119/366: Touch Me!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sun, 01 May 2016 05:53:06 +0000

When I visited my friend Elaine's garden a few years ago, I was delighted to find both flowers and decorative plants to photograph. When I found this Sage plant, I was immediately taken by its beautifully fuzzy leaves and two-toned color. I experimented to try to get an interesting image and found success in a very shallow focus on the front leaves. What surprised me was the wonderful bokeh the fuzz provided! I feel a very strong urge to pet the leaves, and am so disappointed that my computer monitor isn't soft and fuzzy! :D

Thanks Pam, for letting me know this is Sage! :) I asked Elaine and she confirmed it: SAGE! :D

English Plantain: The 64th Flower of Spring & Summer! (Explore 21!)

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 04:44:24 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Even though this flower is considered to be an invasive weed, I've always loved its unusual and interesting shape. What I didn't know was its colorful history! A native plant of Europe, it is now found in most parts of the world and has been found all the way back to the early Neolithic age, about 8,000 years ago! I wonder if that's why it's so odd looking!!! There is evidence that people in what is now Germany gathered "Plantago lanceolata" for a food source for their farm animals. It has been historically known as a medicinal cure-all, even mentioned by Chaucer and Shakespeare!

Today, this herbal plant is found to be useful as a cough suppressant and if you look up Ricola, you'll see this herb listed as one of the ingredients they use in their formulas! It's also used in teas and other herbal remedies. Besides its mediciinal uses, Plantains (not related to the banana relative by the same name) are also edible; young leaves and flower heads can be added to salads; the leaves can be substituted for spinach. If you would like to know more about its edible and medicinal uses, there's a great page here: Prairie Land Herbs: Plantain If you would like to know more about the plant in general, Wiki has a source here: Wiki: Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and here Wiki: Plantago

Explored on June 10, 2012, placement at #406

Photos, videos and docs of Janet Brien, with the keywords: "herb"

119/366: Touch Me!

English Plantain: The 64th Flower of Spring & Summer! (Explore 21!)