Plant-lovers take note: Around the World in 80 Plants is your next must-read. In his follow-up to the bestselling Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori takes another trip across the globe, bringing to life the science of plants by revealing how their worlds are intricately entwined with our own history, culture and folklore. From the seemingly familiar tomato and dandelion to the eerie mandrake and Spanish ‘moss’ of Louisiana, each of these stories is full of surprises. Some have a troubling past, while others have ignited human creativity or enabled whole civilizations to flourish.
Today, you can read an extract from this beautiful book – read on to find out all about the chrysanthemum and artichoke plants!
JAPAN
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum spp.)
Although they are native to the region that stretches from the Balkans to Japan, most chrysanthemums evolved in the Far East, and they have been cultivated for their flowers in China for at least 2,500 years. Like daisies, the composite flowers are made up of many tiny individual florets in the centre, surrounded by ‘ray florets’ radiating outwards, and since most varieties will bloom only during nights with at least 10½ hours of darkness, they add welcome colour to late autumn. They have been bred into myriad colours and forms: single and double layers, flat or curled, and even – the poodles of the plant world – spherical pompoms.
Some species are useful too. These include the Dalmatian chrysanthemum (confusingly known as Tanacetum cinerariifolium), originally from the eastern Adriatic, which has vibrant fuchsia rays around a yellow centre, and the stark white ‘painted daisy’ (Chrysanthemum coccineum) from the Caucasus. Their flower heads and seed pods contain pyrethrins – used to make insecticides that are biodegradable and non-toxic to mammals, but act swiftly (although sadly, indiscriminately), on insects as nerve poisons. The plants also exude a pheromone that deters aphids while at the same time attracting ladybirds and other useful predators to eat them.
Globally, chrysanthemums are the most popular cut flower after roses, although they are not regarded by every culture with equal joy. In New Orleans, parts of eastern Europe and especially Italy, they are associated with mourning. Elsewhere, they have happy connotations, but in the Far East they are particularly auspicious; linked to rejuvenation and longevity, they are an optimistic motif. In Chinese traditional painting, chrysanthemums (along with plum, orchid and bamboo) are one of the ‘four gentlemen’ regarded as ‘noble species’. In Japan, the highest national honour is the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, and the ubiquitous Imperial Seal of Japan represents the much-loved flower. At autumn chrysanthemum festivals, waterfalls of blossom are displayed alongside plants, primped and pinched so that hundreds of blooms form radiant domes, each atop a single stem. Mildly unsettling floral mannikins dressed as computer-game characters are juxtaposed with heroes from kabuki theatre; they contrast with the serene elegance of kiku-zake – an infusion of floating petals in a sake cup. Such celebrations are distinctly Japanese, combining tradition and modernity with respect for nature and the simultaneous wish to sculpt it.
ITALY
Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus)
The artichoke does not exist in the wild. It was probably bred in the Middle Ages from cardoons, imposing members of the thistle family whose stems have been eaten since antiquity. Its curious common name derives from the Arabic spoken by the traders who brought it to Europe. Its scientific name, meanwhile, is widely – but inaccurately – linked to a non-existent Greek myth involving Cynara, who was turned into the vegetable by Zeus as a punishment for some piffling transgression.
In 1948 Castroville, California, appointed the budding actress Norma Jeane Mortenson, who had just become known as Marilyn Monroe, to be the state’s first Honorary Artichoke Queen. Her rather light duties included meeting growers and, principally, being photographed wearing a sash. Ever the assertive marketeers, Castroville today has an artichoke festival and (steady yourself ) the world’s largest concrete artichoke. Creating a modern-day myth, the little town has dubbed itself the ‘Artichoke Center of the World’, even though Italy produces eight times the crop of the entire United States.
Artichoke plants are muscular, stout-stemmed and head-high, with deeply lobed blue-green leaves. Their flower heads are cloaked in leathery bracts, specially adapted leaves to protect the flowers that develop inside. Although they are rarely allowed to blossom, they develop into splendid fist-sized blooms, bluish-purple, sweetly fragrant and long-lasting. Look closely and you will see that the flower head is composed of hundreds of individual shimmering florets.
Whole flowering heads can be steeped in water to extract enzymes that coagulate warm milk. The resulting traditional Spanish and Italian cheeses have a soft, buttery texture and a pleasant, subtle bitterness, and are especially desirable to people who prefer to avoid rennet, the usual clotting agent, which is derived from calves’ stomachs.
Most artichokes are eaten before the flower heads have a chance to open. Obviously, they taste best when their hearts are grilled with a hint of orange, but, steamed whole and accompanied by lashings of melted butter from a communal dish, the dipped bracts make a sociable and engagingly messy treat. Finally reaching the secret, tender heart makes the world feel more agreeable; the artichoke’s unusual chemistry confuses the tongue so that even plain water tastes sweet afterwards.
—Around the World in 80 Plants by Jonathan Driori and illustrated by Lucille Clerc (Laurence King Publishing) is out now.
Around the World in 80 Plants
In his follow-up to the bestselling Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori takes another trip across the globe, bringing to life the science of plants by revealing how their worlds are intricately entwined with our own history, culture and folklore.
From the seemingly familiar tomato and dandelion to the eerie mandrake and Spanish 'moss' of Louisiana, each of these stories is full of surprises. Some have a troubling past, while others have ignited human creativity or enabled whole civilizations to flourish. With a colourful cast of characters...
Comments
No comments