Herbarium of the Bizarre Meredith Hemphill

I forgot to mention this in the episode, so bonus fact: mad honey poisoning can theoretically be fatal, but no one has actually died from it since the 1800s. These days, we have treatments for severe poisonings, one of which is actually atropine!



Music by James Milor from Pixabay



Information provided by:


https://theapiarist.org/mad-honey/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/mad-honey-red-hallucinogen
Risks for human health related to the presence of grayanotoxins in certain honey by the European Food Safety Authority (2023) https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7866
Grayanotoxin poisoning: ‘Mad honey disease’ and beyond by Suze A. Jansen et al. (2012) https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12012-012-9162-2
https://bigthink.com/health/mad-honey/
https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/hidden-poison-rhododendron-nectar
Mad honey: uses, intoxicating/poisoning effects, diagnosis, and treatment by Sana Ullah et al. (2018) https://doi.org/10.1039%2Fc8ra01924j
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_honey
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron

Featuring several detours into catmint, which is almost, but not quite, the same thing.



Article on catnip from my defunct blog: https://encyclopaediafelidae.com/crazy-for-catnip/



Music by James Milor from Pixabay



Information provided by:


Catnip: Its raison d’être by T. Eisner (1964)
https://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/perennials/catmint-vs-catnip/
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181211103125.htm
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/catnip-nepeta-cataria/
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e433
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/nepeta-cataria/
Catnip and oestrous behaviour in the cat by G. F. Palen and G. V. Goddard (1966) https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(66)80100-8
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010828075659.htm
Inheritance of the catnip response in domestic cats by N. B. Todd (1962) https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a107121
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-how-does-catnip-work-on-cats/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catnip

It’s one of history’s favorite poisons, Deadly Nightshade! It’s also one of my favorite plants, because it is both pretty and horribly toxic. The flowers are my favorite color!



Music by James Milor from Pixabay



Information provided by:


Atropa Belladonna intoxication: a case report by Mohamed Adnane Berdai, et al. (2012)
https://www.europeana.eu/en/exhibitions/magical-mystical-and-medicinal/belladonna
https://sites.evergreen.edu/plantchemeco/deadly-nightshade/
https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/deadly-nightshade-botanical-biography
https://www.rxlist.com/how_do_anticholinergic_agents_work/drug-class.htm
An Evidence-Based Systematic Review of Belladonna by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration by Catherine Ulbricht, et al. (2004)
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany/Mind_and_Spirit/belladonna.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticholinergic
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atropa_belladonna
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/deadly-nightshade/

There is COVID in our house, and I still have to get up at 5 a.m. tomorrow. I can’t think of a clever description, but I managed to make an episode on time, so be proud of me, please. This tree is named after intestines. That’s pretty interesting, right?



Music by James Milor from Pixabay



Information provided by:


https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FR372
https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/speciesprofile.php?Spid=734
Chemical composition, secondary metabolites and nutritive value of elephant-ear tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Jacq.) Griseb): A review by N.J. Ekanem, Udoh Inyang, & Kingsley Ikwunze (2022) http://dx.doi.org/10.51791/njap.v49i2.3489
Enterolobium cyclocarpum Seed Passage Rate and Survival in Horses, Costa Rican Pleistocene Seed Dispersal Agents by Daniel H. Janzen (1981) https://doi.org/10.2307/1937726
https://www.govisitcostarica.com/blog/post/elephant-ear-tree-history-costa-rica-national-tree.aspx#
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterolobium_cyclocarpum#cite_ref-14
https://winrock.org/enterolobium-cyclocarpum-the-ear-pod-tree-for-pasture-fodder-and-wood/
Tropical Plants of Costa Rica by Willow Zuchowski

Meet the stinging nettle, a plant you don’t want to touch but might want to eat…or wear.



Alysse Creations: https://alysse-creations.info/

The website is in French, because they are in France.



Music by James Milor from Pixabay



Information provided by:


Nettle as a distinct Bronze Age textile plant by C. Bergfjord, et al. (2012) https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fsrep00664
https://www.britannica.com/plant/stinging-nettle
Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica L.): Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds, and Food Functional Properties by Hari Prasad Devkota, et al. (2022) https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fmolecules27165219
https://theecologist.org/2009/aug/20/second-skin-why-wearing-nettles-next-big-thing
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/stinging-nettle
The medicinal chemistry of Urtica dioica L.: from preliminary evidence to clinical studies supporting its neuroprotective activity by Prabhakar Semwal, et al. (2023) https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs13659-023-00380-5
https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-nettle-leaf
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtica_dioica

It’s the last week of Carnivorous Plant Month. 😢 But we’re finishing up with a real overachiever.



Music by James Milor from Pixabay



Information provided by:


https://entomologytoday.org/2024/03/27/bladderwort-carnivorous-plant-mosquito-biological-control/
https://www.britannica.com/plant/bladderwort
http://www.batladyherbals.com/2021/03/bladderwort.html
Evaluating the carnivorous efficacy of Utricularia aurea (Lamiales: Lentibulariaceae) on the larval stages of Anopheles stephensi, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) by Ajeet Kumar Mohanty, et al. (2024) https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjae038
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utricularia