Re: Re: OT-CHAT: Iris fragrance

From: hipsource@aol.com

In a message dated 2/29/00 7:15:19 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
hipsource@aol.com writes:

<<  " In speaking of the Iris, Pliny said: 'If one will dig the root, let him 
 scatter honey water about him for three months to appease the earth with 
flattery, mark a three fold circle about him with the point of his sword, 
pull out the root and raise it to the heaven'. This ritual which seems to 
have been considerably observed by the ancient herbalists and apothecaries no 
doubt owes its origin to the fact that phosphorescence is shown by the 
fractured rhizome of Iris florentina, when dug at night." >>

Now here is an odd turn of events. I had occasion this evening to be doing a 
bit of iris research and in the journal SIGNA for Autumn of 1993 I found an 
article by Anne Blanco-White on Iris foetidissima, an iris known for the 
smell of its leaves which some find disagreeably reminiscent of roast meat, 
but which I don't mind. Listen:

"...the late great Pliny recorded that if a plant was lifted at full moon by 
digging out a circle of the soil with the plant in it using an iron sword 
then the roots would luminesce.Alas, do wath I may I cannot reproduce this 
phenomenon. The faily says it is because I use a stainless steel spade and I 
should go shopping for a sword. But liny doesn't say he did this himself. Now 
the priests and priestesses of his timeoften had their templesin groves of 
trees and rotting branches or roots frequentlycarry fungi that do luminesce. 
Probably any competent religious operator of those days knew the most likely 
places to look and the plant would come up with decaying material attached to 
its roots. So if any of you grow I. foetidissima in damp woods [...] perhaps 
you would like to try this game too. It would be nice if someone could 
confirm what must be one of the oldest Gardener's Tales."  

All of which makes one wonder what the late great Pliny actually did say...

Anner Whitehead
HIPSource@aol.com


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