Morsels of Curiosity II

More popcorn for your brain

"If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."

Psalm 39:9,10

KJV

Broomstraw

I looked up broomstraw a few days ago to get its official name, and the first several searches that came up were "How Do I Get Rid of Broomstraw?"

I was shocked and offended. I discovered broomstraw, several years ago and had considered it a regal species ever since, worthy of a place in every home. Why would you want to get rid of it?

The problem, I soon discovered, was that I was seeing search results for a prolific weed that grows in ditches and along roadsides pretty much. . . well, everywhere in the southeast. It seems there are 25 or so varieties of broomstraw, all within the grass family, and some are more welcome than others.

Three vases of broomstraw

What I call "real" broomstraw, or broomcorn, is a variety of sorghum that grows long, stiff tassels used for decorative crafts, very different from what you see growing in ditches.

It also has a long history of providing long-ago folks with just the right sticks and stalks for making brooms. The stalks can grow as tall as 15 and 20 feet and have the most beautiful, colorful seedheads--red, rust, orange, amber, natural, black--that rustle and wave in autumn breezes.

Three Vases of Broomstraw

The craft of making brooms with broomstraw goes back to Benjamin Franklin's days, kinda like everything else. Sometimes I run into a crafts fair or gift shop that carries brooms made with broomstraw, and two or three pieces of the straw still have seed heads attached. Those are my favorites by far, and I consider them "art brooms" to be coveted.

But the fun doesn't end there. One type of broomcorn makes sorghum syrup, so if it's the delicious syrup you are looking for, you will need a variety called "sorghum bi-color." Sorghum syrup is popular in our area, and can be found easily during the fall. It has a sweet, mellow, caramel-like flavor that is different from other syrups you may have eaten, and is excellent on toast and biscuits.

Here's the most interesting thing about this common grain: some areas of the world make popped sorghum. It is a popular snack in India, and is much like popcorn, only smaller.

I'll have some of that!

One More Thing

Broomcorn, or broomstraw, is an annual that grows easily in dry, sunny locations. It also reseeds easily, or you can buy seeds of mixed colors to start your own beautiful patch of fall color. The stalks with their seeds dry easily and last for months.

To preserve, cut stalks several inches below the beginning of the tassels, and hang upside down in a warm dry place.

Eucalyptus

This little sprig is all I have left of my eucalyptus tree after a dark angel of the night snatched the life out of it like an invisible thief. Before that, it was stately and tall, at lease by my garden standards.

Eucalyptus originated in Australia and doesn't like cold temperatures, so I planted it beside the potting shed three years ago to protect it from our cold winter rains. It grew quickly to about eleven feet tall and only about three feet wide...an odd little tree. I was proud of it though.

There are more than 700 varieties of Eucalyptus, some as tall as 250-300 feet. Of course, in my garden, eleven feet feels like 300 feet.

Sprigs of Silver Dollar Eucalyptus

The Silver Dollar variety is the one we are most familiar with in the United States, and is my favorite. It has a thin, supple leaf about the size of a quarter, with the most beautiful, dusty blue-green color.

Eucalyptus Sprig

Traipsing out to the potting shed on a cold fall day to collect my eucalyptus stash for the winter is a kind of calm, earth-bound ritual for me. It's often cloudy and winter is still a thing of the future, but not for long.

Late autumn is when I usually take a basket and scissors outside and snip several fresh sprigs or branches from the tree to use in small wreaths or simply put into vases where they dry naturally if you don't give them water. The leaves curl a little as they dry, but for me that only adds more charm to the beautiful color.

There is a lighweight, winter jacket involved, of course.

I have hope, however, that it will sprout back again from its roots, come spring. Such is also the way of spring. In the meantime I was given an unexpected bundle of cut eucalyptus from a friend who had trimmed her tree. It was a nice surprise, and already sits drying in a glass vase in our living room.

As for my own eucalyptus tree that died late this summer, it didn't enter my mind in the spring that its very life was threatened, nor will I ever likely know what destroyed it--only that it was quick. Such is the way of all the earth sometimes.

By the Way

Eucalyptus contains a spicy, pungent-scented essential oil called eucalyptol. It is used for respiratory conditions and to control bacterial infections, among other things. It's a popular oil, and you would most likely recognize the scent even if you didn't know its name.

The Mysterious Mandrake

In the book of Genesis, Rachel bargains for the mandrakes Reuben has recently gathered in the field. (Genesis 30:14)

It's always been curious to me what was so special about the mandrakes. After a little searching this week, I found some clues and I should have known that with a folk name like "Devil's Apple" the plot would thicken, and thicken it did.

Here is a small sample of what I found.

The mandrake is a small plant that grows low to the ground in the sparse, sandy soil of the middle east. It grows orange, apple-like fruits, that are small.

But it's the root that is prized, and has quite a history. Mandrake is a poisonous, hallucinogenic plant, long associated with magic. Thus the common name, Devil's Apple. The unique, two-legged root, which was said to resemble the human form, was once dried and used as a favorite ingredient in witches brews.

It also had a reputation as a love potion and was used as a fertility charm.

According to legend, it was dangerous to uproot a mandrake because the plant gave out a piercing shriek that meant certain death, and that's why dogs were used to pull up the plant.

During the reign of Henry VIII, the mandrake's human-shaped roots were thought to bring prosperity and were therefore valuable for trading and selling.

The mandrake has pain-killing properies and was used during the middle ages as an anaesthetic during surgery, and as a general sedative.

I suspect the powerful properties of this plant led ultimately to its place in folklore, where, like so many plants, it eventually became a mixture of medicine and superstition.

As for Rachel, she wanted desparately to have a child. That is, no doubt, why she was so focused on having the mandrakes. Knowing this bit of mandrake history and lore has certainly made the Genesis account more meaningful and vivid.

Note: There is an American mandrake that is sometimes called the May Apple, but it is not related to the middle eastern mandrake. Both, however, are considered highly poisonous and should be avoided.

"A well-stocked pantry is a cheerful port in a difficult storm." (thr)

"Simplicity is the essence of seeing things clearly."

Oswald Chambers

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