Can you ... what??

[telecom_goddess]

I had no idea there was blooming tea like that it looks cool, wonder how it tastes. The tea not the flower

[Pixilated]

Because some of us think it's pretty. You can buy it in nurseries every Spring. Same reason for seeing Jimson weed in landscaping around here....and because Georgia O'Keeffe made a lot of paintings of it.

Really? I've never had a garden before but I wouldn't have expected to find it in a nursery. I've never yanked it out (although one former landlord did) -- admittedly mostly because I just liked the idea of having something with such a deadly reputation in the garden.

I had no idea there was blooming tea like that it looks cool, wonder how it tastes. The tea not the flower

Well, the three my store offers are fruit flavoured: strawberry, peach and pineapple. I've tried the peach and it's a very nice, delicate flavour.

[PepperElf]

Bears. Bears are natural.

Indeed they are. Although unlike hemlock, bears are at least edible. Although I've heard their meat's a bit tough.

Arsenic's very natural too!!

Oh, and water's a chemical.

yep, arsenic is an element.

and indeed, water IS a chemical. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chemical

[Pagan]

Heh. Kinda like my usual comments when someone says "It's good cos it's natural!" ... cos I always point out that "Hemlock is natural too, but you don't want to eat it."

Ye, gods I hate that! So's pollen. Guess what I spend most of my time in the spring sneezing at?

I always get people trying to give me chamomile tea for an upset stomach. Great. Except for the fact that I'm horrifically allergic to ragweed and chamomile is a close cousin. They both give me hives when my skin comes in contact with them. I really don't want hives in my digestive tract.

[Shalom]

Anyone else think about a "Three's Company" episode on reading this post, namely the one where Jack reads the title of a book "How to tell a mushroom from a toadstool, by the late Dr. so-and-so"?

"All mushrooms are edible. Some of them only once."

The latin name for foxglove is Digitalis, and extracts of it ((digoxin) are available by prescription for certain types of heart disease; usual dose is 1/8 to 1/4 of a milligram, which is really damn little when you come to think of it. I'd not like to eat a whole plant, given how potent the stuff is.

Still, it's a beautiful flower.

[fireheart]

Oh, I've seen those.... am I right in thinking that you drop them in a glass, then top it up with sparkling wine?

Yes, that's the one.

You can use any bubbly you like and the flower's edible as well.

[Seshat]

The latin name for foxglove is Digitalis, and extracts of it ((digoxin) are available by prescription for certain types of heart disease; usual dose is 1/8 to 1/4 of a milligram, which is really damn little when you come to think of it. I'd not like to eat a whole plant, given how potent the stuff is.

Still, it's a beautiful flower.

Oh, I completely agree.

And we would be without a very effective heart medication if foxglove became extinct.

I just think it has no place in an ordinary home garden, where children and animals are easily exposed to it. Every part of that particular plant contains the digoxin.

Imaginary scene:

Nursery worker: Now, when gardening anywhere near this plant, be sure to wear gloves and long sleeves, and not get any of the sap on you.
SC: yeah, yeah. <obviously not listening>

two years later....
SC's spouse: YOU! You killed my wife!



.....


(sigh)

[Geek King]

Excellent point, Seshat! I've seen foxglove growing in yards before (which is odd, because who in heck would actually plant stuff like that??) -- including, I'm fairly sure, my mom's backyard here.

The page I mentioned earlier that listed the edible flowers also had a link to a list of flowers that you should not eat. This is definitely a case of "do your research first."

Chrysanthemums are apparently used as a natural insecticide. Great, my grandmother's been raising a poisoner's garden all these years.

[Moirae]

That is really awesome. Never seen it before. Im not much of a tea drinker but is it ever pretty.