Re: Historic poisons

At , you wrote:
> 
>> In case anyone out there thinks I am plotting against my mother-in-law
>> or the US government or something, I am not, I got hooked on Pietro when
>> I was doing some work on the history of Lavender (almost certainly not
>> "Spicae", it now turns out)
>
>Anthony:
>
>I would be most interested in learning what you have gleaned from the book
>about lavender (Lavandula latifolia) and it's ancient designation as
>"spica". My book by Judyth A. McLeod, lays the confusion at the feet of
>Linnaeus himself. But I wonder if it's ancient uses did not designate this
>species as "spica", "spike lavender", "essence d'aspic", etc. And where does
>the biblical Nardis Italica, or "nard" fit in?
>What's your take on the tangle?
>
>It sure does well in the heat and dry of inland Southern California!
>Jan Smithen

Jan:

If you or anyone else knows where I can get Nardostachys jatamansii
(Biblical spikenard), let me know.  This herb has been on my and a lot of
friend's want lists for quite a long time.  A member of the valerian family,
it is supposed to have a scent similar to patchouli.  I believe stocks of it
are jealously protected by the Indians and Nepalese.

It probably has friable roots and wants a specialized climate and soil like
Ligusticum porteri from the north slopes of mountains in Durango.
Chuchupate is a treasured herb related to Lovage prized by the Tarahumaras.
My friend Erv Wilson of Los Angeles and his friends did not have much luck
growing it in southern California.

Richard F. Dufresne
313 Spur Road
Greensboro, North Carolina  27406 USA
336-674-3105
World of Salvias:  http://www.eclectasy.com/gallery_of_salvias/index.htm
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