Rhododendron kiusianum section tsutsusi

The nectar of rhododendrons is toxic. Somehow the bees can deal with it, but the humans cannot. In 401 BC, Greek soldiers ate honey from wild hives near the black sea and became sick for several days. That was just an accident. But an event in 67 BC was more like chemical warfare. Pompey's Roman armies were tempted by the same kind of honey in the same area, but this time the honey was deliberately placed by the enemy (Persians). Pompey's soldiers were so sick that they were easily killed. In 946 AD, the foes of Olga of Kieve were defeated by mead made from toxic honey.

Toxic honey has also been used in religious ritual. If you eat just a little, you hallucinate instead of getting really sick. In the 7th century BC, bee priestesses or "Melissae" revealed the future under the influence of maddening honey according to the Greek poet Homer. They ate "meli chloron" or green honey to put them in a spiritual frenzy and inspire their prophecies. Was it just toxic honey, mead made from toxic honey, or mead spiked with toxic honey? No one knows for sure.

In the 18th century, toxic honey, or "miel fou" was shipped from Turkey to European taverns where it was mixed with Ale to give it an extra kick. I guess it is no longer available, though. I couldn't find any rhodie honey on Goggle shopping. [Edit June 2019: Rhodie honey now available on the internet.]  (Sacred Plant)

I don't really think of this as Rhododendron season, this R. kiusianum is in full bloom now at the UC Botanical Garden. 

(intoxicating plant) (Human/Insect/Plant triad) (Sacred Plant) (insect)

Artemisia absinthium--Wormwood--Asteraceae

Imagine France during the Bell Epoque. In the nightclubs, one stylish drink was absinthe. The ritual was important. The clear green liquor is poured into the bulb at the bottom of a stemmed glass. A flat sugar spoon is laid across the top of the glass. The water is poured over the sugar and into the glass. As the water hits the absinthe, it changes from clear green to cloudy and the green fairy is released. Absinthe has the flavor of Liquorice, but the famous ingredient is wormwood, which contains thujone, a neurotoxin. It was thought that it was thujone that caused absinthe drinkers to hallucinate and become delirious. But really, no one know what it actually was. At any rate, people blame absinthe for the sinister quality of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories. Perhaps it was the absinthe that caused Vincent Van Gogh to cut off his ear. And the poet Paul Veraine binged on absinthe before setting his wife's hair on fire. Recent research indicates that absinthe had little thujone and that it could not have caused the problems. Some believe that the spirit was adulterated with copper sulfate, a pesticide, or copper acetate, because it was cheaper to create the green color that way, and perhaps the copper caused people to go crazy. Perhaps it was more of a political thing. Maybe the politicians wanted to ban absinthe because it was a big part of the counterculture. Or maybe the wine makers wanted to sell more wine. Anyway, it was banned for many years, but it now legal again.


(intoxicating plant)

Humulus lupulus--Common Hop--Cannabaceae

Humulus lupulus is native to Europe, but other species are native to North America, South America, and Asia. Hop is in the same family as marijuana, and like marijuana, it is psychoactive, just not so strong. It makes people feel sleepy and relaxed. Seems like it is a good thing to add to alcohol, because alcohol can sometimes cause people to become violent. Beer is just better!

The hops adds flavor to beer and adds a calming element to the drink. It is also a preservative and keeps the beer from going bad. Even a beer with a low alcohol content can keep for a long time if it is flavored with hops.

Hop is a vine, hops are the female flower clusters used to flavor beer for thousands of years. Currently, crops are grown in Asia, Australia, Europe and the western US. The flowers are dried before being used in brewing.

Mostly hops are used in beer. But they are also used in soft drinks in Sweden and Latin America. A hops pillow is sometimes used for insomnia since hops can make people feel sleepy and relaxed. It is used in some deodorants to kill bacteria. And the dried flowers are decorative and can be used in a bouquet or wreath.

The young shoots of the hop plant can be eaten as a vegetable. The spears are eaten much like asparagus. If you want to grow hops or use hops, just look online. Many different products are available.

Beer was first made thousands of years ago, and the use of hops is hundreds of years old. It is a product of enduring appeal.

(intoxicating plants)

Vitis labrusca cv. Tokay--Tokay Grape--Vitaceae

Vitis labrusca is native to the eastern US and is the source of many cultivars, including Concord grapes. Grapes have been made into wine for thousands of years. It is very easy to make alcohol using grapes, because all the necessary ingredients are there. The white bloom on the fruit is yeast, and the grapes have plenty of sugar. So when they are crushed and sit in the sun, they turn into wine.

It is not only humans that get drunk on wine. Butterflies do, too. An acquaintance who grew up on a vineyard told me that the butterflies in the area sipped the fermented juice from the grapes that fell to the ground, and that they had a difficult time flying after that.

Wine has been used in religious ceremonies for thousands of years. Bread and wine was served at the last supper, and Jesus asked his disciples to use bread and wine to remember him. In the Jewish religion, a blessing over wine sanctifies the Shabbat.

Vitis vinifera, the common grape vine, is native to the Mediterranean. It is cultivated throughout the world.

(intoxicating plants)

Bananas

Several types of bananas grow behind the tropical house at the UC Botanical Garden. Some in the genus Musa. And at least one labeled Eusete. That genus is not listed in Hortus Third. I do find the red banana, Ensete maurelli, on the web. Perhaps the plant is mislabeled.

Bananas are one of the few fruits that will ripen without being pollinated. Those that are pollinated develop large seeds with make them difficult to eat. The flowers hang in a huge inflorescence. An old one is in the second picture. The flowers mature row by row, each row covered by large bracts before it is ready. Then the bananas hang in rows, pointing upwards.

We think it as a "banana tree," but if you look, you will notice that the "trunk" is made up of the leaf bases. So it has no woody trunk, and is not really a tree.

Other parts of the plant are also used by humans. The banana leaves are used as plates or to wrap food for grilling in some areas, especially in the southern portion of India. The fiber is used for textiles, especially in Japan. The plant can also be used to make paper. The sap can be used as glue.

Remember the song, "Mellow Yellow" by Donovan? It came out just three weeks after Country Joe McDonald declared that he got high smoking banana skins. This accidental synchrony probably helped both their careers and the belief that bananas are intoxicating. However, if you listen carefully to the words, you'll find that the song is about sex not drugs. And Country Joe was dropping acid at the same time that he was smoking banana peels, so he was confused about what caused him to feel different. I guess you don't think straight when you have acid in your system. Funny thing, though, the morning after Country Joe announced at a concert how effective bananas are, the fruit disappeared from grocery stores. So many disappointed hippies!

Leymus condensatus--Giant Ryegrass

Maybe there is real rye someplace at the UC Botanical Garden, but I don't know where. Is it Lolium? Secale? I can't figure it out. But we do have a California native rye. Leymus is susceptible to to ergot just like rye used for food.

Ergot is a fungus that  has several effects. It narrows blood vessels, increases uterine contractions, and causes hallucinations. Starting in the 1400s, midwives used ergot to speed the delivery of the placenta, and reduce bleeding after birth. At a time when when Europeans generally believed that all knowledge came from god through the bible, midwives, who learned about the natural world and made use of their knowledge, were suspect and called witches.  Ergot causes stomach problems if eaten. Therefor, it was generally applied to mucus membranes with a dildo. To reduce the chance that men would interfere with their work (and hallucinogenic fun) midwives disguised their dildos as brooms. Since the hallucinations were often about flying, witches are often depicted flying on their brooms.



When people eat it inadvertently, bigger problems arise. Some researches think that the Salem Witch Trials were a result of ergot poisoning. Perhaps after a wet winter, people ate bread made from infected rye. The ergot can cause people to tremble, writhe, spasm and seize. They scream and dance because they feeling like they are burning. So maybe they seemed like they were possessed or like they were witches. Then others were perhaps not so seriously infected, but still poisoned enough that they were irrational. So my guess is that both the accused and the accusers were sick. But no one really knows.

By narrowing blood vessels, too much ergot can cause reduced blood flow to the extremities. Worst case scenario, hands and feet and die and fall off. So serious side effects are possible, and careful dosing is necessary.

(Intoxicating Plant)

Root Beer

Sassafras has several different leaf shapes, much like mulberry; ghost, mitten, football. Can you find all three in the picture? It also has an interesting history. A pharmacist invented root beer in 1870. It has many ingredients, but the sassafras root contributed one of the main flavors. He was trying to create a miracle drug, but sassafras is a carcinogen, and is no longer allowed in consumables. When root beer was first created, it was a "small beer," and had a low alcohol content like all small beers. At that time, the purity of water was always in question, and people used small beers instead of water. The alcohol content killed germs so that the water was safer to drink for people of all ages. Back then, a parent would have been crazy to give their kids plain water instead of beer. Now a parent would be considered crazy if they served alcohol to their offspring. Times change!




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