imported, between one and two dollars of domestic agricultural products are used in the making of chocolate” (World Cocoa Foundation 2009). Common products include milk, milk products, nuts, sugar, and other sweeteners. With so much riding on chocolate’s success, both economically and socially, some of the most prestigious institutions in the world, including the USDA Agricultural Research Service have now joined the effort to improve cacao’s performance (Food and Agriculture Organization 2001).

Oftentimes, progress brings with it a host of other challenges. Chocolate’s progress is no exception. Despite such challenges as germplasm diversity, disease, and price swings, many cultures have embr a c e d c a c ao w it h rem a rk a ble enthusiasm and creativity, thus securing its place not only in the human heart, but also on the global market. Chocolate lovers may think chocolate is perfect the way it is, but improvement is always possible. With a commitment to collaborative research, germplasm evaluation and conservation, as well as improved agricultural practices, groups like the Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory and their counterparts around the world are making great strides toward a more prosperous—and flavorful!

—cacao industry.

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CHOCOLATE: IMPROVING UPON “PERFECTION”

Literature Cited CacaoNet. 2012. Global strategy: where we are now on cacao germplasm conservation and use. Accessed September 18, 2012. Available from: www.cacaonet.org Case, Christine L. The microbiology of chocolate. Accessed October 12, 2011. Available from: http://skylinecollege.net/case/chocolate.html Coe, Sophie D. and Michael D. Coe. 1996. The true history of chocolate. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Ltd. -2007 (revised edition). The true history of chocolate. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Ltd. Durham, Sharon. September 2011. Peruvian cacao collection trip yields treasures. Agricultural Research Accessed October 12, 2011. Available from: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep11/cacao0911.htm Food and Agriculture Organization. 2001. Infosheet cocoa. Accessed October 12, 2011. Available from: www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload/216251/infosheet_cocoa Food and Agriculture Organization, Economic and Social Development Department. 2010. Medium-term prospects for agricultural commodities, 3. Sugar, tropical beverage crops and fruit. FAO Corporate Document Repository. Accessed October 12, 2011. Available from: www.fao.org/docrep/006/y5143e/y5143e0x.htm Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. 2007. The Ghirardelli chocolate cookbook. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.

ICE Futures U.S. 2012. Cocoa. Accessed January 8, 2013. Available from: https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/ICE_cocoa_Brochure International Cocoa Organization. July 30, 2010. The world cocoa economy: past and present. Accessed September 7, 2011. Available from: www.icco.org/about-us/international-cocoa-agreements/cat_view/30-related-documents/45-statistics-otherstatistics.html International Cocoa Organization. July 25, 2011[1]. The chocolate industry. Accessed December 17, 2012. Available from: http://www.icco.org/about-cocoa/ chocolate-industry.html International Cocoa Organization. July 25, 2011[2]. Production. Accessed December 17, 2012. Available from: http://www.icco.org/economy/production.html LMC International. 2011. Cocoa sustainability. Accessed September 7, 2011. Available from: www.canacacao.org/uploads/smartsection/19_LMC_WCF_cocoa_ sustainability_report_2010_11 Messer, Andrea. December 2010. Food of the gods’ genome sequence could make finest chocolate better. Accessed January 9, 2013. Available from: http://live.psu.edu/printstory/50523

Mary Bellis Williams, Ph.D.

Pay, Ellen. 2009. The market for organic and fair-trade cocoa: increasing incomes and food security of small farmers in West and Central Africa through exports of organic and fair-trade tropical products. Accessed October 12, 2011. Available from: www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/organicexports/docs/Market_Organic_FT_Cocoa.pdf World Cocoa Foundation. 2009. Economic profile of the US chocolate industry. Accessed September 7, 2011. Available from: www.worldcocoafoundation.org World Cocoa Foundation. 2012. Our work: our approach.

Accessed December 17, 2012. Available from: www. worldcocoafoundation.org World Fair Trade Organization. 2009. Fair trade glossary.

Accessed November 13, 2017. Available from: https://www. fairtrade.net/fileadmin/user_upload/content/2009/about_ fairtrade/ 2011-06-28-fair-trade-glossary_WFTO-FLOFLOCERT.pdf

Bibliography Grivet, Louis and Howard-Yana Shapiro. Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 2009.

Young, Allen M. The Chocolate Tree: A Natural History of Cacao. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. 2007.

(Originally published by Smithsonian Nature Books, 1994.)

Fields of lavender credit: Brice 20

The HERBARIST

Issue 83 2018

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HERBS IN BRITISH FOLK SONGS

HERBS IN BRITISH FOLK SONGS But my fause (false) lover stole my rose, and ah! He left the thorn wi’ me.

The gorgeous medieval song, The Seeds of Love (Baring-Gould and Sharp 1890), entwines herbs, f lowers, passion, and disappointment together. The gardening metaphor is so wellsuited to speak of love, and here’s the rose AND thorn again: I sowed the seeds of love, I sowed them in the spring; I gathered them up in the morning so soon, while small birds did sweetly sing.

My garden was planted well with flowers everywhere, But I had not the liberty then for to choose the flower that I loved dear.

The gardener standing by, I asked to choose for me; He chose me the Violet, the Lily and the Pink, but these I refused all three.

The Violet I did not like because it fades so soon; The Lily and the Pink I then did overthink, and vowed I’d stay till June.

In June is a red, red Rose, and that is the flower for me,

Then there’s “Are you going to Scarborough Fair, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, remember me to one who lives there. She once was a true love of mine.” (Sharp 1916, 167). This very old song was popularized in the mid-20th century by Simon and Garfunkel.

Most people no longer remember the meaning of the herbs in the song. It’s about a man trying to attain his true love. The herbs tell what he is looking for. Parsley is comfort but is also associated with sexual performance; sage is strength, healing, and prosperity; rosemary is remembrance and love (and keeps ghosts away!); and thyme is courage and strength (Baker 1996).

Folk songs from the British Isles abound with references to herbs, flowers, and trees, integral to the tale told. An old Welsh song goes like this: “Upon the shore red roses blowing. Upon the shore, white lilies growing. Upon the shore, my love, my only; are his nights long, are his days lonely? Upon the shore, through wind and weather, a stone, where we once talked together, has now white lilies showing, and shoots of fragrant rosemary growing.” (Hywel 1987, 14). Lilies, roses, and rosemary have meaning in the story. Roses speak of love and fertility, lilies for purity, and rosemary for remembrance.

Usually these plants have sweet connotations, but some plants have pricklier meanings. In the ancient song Barbara Allen (Solomon 1967, 20) a haughty girl rejected her suitor, but when he died of love, she regretted her cruelty and died too. Here’s what has been sung about them for at least 400 years: “Barb’ry Allen was buried in the old church-yard; Sweet William was buried beside her.

Out of Sweet Williams’s heart there grew a rose; out of Barb’ry Allen’s, a briar. They grew and grew in the old church-yard, ‘til they could grow no higher; at the end they formed a true lovers’ knot, and

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the rose grew round the briar.” The rose has always symbolized love, and in this story, love wins, with the rose embracing the briar.

Many British songs use the rose to speak of love in all its aspects.

The Scottish My Love is Like the Red Red Rose compares the loved one to the beauty of the rose in completely favorable terms, but Ye Banks and Braes (Farmer 1901, 128) tells a story that includes the painful thorn as well:

I’ll pluck it and think that no Lily nor Pink can match with the bud on that tree.

The maiden rejects the violet (faithfulness), the lily (purity), and the pink (perfection and protection). Instead she chooses and plucks the red rose of passion and fertility, only to be wounded by its thorn. After she is wounded by love, she chooses hyssop, which stands for protection and purif ication. By then, she needed it!

In O Gin My Love We re Yon Re d Rose (A rmes 1917, 1) t he Scottish lover sings his devotion: O gin my love were yon red rose, that grows upon the castle wa’ (wall), and I mysel’ a drap of dew, down on that red rose I would fa’ (fall).

The Irish song Red Is the Rose (Soodlum 1982), also compares a beloved to roses, but this time with the girl fairer than the rose: Red is the rose by yonder garden grows And fair is the lily of the valley.

Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne, But my love is fairer than any.

In The Loyal Lover (Baring-Gould and Sharp 1890), a girl makes a gift for her lover of highly symbolic herbs: roses for love, lilies for purity and chastity, pinks for protection, and thyme for virtue and courage.

I’ll weave my love a garland, it shall be dressed so fine; I’ll set it round with roses, with lilies, pinks, and thyme.

And I’ll present it to my love when he comes back from sea, For I love my love, and I love my love, because my love loves me.

The gardener standing by, he bid me take great care; Oft ha’e I roved by bonnie Doon, to see the rose and woodbine twine; And ilka bird sang o’ its love, and fondly sae did I o’ mine.

Wi’ lightsome heart I pu’d (pulled) a rose, fu’ sweet upon its thorny tree;

The HERBARIST

For that under the blossom and under the leaves is a thorn that will wound and tear.

Of Hyssop I’ll take a spray, no other flowers I’ll touch; That all in the world may both see and may say, that I loved one flower too much.

Then there is thyme. For such a small plant, it has an outsize importance with ancient, traditional, and magical meanings attributed to it. Greek maidens wore it in their hair, trusting that it made them irresistible to men. It is also believed to increase clairvoyance. Sleeping on a pillow of thyme dispels melancholy, cures nightmares, and inspires courage. But thyme also signifies virtue. A Bunch of Thyme (Soodlum 1982) is about loss of innocence and virginity. The betrayed girl sings: Come all ye maidens, young and fair, all you that are blooming in your prime.

Always beware and keep your garden fair. Let no man steal away your thyme.

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HERBS IN BRITISH FOLK SONGS

For thyme it is a precious thing. And thyme brings all things to my mind.

Which made her repent and so often lament, still wishing again in the north for to be.

Thyme with all its flavours, along with all its joys, Thyme brings all things to my mind.

“Oh! The oak, and the ash, and the bonny ivy tree,

For once I had a bunch of thyme. I swore it never would decay.

There came a lusty sailor, who chanced to pass the way, and stole my bunch of thyme away.

Thyme doesn’t always lead to disappointment or abandonment.

The lovely Scottish tune Wild Mountain Thyme (Luboff 1965, 62) invites us to a thyme-picking excursion: Oh, the summer time is coming, and the trees are sweetly blooming, and the wild mountain thyme grows around the blooming heather. Will ye go, lassie, go?

And we’ll all go together, to pluck wild mountain thyme, all around the blooming heather, will ye go, lassie, go?

Wild Mountain Thyme credit: Richard Webb

They flourish at home in my own country.”

These three trees were all sacred to the druids and important symbolically in culture. Oaks symbolize strength, longevity, fertility, protection, and steadfastness. The ash means protection and features in the Norse story of the Great Tree that connects all creation. The “ivy tree” is ivy climbing a tree, and it figures in many stories and myths. It symbolizes wedded love. The northcountry lass was longing for home, but also for the benefits these trees promised.

The willow is traditionally associated with love, protection, and healing. But it also symbolizes melancholy and mourning. In Hamlet, Ophelia sings “O willow, willow” before drowning herself. An old English folk song, The Sprig of Thyme (Sharp 1916, 79), is a sad story telling of seduction and abandonment with herbs for each phase: rose, willow, thyme, and rue. Thyme stands for virtue and innocence, rose, passionate love. Willow is for betrayal.

Rue, the bitter herb of grace, signifies regret and repentance: O once I had thyme of my own, and in my own garden it grew; I used to know the place where my thyme it did grow, but now it is covered with rue, With rue, but now it is cover’d with rue.

The rue it is a flourishing thing, it flourishes by night and by day; So beware of a young man’s flattering tongue, he will steal your thyme away, away, He will steal your thyme away.

I sowed my garden full of seeds, but the small birds they And what about the little primrose? It is delicate and sunny, but carried them away think of the expression, “he led her down the primrose path.” Now In April, May, and in June likewise, when the small birds sing you have a good idea what the primrose means: easy pleasure all day, all day, without thought of consequences. In several folk songs, such as Sweet Nightingale (Baring-Gould and Sharp 1890, 62) and As I Walked Through the Meadow (Sharp 1916, 122), a persistent suitor entices a maiden to recline on a bank of primroses.

English oak, Quercus robur In one song, he takes her next morning to the credit: Jean-Pol Grandmont church to marry, but in the other, he seduces her and leaves her.

Some trees are rightly considered herbs. In Oh! The Oak and the Ash (Farmer 1901, 154), a homesick girl wishes herself back home in the north of England by remembering the trees that grew there: A north-country lass up to London did pass, although with her nature it did not agree;

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Your cherries soon will be wasted away, singing, singing, buttercups and daisies,

When the small birds sing all day.

In June there was a red, a rosy bud, and that seem’d the flower for me;

Your roses wither and never stay, Fol-de-dee!

And oftentimes I snatched at the red, a rosy bud, till I gained the willow, willow tree,

‘tis not to seek such perishing ware, that I am tramping to Strawberry Fair.

Till I gained the willow tree.

I want to purchase a generous heart, singing, singing, buttercups and daisies,

O the willow, willow tree it will twist, and the willow, willow tree it will twine,

A tongue that is neither nimble nor tart, Fol-de-dee!

And so it was that young and false-hearted man when he gained this heart of mine,

An honest mind, but such trifles are rare, I doubt they’re found at Strawberry Fair.

of mine, when he gained this heart of mine.

The price I offer, my sweet pretty maid, singing, singing, buttercups and daisies,

O thyme it is a precious, precious thing on the road that the sun shines upon; But thyme it is a thing that will bring you to an end, And that’s how my time has gone, has gone, and that’s how my time has gone.

Willow, as melancholy or mourning, can be found in the 1975 Steeleye Span recording of a very old song, All Around My Hat. [Note: Steeleye Span is a British folk-rock group.] The song in all its versions is always about separation from a loved one, sometimes by death, sometimes by the woman’s marriage to another man, sometimes by one lover being transported to Australia. The rousing chorus is: All ‘round my hat I will wear a green willow All ‘round my hat for a twelve month and a day If anybody asks me the reason why I wear it

A ring of gold on your finger displayed, Fol-de-dee!

So come, make over to me your ware, in church to-day at Strawberry Fair.

Ri-fol, Ri-fol, Tol-de-riddle-li-do, Ri-fol, Ri-fol, Tol-de-riddle-dee.

Regarding the strawberry, Dr. William Butler, an English writer in the 1600s, said: “Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did.” The strawberry has many customs around it, like Desdemona’s fateful handkerchief embroidered with strawberries in Othello. The heart-shaped berry stands for purity, passion, and healing. It is a symbol of Venus. Medieval stone carvers put strawberry designs on altars to indicate righteousness and perfection. Such good attributes for this delicious berry!

It’s all because my true love is far, far away.

In the old Irish song, Down by the Sally Gardens (Soodlum 1982), willows are referred to as Sally, from Salix, part of the botanical name for willow. The willows along rivers were called Sally Gardens, and this song again is a lament for lost love: ‘Twas down by the Sally Gardens my love and I did meet.

She passed the Sally Gardens with little snow-white feet.

She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow upon the tree, But I being young and foolish with her did not agree.

In a field down by the river my love and I did stand, And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.

She bid me take life easy as the grow grown on the weirs, But I was young and foolish and now I am full of tears.

The English folk song Strawberry Fair (Baring-Gould and Sharp 1890, 56) tells of a young man on his way to the Strawberry Fair who falls in love at first sight with a beautiful girl selling cherries, roses, and strawberries. She offers her produce to him, but he replies:

Heart-shaped strawberry credit: Grendelkhan Another plant that appears in folk song is broom, a woody shrub with bright yellow flowers that grows wild on mountains, moors, and shores in Britain. The plant has dense branches, making it

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very useful as a broom. It was cut for this purpose and bound around a stick to make a broom for sweeping the house. The flower symbolizes devotion and ardor (Conway 1973, 73). Leaping over a flowering branch of broom on their wedding day is supposed to make a couple fertile. Butterflies love the flower and it is considered one of the nine fairy herbs.

Two folk songs that feature broom are The Broom of the Cowdenknowes (Boyle and Boyle 2002) and Green Broom (Sharp 1916, 110). They are quite different in their outcomes, but both involve a young person who attracts a spouse from a higher station. In both, ardor is paramount.

In Broom of the Cowdenknowes a shepherdess meets a stranger who rides by her pasture each morning. He plays a pipe (presumably a bagpipe). They fall in love and have an affair. She becomes pregnant and is banished by her family. She then seeks out her lover, finds he is a lord, and they marry. They live in his country, but she is homesick and wants to return to “the bonnie bonnie broom.” Cowdenknowes is about 30 miles from Edinburgh. The chorus, sung by the shepherdess, says: O, the broom, the bonnie, bonnie broom, the broom o’ the Cowdenknowes.

Fain would I be with my ain true love, wi’ his pipy and my ewes.

me the lad that cries broom.

Then John he came back, and upstairs he did go, and he enter’d that fair lady’s room, her room.

Dear Johnny, said she, O can you fancy me? Will you marry a lady in bloom, in bloom? Will you marry a lady in bloom?

Literature Cited

Then John gave consent and unto the church went, and he married this lady in bloom, in bloom.

Baker, Margaret. 1996. Discovering the folklore of plants. Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire: Shire Publications Ltd.

Said she: I protest there is none in the West is so good as the lad who sells broom, green broom, is so good as the lad who sells broom.

The phrase “a lady in bloom” means a mature woman older than young Jack.

These are just a few of the herbal references in the hundreds of folk songs from England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. Herbs set the stage for a story or explained why something happened. When these songs were created, the listeners would understand the herb lore. They realized that when a girl sang of her lost thyme, she had been despoiled. They recognized that a man wearing a willow wreath had been disappointed in love or was mourning a lost love.

We no longer have the cultural memory to make sense out of it.

Perhaps we need rosemary!

The “pipy” is his pipe. Apparently, he played very well, because the last verse says:

Armes, William D., ed. 1917. Old English ballads and folk songs. New York: Macmillan Co. Baring-Gould, Sabine and Cecil J. Sharp. 1890. English folk songs for schools. London: J. Curwel & Sons, Ltd. Available from http:/hdl.handle. net/1802/19736 (University of Rochester Research) Boyle, Jim and Beth Boyle. 2002. The broom of Cowdenknowes: child ballad 217. Accessed November 29, 2017. Available from: www. ramshornstudios.com/broom.htm Conway, David. 1973. The magic of herbs. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. Farmer, John, ed. 1901. Gaudeamus: songs for colleges and schools. London: Cassell and Company, Ltd. Accessed November 29, 2017. Available from https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001816673 Last updated February 2, 2007 Hywel, John, ed. 1987. Famous songs of Wales. Penygroes (Gwynned, Wales): Gwynn Publishing.

Luboff, Norman and Win Stracke. 1965. Songs of man. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. Sharp, Cecil J., ed. 1916. One hundred English folksongs. New York: Dover Publications. Accessed November 28, 2017. Available from: https://en. wikisource.org/wiki/One_Hundred_English_Folksongs Last updated March 30, 2016.

Solomon, Maynard, ed. 1967. British ballads & folk songs: from the Joan Baez songbook. New York: Ryerson Music Publishers.

Soodlum’s Irish ballad book. 1982. New York and Dublin: Oak Publications.

Tisserand, Maggie & Monica Junemann, 1994. The magic and power of lavender. Wilmot, WI: Lotus Light Publications.

Further Reading and Listening Berger, Judit. Herbal Rituals. New York: St. Martin’s Press. 1998.

He tuned his pipe and reed sae sweet the birds stood list’ning by,

Best, Dick and Beth Best. Song Fest. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.1961.

Browne, Ronnie and Roy Williamson. The Corries Complete. Penicuik: The Pen-y-coe Press. 1993.

Even the dull cattle stood and gaz’d, charm’d with his melody.

Cunningham, Scott. Magical Herbalism. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.1996.

The song Green Broom is about a handsome and lazy son of an old man whose trade is cutting broom for sale. The father tries to get his son out of bed before noon to get to work to help the family business, threatening to set the lad’s room on fire if he doesn’t. We join the story there:

French, Jackie. Book of Thyme. Melbourne, Australia: Angus & Robertson. 1993.

Then Jack he did rise and did sharpen his knives, and he went to the woods cutting broom, green broom,

Rago, Linda Ours. Backyard Herbs. Shepherdstown, WV: Carabelle Books. 1984. _____ The Herbal Almanac. Washington, DC: Starwood Publishing, Inc. 1992. _____ Mugworts in May. Charleston, WV: Quarrier Press. 1995.

Gordon, Lesley. The Mystery and Magic of Trees and Flowers. London: Grange Books. 1985.

Hoffmann, David. Welsh Herbal Medicine. Ceredigion, Wales: Abercastle Publications. 1992.

Lucas, Richard. The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living. West Nyack, NY: Parker Publishing Co. 1972.

Pepper, Elizabeth. Celtic Tree Magic. Middleton, RI: The Witches’ Almanac. 1996.

Picton, Margaret. The Book of Magical Herbs. London: Parkgate Books. 2000.

Sanecki, Kay N. Discovering Herbs. Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire: Shire Publications, Ltd. 1993.

To market and fair, crying ev’rywhere: O fair maids, do you want any broom, green broom? O fair maids, do you want any broom?

Skolnick, Solomon. The Enchantment of Herbs. White Plains, NY: Peter Pauper Press, Inc. 1998.

Soodlums Irish Ballad Book – YouTube. Accessed November 29, 2017 Available from www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE3BAE5AD1A2D507D Last updated May 29, 2013 Tomlyn, A.W. and D. Emlyn Evans, eds. Songs of Wales. Edinburgh: Andersons LTD. 1912.

A lady sat up in her window so high, and she heard Johnny crying green broom, green broom; She rung for her maid and unto her she said: O go fetch me the lad that cries broom, green groom. O go fetch

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University of Illinois Extension. Strawberries & More. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Extension Service. 2016.

This shows both the evergreen stems and the yellow legume flowers of broom. credit: Commons.wikipedia The HERBARIST

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B est H erbal W ishes, Rie Sl uder

8H5a&pSpytroBnirg!thday! son - J en M u n

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The HERBARIST

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W

Paris Wolfe

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The HERBARIST

hat’s old is new again in beer making. Brewers are using herbs instead of, or in addition to, hops, the traditional herb used in beer.

Walk down the beer aisle at a large beverage store and you’ll find brews spiked with spruce tips, juniper, sage, rosemary, lavender, lemon verbena, hibiscus, woodruff, and more. Herbs are the latest addition to the craft beer scene, although they could be considered a flashback.

A flashback to the gruits of history, that is. Gruits are beers bittered with herb mixtures rather than hops. It is likely that, 500-plus years ago, hops replaced other herbs for politico-religious reasons (Rissanen and Tahvanainen 2014). More than one historian says Protestants rose up against the monopoly Catholic monks had on gruits and required that beer contain hops. This practice then spread throughout European realms. Another explanation is that hops-based beers stayed fresh longer.

Yet another is that hop-based beer kept people calmer.

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. No matter, the Reinheitsgebot (Bavarian Purity Act of 1516) required the use of hops. As t hos e “r u le s” b e c a me t he European norm, gruits faded from the market.

Tod ay ’s A mer ic a n cr a f t brewers, most of them small, can’t resist revisiting history.

Many are making small batches with gruits or otherwise using herbs in their brews.

“Herbs allow you to access a lot of unique flavors and profiles you can’t get with hops alone,” says Cameron Johnson, owner and head brewer with Young Buck Brewing, a small operation i n Spok a ne , Wa sh i ng ton .

“Gruits are unique but they’re also tougher to market because you have to educate people to what they are.”

Johnson was an architect until starting Young Buck in June 2016. He introduced an eclectic combination of styles

HERBS PLAY HISTORIC AND MODERN ROLE IN BEER from sour beers to fruit-forward lambics and herb-based gruits.

“A lot of people are using herbs and spices in a gimmicky manner to play off public interest in ales right now, but there has to be some quality reason for doing it,” he opines. “There has to be a beer f irst.

Those other f lavors and aromas should accentuate that base beer. T hat beer is always at the forefront.”

His first use of herbs was a pumpkinsage imperial brown beer that aged in wine barrels until summer 2017. He also flavored an amber ale with guajillo chilis, locally roasted coffee, and cocoa nibs. The result is similar to Mexican hot chocolate.

A homebrewer turned professional,

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Karen Lassiter has been making beer for 12 years. She is a brewer for Corsair Brewery in Nashville, Tennessee. She came to herbed beer via a historical reenactment group that concentrates on the medieval era (5th to 15th centuries).

“So many early beers were brewed with herbs and spices,” she says. “I started researching historic beers and that’s how I started making gruitstyle beers.” Corsair makes them in small batches and serves them only in the brewery’s tap room. Like other brewers, Lassiter says the limited ma rket ma kes la rger production unnecessary.

One of her beer recipes includes botanicals that sister company Corsair Distillery uses in gin.

Among the flavor contributors are juniper, chamomile, and hyssop. “I also brew a Viking Ale with juniper berries, coriander, heather tips, and honey. The heather tips give it an earthy floral character, more of an aroma. The f lavor is a little similar to chamomile,” she notes.

The inspiration came from a Fi n n i s h t r a d it ion t h at u s e s evergreens like spruce and pine in the mash.

“As a brewer in the modern age there are tons of recipes. The modern brewing era has been

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HERBS PLAY HISTORIC AND MODERN ROLE IN BEER around for hundreds of years,” Lassiter says. “When you can break away from the tradition of recipes that have been used for a long time, it’s fun and creative.”

While historically accurate gruit recipes don’t exist, Lassiter has worked with historic references to develop traditional gruit-style ales for the reenactment group. “I know mugwort and wormwood were used in gruit ales dating back to 8th or 9th century. I tried my hand at those early on and didn’t really like how they came out,” she says.

Reaching further back into history, she made an Egyptian ale based on ingredients that would have been part of the traditional diet of the day. This one takes hints of flavor from dates, date syrup, cardamom, and anise seed.

“You can’t go back to the pharaoh and find a recipe for a beer brewed using certain spices or herbs, but you can find references to ingredients that are used for other things and work with commonly used foods and medicinal herbs. To me that’s the fun part of it. Instead of finding a recipe, you have to be more creative. We can’t say it’s the exact beer. We say, ‘This might be like a beer they might have made then.’”

When Cambridge Brewing Company opened in 1989, they started herbing their beers. They weren’t making historic gruits but applying culinary innovation.

The first creations included an amber ale with a touch of rosemary and a pale ale with chilis.

“I consider herbs to be ingredients in the same family as fruits, vegetables, and spices,” says brewer Will Meyers. He refers to “a 5,000-plus year history of brewing” and notes that beers were often simple, produced with whatever ingredients were available that might taste good or help with the beer’s preservation.

When Meyers began he brought with him an interest in history and gruit. “I’ve had an interest in these historical beers since childhood, when reading about the ambrosia and nectar of the Greek gods and other mythological beings,” he explains.

“I always wondered what those foods and drinks tasted like. As a brewer I realized I had an opportunity to create a

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contempora r y ex pression of t hose beverages,” he says. Once per year the brewery makes a Weekapaug Gruit, an historical interpretation of “traditional” gruit, brewed primarily with sweet gale, yarrow, and marsh rosemary. Additions include nettles, licorice root, marshmallow root and other herbs, roots, and barks.

Meyers continues, “Most of the herbal beers we produce are strictly seasonal, as we often will handpick the herbs we use when they are in bloom or otherwise at their peak. A great example would be our world-famous Heather Ale.” “We make this beer in the summer when heather f lowers are in bloom along the southern coast of Massachusetts. A team of brewers, friends, and family travel to pick heather tips, along with sweet gale, yarrow, and lavender. We bring these fresh herbs back to the brewery and add them to one fresh batch of beer purpose-brewed for these herbal additions.”

Imaginary Day is another beer brewed with those herbs and then fermented in oak wine barrels along with white wine grapes. Meyers describes it as “a delicate beer of incredible complexity – like walking through a meadow and vineyard simultaneously.”

Hops do not define a beer as all three of the previous brews lack hops. That allows t he herba l cha racterist ics to shine through. Meyers notes, as an example, “that I have had an India pale ale (IPA) f l avore d w it h ja sm i ne w h ic h w a s delightful.”

He predicts beer drinkers will continue to see small-batch herb brews for a while.

fruit of the Cambridge Brewing Company Weekapaug Gruit “People with adventurous palates will always seek out the rare or unusual, and herbal beers are seeing some rising popularity. As brewers look for ways to distinguish themselves they will search for unusual ingredients and techniques.”

For those interested, International Gruit Day, a celebration of herbal beers and brewing, is held every February 1st.

Participating breweries each create a beer in honor of the day and serve it in their local breweries or pubs. In 2017 more than 30 breweries participated.

This ar ticle wa s under writ ten by Maryann Readal.

Literature Cited Rissanen, Mika and Juha Tahvanainen. 2014. Down beer street history in a pint glass. Accessed November 15, 2017.

Available from https://academia.edu/28640210/The_Reformation_had_some_help_from_hops

Bibliography Buhner, Stephen Harrod. Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation. Boulder, Colorado: Siris Books. 1998.

International Gruit Day. https://www.gruitday.com Smith, Gregg. The Beer Drinker’s Bible: Lore, Trivia & History. Boulder, Colorado: Siris Books. 1998.

-Beer in America The Early Years, 1587-1840: Beer’s Role in the Settling of America and the Birth of a Nation.

Boulder, Colorado: Siris Books. 1998.

The HERBARIST

Jacqui Highton

Looking back through history shows that some plants have had more than their fair share of influence upon us. The 2018 Herb of the Year, the hop plant, is a bitter herb with more than just a bitter taste.

It provides a fascinating look into how much one plant can impact social, religious, and economic factors throughout history.

THE HOP PLANTS The hop plant is classified in the genus Humulus. Although previous taxonomists placed it in the mulberry family Moraceae, it has been re-classified in the family Cannabaceae - along with cannabis and hemp. There are three species in the genus Humulus: H. lupulus L.; H. scandens (Lour.) Merr., and H. yunnanensis Hu. H. lupulus contains two infraspecific taxa: H. lupulus var. lupuloides E. Small and H. lupulus var. neomexicanus A. Nelson & Cockerell (The Plant List).

The genus name comes from the Slavic name for hop, Chmele, which was subsequently Latinized. The specific epithet lupulus

comes from lupus, a Latin diminutive translated as “a low (slinking) little wolf (plant)” (Tucker & DeBaggio 2009). This derives from the plant’s habit of climbing onto other plants like a wolf onto its prey (Engels & Juan 2006). The common name “hop” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word hoppan which means to climb (Grieve 1931.)

Hop plants are herbaceous perennials with aerial bines that die back each year. The perennial rhizome can live up to 10-20 years.

They are thought to originate from China and are native to the temperate zones of Europe, western Asia, and North America. In

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FRUIT OF THE BINE

temperate climate zones, hop pla nts grow ex tremely vigorously, reaching a height of up to 50 feet.

They can grow at the astonishing rate of about 12 inches per d ay (Koe t ter a nd Biendl 2010.)

T he t r ig ger for blossoming is a combination of plant height and day length. Day length and temperature are critical in setting its range limits, with 13 hou rs of su n l ig ht needed. Too far south the days are too short, while too far north the climate is too extreme for survival. They grow ideally between latitudes 38 and 51 degrees (e.g., Washington, D.C. to the south and Calgary, Alberta to the north) (Koetter and Biendl 2010).

Hop plants are dioecious, having separate male and female plants. Occasionally an individual plant might be monoecious, having both male and female flowers on a single plant.

These plants produce infertile seeds. Only female flowers are used in the production of beer (Belsinger and Tucker 2016).

Hop plants are categorized as bines, as distinct from vines. A bine is a pla nt t hat climbs when the stem grows around a support in the form of a helix. Many hooked ridged stem hairs or downward pointing bristles, known as trichomes, anchor the stem to its support structure. In contrast, vines have tendrils or suckers that grow and wrap around the support structure to

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facilitate climbing. The stem of a vine does not spiral up, but instead grows more or less straight. There is a saying to help remember the difference: ‘Beer uses bines and wine uses vines.’

The clockwise or counterclockwise twisting of the shoot’s growth is not the result of the stem following the sun. Each bine species is genetically programmed with its own growth direction.

Examples of clockwise bines are runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus L.) and bindweed (Convolvulvus spp). Counterclockwise bines include French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris var. vulgaris) and climbing honeysuckle (Lonicera spp). Darwin observed the growth and habits of hop shoots, amongst other species, in his research on the mechanism of movement and habits of climbing plants (Isnard and Silk 2009).

The flower is called a cone or strobile and is approximately oneinch long. Botanically speaking, it is an inflorescence known as a catkin. The central support or strig has 20-60 bracteoles (petals/ sepals) and each of these has two female floral parts at its base.

Lupulin glands are also located at the base of each bracteole. These glands produce lupulin, a gold colored substance that contains the resins and the essential oils that are necessary for making beer (van Wyk 2013). Male plants have small cones that contain a tiny fraction of the resin of a female cone. This explains the brewers’ preference for seedless female cones.

COMMERCIAL CULTIVATION Plants are grown in hop yards or hop gardens. They grow best in sandy, free-draining soil with a steady supply of nutrients and a neutral to slightly acidic pH. They need full sun and good air circulation to produce the best flavor and ideal growth. Most commercial propagation is by taking cuttings from the rhizomes

Hop garden credit: Walter Berg

(Garrett 2012).

Just as with vines, terroir (soil, topography, weather) plays an important part in the flavor characteristics. Each variety has its own combination of chemical constituents resulting in a unique flavor profile. There are numerous hop cultivars, but there are only four noble hops: Hallertau, Saaz, Spalt, and Tettnang (Cornell 2009). These cultivars draw their names from the Central European regions where they originated. Over the years plant breeders have developed varieties best suited for their climate and preferred style of beer, e.g. Oregon’s superbitter varieties, ‘Cascade’ and ‘Nugget’, and England’s ‘Fuggle’ and ‘East Kent Golding.’

HOP PLANTS THROUGHOUT HISTORY Although there is well documented archaeological evidence that humans have been making beer for 9,000 years, using hops to make beer is a relatively new process. Neve notes that the first use of wild hops in beer occurred in Finland, at least 3,000 years ago (Neve 1995). Allegedly, Pliny the Elder (23-79 C.E.) first mentioned hops, describing them as spring shoots eaten by the Romans as a vegetable (Smith 2012). Most people believe that hops were first cultivated on a larger scale between the 8th and 9th centuries in Bohemia, a central European region in what is now part of the Czech Republic, Bavaria, and Slovenia.

Precisely when hops began to be cultivated is surprisingly mysterious. The first written documentation of a hop garden dates to 768 C.E. from Hallertau, in Bavaria, Southern Germany, now one of the most famous of the hop growing regions of the world.

Abbott Adalhard first recorded using hops in brewing at the Benedictine Monastery of Corbie, northwestern France, in 822 C.E. He wrote about the daily rules of the monastery life, including brewing beer (Tucker and DeBaggio 2009). Unfortunately, these writings don’t specify whether hops were being used for flavoring or for preserving the beer.

The best evidence for larger scale commercial hop production comes from Northern Germany in the late 1100s to early 1200s when breweries of Hansa towns (a confederation of German trading towns) were exporting hopped beer (Cornell 2009). Some of the strongest, most scientific evidence of the early use of hops in beer come from the writings of Hildegard von Bingen, abbess of the Benedictine nunnery she established, near the town of Bingen on the Rhine. She was a mystical philosopher, a healer, a composer, a brewer, and a prolific writer on religious topics and the natural world.

Around 1150 Hildegard wrote a book called Physica Sacra (translation: The Natural World). She writes about de Hoppho (concerning hops), stating that because of its bitterness, hops kept “some putrefaction” from drinks. She knew that the grain infusion

used to make beer, called wort, had to be boiled to be effective. She goes on to say that hops “make melancholy grow in man, makes the soul of man sad and weighs down the inner organs” (Cornell 2009).

Although a taste for hopped beer began in the 11th century, commonplace use of hops for beer making in Europe really took hold in the 15th and 16th centuries. The earliest documentation of the import of hopped beer into England reports it came from Holland between 1362 and 1372. Evidence of the first brewer of hopped beer in England appears in 1412 when Agnes Smyth, known as the “Dutchman,” was brewing in Colchester (Cornell 2009).

Henry VI banned the use of hops in beer, referring to it as “an unwholesome weed.” Henry VIII declared hops an aphrodisiac that would drive his people to sinful behavior. Not until the reign of Edward VI (1547 – 1553) was the hops ban lifted (LeStrange 1977). Even in the plays of Shakespeare we see the preference for ale over beer by looking at the drinking choices of his characters and how ale is cast in a positive light. For example, Autolycus champions ale in A Winter’s Tale (1623), “For a quart of ale is a dish for a king.” In Two Gentlemen of Verona (c. 1589 – 1593), Launce declares that one of the virtues of the woman he loves is the fact that “she brews good ale” (Cornell 2014). Later, John Evelyn, English diarist and gardener (1670), declares quite categorically that “Hops transmuted our wholesome ale into beer … preserves the drink indeed but repays the pleasure in tormenting diseases and a shorter life.”

An ironic note is that in England hops were being legislated out of beer while at the same time they were being legislated into beer in continental Europe. On the continent hops had become an important commodity known as “green gold” and the source of wealth for both the brewers and the growers. In a move to safeguard this important source of revenue, the Bavarian Duke Wilhelm IV created the Bavarian Beer Purity Law of 1516. It stated that beer could only be made of barley, water, and hops. Brewers did not know about yeast at that time. The law has gone through many revisions during its five centuries, but it is still part of German law today in the form of the Reinheitsgebot (Oliver 2012).

RELIGION AND BEER Prior to using hops to make beer, brewers added a wide variety of herbs, collectively known as gruit. Catholic monasteries maintained impressive herb and spice gardens, primarily for use in brewing ale, each one often making a unique gruit blend.

Further, the Catholic church had jurisdiction over much of the uncultivated land where wild herbs grew, essentially controlling the making and sale of the gruit blends to the home brewers and ‘spicers’, who were employed by affluent households. The taxes on

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the sale of gruit generated considerable revenue for the church.

Ale was a staple of the commoners and nobility, more like food than drink and consumed with each meal. Many thousands of home brewers met the huge demand for ale. Prior to The Protestant Reformation most of these were women, known as alewives or brewsters. It was one of the few trades available to medieval women. They brewed at home weekly since the shelf life of ale was only about a week or so and sold the excess locally (Bennett 1996).

The central European tradition of using hops in beer making never came under the control of the Catholic Church, as had the gruits in medieval Britain. Two primary reasons are responsible for the rise of hops and the demise of gruit in the brewing of beer: The Protestant Reformation initiated by Martin Luther and the Bavarian Beer Purity Law of 1516.

The arrival of Protestantism in the 1500s changed the Christian religious dynamic in Britain. Today it is difficult for us to understand the impact and importance of this change. To distance themselves from the Catholic Church, the Protestants only drank beer made with hops. The puritanical stance against the use of herbs labeled as aphrodisiac and psychotropic was strong. Since alewives did most of the brewing with gruit in England, it is easy to see how the Protestants labeled these women as witches.

In Protestant Germany, men largely dominated brewing and organized brewing guilds. They had the power and the capital to scale up production of hopped beer. Women were not included in the guilds and had no say in government. The introduction of hopped beer to England reinforced the control of brewing by men.

All of this led to the demise of the alewives’ gruit mixes in brewing done locally on a small scale (Oliver 2012; Bennett 1996).

photos of the round oast houses or hop kilns with their lopsided white caps perched on top of steep roofs. It’s in these buildings that the hops are dried soon after picking. The hops are laid on vertically stacked thin perforated drying floors high above the charcoal fires underneath. The warm air circulates around the hop cones. Heat escapes from the cowl on top of the roof, which rotates with the wind. Fresh green hops contain about 80% moisture. It’s important to reduce the moisture content of the hops down to 6% as soon as possible because the cones can mold, quickly turning rancid (Oliver 2012).

There is another less well documented aspect to the harvesting of hops in Kent. For centuries Londoners travelled into Kent each summer to pick hops. During the 1920s - 1950s about 200,000 East Enders, mainly women and children, made the annual pilgrimage to the Kent hop gardens, travelling on trains known as “hoppers specials.” Many farmers invited the same families back each year and entire streets would relocate en masse, together with London police who were brought in to maintain order (McGrath 2009).

The money earned for the month of picking could equal ten times a week’s pay for an average working man. Sulphur based insecticides used on the hop plants caused serious eye infections known as ‘hop eye’ which in some cases led to blindness. The stiff hairs of the bines also caused skin irritation (McGrath 2009).

CHEMISTRY OF HOPS

the beer. Linalool provides a citrusy bergamot aroma, myrcene a geranium f loral, and farnesene a gardenia f loral. The most prevalent essential oil is humulene which gives beer a woodsy, balsamic aroma. Researchers have identified upward of 300 compounds that contribute to the aroma profile. Not all are pleasant, and some can confer an ‘off aroma’ (Oliver 2012).

OTHER USES OF HOPS Monks at Corbie, France produced a brown dye from hop sap and a yellow dye from the cones and leaves. Stems were used to make rope, sacking material, and paper. The coat of arms of King Wenceslas of Bohemia (1406) contains hops in recognition of the belief that bathing in brewery sludge had rejuvenating effects (Koetter and Biendl 2010).

Several cultures have used hops for medicinal purposes, claiming varying benefits. Paracelsus (1493-1541) recommended hops as a digestive and Bock (1498-1554) used hop shoots for cleaning the blood and liver. The Syrian physician, Mesue the Younger (d. 1015), utilized it to reduce fever and purify the blood.

The Cherokee used it as a sedative, an anti–rheumatic as well as for gynecologic problems and kidney stones. Ayurvedic medicine recommends it for headaches and for its antibacterial action (Koetter and Biendl 2010).

A popular hops’ application is as a sleep aid. The Delaware Tribe of North America, Arab doctors in the 12th century, and Indian

Ayurvedic practitioners have all suggested hops for its relaxation and sedative properties (Koetter and Biendl 2010). King George III and Abraham Lincoln were famously known to use hop pillows to induce sleep (Johnson et al 2012). Recent scientific studies in Spain looking into sleep disorders and anxiety suggest that hops do have a sedative effect. It appears that the bitter acids in hops work in concert to increase the levels in the brain of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) (Franco et al 2012).

Just as the bitter components serve to stop unwanted bacterial growth in beer, they also inhibit the growth of bacteria that can cause body odor and are the primary active ingredient in several natural deodorant products (Dumas et al 2009).

One of the most recently discovered and exciting uses for hops is in the bee keeping industry. Research has shown that the beta acids (HBA) act as a miticide and can successfully kill the incredibly destructive varroa mite. It appears that the HBA is transferred from bee to bee in the hive and topical applications of just 1% beta acids result in 100% mite mortality while the bees remain unaffected (DeGrandi-Hoffman et al 2012).

Unless we are a keen brewer of beer, it’s not likely that many of us in The Herb Society of America would think to plant a hop bine in our herb gardens. However, this bright, almost lime green bine, given free reign along a fence or trained over a pergola, would be a beautiful and, as we now know, useful addition. It is just as deserving of a spot in the garden as parsley, sage, or lavender.

What exactly do hops do for beer? Their effect is threefold: providing bitterness, stabilizing the foam, and helping to preserve the beer. The bitterness of hops comes from alpha and beta acids.

The alpha acids are called humulones: the beta acids, lupulones.

The primary source of the bitterness are the alpha acids, making THE HOP PLANTS IN MORE RECENT up about 3 to 4% of the cone weight in the aroma varieties. In the BRITISH HISTORY superalpha bittering hop varieties (the product of many recent Anyone familiar with the English county of Kent has seen breeding programs) they can make up over 20% of the weight. The amount in any given crop varies from year to year and can impact the price for a harvest.

During the boiling of the wort, the alpha acids undergo isomerization and are converted into water soluble iso-alpha acids or isohumulones.

T he boi l i ng mu st la st long enou g h for isomerization to take place. While these make the beer taste bitter, the overall profile of the bittering potential and aroma of a hop variety depends on the ratio of alpha to beta acids. The ideal ratio is 1:1. The more recently developed superalpha hop varieties contain a greater ratio of alpha to beta Oast barn in Oak Hill, Kent, England acids (Oliver 2012). credit: Oast House Archive Essential oils in the hops provide the aroma to

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The HERBARIST

credit: Pixabay

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Annual Research Grant Report (2015/2016) The Herb Society of America

Literature Cited Belsinger, S. and A.O. Tucker. 2016. The culinary herbal. Portland, OR: Timber Press.

Delini K. Samarasinghe West Virginia University

Bennett, J. 1996. Ale, beer and brewsters in England: women’s work in a changing world, 1300-1600. New York: Oxford University Press.

Cornell, M. 2003. Beer The story of the pint: the history of Britain’s most popular drink. London: Headline Publishing Ltd. _____ 2009. A short history of hops. Accessed December 10, 2017. Available from http://zythophile.co.uk/2009/11/20/a-short-history-of-hops/ _____ 2014. Why Shakespeare liked ale but didn’t like beer. Accessed December 10, 2017. Available from http://zythophile.co.uk./2014/2/12/why Shakespeare-liked-ale-but-didn’t-like-beer DeGrandi-Hoffman, G., F. Ahumada, G. Probasco, and L. Schantz. 2012. The effects of beta acids from hops (H. lupulus) on mortality of Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae). Experimental and Applied Acarology 58: 407-421.

Dumas, E.R., Michaud, A.E., Bergerson, C., LaFrance, L., Mortillo, S. Gafner, 2009. Deodorant effects of a supercritical hops extract: Antibacterial activity against Corynebacterium xerosis and Staphylococcus epidermidis and efficacy testing of a hops/zinc ricinoleate stick in human through the sensory evaluation of axillary deodorancy. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 8(3):197-204 Engels, G. and J. Juan. 2006. Hops Humulus lupulus L. HerbalGram 71: 1, 4-5.

Franco, L., C. Sanchez, R. Bravo, A.B. Rodriguez, et al. 2012. The sedative effect of non-alcoholic beer in healthy female nurses. PLoS ONE 7(7): e37290. https:// doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037290 Grieve, M. 1931. A modern herbal. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co. Isnard, S. and W.K. Silk. 2009. Moving with climbing plants from Charles Darwin’s time into 21st Century. American Journal of Botany 96: 205-1221.

Johnson, R.L., S. Foster, T. Low Dog, and D. Kiefer. 2012. National Geographic guide to medicinal herbs: the world’s most effective healing plants. Washington, DC: National Geographic Partners LLC. Koetter, U. and M. Biendl. 2010. Hops (Humulus lupulus): A review of its historic and medicinal uses. HerbalGram 87: 44-57.

LeStrange, Richard. 1977. A history of herbal plants. New York: Arco Publishing Company Inc. McGrath, M. 2009. Hopping. Harper Collins.

Neve, R.A. 1995. Hops. In Smart, J. & Simmonds, N.W. (eds.) Evolution of crop plants (2nd ed.) London: Longman.

Oliver, G. ed..2012. The Oxford companion to beer. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Smith, P. 2012. The world’s most expensive vegetable. Accessed December 16, 2017. Available from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/theworlds-most-expensive-vegetable-72826862/ The Plant List. Humulus. Accessed December 3, 2018. Available from http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Humulus Tucker, A.O. and T. DeBaggio. 2009. The encyclopedia of herbs A comprehensive reference to herbs of flavor and fragrance. Portland, OR: Timber Press.

Van Wyk, Ben-Erik. 2013. Culinary herbs & spices of the world. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Bibliography Arrowsmith, N. Essential Herbal Wisdom. A Complete Exploration of 50 Remarkable Herbs. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications. 2009.

Buhner, Stephen H. Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentations. Boulder, CO: Siris Books/Brewers Publications. 1998.

Rinzler, C.A. The New Complete Book of Herbs, Spices and Condiments. A Nutritional, Medical, and Culinary Guide. New York: Checkmark Books. 2001.

Stewart, A. The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create The World’s Great Drinks. Chappell Hill, NC: Algonquin Books. 2013.

Throop, P. (trans.) Hildegard von Bingen’s Physica: The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press. 1998.

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The HERBARIST

HSA Research Grants and Reports Barbara J. Williams The contract signed by The Herb Society Research Grant program recipients requires them to write a report at the end of the grant period, which is usually a year. This is one such report. Readers may find it incomplete.

It reports on this student’s first year work toward a master’s degree.

Graduate students in the plant sciences are expected to help their advisors raise funds to support the research they will perform.

The stated hypothesis in this article is very broad and is not really being tested by the research this student is doing. The results will fit into the larger picture that will come out of this lab, a nd t he student ’s na me w i l l be associated with later publication of results.

Research never goes as planned. You hypothesize about an outcome. You may prove it, but often you don’t.

Proposed methods sometimes don’t work, and the alternatives often add time to the acquisition of a graduate degree. One year is never enough time to complete research toward a degree.

This article gives us a glimpse of what part of this student’s thesis will report.

Our program does not fund entire projects, but it seems to have helped to create a scientist.

M

y master’s degree research is examining the potential of Artemisia annua (sweet sagewort) as a crop in partnership with a doctoral student who is also conducting research on this plant (Victor Adelanwa). We chose to tackle its potential as a cash crop that despite the demand and low supply for artemisinin, has not been adopted as an orthodox crop (Jessing, Duke and Cedergreen 2014).

Artemisia annua L. is the main source for the antimalarial drug artemisinin, recommended

by WHO, against the multi-drug resistant malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum (World Health Organization 2015). Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone synthesized via both the mevalonate pathway and methylerythritol phosphate pathway and stored in glandular trichomes of aerial parts of the plant (Wen and Yu 2011; Towler and Weathers 2007). It is believed that the last step of artemisinin biosynthesis is non-enzymatic. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), presumably either singlet oxygen or hydrogen peroxide, react with the immediate precursor dihydroartemisinic acid to form artemisinin (Brown and Sy 2004; Covello 2008). ROS production within tissues increases due to the resulting oxidative stress generated when plants are exposed to biotic or abiotic stresses (Baxter et al. 2014). We hypothesized that salt stress to A. annua increases the production of artemisinin and its intermediate compounds.

To test our hypothesis, out of twelve accessions of A. annua, we chose three clones with highest levels of artemisinin (ART), and its intermediate compounds dihydroartemisinic (DHAA) acid and artemisinic acid (AA). We later exposed them to two types of salt (NaCl and Na2SO4) at two levels (EC=3.11 dS/m and EC=6.22 dS/m), plus a control without added salt (EC=2.25 dS/m). Plant samples were collected and preserved for analyses: measurement of activity of antioxidative enzymes, quantification of oxidative stress by-products, expression of genes involved in artemisinin biosynthesis pathway, and measurement of artemisinin and intermediate compounds.

The experiment was conducted in the West Virginia University greenhouse during summer 2015 (from 20-Jun until 23-Sep). Small cuttings (about 4 cm) were planted on silica sand medium (3-Q ROK®,US Silica) with rooting hormone and placed in mist room for about 30 days for rooting. Fifty rooted cuttings from each clone were transplanted to 6”diameter standard greenhouse pots filled with the same silica sand, labeled with each salt type, and concentration to be received. The 150 pots were arranged into a completely randomized block design in a greenhouse space.

Plants were watered within the first 24 hours. We then began applying Hoagland’s solution (a standard hydroponic medium) for sixty days. Beginning with 1/8X Hoagland’s solution the concentration of the solution was increased gradually to 1X within the first thirty days and continued for the next thirty days. Salt stress treatments were applied after sixty days.

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ANNUAL RESEARCH GRANT REPORT (2015/2016)

ANNUAL RESEARCH GRANT REPORT (2015/2016)

the same ionic concentrations to the treatment groups using 1X Hoagland’s solution plus salts (NaCl or Na2SO4) at two levels. The fertilizer pH was maintained at 5.5 throughout the experiment.

After 15 days of salt stress application, plants were harvested and stored according to three criteria. 1) Whole aerial parts of about onethird of plants representing all five treatment groups were weighed and left to dry in a 60˚C oven to measure weight of dry biomass. 2) Young fully-developed leaf samples from the rest of the plants were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored in an ultrafreezer (‐80⁰C) for gene expression analysis. 3) Leaves from young parts of the plant (at about 10-12 cm from apical and sub-apical meristems) were harvested, snap frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored in the freezer (‐20⁰C) for biochemical profiling analysis.

Standard curves for each compound of interest are being established; half of the samples have been extracted and are ready for quantification.

At present, quantification of artemisinin and its related compounds are ongoing due to changes in the analysis method (UHPLC‐UV to GC‐MS) as well as the long queue to use the piece of equipment, especially during the set-up phase.

Figure 2. Sampling of images taken of adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces (clone C) using fluorescence microscope with GFP filter. Top row (from left to right): abaxial surface of clone C (highest in artemisinin), Clone I (highest in dihydroartemisinic acid), and clone H (highest in artemisinic acid). Bottom row (left to right): adaxial surface of respective clones depicted in top row. Notice a higher density of glandular trichomes in the abaxial surface. This phenomenon was noticed for all twelve clones of the collection (conclusion still pending statistical analysis after better defining parameters for automatic counting using ImageJ software). Bars = 500 µm

Figure 1. Artemisia annua plants growing in greenhouse at West Virginia University. Top left: experiment arranged in random block design. Top right: plants at 60 days after transplant into pots (last day before applying salt stress treatment). Bottom left: plants after 75 days of experiment. Bottom right: H clone treated with NaCl (EC=6.22dS/m) showed the most stress symptoms compared to the control on right.

The oven-dried plant material was weighed after the samples reached a constant weight. About 10‐12 grams from each plant sample were harvested and freeze‐dried for biochemical analysis.

The remaining of the frozen leaf material has been reserved for enzyme activity analysis.

Protocols for biochemical analyses have been tested and optimized using 96‐well microplates. Trichome are glandular locations of artemisinin and precursors on leaves. Trichome densities (both adaxial and abaxial faces of the leaf) for the three clones used in this project were calculated by imaging leaf samples using fluorescence stereomicroscopy (Figs. 2‐3).

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Figure 4. Optimization of GC‐MS metabolic quantification. Top: GC‐MS chromatogram for extract of crushed leaf sample (without grinding). Bottom: Chromatogram for extract from ground leaf sample. Note that the peak height for ground sample is higher than the crushed leaf, showing that the former is a preferred method of metabolite extraction.

Figure 5. Metabolite identification in GC‐MS system.

Fragmentation pattern for compounds of interest.

Citations Baxter, A., R. Mittler, and N. Suzuki. 2014. ROS as key players in plant stress signaling. Journal of Experimental Botany 65: 1229-1240.

Figure 3. Abaxial and adaxial glandular trichome densities on leaves of the three different A. annua clones used in this study. Notice that clone C has more trichomes on the abaxial sides than clones I and H. Interestingly, our preliminary results on artemisinin quantification showed that clone C is also the genotype with highest yield of this compound.

Our first attempts to perform metabolic profiling on UHPLC-UV 192nm (λ ) were not satisfactory for artemisinin. Spurious peaks in the sample close to the artemisinin peak led us to question whether we were really measuring the metabolites of interest. After extensive trials using the protocol published by Ferreira and Gonzalez (2008), we were unable to get satisfactory separation with our specific column. Therefore, we chose to proceed with GC‐MS (gas chromatography – mass spectrometry) instead, which produced excellent results (Figs. 4‐5). We also progressed to optimize the extraction protocol (freeze‐dry and grind the material with a zirconia bead beater, extract compounds with hexane solvent using 15‐min sonication, followed by five‐min centrifugation at 12,000 rpm, and filtering of supernatant using a Millipore membrane).

The HERBARIST

Brown G.D. and L.K. Sy. 2004. In vivo transformations of dihydroartemisinic acid in Artemisia annua plants. Tetrahedron 60: 1139-1159.

Covello, P.S. 2008. Making artemisinin. Phytochemistry 69: 2881-2885.

Ferreira, J.F. and Gonzalez, J.M. 2008. Chemical and biological stability o artemisinin in bovine rumen fluid and its kinetics in goats (Capra hircus).

Rev Bras Parisitol Vet Supple 1: 103-109.

Jessing, K.K., S.O. Duke, and N. Cedergreen. 2014. Potential ecological roles of artemisinin produced by Artemisia annua L. Journal of Chemical Ecology 40: 100-117.

Towler, M.J. and P.J. Weathers. 2007. Evidence of artemisinin production from IPP stemming from both the mevalonate and nonmevalonate pathways. Plant Cell Reports 26: 2129-2136.

Wen, W. and R. Yu. 2011. Artemisinin biosynthesis and its regulatory enzymes: progress and perspective. Pharmacognosy Review 5: 189-194.

World Health Organization (WHO). 2015. Guidelines for the treatment of malaria. 3rd edition.

The enzyme activity and antioxidant quantification analyses proposed in the project are underway. Protocols have been optimized and ten samples were fully analyzed for catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and peroxidase. However, the data was permanently lost (and there was no back‐up). Therefore, the samples will have to be reanalyzed. Our lab has resources to redo these analyses, and there are extra samples in the ultrafreezer. These analyzes will be carried out after the end of the fall semester and will be included in my master’s thesis.

Gene expression analyses have been initiated, but not completed yet.

Primers for all genes of interest (structural genes: DXS1, DXR1, HMGR1, FPS, ADS, CYP71AV1, CPR, ADH, DBR2, ALDH1, PYL9; regulatory genes: bZIP1, ORA, WRKY1, ERF1, ERF2, MYC2, TAR1) have been designed and synthesized. Primers for two canonical housekeeping genes (ACTIN and GAPDH) have been designed and synthesized as well. Metabolic data will be correlated with gene expression under the experimental conditions to understand how salt stress is inducing structural and regulatory genes that ultimately control metabolic phenotypes. These results are also an essential part of my research thesis for my Masters in Genetics and Developmental Biology program.

Quantitative PCR analyses will be completed next spring.

This grant has provided essential funding for my research. I would like to express my appreciation to The Herb Society of America for providing me with research funding to conduct the research for my master’s thesis. This research grant opened an avenue in my life that will not be closed.

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The BAY

Herbarist

An Herb Society of America Guide

Any of the various forms of Laurus nobilis can be used when creating topiary but our favorite ones are the common bay, Laurus nobilis or the golden bay, Laurus nobilis ‘Aurea’. During the winter months be sure to protect your topiary from cold conditions below 30°F and give it as much sun as possible.

Creating a topiary is a lot of fun and certainly gives you great reward to see career of documenting rare and endangered plants began with a 2005 grant what you have accomplished as well as created.

BIOGRAPHIES

Lotus McElfish’s

from the American Society of Botanical Artists. Her works have been shown in such varied sites as the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, the US Botanic Gardens in Washington, D.C., and the Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos. Lotus is a member of The Herb Society of America, Hill Country Unit.

on Bay and OLD BAY® Dr.Medicinal JamesComments A. “Jim” Duke, Ph.D .,

Dr. Duke is an economic botanist and ethnobotanist, retired an Economic Botanist fromDr. the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1995, after 27 years of service. He published over 30 books, the best seller James A. “Jim” Duke who retired The Green Pharmacy among them. At the USDA Dr. Duke directed a program collecting plants from China, Ecuador, Panama, and Syria, from the Recently with I published Duke’s Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible.

Many United in collaboration the NCI Cancer-Screening Program.

Dr. Duke served as Honorary President of The Society (2006 – 2008) and Biblical spices have what I call level two evidence, with clinical proof States received the Gertrude B. Foster Award for Excellence in Herbal Literature in 2011.

Department (much more important, and usually from recent research) or historical of Agriculture (USDA, Beltsville, approval by Commission E (A German Commission that assessed the safety and Maryland) in 1995. He has more than 30 efficacy of herbs) for certain indications. have scored over honorary Ipresident for The Herb3,000 Society of America (2016 – 2018), author, botanical books to his credit. Currently, medicinal herbs on a four level classification of evidence for efficacy. television host, and conservationist is one of America’s most recognized gardening experts. His show Garden Home airs on he teaches medical botany as distinguished lecturer with the Master public television.

Smithevidence uses his Arkansas f = folkloric only home, Moss Mountain Farm, as an epicenter for promoting the local food of Sciences Program in Herbal Medicine 1 =organic animal,gardening, chemicaland (isolated phytochemical, in vitro or in vivo) He or created his farm to serve as a place of at the Tai Sophia Institute in Laurel, movement, the preservation of heritage poultry breeds.

Maryland. He was appointed honorary epidemiological evidence inspiration, education, and conservation. president of The Herb Society of 2 = clinical proof for a plant’s extracts (or historical approval by America for 2006-2008.

Germany’s Commission E., or by the Caribbean TRAMIL Commission

P. Allen Smith,

Photo ©2009 Helen Lowe Metzman

3 = clinical proof for the plant itself (for example bilberry, garlic, ginger, turmeric etc.) (or historical

by Germany’s Commission anapproval active Society member for nearly 35 years, has held various roles on E., or by the Caribbean TRAMIL Commission)

Lois Sutton, Ph.D.,

the HSA board of directors including The Herbarist chair, symposia chair, education chair, vice-president and president (2008 – 2010). Having recently moved from Houston, Texas (zone 9b), to Asheville, North Carolina (zone 6b-7a), she finds herself DIABETES learning about herb gardening once again!

In the case of bay, herb of the year, I still have no level 2 evidence for any indication. But bay leaf was one of four spices (bay, cinnamon, clove, turmeric) studied by USDA’s Dr. Richard Anderson. He suggested that less than a spoonful of either could improve insulin metabolism dramatically. So in my The is the curator of the National Herb Garden and is a member of The Herb Society of America, Green Pharmacy (1997) I created the formula “dia-beanie soup” food pharmacy Potomac Unit. She is also a certified arborist (trees can be herbal, too!) with the International Society of Arboriculture. Working for diabetes.

Chrissy Moore

in the world’s best herbal classroom for the past 20 years has provided myriad learning opportunities, including research of plant material for the garden and for The Herbarist articles, presenting garden tours for people of all ages, speaking engagements for herb © The Herb Society of America, 9019 Kirtland Chardon Rd., Kirtland, OH, 44094, (440) 256-0514 http://www.herbsociety.org or gardening groups, and the always interesting visitor interactions!

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Mary Bellis Williams, Ph.D., is a long-term member of The Herb Society of America,

in the Wisconsin and Baton Rouge Units. She has been an herb gardener since childhood, following in the tradition of her Welsh, Scottish, and Irish grandparents. She grew up singing these old folk songs, but it wasn’t until she joined the Wisconsin Unit that she realized how many of them focused on herbs! Her academic background is in urban education. She has written numerous professional articles and books. She developed the Behavior Frequency Scale, a tool used in identifying and helping prenatally drug- and alcohol-affected children.

Paris Wolfe An award-winning writer with 33 years-experience, Paris has been blogging about herbs since

July 2015 when she became blogmaster for The Herb Society of America. Her success is evidenced by capturing Feedspot’s 2016 Top Herb Blog for The Herb Society of America Travel + Eat with Paris Wolfe blog. An herb gardener for nearly 30 years the blog is a natural combination of passions. Her favorite collection is her lemon-scented herbs – lemon thyme, lemon verbena, lemon basil, lemon balm. Or maybe it’s mojito mint!

Jacqui Highton Originally from England, Jacqui has been a member of The Herb Society of America,

South Texas Unit for 22 years and has served as secretary, education chair and unit chair. She holds a B.Sc. in geology and an M.Sc. in micropalaeontology. A lifelong gardener, she enjoys cooking and crafting with herbs and is particularly interested in herbal folklore and history.

Delini Samarasinghe, the 2015 HSA Research Grant recipient, attended West Virginia

University in the Genetics and Developmental Biology Program. She completed her undergraduate work at West Virginia University and The University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her interests include plant molecular genetics, physiology and biochemistry.

You, our members and units, have supported our birthday celebration with

cards, gifts, and the greetings seen in this issue of The Herbarist. Through your gifts, our HSA programs can move forward; our headquarters can be staffed and supplies can be purchased; grants can be given for research and to classrooms. Because of you and your gifts, we all learn more about herbs and can educate others.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

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The Herb Society of America, Pioneer Unit Celebrating our 25th Anniversary in 2019 Supporting the Herb Gardens at Festival Hill in Round Top and the Brenham Elementary Sensory Garden in the Brenham ISD Outdoor Learning Center

Come Join us at the 24th Annual Herbal Forum at Round Top March 15 & 16, 2019 “Tea: Herb of Comfort and Friendship” with a focus on P.O. Box 23 Round Top, TX 78954 Camellia sinensis herbsocietypioneer.org Our Herb for 2019

For information on the Herbal Forum please visit herbsocietypioneer.org, festivalhill.org, or call 979-249-3129

The New Orleans Unit invites you to visit _________

u ________

Let your herbal interest not ebb, Dig into our site, We’re planted on the web, See thymely us day ‘n nite:

The Salvia Collection at the New Orleans Botanical Garden

www.centralohioherbsociety.org

and the charming

Walled Herb Garden at Longue Vue House and Gardens ________ _________

Join us for Triple Oaks’ 44th Annual

HERB WEEKEND

u

To find out more, visit: www.neworleanscitypark.com/botanical-garden www.longuevue.com

MAY 25-26, 2019

www.herbsocietynola.com

Triple Oaks Nursery & Herb Garden

Like and follow us on Facebook! Herb Society of America - New Orleans Unit

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2359 Delsea Dr., Franklinville, NJ 08322 (856) 694-4272 • www.tripleoaks.com

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The jar below contains organic herbal tea that is

.

A. certified organic B. sustainably sourced C. handcrafted in a zero-waste facility D. absolutely delicious E. all of the above

Organic Evening Repose Tea

MountainRoseHerbs.com | 800.879.3337 Your online purveyor of organic botanicals

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The Virginia

THE CONNECTICUT UNIT C E L E B R AT E S

invites you to visit the herb gardens we designed, planted & help maintain

JOHN MARSHALL HOUSE

MCGUIRE VA MEDICAL CENTER POLYTRAUMA REHABILITATION CENTER

HENRICUS HISTORICAL PARK

, MAYMONT S “HERBS GALORE & MORE!”

1201 BROAD ROCK ROAD • RICHMOND, VA

818 EAST MARSHALL STREET • RICHMOND, VA

251 HENRICUS PARK ROAD • CHESTER,VA

Original pen & ink drawing by Georgia Middlebrook, CT Unit member, 1982-2016

OF THE HER B SOCIET Y OF A MER ICA

The 20th Anniversary of our Herb Garden in Elizabeth Park Hartford, CT

1700 HAMPTON STREET • RICHMOND, VA

Visit our booth at Maymont’s Herbs Galore & More!

This popular herb festival is Virginia’s largest and oldest herbal event, held the last Saturday of April each year.

Our unit specializes in peppers,

over fifty differentLois varieties!

Sutton, PhD.

T H E V I RGI N I A COM MON W E A LT H U N I T H A S BE E N A U N I T OF T H E H E R B SOCI ET Y OF A M E R ICA SI NCE 1987

Sanguinaria canadensis — In the Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area, William Penn State Forest, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Photo: Nicholas A. Tonelli

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And, the 30th Year of our York Prison Garden, Niantic, CT and Congratulates the Herb Society of America on its 85th Year!

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We Celebrate Our 60 Years!

Sustainably grown, freeze dried herbs Green Bay, WI 920.430.0543

The Western Pennsylvania Unit of The Herb Society of America Founded in 1958

Celebrate Herbs 40 years at Cranbrook Gardens The Herb Society of America Southern Michigan Unit hsasmu.org hsasmu@gmail.com

WWW.WESTERNPAHSA.ORG

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info@FrozenInThymeHerbs.com www.FrozenInThymeHerbs.com

Celebrating 85 years of

The Herb Society of America Colonial Triangle of Virginia Unit

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Texas Thyme Unit The Herb Society of America

Happy 85th Birthday Herb Society of America

THE NEW ENGLAND UNIT VISIT TH E TEACH IN G H ERB GARD EN AT TH E GARD EN S AT ELM BAN K, M ASSACH U SETTS H O RTICU LU RAL SO CIETY, W ELLESLEY, M A

From The Texas Thyme Unit, South Central District, Huntsville, Texas We invite you to visit our GreenBridgesTM Ella Ruth Herb Garden and Children’s Sensory Garden at the Wynne Home Arts Center.

FIND US AT W W W .NEUHSA.ORG FACEBOOK/NEW ENGLAND UNIT

The Texas Thyme Unit is a 501(c)3 non-profit, whose mission is to promote the knowledge, use, and delight of herbs through educational programs, research, and sharing the experience with the community. www.texasthymeunit.org www.facebook.com/texasthymeunit

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Join us for our Garden Bus Tour in June & Educational Symposium in October.

Visit our herb gardens: (1)Penn State University, Berks Campus, Reading PA; (2 & 3) * White Horse Tavern & Mouns Jones House at Morlatton Village in Douglassville, PA; (4) *Daniel Boone Homestead, Birdsboro, PA * National Historic Sites

For Unit information and Herbal Delights Symposium details visit www.paheartlandhsa.org

Congratulations to HSA for furthering the use and delight of herbs since 1933!

Happy 85th Anniversary Glücklicher 85. Jahrestag Frankenmuth Mid-Michigan Unit

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Non-Profit Organization

US POSTAGE

PAID

Cleveland, Ohio Permit No. 69

9019 Kirtland-Chardon Rd. Kirtland, Ohio 44094

ISBN 9780997924237

9 780997 924237

51650 >