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Spikenard
Spikenard, also called nard, nardin, and muskroot, is a class of aromatic amber-colored essential oil derived from '' Nardostachys jatamansi'', a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family which grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. The oil has been used over centuries as a perfume, a traditional medicine, or in religious ceremonies across a wide territory from India to Europe. Historically, the name ''nard'' has also referred to essential oils derived from other species including the closely related valerian genus, as well as Spanish lavender; these cheaper, more common plants have been used in perfume-making, and sometimes to adulterate true spikenard. Etymology The name "nard" is derived from Latin ''nardus'', from Ancient Greek νάρδος (''nárdos''). This word may ultimately derive either from Sanskrit नलद (''nálada'', Indian spikenard), or from Naarda, an ancient Assyrian city (possibly the modern town of Dohuk, Iraq). The "spike" in the na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nardostachys Jatamansi
''Nardostachys jatamansi'' is a flowering plant of the valerian family that grows in the Himalayas. It is a source of a type of intensely aromatic amber-colored essential oil, spikenard. The oil has, since ancient times, been used as a perfume, as a traditional medicine, and in religious ceremonies. It is also called spikenard, nard, nardin, or muskroot. It is considered endangered due to overharvesting for folk medicine, overgrazing, loss of habitats, and forest degradation. Description ''Nardostachys jatamansi'' is a flowering plant of the honeysuckle family that grows in the eastern Himalayas, primarily in a belt through Kumaon, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. The plant grows in height and has pink, bell-shaped flowers. It is found at an altitude of . Rhizomes (underground stems) can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic amber-colored essential oil, which is very thick in consistency. Nard oil is used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, and an herbal medicine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asarum Europaeum
''Asarum europaeum'', commonly known as asarabacca, European wild ginger, hazelwort, and wild spikenard, is a species of flowering plant in the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae, native to large parts of temperate Europe, and also cultivated in gardens. It is a creeping evergreen perennial with glossy green, kidney shaped leaves and solitary dull purple flowers hidden by the leaves. Though its roots have a ginger aroma, it is not closely related to the true culinary ginger ''Zingiber officinale'', which originates in tropical Asian rainforests. It is sometimes harvested for use as a spice or a flavoring. In former days, it was used in snuff and also medicinally as an emetic and cathartic. Description The prostrate stems are long, each bearing two reniform leaves with long petioles. The leaves are about 10 cm wide. The upper surface of the leaves is shiny, and they have a pepper-like taste and smell. There are also 2 to 3 stipules present that occur in two rows opposite e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valeriana Celtica
''Valeriana celtica'' is a species of plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. It is also known as Alpine valerian and valerian spikenard. It is endemic to the Eastern Alps (''V. celtica'' subsp. ''norica'') and to the Graian and Pennine Alps. It grows as a perennial herb tall. Along with '' Valeriana saxatilis'' and '' Valeriana elongata'', it forms a clade of dioecious plants. Until the 1930s, it was extensively harvested for export to Asia for use in perfumes. The root has been used as a folk remedy Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ... as a nerve tonic. Gallery File:Atlas der Alpenflora (10055664615).jpg, ''V. celtica'' from '' Atlas der Alpenflora'', 1882 File:Valeriana celtica (Echt-Speik) IMG 5631.jpg, ''V. celtica'' in the wild File:Valeriana celtica (Echt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valeriana
''Valeriana'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae, members of which may by commonly known as valerians. It contains many species, including the garden valerian, ''Valeriana officinalis''. Species are native to all continents except Antarctica, with centers of diversity in Eurasia and South America (especially in the Andes). Fossil record Fossil seeds of ''Valeriana sp,'' among them †''Valeriana pliocenica'', have been recovered from Late Miocene deposits of southern Ukraine, from Pliocene deposits of south-eastern Belarus and Bashkortostan in central Russia. The fossil seeds are most similar to the extant European ''Valeriana simplicifolia''. Species , Plants of the World Online accepts over 420 species and hybrids, including: *''Valeriana alypifolia'' *''Valeriana aretioides'' *''Valeriana asterothrix'' *''Valeriana bertiscea'' *''Valeriana buxifolia'' *''Valeriana californica'' *'' Valeriana celtica'' (Alpine valerian or valerian spikenard) *''Valeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of spermatophyte, seed plants where flowers are formed on the axis of a plant. The modifications can involve the length and the nature of the internode (botany), internodes and the phyllotaxis, as well as variations in the proportions, compressions, swellings, adnations, connations and reduction of main and secondary axes. One can also define an inflorescence as the reproductive portion of a plant that bears a cluster of flowers in a specific pattern. The stem holding the whole inflorescence is called a Peduncle (botany), peduncle. The major axis (incorrectly referred to as the main stem) above the peduncle bearing the flowers or secondary branches is called the rachis. The stalk of each flower in the inflorescence is called a Pedicel (botany) , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cymbopogon Nardus
''Cymbopogon nardus'', common name citronella grass, is a species of perennial aromatic plant from the family Poaceae, originating in tropical Asia. It is the source of an essential oil known as citronella oil, which is widely used for its natural insect-repelling properties. ''C. nardus'' cannot be eaten because of its unpalatable nature, and is an invasive species that renders pastureland useless, since cattle will starve even in its abundance. Ethnobotanical uses Essential oils are extracted from the aerial parts and applied topically or slowly burned (e.g. in a "citronella candle") as an insect repellent, particularly to deter haematophagous insects such as mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...es. References *http://www.fao.org/AG/AGP/AGPC/doc/GBA ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allium Victorialis
''Allium victorialis'', commonly known as victory onion, Alpine leek, and Alpine broad-leaf allium is a broad-leaved Eurasian species of wild onion. It is a perennial of the Amaryllis family that occurs widely in mountainous regions of Europe and parts of Asia (Caucasus and Himalayas). Some authors consider certain East Asian and Alaskan populations as constituting subspecies ''platyphyllum'' within the species ''Allium victorialis''. Recent sources recognize this group as a distinct species, called ''Allium ochotense.'' General description ''Allium victorialis'' attains a height of and forms a sheathed bulb ("root-stalk") about the thickness of a finger and long.. height; and rootstalk . Leaves are broad elliptical or lanceolate. Flowers (perianths) are whitish green. Distribution ''Allium victorialis'' is found widely across mountain ranges Europe, as well as the Caucasus and the Himalayas. Nomenclature The specific epithet ''victorialis'' comes from the German ''Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippocras
Hippocras ( ca, Pimentes de clareya; lat, vīnum Hippocraticum), sometimes spelled hipocras or hypocras, is a drink made from wine mixed with sugar and spices, usually including cinnamon, and possibly heated. After steeping the spices in the sweetened wine for a day, the spices are strained out through a conical cloth filter bag called a ''manicum hippocraticum'' or Hippocratic sleeve (originally devised by the 5th century BC Greek physician Hippocrates to filter water), from which the name of the drink is derived. History Spiced wine was popular in the Roman Empire, as seen in the writings of Pliny the Elder and Apicius. In the 12th century, a spiced wine named "pimen" or "piment" was mentioned by Chrétien de Troyes. During the 13th century, the city of Montpellier had a reputation for trading spiced wines with England. The first recipes for spiced wine appeared at the end of the 13th century (recipes for red wine and piment found in the Tractatus de Modo) or at the begi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural History (Pliny)
The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. Despite the work's title, its subject area is not limited to what is today understood by natural history; Pliny himself defines his scope as "the natural world, or life". It is encyclopedic in scope, but its structure is not like that of a modern encyclopedia. It is the only work by Pliny to have survived, and the last that he published. He published the first 10 books in AD 77, but had not made a final revision of the remainder at the time of his death during the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius. The rest was published posthumously by Pliny's nephew, Pliny the Younger. The work is divided into 37 books, organised into 10 volumes. These cover topics including astronomy, mathematics, geography, ethnography, anthropology, human physio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pliny The Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' Naturalis Historia'' (''Natural History''), which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. His nephew, Pliny the Younger, wrote of him in a letter to the historian Tacitus: Among Pliny's greatest works was the twenty-volume work ''Bella Germaniae'' ("The History of the German Wars"), which is no longer extant. ''Bella Germaniae'', which began where Aufidius Bassus' ''Libri Belli Germanici'' ("The War with the Germans") left off, was used as a source by other prominent Roman historians, including Plutarch, Tacitus and Suetonius. Tacitus—who many scholars agree had never travelled in Germania—used ''Bella Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, and was ruled by emperors. From the accession of Caesar Augustus as the first Roman emperor to the military anarchy of the 3rd century, it was a Principate with Italia as the metropole of its provinces and the city of Rome as its sole capital. The Empire was later ruled by multiple emperors who shared control over the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The city of Rome remained the nominal capital of both parts until AD 476 when the imperial insignia were sent to Constantinople following the capture of the Western capital of Ravenna by the Germanic barbarians. The adoption of Christianity as the state church of the Roman Empire in AD 380 and the fall of the Western ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
