William Shakespeare, the world's greatest playwright, was also very fond of nature and in his plays and sonnets, he mentioned about 175 specific plants, trees, herbs, spices, vegetables, even the dangerous, poisonous or painful ones. In our research we found some quotes and the related plants.
Christian, Maryem, Davide, Giada III CC
The rue plant
The common rue (Ruta graveolens L.) is a plant of the Rutaceae family. It is common in Italy, even spontaneously below 1000 meters of altitude. It has a pleasant, not excessively strong aroma and is used to flavor grappa. The seeds along with the mint leaves are used to flavor game meat.It is a perennial plant with branched stems, 80 cm in height, with glaucous leaves, tripennatosette at the base, less divided at the apex with a green-blue color. It has yellow flowers, with the central pentamer flower and the other tetramers. The fruit is a subglobose capsule. It prefers arid and stony soils. The extracts of rue are mutagenic and hepatotoxic; in large doses they can cause violent gastric pain, vomiting, systemic complications, and even death. Rue oil can cause kidney damage and severe liver degeneration. Exposure to rue extracts, or to herbal preparations derived from it, can cause severe photodermatitis, which can cause real skin burns. Rue extracts are potentially useful as a potassium channel blocker. They are used to treat many neuromuscular problems and to stimulate the onset of menstruation, it also has an emmenagogue effect and abortive effects therefore it cannot be used by women of childbearing age. Furthermore, rue has a spasmolytic effect at relatively low doses for this reason it should be taken with caution, considering the potential for serious side effects; furthermore, clinical trials are limited.
Research conducted by Italian researchers has shown that the aqueous extract of Ruta graveolens L. induces death in various cell lines (U87MG, C6 and U138) of glioblastoma. The effect of Ruta graveolens would be mediated by ERK1 / 2 with the activation of AKT, and the inhibition of these pathways, via PD98058 and wortmannin, this aspect would justify the antiproliferative activity of the extract. Such compounds are now widely used to test new drugs in preclinical (animal) studies.
As Shakespeare said: Here did she fall a tear; here, in this place, l’ll set a bank of rue, sourherb of grace “King Richard II” III.iv. Ruta graveolens
LOST
I wouldn't want to make a hole in the ground to make us grow a shoot of theirs
more than, if I were painted, I would like that this young man found me beautiful and only for this would like to have children with me. Here are flowers for you:
fragrant lavender, mint, savory, marjoram, the orange flower, who goes to bed with the sun and with him she gets up, crying: these are flowers midsummer, and I think they happen
to middle-aged men. Welcome.
FENNEL
Erba aromatica
Origin
Fennel is a Mediterranean herbaceous shrub that arises spontaneously especially in central southern Italy. This aromatic plant belongs to the Umbelliferae family and has been known since ancient times for its aromatic properties.
Dal sapore simile all’aneto, viene utilizzato per insaporire piatti della cucina mediterranea. Ricco di proprietà fitoterapiche viene usato in tutte le sue parti nella preparazione di tisane dalle qualità digestive e carminative soprattutto per le donne.
It is an umbrella plant with the scientific name of Foeniculum vulgare, a poor relative of cultivated fennel but with different botanical characteristics.
Wild fennel is a spontaneous and perennial plant that consists of:
a branched stem up to 2 meters high
green threadlike leaves similar to hay
small yellow flowers arranged like an umbrella. Numerous seeds are born from these flowers which, with the wind, infest all the surrounding soil, spreading the medicinal plant out of all proportion, revealing the infesting nature of this shrub fruits - achenes - green / greyish
Being a perennial crop, it does not make it necessary to re-seed it: when winter arrives, it is cut at the root and then expects that in spring the main root will produce new shoots.
Cultivated fennel, on the other hand, is an annual or biennial plant with a tap root. It reaches 60–80 cm in height. The large white heart-shaped sheath that develops at the base is consumed.
Fennel
Healing properties
The wild fennel plant is entirely edible.
The seeds are used to flavor meat sauce, cheeses and biscuits, but also to spice meat and fish main courses.
Seeds and leaves macerated in pure alcohol make a very good liqueur or to enrich mulled wine or herbal teas. In fact, this medicinal plant has antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and digestive properties, as well as being curative for the intestine and colon.
In herbal medicine the parts of this medicinal plant are used for the preparation of dry extracts and essential oil.
The properties of wild fennel are many, so much so that it is a plant already widely used in ancient times.
Here are the properties that stand out the most:
antispasmodic
digestive
carminative, promotes the expulsion of intestinal gas
the antiseptic property helps eliminate bad breath.
It is recommended to take it as an herbal tea.
Use in the kitchen
All parts of the fennel can be used in the kitchen. The white part, in particular, is eaten raw or boiled, but it can also be au gratin in the oven and stewed with other vegetables. Wild fennel, on the other hand, is mainly used fresh or dried flowers, twigs, beards and seeds.
“There’s fennel for you, and columbines. There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me.”
- William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Davide Gnambodoe 3C
Ginger quote
● He’s of the color of the nutmeg, and of the heat and ginger he is pure air
and fire;He's of the colour of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the
ginger.... he is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water
never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts
him; he is indeed a horse, and all other jades you may call beasts.”
Comments