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Wood Anemone

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The wood anemone is one of our most common spring flowers. Anemone nemorosa, as it is known, belongs to the family Ranunculaceae. Its genus name, anemone nemorosa, comes from the Greek, with amon meaning “from the root” and nemos meaning “grove.” This is a reference to its home in the shady and most soil of groves, forests and pastures. In Linnaeus’s time the flower was called “vitlock,” but in English, anemone nemorosa is generally called the wood anemone or wind flower, and its annual blooms are a major part of the spring landscape in many places.

The flowers of the wood anemone are carefully protected by the nature of the plant. When the sun is out, the flower is fully open to embrace the sunshine hours. At night or during rainy weather the flower closes up and droops its graceful head, so that water or dew droplets flow smoothly off the back of the petals rather than damaging the flower itself. In fact, way in the sepals fold over the stamen and immature seed-vessels has been likened to the pitching of a tent under which they can seek protection.

Wood anemones bloom in the same place each year, spreading their roots gradually through creeping rhizomes. In some areas, the roots are more than 100 years old and the plants form large carpets of flowers. If you observing the blooming dates, you will find that these flowers never appear before March 16th and never bloom after April 22nd. However, the start of these blooms begins the previous fall, when the buds form at the root of the plant and wait patiently for the springtime sun to warm the ground.

The plants propagate through their root system, and it is possible to transplant them by taking short pieces of the rhizome for yourself. Just remember that the plant needs plenty of moist, shady soil, and it can cause problems for your pets or farm animals if they nibble on it. Like other species in this tribe, it is somewhat poisonous, though the bitter taste serves as a strong warning.

Despite the slight danger element, wood anemones have been traditionally used in folk and formal medicines. It was known in the Middle Ages, as in 1530 the German Otto Brunfels wrote about the plant in his book about herbs, and in 1658 it was included in Olof Rudbeck’s Catalogus Plantarum.

Both Europeans and the native peoples of North America had their own applications. Generally, it was used topically to treat inflammation and blisters, since the wood anemone can help drive out build up fluids in an area, making it useful for rheumatism, joint pain, and swollen skin. Some folk traditions used it as a means of fighting freckles, though modern medicine no longer recommends it due to its tendency to irritate skin. While some say redness on the skin is a sign the flower is working, others prefer to simply admire the flower for afar or take the time to capture it on film.

Daisies (Bellis perennis)

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Daisies (Bellis perennis) It is believed that the name “Daisy” is a corruption of “day’s eye”, as the head closes at night to re-open in the morning. The Common Daisy, which blooms from early spring to late fall, and cover the ground like a sheet so close that nothing could grow under them, needs no further description. Like the Great Ox Eye it once had a good reputation as a cure for fresh wounds and they were used as an ointment for inflammatory diseases of the liver when taken internally in the form of a distilled water from the plant. Gerard mentions the Daisy under the name Bruisewort as a safe way to cure “all forms of pain and suffering,” in addition to cure fever, inflammation of the liver and “all the inward parts.”

Heather

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The species name vulgaris comes from the Latin vulgus and means common.The Swedish name ljung (liung, Liong) is known since the Middle Ages and have often been used to name places, like Ljungby. Heather used to be an important fuel in the treeless regions, the roots were used for making baskets, and it was also useful for dyeing. Calluna heaths was also used for grazing, and since heather produces much nectar it was appreciated by beekeepers. Different varieties of heather has become popular as garden plants. Nowadays several varieties are available on the market, such as those that are yellow, bronze or silver leaf and single or double flowers in shades of white, pink or purple. Heather plants tend to be healthy and long-lived, a plant can be up to 40 years old.

Anemone sylvestris

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Anemone sylvestris is more commonly known as Anemone Windflower. It is a cool season perennial that grows in Europe, especially northern Europe, and in the mountains of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and the Caucasus. Anemone is found in the wild in shady forests. Anemone sylvestris is a perennial that blooms in spring, usually in April or early May, and has white cup-shaped flowers with yellow anthers. The flowers grow on stalks above the green deeply lobed leaves. The flowers are fragrant, but the smell is not very strong.

The Great Ox Eye

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The Great Ox Eye is native to Sweden, Norway, Finland, and growing all the way up to the Artic Circle. Known officially as the leucanthemum vulgare and previously as the chrysanthemum leucanthemum, it has a white flower with a yellow center. The flower is supported by a long handle on which it grows small leaves.

This flower adorns hard and dry meadows, fields lying fallow and other cultivated areas. Its colors are dazzling, and it blooms for almost one month with undiminished gloss . On each stem there will rarely be more than a single blossom, but the species often grows in groups, and since all the specimens are in bloom at the same time and all the blossoms turn to the same direction throughout the day and night, the effect has been compared to a starry sky.

Chickweed

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Chickweed (Trientalis europaea) is a plant in the ardisia family native to forests throughout Scandinavia. It is soft and slender, with thin dark green leaves and a rhizome with long, thread-like offshoots. The short, small grey-green or flushed leaves of the chickweed flourish above the tree line in all the Nordic countries.

Some hold that chickweed has medicinal value as well as beauty. Fresh leaves have been used to combat inflammation and stomach ulcers with good results in folk medicine, and some like to use a boiled poultice enclosed in muslin to heal abscesses. The water from boiled leaves can be used to wash wounds, and Gerard’s early writings endorse chickweed as a healing plant.

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The Origin of the Name Snowdrop

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Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) is the best known species of the snowdrop family, and one of the first flowers to appear in spring. Snowdrops grow to be about 15 centimeters high and bloom from January to February in the northern temperate zones.

The genusc name Galanthus comes from the Greek word “gala,” which means milk, and “anthos,” which means flower, was given to the genus by Linnaeus in 1735. He described the Galanthus nivalis in his book Species Plantarum, published in 1753. The epithet “nivalis” means “in the snow” and can refers to either the snow-like flower or the early bloom.

The name “common snowdrop” first appeared in the 1633 year edition of John Gerard’s Great Herbal. The derivation of the name is uncertain, although it may have come from the German word schneetropfen, which was a style of earrings popular at that time. Other British traditional names are “February fairmaids,” “Dingle-dangle,” “Candlemas bells,” “Mary’s candle,” and, in parts of Yorkshire, “Snow piercers” (as the French name Perce-Neige).

Heather

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Heather’s species name vulgaris comes from the Latin vulgus, and simply means “common.” The Swedish name ljung (liung, Liong) has been used since the Middle Ages, and it was often been used to name places, like Ljungby. It served as an important fuel source in treeless regions, while the roots were used for making baskets and some parts were used for dyeing.

In modern times, different varieties of heather have become popular as garden plants and with commercial growers. For example, heather is prized by beekeepers for its bountiful nectar, and Calluna heaths have been used for grazing. For gardeners, there are several varieties are available on the market, such as those with yellow, bronze or silver leaves and single or double flowers in shades of white, pink or purple. Heather plants tend to be healthy and long-lived, with some plants living for up to 40 years.

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The Origin of the Name Daisy

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It is believed that the name “Daisy” is a corruption of “day’s eye”, as the head closes at night to re-open in the morning. The Common daisy which blooms from early spring to late fall and covers the ground like a tight fitting sheet so that nothing can grow underneath it needs no further description. Like the Great Ox Eye, it once had a good reputation as a cure for fresh wounds. Distilled water from the plant was also used for inflammatory diseases from the liver. Gerard mentions the daisy under the name Bruisewort as a safe way to cure “all forms of pain and suffering,” in addition to curing fever, inflammation of the liver and “all the inward parts.”

The History of Tulips in Sweden

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Tulips are often associated exclusively with Holland, but the original members of the tulip family (Tulipa) come from all over Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and even parts of Asia. In fact, the greatest variety of tulips can be found in the Pamir and steppe regions of Kazakhstan, with Holland’s famed bulbs not even arriving until the late 1500′s.

Garden tulips were the love of Carolus Clusius, the Swiss head of Leiden’s botanical garden throughout the 1590′s. He tried to keep the beautiful flowers to himself, but the bulbs were often stolen. By the 1600′s, the rarer bulbs and stunning beauties went for fortunes in a speculative market that raced on out of control. While the market ultimately crashed, the flower remained a visual treasure.

In Sweden, tulips usually bloom in the spring. When they came to the country is uncertain, but documentation credits Olof Rudbeck the Elders with bringing over the seeds and bulbs after a trip to Holland. In 1685 he had 38 different kinds of tulips in his botanical garden in Upsala, and the bulbs have spread since those day to many locations around the country.