The Triclinium

Its very odd that people have forgotten that plant medicine was the only medicine for most of human history

 

And of course the fact that much of our modern medicines are synthesized forms of the chemical compounds found in those very plants that people have used for those millennia...

Its very odd that people have forgotten that plant medicine was the only medicine for most of human history

 

And of course the fact that much of our modern medicines are synthesized forms of the chemical compounds found in those very plants that people have used for those millennia...

 

Asprin to name just one! but white willow ( tastes vile) or meadowsweet (acceptable)dont give you acetylanide poisoning but do give you plenty of salycillic acid.And Vallium what a an abortive synthesis of valerian.

Exactly the reason why it is inadvisable to try random plant medicines without knowing what you are doing...you see them everywhere in stores, and in books and such. It's kind of scary, people have no idea what they are actually taking and since things are not regulated, how much of it.

 

Though it's amazing how helpful the knowledge of a few different plants can be. I'd love to meet a Roman medicus and learn his trade

I wonder how they even came up with such complicated names for these plants.

I wonder how they even came up with such complicated names for these plants.

do you mean the Linnaean name classification of individual plant types or the toxicological catergories?

The individual plant types and the toxilogical categories. By the way pertinax, do you have any orchids, cuz those are my favorites types. I once saw a documentary on orchid hunters, and from then on, they became really cool flowers to me. Have you had any aspirations to name a newly found plant after yourself.

The individual plant types and the toxilogical categories. By the way pertinax, do you have any orchids, cuz those are my favorites types. I once saw a documentary on orchid hunters, and from then on, they became really cool flowers to me. Have you had any aspirations to name a newly found plant after yourself.

This will need a blog to itself-so I will oblige but will have to ask you to be patient.I regret I have no orchids though I do have photographs of wild pyramidal orchids from open woodland habitats. My brother in law is waiting to see if a type of moss will be named after him ( ) as he is a specialist in mosses and lichens, and is due to publish a book very shortly! Im happy enough learning more medicinal usesfor the existing plants.

Now FVC I have found a link which tells how Linnaeus (1707-1778) systemised the naming of plants. The basic method is via the reproductive characteristics of the plant. Prior to his time although much sytematic work was done endless confusion could arise if similar plants were mistaken for each other-this as you know from Yarrow and Hemlock can get you into difficulties. So genus and specific names were laid down-the binomial classification-just as well because plants from various continents were turning up all the time and getting confused with related species

 

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/linnaeus.html

 

look here to see a brief life and idea of nomenclature

Thank you very much Pertinax.