Episode 30: Folklore of Plants: Uncovering the Spooky Secrets of Portals to Other Worlds with Nina
Did you know there is a spooky side to plants? Nina Veteto is a long time forager, explorer, plant lover and artist who lives in the stunning Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. She explores and forages special places, explains the folklore of plants, and inspires her followers to learn more about the botany of […]
The post Episode 30: Folklore of Plants: Uncovering the Spooky Secrets of Portals to Other Worlds with Nina appeared first on Fabric of Folklore.
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00:00:00:00 – 00:00:43:15
Unknown
Welcome, folks. You folks. Welcome to Fabric of Folklore. I’m your hostess, Vanessa y Rogers. And this is the podcast where we unravel the mysteries of folklore. This podcast is about stories and about the human experience. Folklore isn’t just folktales, it’s legends, mythology, holiday celebrations, jokes, food, art and customs. And these folklore expressions communicate to others what our values are, what we fear, and what we cherish.
00:00:43:17 – 00:01:20:10
Unknown
Folklore has deep roots, and because of that, on this podcast, we like to grab our collective shovels and dig and dig until we uncover where these stories originate from or when, for instance, where figgy pudding became a Christmas dish and why. And it’s absolutely fascinating to discover these hidden histories of cultural practices, such as why Charleston homes are trimmed in blue, such as we talked about in the Southern Gothic episode in episode 28, or why we bought Kris Ah, birthday candles on a cake.
00:01:20:12 – 00:01:50:04
Unknown
Understanding these histories helps us to better understand the fabric of our own folklore as well as that of others. And with that leads to connection and a kinder world. So that sounds like a podcast that you are interested in following. Make sure that you were hitting that subscribe button, whether you’re watching on YouTube or you’re listening on your patt, your favorite podcasting platform such as Apple or Spotify, hit the subscribe button so that you get the notifications every week when our podcast drops.
00:01:50:06 – 00:02:12:12
Unknown
Today we have a really fascinating show for you today, Nina. The key to the video is how you how I say it, right. It’s a vegetable, but it’s a little better than all answers. Well, we just talked about it and I was saying in my head so that it is a long time Voyager Explorer, plant lover and art maker.
00:02:12:14 – 00:02:39:18
Unknown
She lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, which if you’ve ever been, you know, is beautiful. And if you have it, you definitely need to go explore special places, plant folklore and foraging, all of which informs her art and her work. Today on this spooky October special episode, we’ll be talking with Nina about the spookier folklore of plants, including plants being portals to other worlds.
00:02:39:20 – 00:03:05:08
Unknown
I’ve never particularly had an interest in place because I have a black thumb. I kill everything, including cactus and succulents. So but y’all are going to love this episode because if you’ve ever seen her Instagram videos, you know that she makes plants fascinating. Even for those of us who have black stems. So welcome. Nina, thanks so much for joining us on Fabrica folklore.
00:03:05:09 – 00:03:31:09
Unknown
Oh, thank you, Vanessa. It is a pleasure to be here and I am excited to talk about these plants today. I think that they’re yes, as you say it, it’s fun to learn about folklore and learn about customs. I think it definitely opens up our minds and hearts to other cultures and other ways of seeing things. So I am excited to share these plants.
00:03:31:09 – 00:04:09:03
Unknown
I hope that they will do that for our listeners today. So how did you get started in the plant world? Where was your your portal? Landau Yeah, so I’ve always been interested in plants from the time I was really young. I it was sort of cultivated through my father’s interest in the green world. He was a forager and he always was just he wasn’t necessarily a gardener, but he was always interested in plants and exposed my brother and I to plants.
00:04:09:05 – 00:04:34:19
Unknown
We had special trees in the backyard, one for me, one for my brother. And so he just sort of opened that door for us and it it was and my brother, by the way, is a forester. He’s he’s a he’s an arborist. And so we just I don’t know, we were just interested in plants all along, but always really interested in nature, too.
00:04:34:22 – 00:04:59:00
Unknown
So I credit my parents with a lot of that, a lot of those sort of seeds that they planted very early on. So walking, they take you on hikes and great things out and. Absolutely. Yes, he would. He would. He would. Well, we I grew up on the coast, but we would come to the mountains of North Carolina every summer, and this was his happy place.
00:04:59:00 – 00:05:22:22
Unknown
And so, you know, the minute we got here, he would take us out and show us all that he loved mushrooms and he loved to forage for mushrooms. So he chose all the mushrooms and yeah, teach us about teach us about the the, the natural world and helped us understand it and connect to it in a really heartfelt way.
00:05:22:24 – 00:05:48:18
Unknown
He was he sort of had a naturalist bent to his kind of world. And so so he just that that just got, you know, transferred to us, I think. Yeah. Clearly, both your mother and I are very, very interested in the natural world. So. Yeah. And so when did you start your work in folklore and plants? Well, it’s interesting.
00:05:48:20 – 00:06:12:00
Unknown
Folklore is something I’ve always been interested in. Again, like plants I and that also goes back to my dad too. My dad was a psychologist, but he was a union psychologist, so a student of Carl Jung. And so he was very important to him that we’d be exposed to all kinds of stories, myths, legends, lore, all of that growing up.
00:06:12:00 – 00:06:53:10
Unknown
So. So we were read to constantly, you know, everything from Beatrix Potter to Baba Yaga to, you name it. We we got exposed to it. So. Well, that’s always been something that I’ve been interested in. And it just these two sort of threads came together in the last few years right around COVID. I, I, I was a teacher and I was approaching midlife and had been working really, really hard and was very stressed out and just.
00:06:53:12 – 00:07:22:24
Unknown
Yeah, at a certain point realized I needed a break from that. So, so I left teaching right before the pandemic and then began to devote myself to some of the things that I’ve always been interested in, like art making and studying plants and and I had enrolled in some botanical illustration classes, but then the pandemic hit and I was sort of on my own.
00:07:22:24 – 00:07:58:09
Unknown
So I started to explore different mediums and fell in with the cyanotype medium, which is a kind of Kemalist photography that has very deep roots in the botanical world. So so it was in the past, it was invented like around 1842, I think, and it was used to capture plants as specimens. So it has it has a history of botanical use.
00:07:58:09 – 00:08:28:16
Unknown
And I just sort of fell in love with it and started to explore that. But also I was I was on my own and I was going outside, as we all were trying to do during the pandemic and meeting new plants and just kind of really finding that they had these incredible histories. And so I started to share those stories on Instagram and yeah, it turns out people people are interested or other people are interested in it too.
00:08:28:16 – 00:08:57:29
Unknown
So that’s been fun to discover. So tell me about your artwork. Is it does it have to do with this? What what was it called? The camera? All of this? Yes. I annotate. It’s it’s basically it’s a it’s a a UV sensitive solution that you paint onto paper and then you expose it to sunlight and anything that is blocking that solution will remain white and everything else turns blue.
00:08:57:29 – 00:09:27:16
Unknown
So it’s a blue and white sort of finished. The finished product is a blue and white print. It’s like a monotype, but it’s it is actually a photograph because it’s it’s made using using UV light. So. Yeah. Wow. I, I can’t wait to see what this looks like. I haven’t seen it so we’ll definitely put some pictures of your artwork up on our our website so people can kind of visualize it.
00:09:27:17 – 00:09:51:05
Unknown
Yeah. Oh, absolutely beautiful. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Well, at the end, do you sell it? Do you sell it? As I was at one time, I no longer am. It’s just really just sort of a passion project at this point. Yeah. And do you have, do you remember, like the first plant that intrigued you or like kind of the.
00:09:51:06 – 00:10:28:19
Unknown
The first. Yeah, the first the first plant that really captured your interest. Was there one of those and are you talking going way, way back to childhood or. Yeah. About Yeah, yeah. I mean either one either way I would have to say that it probably had a lot to do with it was without a doubt Amanita muscaria, which is a mushroom and that is a plant that well, it’s not technically a plant, but we’re going to call it a plant for today’s purposes.
00:10:28:19 – 00:10:53:10
Unknown
But when I was little, I, we, I used to draw all the time and I always wanted to be an artist when I grew up. But one of my favorite subjects was was on the native muscaria, the that classic red and white mushroom. So I drew it on everything that was that was my my favorite favorite subject matter.
00:10:53:10 – 00:11:20:21
Unknown
So but I kind of got muted because I would carry little field guides around and I was just really interested in in plants from the beginning. So there were there were lots of plants that caught my attention, but that was one that I distinctly remember drawing. I had never seen one in real life until recently, but of course they’re in all the fairytales and you know, you see them illustrated.
00:11:20:21 – 00:12:05:02
Unknown
And so I would I would do a lot of those. But yeah, So where are they found? Well, the family of Amanita is a very large family consisting of like between 900 and a thousand different sort of mushrooms. But the Amanita muscaria, which is that classic red and white mushroom there, it’s a northern European mushroom that can be found in other places now, because just through trade and different things, you know, they’ve they’ve they’re they’re world travelers at this point, but they are native to to northern Europe.
00:12:05:04 – 00:12:28:23
Unknown
Okay. But they’re having a moment right now, am I right? Because I remember going and last year we went to the Renaissance Festival in right outside of Houston, Texas. And everyone I kept seeing people dressed as this red, this red and white spotted mushroom. And I was like, what is going on? Why are people dressed as a mushroom?
00:12:28:29 – 00:13:02:17
Unknown
Yeah, yeah. No, I feel like it is having a moment. There are baby. It’s never not had a moment. It’s it’s sort of this. Yeah, it has. It’s always I feel like has always been right there. Kind of has captured the imagination of people for centuries for many reasons for and we’ll discuss those. But certainly right now I think mushrooms in general seem to be a topic that people are really fascinated by.
00:13:02:20 – 00:13:26:05
Unknown
And a lot of that probably has to do with the work of Paul Stamets and and people like him and, you know, there was that incredible movie that came out not too long ago that was just beautiful cinematography, focusing on the movie, the benefits of of mushrooms. Oh, gosh. What was it called? Hmm. I can’t remember the name of it.
00:13:26:12 – 00:13:52:02
Unknown
Okay. Well, when you remember it in Leo, we get it because it is if you haven’t seen it. It’s just fascinating movie and a beautiful movie to watch as well. So, yeah. Okay, well, let’s start from the beginning. Sure. And you I read one of your articles. You have an article on your blog about the Amanita and you call it the prima donna of the mushroom world.
00:13:52:02 – 00:14:20:10
Unknown
Can you tell us about them? Anita Yeah, absolutely. So. So the I’m Anita is well, I should say I as I mentioned earlier, I got to see it for the first time, you know, in real life, just about two months ago I was in Sweden and I was doing a biking trip and it just stopped me in my tracks.
00:14:20:10 – 00:14:44:21
Unknown
I had no idea that I was going to run into them. And they we were we were cycling through this particular forest area, forested area in a place called Somaliland. And they were everywhere. I mean, they were everywhere. I had no idea that that that they would be so prolific and also so large. They are huge mushrooms. I mean, they are really, really big.
00:14:44:21 – 00:15:02:05
Unknown
See if I can I mean, they’re they’re very big. And the caps can be, you know, anywhere from this big. I mean, there are people that, you know, you can look on the Internet and you can find even larger ones. But the typical ones are usually the caps can get to be about this big, and then the height is usually around that big.
00:15:02:05 – 00:15:34:05
Unknown
So they’re very large and they were growing in an area that there were pine trees. They have a symbiotic relationship with different trees, but pine seems to be one of their favorites and and it and in this area there was really it was moss everywhere just carpeted with this literally like a carpet of moss, green moss and these pine trees and then these huge mushrooms.
00:15:34:05 – 00:16:12:25
Unknown
So they were some of the largest things growing in the forest. And they’re, of course, very striking, very eye catching just by the color alone, much less eyes. So So yeah, they, they they grab your attention. They are definitely one of those, you know, plants that just won’t refuses to be ignored pretty much. So that’s why I kind of call it the prima donna, because it is striking in its appearance and in its size.
00:16:12:27 – 00:16:48:13
Unknown
So that was that was really an amazing thing for me to be able to see it in real life and get a feel for all of that. As I said before, I’d only known it through through storybooks and through illustrations in that regard. But, you know, I’m not alone in my you know, in the sort of exclamation around it, because for centuries it’s been used as a plant for Well, it’s it’s it’s a it’s kind of a portal plant.
00:16:48:13 – 00:17:11:28
Unknown
It’s a it’s a plant that that takes you to other worlds. No. So the common name is fly a garlic, which there’s a wives tale associated with that, that it was thought for many years that if you if you took an Amanita and cut it up and put it in a bowl of milk it would it’s a fly killer.
00:17:11:29 – 00:17:46:27
Unknown
You know, it would attract flies and then kill them. So many people thought that that’s how it got its name. Fly a garlic. But if you look at the folklore, you start to realize that that word fly really isn’t so much about the insect as much as it is about the act of flying. So and I will say this too, that there was a group there were a group of scientists that did an experiment on that, on that old wives tale to see if if indeed it was a fly killer.
00:17:46:27 – 00:18:15:12
Unknown
And they got pretty I mean, the results were not very convincing. So but but again, when you look at folklore associated with the name and sort of the effects, you start to say, oh, it’s really not the insect. It’s about it’s more about the act of flying because the mushroom itself has a chemical in it, which is an antigen.
00:18:15:15 – 00:19:05:26
Unknown
Now an antigen is different from a from a hallucinogen. An every again is just sort of a mind altering substance as opposed to one that causes hallucinations. But it has enough of that sort of mind altering effect that that it it kind of makes people. Yeah, it makes you it it can it can alter your sense of reality in terms of, for instance, sighs like you have like apparently from what I understand, people lose their sense of ability to understand sighs and it has all different kinds of effects like that.
00:19:06:02 – 00:19:40:19
Unknown
Now it also has a toxin in it. So it’s got this antigen as well as a toxin. So it is a considered a toxic mushroom. But people have nevertheless found ways to eliminate those toxins and use the mushroom as an anti hygienic sort of portal. And I think it’s interesting, the etymology of the word antigen is to summon the divine within.
00:19:40:22 – 00:20:31:11
Unknown
So so there’s this interesting thing that happens when people consume this mushroom. Traditionally speaking, it was used by the Saami people of the very northern northern Scandinavia, an indigenous group of people who are traditional reindeer herders, and the shaman of the Sami would use this mushroom to to gain access to the other world in order to bring back information about cures or, you know, maybe there were certain issues going on and they needed some help.
00:20:31:11 – 00:20:57:26
Unknown
And so the shaman would travel to the other world and bring back solutions to the problems that the people were facing. And they would they would use the mushroom as the as the means to do that. And there’s there’s actually an interesting association with Christmas, as a matter of fact, And Santa Claus, oddly enough. So we’re not exactly sure how all of this played out.
00:20:57:26 – 00:21:37:00
Unknown
But but the Saami shaman, they wear red robes with white dots on them. And traditionally speaking, when they during the ceremonies where they use the the fire, Greg, the shaman would come down the center pole of the sort that everyone was gathered in carrying a bag of these dried mushrooms. And of course they’re reindeer herders. And there was often there were often reindeer associated with with this with the ceremony as well.
00:21:37:04 – 00:22:39:08
Unknown
So we sort of have these correlations with Santa Claus in that in that way. You know, there’s some some very distinct similarities there. Would they eat the mushrooms? Yes. In that ceremony. Yes. Right. Yes. The shaman would eat the mushroom and and be transported and and bring back information about about problems. So Yeah. And the in the the the theory is, is that the Sami learned this sort of this this information or they learned about the mushroom through the reindeer reindeer will eat the fly a mushroom and they have they have some apparently they they get a little drunk off of them and so the way the Sami actually are able to, to use this
00:22:39:08 – 00:23:22:19
Unknown
mushroom without having the toxic effects is the the reindeers urine the reindeer actually processes the toxicity out. So so the urine of the reindeer apparently is if they’ve eaten the mushroom, it apparently has those those incredible properties. And so my understanding is they would also at times drink the urine of the reindeer. But, you know, I’m not I think with all the ins and out but that so it wasn’t be poisonous to them but they would still have the effect the desired effects.
00:23:22:19 – 00:23:52:21
Unknown
Yes. Yes. Mhm. That’s my understanding. So yes. How my understanding I will say I have not a folklorist but these are the things that I’ve read. So but, but that said that the mushroom itself, if it is apparently if it’s processed in a certain way, you can eliminate a lot of those toxins so you don’t get the toxic effect, you get that in genic effects.
00:23:52:21 – 00:24:21:06
Unknown
And so that has been used for centuries as as a, as a way to yeah. To to travel to other worlds. So but if you eat it directly, will it will can you die or do you have to eat consume a lot of it? I think you have to consume a lot of it. My understanding is there has not been a report of death by Fly Agha for over 100 years.
00:24:21:08 – 00:24:46:20
Unknown
So I think that it’s one of those things that is it’s considered toxic. It’s not considered highly poisonous. Now, in the family of Amanita, you have you know, there are about 900 to 1000 different species, and some of those species are the most toxic, I should say, the most poisonous plants or the most poisonous mushrooms on the planet.
00:24:46:22 – 00:25:20:24
Unknown
Hmm. The amanita of a goza and Verna, Those are the angel death cap. And those are the ones that will I mean, they are super, super poisonous, but the ammonia muscaria is considered toxic, not necessarily poisonous. Now, could you die from it? Yeah, I would imagine you could, yes. But traditionally speaking, people knew how to process the plant so that it wasn’t you know, it wasn’t going to have that effect.
00:25:20:27 – 00:25:47:21
Unknown
Nevertheless, there are cases of death by Amanita muscaria on the records, but you have to go way, way back to find that, so. Mm hmm. Yeah. So we go back a little bit because you mentioned how if you eat it in small quantities, it, it or it changes your orientation of, for instance, size. So that really brings me, that brings my mind to Alyson one.
00:25:47:21 – 00:26:27:21
Unknown
Yeah, that’s right. Yep. Yes, that’s exactly right. So, so this the, the story is that Yeah, the the the mushroom that in Alice in Wonderland that the caterpillar is sitting on is supposed to be a nominee to. And the story is that Lewis Carroll and many people thought that maybe Lewis Carroll was experimenting with the mushroom and that’s kind of how he dreamed up this whole story.
00:26:27:23 – 00:27:03:27
Unknown
But the scholars that are associated with him say, no, that’s not really what happened there. My understanding is that he had access to a book in the library that he frequented, and this book explained what happens to someone when they when they eat the muscaria, the size, distortion, all of that. And and so from that description, he was then able to write about the story in that way.
00:27:03:29 – 00:27:33:08
Unknown
And if you recall in the story, the Caterpillar says to Alice, you know, if you eat the right side of the mushroom, you’ll get really, really large. If you eat the left side of the mushroom, you’ll get really, really small. So there is a bit of association with, you know, the size distortion there. But as I understand it, that came from a description from a book that that Lewis Carroll had access to.
00:27:33:10 – 00:28:16:01
Unknown
And I think the book was called Sleep of the Seven Sisters and the Lewis Carroll was apparently an insomniac and had been his whole life and really, really struggled with sleep and and and so yeah, they they said that this was this was a book that would have been of particular interest to him. So so that was that was certainly probably where he got the information or got the inspiration, I should say, to, to to to write about that in the story.
00:28:16:04 – 00:28:53:05
Unknown
So there is another thing that you wrote about the Siberian origin story, is that what you were talking about before? Yeah. Yeah. So this is that comes from a not the Saami that comes from another group, the Korea I believe it is a tribe in eastern Siberia. So still way, way up there and they had a, an origin myth about the fly a which, which is really interesting because it’s, it’s hard to find an origin myth about the fire arc.
00:28:53:05 – 00:29:27:26
Unknown
But this was one which I thought was really wonderful to find, but also has that association with flight as well, which is kind of interesting. So the story goes that their deity, who I cannot remember the name right now, but their deity who is considered sort of the Yeah, the the sort of deity of, would you say like the one who created everything.
00:29:28:03 – 00:29:30:23
Unknown
Right.
00:29:30:26 – 00:30:21:03
Unknown
Apparently spat on the world right. Spit and from that the Amanita emerged and they also have a raven deity and the raven deity swooped down and found the Amanita and eat it and was so invigorated and energized, the Raven was able to pick up a whale and carry the whale home. And because of that, Raven decided that she needed to protect Amanita for mankind and share those gifts with mankind.
00:30:21:05 – 00:30:49:23
Unknown
And so again, we have that association with flight, which I think is interesting and and sort of that, you know, this was a gift to mankind. So that was an interesting story that that I came across, around, around the origin of the of the Amanita from a from an indigenous group, which is kind of interesting. And then there’s also a story with the Vikings and a Celts.
00:30:49:23 – 00:31:24:27
Unknown
Is that right? Yeah. So, you know, Amanita pops up in so many places throughout Europe and there’s, you know, if you if you are in certainly in Germany, Switzerland and during Christmastime, it is the quintessential good luck mushroom of the new year and Christmas right there. So it’s sort of this ubiquitous kind of symbol of good luck and good fortune for the new year.
00:31:24:29 – 00:32:09:05
Unknown
So in Europe, you see it everywhere. And yes, it also pops up in some other myths, sort of ancient. This there was a theory for a long time that Amanita was what the Mazurkas took before they observed, and that has been disputed by an ethno botanist fairly recently who’s saying that it actually they don’t think it was Amanita, they think it was bean, which has a lot of very, you know, has some incredible properties, but it is poisonous.
00:32:09:08 – 00:32:49:02
Unknown
So there’s some dispute around that. But from my, my, what I read was that the Amanita does have some interesting effects in terms of lowering your your I guess I guess reaction to pain so you don’t necessarily feel pain like you would. And also it it lowers your inhibitions and make and it also makes you really, really strong apparently too which I think about the raven carrying, you know, the whale home.
00:32:49:06 – 00:33:24:06
Unknown
That was kind of an interesting connection there. So so there are all these properties that that it will sort of affect. But but yeah we don’t know if if that was actually the the the substance that the Berserkers took but they, the Berserkers they, their God was Thor. And so they you know, this was this was often referred to as Thor’s Thor’s mushroom.
00:33:24:09 – 00:33:52:25
Unknown
So, you know, we know it’s sort of lost to time in terms of how what they actually used or if this was associated with it. It was some combination of this and had been nobody really knows but. Mm. Interesting. Yeah. What do you think is your favorite element of, of the Amanita. Well for me it’s an association with the stories of my childhood and you know, the fairy tales and the magic of all of that.
00:33:52:25 – 00:34:30:23
Unknown
So, so that, that’s, that’s why I think I love it so much it’s that yeah those associations make it special for me. Hm. Well, it certainly looks magical, so I can see why there would be so much law around this mushroom. Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. And there’s you know, you were talking about Paul Stamos and there is another author, and I read her book, I think it was called The Mother Tree and How it talked about how fungus really helps the plant world.
00:34:30:25 – 00:34:55:15
Unknown
Specifically, she was speaking about trees and how the fungus really helps them to communicate with one another and feed one another. And so I would definitely see how, you know, fungus has a lot of magical qualities. Are you familiar with that book? I’ve not read that book that’s on my list. I have a very large stack of books, but that definitely on my list, three that I’ve heard so well.
00:34:55:15 – 00:35:26:22
Unknown
I think little things about it. I think they made a movie about it too recently. Oh, okay. I haven’t seen it. Oh, very, very cool. But yeah, it was a really fascinating read. Well, and I’m also I didn’t mention this before about Amanita, but I did talk about how it has that symbiotic relationship with trees. And because of that, it is not a mushroom that can be sort of harvested and cultivated from like a farming perspective.
00:35:26:22 – 00:35:54:12
Unknown
You know, a lot of the mushrooms that we eat are farmed pretty much, you know, in, in whatever way. But that that’s not true of Amanita. You eat it. It remains wild. It has to it it is a forest dweller exclusively. So I think that’s kind of an interesting thing, that quality that it has, it cannot be taken out of the wild and and domestic dead or farmed.
00:35:54:15 – 00:36:30:26
Unknown
It has to sort of live in the forest. So is that true of other I guess it’s not a psychedelic but of other similar, I guess not like hallucinogenic. Yeah, no, there are hallucinogenic mushrooms that you can you can cultivate, but. But this one refuses to be domesticated. It has to be wild. Okay, so what are the other plants you were wanting to talk about was the elder.
00:36:30:26 – 00:37:10:05
Unknown
Yeah, the elder was one that I would I would love to talk about because it too is is a is a of a plant of the other world, a communicator and a portal. So the elder traditionally speaking has always been associated with with fairyland certainly in England and it is it has sort of a good luck, bad luck kind of association in that because it was so closely aligned with the world of the fairies.
00:37:10:07 – 00:37:41:08
Unknown
People had tremendous respect for it and, you know, fairies can can be, can be good, can be good luck, but they can also be bad luck as well. So so people had a lot of respect for this plant. And also, of course, it is highly, highly medicinal. And in ancient times it was there was a dryad associated with it.
00:37:41:11 – 00:38:15:02
Unknown
And that Dryad was very, very, very powerful and of course, bestowed many gifts in the form of flowers and berries and would. But that Dryad as mothers, you know, the mother archetype is one that is, you know, there’s there’s always the loving mother, but there’s there’s another side to motherhood as well or mothers where, you know, she can be fierce and she can also be dangerous sort of that mama bear thing.
00:38:15:02 – 00:38:45:04
Unknown
So, yeah, so it’s a plant that was very much respected and revered for the gifts, but also, you know, people had to be very careful around it as well. And that Dryad later through time and you know, through cultural, you know different different lenses became what was known as the the holder mother or the the spirit of the forest.
00:38:45:07 – 00:39:18:27
Unknown
And so you never ever cut down an elder tree without asking permission or being very, very, you know, only under the most dire circumstances would you cut an elder down and many people would plant elders, like at their front door or back door, because they would use this plant. It was it was literally like the medicine chest, the of the average person, because it just was so, you know, it was just really medicinal.
00:39:18:27 – 00:39:42:18
Unknown
So so people used it in that way as well. But a tree or a bush or. Well, it’s kind of a it’s kind of weird space between a bush and a tree. So, you know, if left to its own devices in the forest, it could be like grow into a like an understory tree tends to be more bushy than than anything.
00:39:42:18 – 00:40:09:07
Unknown
But but yeah. So and then in Denmark, there was this legend that if you stood under an elder on Midsummer’s Eve, you would be granted the gift of fairy sight where you could see the king of the fairies and his entourage as they traveled, traveled the lands, you know, to walk to the parties of, you know, midsummer’s parties.
00:40:09:09 – 00:40:39:12
Unknown
So there’s a lot of, as I said before, association with with fairy land. And it was said that, you know, if you if you fell asleep under an elder bush, you would be transported to fairy land. So it’s sort of this powerful whole portal plant in that regard. Yeah. How cool. Yeah. So the really interesting one for sure.
00:40:39:14 – 00:41:27:03
Unknown
And you say this also considered sacred by some. Absolutely. Yep. And it’s for instance in Poland it was considered a holy tree, perhaps still is, but every year you would take your sins and you would you bury them under the elder and the elder would help sort of transmute those sins. So again, that that makes me think, of course, that there was a much you know, there’s there’s some really deep roots there, pardon the pun, in terms of, you know, probably some pagan tradition there, too, as far as the plant, the dryad, the, you know, the spirit of the brush and and that type thing.
00:41:27:03 – 00:41:55:26
Unknown
But as Catholicism, you know, sort of spread. And in Poland, it it became associated with. Yes. Saints and and and holy endeavors in that regard. So you would it would, you know, it would help you get rid of your sins in that way. Do people still practice this at all? I don’t know. I would perhaps in some places, yes.
00:41:55:28 – 00:42:46:14
Unknown
You know, these these traditions have a way of hanging on into, you know, into our world, modern world. So I think it’d be neat if if they if that was the case I think another tradition is to plant an elder bush on a on a grave. And I think that’s something that still people still do in various parts of Europe where you would if someone died, you would plant an elder bush and with the idea that when if the bush blooms in the spring, it was a it’s a sign that your loved one is at peace and is in heaven, you know, and is not wandering around as a spirit and causing causing problems.
00:42:46:16 – 00:43:31:02
Unknown
But I think there’s also sort of a another side to that, which is there’s there’s a longstanding tradition of planting trees on graves or bushes on graves. And in some cases, it’s to keep the spirit from wandering the earth and this died. So there’s probably a little sort of play there between the idea of, yeah, keeping keeping a spirit from wandering and also ensuring that that spirit, you know, then goes on to heaven and is at peace.
00:43:31:05 – 00:43:56:06
Unknown
So it’s kind of an interesting, interesting idea there, but one that we see a lot. A lot. So yeah, and so you said it has a lot of medicinal uses. Do people still use it today? What were the what is it? Yeah, absolutely. Should I plant one in my yard right. Yeah, you can. You can actually go to the grocery store and get and get it.
00:43:56:12 – 00:44:40:18
Unknown
Sam Lucas. So I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Sambuca or it’s a, it’s a, it’s, it’s highly, it’s antibacterial antiviral. And you can, you know, you can take the berries and create cough sirup. There are, you know, all different kinds of things during cold and flu season. People use it extensively. So it’s it’s here in the US, the variety or North America I should say is sambuca condenses and yeah it’s it’s definitely it’s recognized as a highly medicinal plant even by you know pretty you know Yeah.
00:44:40:20 – 00:45:03:03
Unknown
You can go to does it come in, bury it. Does it come in gummies. Yes. You can get it as gummy. That’s right. I mean they, I think I have some in my day. Well yeah, that’s the kids love to go take some after this. That’s right. Well, that’s cool. Is it easy? Is it difficult to keep alive?
00:45:03:03 – 00:45:28:22
Unknown
I mean, if people are putting it on grave sites. Yeah. Yeah, it’s. It’s the kind of plant here in North America that tends to like sort of wetter areas. You’ll see it grow along stream sides and you have to act quickly because because the deer love the berries, too. So if you if you have one, you want to make sure you harvest those berries before the deer get to it.
00:45:28:22 – 00:45:55:26
Unknown
Because it can. Because they will. Yeah. They like it. It’s it’s really easy to make. I’ve actually made the you know, Elder Berry sirup and you put honey in it it’s very, very, very tart. So you do have to add honey. But yeah for cold and flu season it’s it’s great. It’s great. Yeah. And then you said that there are some association with witches.
00:45:55:28 – 00:46:32:15
Unknown
Yes. So, you know, it’s funny because I think fairies fairies are so tricky. Right? And they can. They can be they can be problematic sometimes. There are areas in Europe where the elder is considered the the tree of the witches. So for instance, in Ireland, witches do not fly on broomsticks. They actually fly on elder branches or elder sticks.
00:46:32:17 – 00:47:14:20
Unknown
And traditionally magic wands were made of elder wood. So. So yeah, you have, you have some associations there. So again, you never ever wanted to cut down an elder tree or bush because of that. Dryad In some areas it was considered a witch who lived in that. BUSH And you didn’t want to anger the witch. And then in some traditions, witches could actually turn themselves into elder elder bushes.
00:47:14:21 – 00:47:39:18
Unknown
So. So there’s a lot of sort of, yeah, good luck, bad luck association with it. I think in general it is considered you know, it was considered a really helpful and highly medicinal plant, but one that you really needed to respect and and you know, be be careful of and not not take for granted and not just yeah not just cut down willy nilly.
00:47:39:18 – 00:48:03:27
Unknown
So and then you see there’s also some associations with it being a portal as well. I think you mentioned that with the midsummer’s parties but also a dreamworld. Yes. Yeah. So it was said that if you took, if you take elder flowers for instance, that bloom in the spring and you put them under your pillow, you’ll dream of fairyland and Yeah.
00:48:03:27 – 00:48:28:28
Unknown
And the elder flowers are thought to be like the favorite flowers of the fairies. And they, they make, you know, they make their special champagne out of those flowers and things like that. So. So yeah, there’s a lot of and of course they bloom right, right. In spring when, you know, when, when the world is is new again.
00:48:28:28 – 00:48:59:05
Unknown
So there’s there is an association there with the fairies and the other world and the dream world. And just being sort of that plant that kind of lives between those two worlds, between our world and the other world, I guess I should say. So, yeah. How neat. I feel like I want mine in my yard. But we live in constant drought here, so I figured, yes, you variety that is more drought tolerant.
00:48:59:05 – 00:49:35:13
Unknown
I don’t know, but you’re worth looking at. Okay, I’ll have to ask around. Okay, so let’s talk about the lilac bush. Yeah. Okay. Another one of those portal plants, a really interesting one. So it’s actually like the elder. It was in colonial times here in North America. It was planted on graves, specifically the graves of children who had died or stillborn babies.
00:49:35:15 – 00:50:22:14
Unknown
And it was another one of those plants that if it bloomed, then you knew that your child was at peace. So in, you know, kind of similar to the elder in that regard, which is kind of interesting. But it is it has an origin story which is kind of interesting. It’s the Latin name is Sirin Jia Vulgaris and Syringes comes from the word syrinx, which Syrinx was a wood nymph and the God pan.
00:50:22:16 – 00:50:51:05
Unknown
She was beautiful, would never, of course, like all women, were beautiful, but she was particularly beautiful. And the God pan, he fell in love with her, pursued her, and of course she wanted nothing to do with him and prayed to Hera. And Hera granted her wish in and rescued her by turning her into a lilac bush. So that was sort of where we got the lilac bush.
00:50:51:08 – 00:51:29:29
Unknown
Now, Pan, who was furious, decided he would take the the stems of of the lilac and which are hollow, and he would turn those into his pipes so that he could have her with him at all times. So so supposedly he sort of won out in the end and, you know, still had her with him. But yeah, so he, you know, created his pipes, his famous pan pipes and and played played those in.
00:51:30:01 – 00:52:05:03
Unknown
And that is supposedly where we get where we get the lilac bush. Is this the pan of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Yes Well originally sort of the the Greek and Roman lady. And then Shakespeare talked about him in Midsummer Night’s Dream. So. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Puck. Yeah, right. Okay. Right. That’s right. And so what is what does the lilac bush look like?
00:52:05:05 – 00:52:45:07
Unknown
Well, it has it’s it’s sort of typical bush, but it, it can get quite large. But they have a what’s interesting about lilac of course is that it has these it’s just exquisitely fragrant blooms, sort of a cascade of of little flowers with a beautiful beautiful scent, just legendary scent. And of course, any plant that has the, you know, that kind of fragrance associated with it or like a strong fragrance, you think of Rose, you think of jasmine.
00:52:45:09 – 00:53:16:10
Unknown
Lilac is one of those any plant with that kind of like strong fragrance is always associated with magic. And I think it’s interesting, too, that the that the lilac one of the well the Hebrew word for lilac is massalia, which means passage. So it is again one of those plants that transports and I think a lot of that, of course, has to do with scent.
00:53:16:13 – 00:53:47:18
Unknown
We you know, we’ve all had that experience where you smell something, right, and you’re immediately transported to another time or another place. And so I think there’s that that interesting association there with with yeah, with fragrance being a portal and there’s a famous story, Right. Can you say. Yes. Certain is a great story. Hang on just one second.
00:53:47:25 – 00:54:28:07
Unknown
Maybe something real quick. Sorry. I feel like the light has changed and it’s like blaring in my face. Right. Okay. So, yes, it is a famous story. No, let me get my self settled here. Okay. Yes, There’s a famous story. It’s an Appalachian tale about it’s called the tell tale Lilac Bush. And it’s a great story about it’s sort of like a like a ghost story, but also sort of a murder ballad in a way.
00:54:28:09 – 00:55:01:08
Unknown
But yeah, it’s it’s an amazing story. Do you want me to Do you want me to tell it? Yes. Okay. Okay. So the story goes that there was a young couple, Jed and Lila, who met late one winter. They fell madly in love. They had a whirlwind romance and. And planned a spring wedding. So they got married not too long after they met in spring, right when the lilac bushes were in bloom.
00:55:01:10 – 00:55:33:24
Unknown
And, of course, lilacs were lilacs. Favorite flower. So she carried a big, beautiful bouquet down the aisle. And everybody said that she was just as pretty as that lilacs that she was carrying. So then they moved out to the farm, Judd’s family farm. And it wasn’t too long after, though, that rumors started to spread around town that the marriage was not was not a happy one.
00:55:33:27 – 00:55:58:21
Unknown
And yeah, people people saw less and less of Lila to the point that, you know, at some point someone said, well, gosh, we haven’t seen Lila in years. What what’s happened to Lila? So the next time Jed came into town to get his supplies, they asked after her and they said, How how’s Lila doing? We hadn’t seen her in a while.
00:55:58:24 – 00:56:24:13
Unknown
And he said, Oh, she’s doing fine. She’s just as pretty as those lilacs on her wedding day. And But she’s not here. She is actually with her sister, who is very ill. She’s very devoted to her sister and her sister’s sick. And so she’s she’s going to you know, she’ll be with her sister for a while and yeah, I you know, he said I actually am feeling a little lonely.
00:56:24:16 – 00:56:46:18
Unknown
So I thought maybe I would throw a party and invite everybody in town to come. And so people said, Oh, that that sounds great, Judge. Now, they were still a little suspicious because it seemed seemed odd that that Lila would be gone for so long. But anyway, Jeff threw a party, everyone came and everyone’s having a fantastic time.
00:56:46:21 – 00:57:15:10
Unknown
And there was a group of young men sitting on the front porch who were, you know, laughing and having a good time. But they were sitting there and they heard a really strange sound. At one point it was like a thwack, thwack, thwack. And they were like, What in the world was that? And they realized that it was the lilac bush that was planted next to the house.
00:57:15:10 – 00:57:50:06
Unknown
It was just beating the side of the house. And they said, Well, that’s really strange because there’s no wind tonight. And that’s a strange thing for a lilac bush to be doing. So. So two of the guys got up, went found a shovel, started digging around that lilac bush. And it wasn’t long before they found Lila lying there dead with the root ball of that lilac bush clutched in her hand.
00:57:50:08 – 00:58:23:01
Unknown
So they say that, you know, it was clear that she’d been there for a long time, but that Jeb was right. She was just as pretty as she as those lilacs on her wedding day. So that was the story of the telltale lilac bush. Another one of those sort of. Yeah. Plants that helped the dead communicate to the living about how they were doing.
00:58:23:05 – 00:58:54:00
Unknown
So now it is a balance. So is a sun. I don’t know if it’s sung or not. I would imagine so, Yeah. But you know, there is that classic sort of murder ballad sort of genre in Appalachia that comes originally from England and comes over. But yeah, I there probably is a song there. I know what a tree, but yeah, it’s a classic Appalachian folk tale.
00:58:54:00 – 00:59:33:13
Unknown
Or I would say maybe ghost story, but yeah, how interesting. And do we know if there’s any truth at all to it? I don’t know. But I did read another story at one point where a child had been murdered and a lilac bush was planted on top of the child and there was some sort of similar something happened that was similar in that that it was the child was discovered under that lilac bush and it was had clearly been murdered.
00:59:33:16 – 01:00:11:05
Unknown
So there’s there’s some sort of a theme there. And I don’t know if there’s any truth to it, but something’s going on. That’s it. Yeah. And that lilac bush is a trying to communicate with people. Evidently. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And as I mentioned earlier, you know, in colonial times that with those lilac bushes were specifically planted over the graves of children for that purpose to, you know, to let the parents grieving parents know that they were at peace or, you know, that type thing.
01:00:11:07 – 01:00:36:26
Unknown
But this case, while it wasn’t quite at peace. So if you let everybody know that she was still beautiful, even you. Yeah, I would say that was the creepiest part. She was still as beautiful as she was on her on her wedding day. Yeah. How interesting. Oh, yeah. The sort of supernatural elements there, which make it even more interesting, but yeah.
01:00:36:28 – 01:01:02:24
Unknown
All right. So let’s go to our last plant, which is Hawthorne. Can you tell us a little bit about Hawthorne and what it looks like? Yeah. So Hawthorne is Hawthorne Light is similar. There are a lot of similarities to Elder in terms of it’s the folklore associated with it and stories that are associated with it. It too is one of those portal plants, one of those communicators between between worlds.
01:01:02:27 – 01:01:42:25
Unknown
It’s the classic sacred tree of the fairies, so similar to Elder in that regard. But I think Hawthorne is really that like in terms of the Celtic world, Hawthorne is it is the fairy tree and you know, it blooms in the spring, right at right when spring is, you know, coming into it, into its glory. So it is the original sort of Mayflower, you know, it it is considered the Mayflower, and it has these beautiful blooms, white blooms.
01:01:42:27 – 01:02:29:12
Unknown
It does have thorns on it. So there’s sort of this, you know, beauty, but also a protective quality to it in that regard. And interestingly enough, the flowers are they have a they have a chemical in them that has a slight that that gives the smell of the flower. There’s a slight fragrance of rotting flesh. Oh. Of all the the chemical I have it written down here is trimethylamine trimethylamine.
01:02:29:14 – 01:03:10:11
Unknown
And yeah. So it’s the fragrance of the flower is a little bit kind of mysterious in that way. Right. So it’s got those sort of hints of the other world, hints of the underworld. And it was during the plague, it got these very negative associations with it because, because the scent of the flower, of course reminded everyone of, you know, death, people dying.
01:03:10:14 – 01:03:45:05
Unknown
So, again, one of those plants, one of those trees, well, we’ll call it a tree that is was revered and with a lot of sort of R and sort of good luck, bad luck. You know, there’s a lot of reservation around that. You never, ever, ever cut down the Hawthorn tree. There is a lot of bad luck associated with cutting down the Hawthorn tree, much like the much like the elder, but certainly with the Hawthorn.
01:03:45:08 – 01:04:15:17
Unknown
And there are some incredible stories around that give you. Tell us why I’m sure. Sure. So there’s one story out of Ulster, sort of a famous story where, I don’t know, maybe they were building a road or they were there was some construction project underway and the the men refused to cut down the tree because of all of the the lure that they knew about this tree.
01:04:15:17 – 01:04:47:25
Unknown
They never did that. You always respected it. It was the realm of the fairies. There would be a lot of bad luck associated with cutting down the Hawthorn tree. So much so that if if you cut one down, you’re it wasn’t just bad luck on you like the entire village would then be, you know, affected like hens would stop laying eggs and cows would stop giving milk and women couldn’t, you know, have babies.
01:04:47:25 – 01:05:12:19
Unknown
And so there were there were some real consequences around that. So these men were not going to have anything to do with cutting this tree down. The foreman was like, this is ridiculous. We’re going to cut this tree down. So he got in there and started cutting the tree down. And once he started digging up the root ball, apparently there were hundreds of white mice that just scattered heard everywhere.
01:05:12:21 – 01:05:48:29
Unknown
And the men were like, well, those are the fairies. That’s that’s what that was. Oh, pish posh, says the foreman. You guys are all bunch of superstitious sissies. Forget it. That’s ridiculous. About his work. He was taking the wheelbarrow out, you know, full of the dirt and the tree and whatever. And as he did that, a horse, one of the horses got spooked and died and he was crushed under the carts that he was pushing.
01:05:48:29 – 01:06:25:27
Unknown
So. So that’s one of those. Yeah. That’s actually supposedly a more recent story maybe from the, from the fifties that that happened. But those kinds of superstitions go way, way, way, way back around the tree. And I also read where I think it was in Galway that this was like a bit as of like 1999 where they had halted the project of constructing a road for something like ten years in order to avoid cutting this particular tree hawthorn tree down.
01:06:26:00 – 01:06:54:19
Unknown
So, so I think that that that people still have a lot of reverence and respect for it even today I’m just saying. Yeah. So that and I had a guest on in the beginning, I think Nancy Marie Brown, and she wrote a book about the elves in Iceland. Right now, a lot of construction is planned around where else are thought to live.
01:06:54:21 – 01:07:44:08
Unknown
And so that is like in and it’s actually considered in like in parliament or in their Congress when making these plans, they they will reroute things based on where these various years see and see or else year. So that is still something in modern day there as well. Yeah that’s that’s really interesting Yeah Yeah and it is it is it’s fascinating and yeah I have to say I love that, that those superstitions exists to that extent because I think they’re almost like, you know, sort of vestiges of a respect for nature that, yes, you know, we have we’ve lost in many ways.
01:07:44:08 – 01:08:15:06
Unknown
You know, I mean, people think nothing of cutting down a tree today, but that was not always the case. You know, there were there were spirits and dryads associated with those trees. And you just did not do that because there was a lot of bad luck that was going to follow if you did. Yeah. And, you know, there’s something about just that sort of like, Yeah, just like really being thoughtful about how you do things and why you do things and not just wantonly, you know.
01:08:15:09 – 01:08:39:02
Unknown
Yeah. Exploiting our resources in that way. So it’s kind of interesting. Yeah, Yeah. It was a really fascinating conversation. And she did talk a lot about how Iceland people are more connected with their environment and and world. And I think in part because, you know, Iceland is kind of still like a very, you know, rugged where there’s only like small pockets of where population live.
01:08:39:04 – 01:09:04:27
Unknown
And then the rest of it is, you know, pure, you know, uninhabited areas. And so there’s just a lot more of a connection with that. The land, the natural world. Yeah, exactly. And Iceland is such a it’s such an interesting place in terms of the geology and just active. You know, volcanoes and all the things going on there.
01:09:04:27 – 01:09:34:11
Unknown
So I think, yeah, there’s probably a real reverence for what they know nature can do, you know, if it’s not respected. Yeah, right, exactly right. I mean, those of us who have grown up around the coast, you know, growing up with hurricanes. Yeah. You have a real, real respect for what can happen. And and yeah, I think we’ve forgotten a lot of that.
01:09:34:11 – 01:10:13:13
Unknown
So interest living in cities. Yeah, right, right. But yeah, the Hawthorne in particular very, very interesting plant it, it, it too by the way is medicinal and is associated with heart health. Oh yeah. So, so that’s kind of an interesting one of its properties. It’s also a plant or a tree, I should say, that has been planted around Sacred Springs in Ireland and in England for for for centuries.
01:10:13:13 – 01:10:41:22
Unknown
So it’s considered a a holy tree and so, you know, you have sort of those pagan associations that go sort of ancient pagan associations that go way back around fairies and which is an that type of thing. But I would say sort of in in more modern times, a holy tree associated with these sacred springs and maybe sort like Catholic saints or, you know, that type thing.
01:10:41:22 – 01:11:18:12
Unknown
But they’re they are known as the the cloudy tree because a Klute is a scrap of of fabric. And again, this this is an ancient, ancient tradition. But you know pilgrims people would would go to the the sacred spring with an illness they’d tear off a strip their clothing dip it in the spring and then tie it to the branch of the hawthorn tree that was there.
01:11:18:15 – 01:11:52:06
Unknown
And that Hawthorn tree was thought to help heal that The combination of the sacred water and the tree was thought to help heal the person of whatever illness they were suffering from. So even today you’ll go to sacred Springs or in Ireland and you’ll see these trees that are just covered in scraps of cloth or a little, you know, little offerings have been left and those are nine times out of ten hawthorn trees.
01:11:52:08 – 01:12:37:17
Unknown
So yeah, the hawthorn berries are supposed to be heart healthy, heart healthy plants. So not not to my knowledge, not to the extent that they, you know, Elder is. But, but I think you can you know you can you can get Hawthorn in the form of, you know, sort of the leaves and use it as a as berries, as a tea.
01:12:37:19 – 01:13:18:24
Unknown
But I don’t know what other ways that it’s used medicinally, but I do know it’s supposed to be one of those ones that that’s very good for your heart. Health. Yeah. Yeah. No. Oh it, yeah. Yes. But no it doesn’t, It does not, It’s not. Khat is just your, you know, your typical plant that photosynthesize is. But yeah that may flower has that kind of very slight fragrance of rotting flesh.
01:13:18:26 – 01:13:59:05
Unknown
Not it’s not the overtone, it’s more like an undertone there. So it’s not, you know, it’s not necessarily something you’d walk up to and be like. But there is that sort of hint there. And and apparently during during the times of the plague, people really. Yeah, that was it was not it was not considered something that as a matter of fact I think what is the saying it’s like hawthorn flowers and elder flowers like it was considered bad luck to bring them inside.
01:13:59:07 – 01:14:37:28
Unknown
There was only one time of year when you could bring hawthorn flowers in, or I should say not Hawthorn flowers that hawthorn into the home. And that during, during the during the fall during you know what we consider Halloween that time during the will of the year when when things are getting you know it’s it’s like a it’s considered a thin time of year when the worlds are sort of like that was apparently the only time you could bring bring it inside otherwise you know it needed it needed to stay out because it was associated with bad luck.
01:14:38:01 – 01:15:06:12
Unknown
So, yeah, you’re right. Right. And I think that’s because of its spring blooms. And, you know, yeah, that and at the time of, you know, very often marriages took place in the spring so it was time of, you know but yeah, so it’s again got this sort of really mercurial kind of really good luck but also something you have to be really careful of.
01:15:06:12 – 01:15:35:18
Unknown
They were referred to as the gentle bushes because, you know, it was considered bad luck to to actually talk about the fairies. And and this was the fairy tree. This was know the trusting bush where fairies would come together and dance around it at night, that type thing. So you referred to it as the gentle bush without actually saying, you know, fairies because that could that could bring bring you some some strange luck.
01:15:35:21 – 01:16:05:00
Unknown
Right. So you had to be careful. Just had to be very careful around it. Yeah, I think so. I think in many cases, yes. I mean, it was the Mayflower. You just wouldn’t bring it inside. You would just you would just celebrate outside with these flowers that end. Elder It was like hawthorn bloom and elder flowers will fill the house.
01:16:05:00 – 01:16:43:09
Unknown
But I don’t know, there was some sort of saying around it, but it was like you just didn’t. You just didn’t. Yeah, you didn’t, didn’t mess with that. So. But yes, but still at the same time a mayflower all the beauty of spring all the association with that and that you know bounty and, and love and spring and all of that so yeah kind of it’s hawthorn you know it’s funny I’ve never actually, I’ve never seen one so I don’t, I don’t know.
01:16:43:12 – 01:17:17:08
Unknown
Yeah it is, it is, it is a European I mean it will grow here. I think it is considered somewhat invasive here. Once it gets here it can really kind of take over. But, but yeah, I mean you know for me of course I’m always interested in plants that, that have associations with Fairyland in the fairies. And I think it’s interesting that certain plants are particularly Yeah.
01:17:17:14 – 01:18:15:04
Unknown
You know have that like very rich lure around them. So for that reason that you know, that was one of the reasons I chose Hawthorn was because of all of the lore associated with it around, around fairies and that and that kind of lure because I find that just really, just super amazing and just really fun. Yeah. So, well, I am on Instagram, I will stay on Instagram, but I have launched a brand new Substack, which I’m really excited about called Flora and Forage, and it’s where I’ll be sharing reels, but also information about foraging and more folklore, of course, always associated with plants.
01:18:15:07 – 01:18:41:12
Unknown
I also, you know, will be able to write lengthier blog posts about these things. You know, when on Instagram you have a very limited amount of time to be able to share what what you need to share, which is good. But also, you know, sometimes people want more. So so I that’s where I’ll be sharing. The more of things.
01:18:41:14 – 01:19:18:06
Unknown
And then also I have like a little podcast that I’m putting on there as well. So it’s a nice platform for being able to offer a variety of, you know, sort of modes of sharing information. So yeah, yeah, it’s kind of like a newsletter, but blog. So the way it’s set up is like you would if you sign up, which is free to sign up, of course you would get my monthly newsletter and that would that.
01:19:18:07 – 01:19:36:22
Unknown
So I would, you would be able to get those delivered the reals delivered straight to your inbox as opposed to, say, looking on Instagram and like maybe missing them, you know, because of the way the algorithm works. So it’s a way to it’s a way for people to get the information. Be sure to get the information, if that makes sense.
01:19:36:25 – 01:20:10:29
Unknown
Yeah. And it’s also a place where I can offer subscriptions as well. So if people do want more, they have the option to to yes and scribe to get more of a paid subscription to get more. But my monthly newsletter is free and also I send out all kinds of stuff. It’s not just on the monthly. So like I’m getting I’m doing a series on Wild American Ginseng, a four part series on that, a little podcast to help people understand it and learn about the conservation concerns associated with it as well.
01:20:10:29 – 01:21:11:09
Unknown
So so yeah, so that’s, that’s some of the fun things with Substack. Yeah, on that. It’s on Substack Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s great. Thank you for this. Oh, this has been so much fun. I love talking about plants and this has been a really, really good time to share these incredible plant portals. So thank. Yeah, wonderful. Thank you so much for, for inviting me.
01:21:11:09 – 01:22:33:10
Unknown
It was. It was such a pleasure.