Poisonous Tears: Lily of the Valley (Toxic Tuesdays: A Weekly Guide to Poison Gardens)
Don’t let the diminutive appearance of the lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) fool you. The intoxicating scent of this tiny blossom belies its poisonous qualities. All parts of the plant are toxic to humans, cats and dogs. When ingested, cardiac glycosides in the plant can cause blurred vision, diarrhea and irregular heartbeat.
Lily of the valley is native to the woodland areas of Asia and Europe. The bell-shaped white flowers appear in late spring. Small red berries soon follow. The plant is prolific in nature, forming huge colonies with underground rhizomes. It makes a great groundcover for shadier sites.
While lily of the valley is the most common name, it also may be known as Our Lady’s Tears. Legend has it that the flower appeared from the tears Mary shed as she wept for her Son at the base of the Cross. Another legend claims the plant sprang from the blood of St. Leonard of Noblac as he battled a dragon.
The above is COPY and PASTE directly from a site named Britannica blog.
SUCH UNBELIEVABLE DRIVEL FROM A FAMOUS RESOURCE.
A sign of the times. Encyclopedia Britannica is not British anymore. It's American and suffers from the modern imperative of making money just as Big Pharma has no interest in your health just your wallet.
The masthead includes a graphic of a Scotch Thistle that has served as emblem for the famous Encyclopædica Britannica since its Scottish origins in Edinburgh nearly 250 years ago. (1768)
On searching Heather Blackmore we learn that she is a Master Gardener.
Disappointing that she does not provide a definitive answer on the origin of Lily of the Valley but leaves us to decide for ourselves whether they derived from the tears of Our Lady or from the blood of St. Leonard. He is the patron saint of prisoners whose iron shackles came undone at his command. There is a good Wikipedia article on the saint who is thought to have died in 559.
Nowhere did I find any mention of encountering dragons. Should I tease the writer and ask for the genus and species of the dragon? I don't really want to know the source of her silly story but if she is going to tell such tales she should try to get them right or at least consistant with previous fabulists
If there never was a dragon then I have to ask;
What kind of Master Gardener is she?
You might like to go back to my earlier post of September 4, 2011
EVERY BRIDE'S FAVOURITE
Don’t let the diminutive appearance of the lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) fool you. The intoxicating scent of this tiny blossom belies its poisonous qualities. All parts of the plant are toxic to humans, cats and dogs. When ingested, cardiac glycosides in the plant can cause blurred vision, diarrhea and irregular heartbeat. Lily of the valley is native to the woodland areas of Asia and Europe. The bell-shaped white flowers appear in late spring. Small red berries soon follow. The plant is prolific in nature, forming huge colonies with underground rhizomes. It makes a great groundcover for shadier sites.
While lily of the valley is the most common name, it also may be known as Our Lady’s Tears. Legend has it that the flower appeared from the tears Mary shed as she wept for her Son at the base of the Cross. Another legend claims the plant sprang from the blood of St. Leonard of Noblac as he battled a dragon.
The above is COPY and PASTE directly from a site named Britannica blog.
SUCH UNBELIEVABLE DRIVEL FROM A FAMOUS RESOURCE.
A sign of the times. Encyclopedia Britannica is not British anymore. It's American and suffers from the modern imperative of making money just as Big Pharma has no interest in your health just your wallet.
The masthead includes a graphic of a Scotch Thistle that has served as emblem for the famous Encyclopædica Britannica since its Scottish origins in Edinburgh nearly 250 years ago. (1768)
On searching Heather Blackmore we learn that she is a Master Gardener.
Disappointing that she does not provide a definitive answer on the origin of Lily of the Valley but leaves us to decide for ourselves whether they derived from the tears of Our Lady or from the blood of St. Leonard. He is the patron saint of prisoners whose iron shackles came undone at his command. There is a good Wikipedia article on the saint who is thought to have died in 559.
Nowhere did I find any mention of encountering dragons. Should I tease the writer and ask for the genus and species of the dragon? I don't really want to know the source of her silly story but if she is going to tell such tales she should try to get them right or at least consistant with previous fabulists
If there never was a dragon then I have to ask;
What kind of Master Gardener is she?
You might like to go back to my earlier post of September 4, 2011
EVERY BRIDE'S FAVOURITE
