Melia azadirachta / Neem / Meliaceae (Mahogany family)

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This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

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Mentha piperita / Peppermint / Lamiaceae (Mint family)

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This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

Rosmarinus officinalis / Rosemary / Lamiaceae (Mint family)

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This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

Crocus sativus / Saffron / Iridaceae (Iris family)

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This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

Other Names

Crocus sativus, Crocus officinalis var. Acafrao, Agnishikha, Azafran, Bhavarakta, Croco fiorito, Croco senza, Fan hong hua, Fiori, Fior cuculo, Fuszersafrany, Grogo domestico, Jafran, Kaashmirii keshara, Kashubha, Keshar, Klungumapu, Kruku, Kuma-kuma, Kungumapu, Kunkumapave, Kunyit kering, Kurkum, Mangal, Mangalya, Nghe, Romiet, Saffraan, Safran, Saffran, Safrankrookus, Saffron, Safuran, Sahrami, Sapran, Shafran, Szafran, Zaafaran, Zafraan, Zafran, Za'faran, Zafferano, Zafora.

Historical

Saffron is named among the sweet-smelling herbs in Song of Solomon 4:14. King Solomon's lover is likened to a garden filled with all the choicest fruits and spices, including "Nard and Saffron, Calamus and Cinnamon, with all trees of Frankincense, Myrrh and Aloes." It was used as a perfume in Greek and Roman halls, courts, theatres, and baths. The professional class of Greek courtesans (high-class educated prostitutes) was particularly fond of Saffron as a personal aroma. Nero had the streets of Rome strewn with Saffron for one of his triumphal entries.
The Crocus flower suffused Bronze Age Minoan culture. A famous fresco of that era depicts women with Crocus blossoms woven or embroidered on costumes of Saffron-dyed cloth, wearing Saffron-based cosmetics, picking Crocus flowers and presenting them to an enthroned goddess. Votive pottery and figurines show the Minoan deity Britomartis all dolled up in a hat-and-dress combo decorated with a Crocus motif.
Indeed, the Crocus appears so often on Minoan artifacts that its precise significance to the citizens of Crete can only be speculated upon. There's evidence it was used in sacred rituals associated with menstruation and childbirth. One thing is certain, though: The flower formed the basis of a flourishing overseas trade. Even back then, Saffron must have cost a pretty drachma.
Because of being triploid, Saffron is necessarily sterile, and its beautiful flowers cannot produce any seeds; propagation is possible only via corms. Distribution over larger distance requires human help, and so it's surprising that Saffron was known to the Sumerians almost 5000 years ago. It is not known, however, how the spice was transported from the Mediterranean to Sumer in Mesopotamia.
The history of Saffron cultivation reaches back more than 3000 years. The wild precursor of domesticated Saffron Crocus was Crocus cartwrightianus. Human cultivators bred wild specimens by selecting for unusually long stigmas. Thus, a sterile mutant form of C. cartwrightianus, C. sativus, emerged in late Bronze Age Crete. Experts believe Saffron was first documented in a 7th century BC Assyrian botanical reference compiled under Ashurbanipal. Since then, documentation of Saffron's use over the span of 4000 years in the treatment of some 90 illnesses has been uncovered. Saffron has been used as a spice and medicine in the Mediterranean region since then, with usage and cultivation slowly spreading to other parts of Eurasia as well as North Africa and North America.
In the last several decades, Saffron cultivation has spread to Oceania.
Since the 15th century, numerous attempts have been made to introduce Saffron production to German, Switzerland, Austria and even England. Today, all these Saffron cultivation sites have been abandoned, with the sole exception of Mund, a small Swiss village in canton Wallis. In Mund, a few kilograms of Saffron per year are produced in traditional way, at an elevation of about 1200m.

Plant Description

Saffron is a small perennial plant which is cultivated in many places, but particularly in France, Spain, Sicily, and Iran. After a period of aestivation (rare state of dormancy similar to hibernation, but during the months of the summer) in summer, five to eleven narrow and nearly vertical green leaves, growing up to 40 cm in length—emerge from the ground. In autumn, purple buds appear. Only in October, after most other flowering plants have released their seeds, does it develop its brilliantly hued flowers, ranging from a light pastel shade of lilac to a darker and more striated mauve. Upon flowering, it averages less than 30 cm in height.
Inside each flower is a threepronged style; in turn, each prong terminates with a crimson stigma 25-30 mm in length. Being sterile, the saffron crocus's purple flowers fail to produce viable seeds, thus, reproduction is dependent on human assistance: the corms (underground bulb-like starch-storing organs) must be manually dug up, broken apart, and replanted. A corm survives for only one season, reproducing via division into up to ten "cormlets" that eventually give rise to new plants. The corms are small brown globules up to 4.5 cm in diameter and are shrouded in a dense mat of parallel fibers.

Articles

Any information provided about products on this website, including any links to external websites, is purely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and should never be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the products.

Crocus sativus - Conjuring Color and Flavor in the Autumn Garden
Crocus sativus - Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
Crocus sativus - Wikipedia

Mentha spicata / Spearmint / Lamiaceae (Mint family)

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This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

Other Names

Spearmint

References

Erowid Herb Vault

Spice Blend

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This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

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• Finland
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Stevia rebaudiana / Stevia / Compositae (Sunflower family)

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This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

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Vanilla aromatica / Vanilla / Orchidaceae (Orchid family)

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This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

Other Names

Tlilxochitl, Vanilla , Vanilla aromatica, Vanilla fragrans, Vanilla planifolia.

Scent

Vanilla has a complex floral aroma depicted as a "peculiar bouquet" and a flavor described as "pure, spicy and delicate" by author Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. described in The Book of Spices.
Psychologists and medical researchers were aware of our positive reactions to the scent of Vanilla long before perfume makers recognised its potential. In experiments where an odour universally regarded as "pleasant" is required, vanillin has been a standard choice for decades.(3)
A curious fact is that recently scientists have shown that a single gene that codes for one odor receptor determines whether someone perceives the pheromone androstenone (a key component in male sweat) as odorless, smelling like urine or sweet Vanilla.(4)

Aromatic Properties

The fragrance of Vanilla generates a sense of well-being and a feeling of relaxation. Its message of good temper and joy is antidepressant. Its aroma is euphoric and comforting, it attenuates bad temper and irritability, it loosens the tensions, diminishes insatisfaction and frustration, giving a sense of physical satisfaction related to the oral phase of the first infancy. For this reason the scent of Vanilla helps also to dominate nervous hunger, often caused by an affective emptiness, making us revive the primordial emotion of the totally satisfied baby after feeding. In fact, the aroma of Vanilla produces a beneficial regression, awaking in us the inner child. The fragrance of Vanilla also has a subtle aphrodisiac effect.

Contents

Natural Vanilla is an extremely complicated mixture of several hundred different compounds. Though there are many of these compounds present in the extracts of Vanilla, the one predominantly responsible for the characteristic flavour and smell of vanilla is known as vanillin.

Historical

The first to cultivate Vanilla were the Totonac people, who inhabit the Mazantla Valley on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz. According to Totonac mythology, the tropical orchid was born when Princess Xanat, forbidden by her father from marrying a mortal, fled to the forest with her lover. The lovers were captured and beheaded. Where their blood touched the ground, the vine of the tropical orchid grew.
In the fifteenth century, Aztecs from the central highlands of Mexico conquered the Totonacs, and the conquerors soon developed a taste for the Vanilla bean. They named the bean "Tlilxochitl", or "black flower", after the mature bean, which shrivels and turns black shortly after it is picked. After they were subjected to the Aztecs the Totonacs paid their tribute by sending Vanilla beans to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan.
Vanilla was completely unknown in the Old World before Columbus. Spanish explorers who arrived on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the early sixteenth century gave Vanilla its name. The word Vanilla derived from the Spanish name of the spice, vainilla, a diminutive of vagina, perhaps motivated by the sheath-like shape of the fruit. Spanish conquistador Hernàn Cortés is credited with introducing both the spice and Chocolate to Europe in the 1520s. Attempts to cultivate the Vanilla plant outside Mexico and Central America proved futile because of the symbiotic relationship between the Tlilxochitl vine that produced the Vanilla orchid and the local species of Melipona bee; it wasn't until 1837 that Belgian botanist Charles Francois Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. Unfortunately, the method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially. In 1841, a 12-year-old French-owned slave by the name of Edmond Albius, who lived on Isle Bourbon, discovered the plant could be hand pollinated, allowing global cultivation of the plant.(1)(2)

Plant Description

Vanilla is a short-lived, tropical perennial orchid vine that can grow up to 10m. It grows in low mountain rainforests, humid lowlands, savannahs and prairies. Native to the tropical forests of Mexico, it is now cultivated in many other parts of the globe, such as Brazil, Honduras, Java, Africa, and the West Indies. This climbing vine has a thick, succulent stem, and entire, thick, smooth, bright-green, pointed leaves, 12-25cm long, and 5-10cm broad. They grow in a zigzag pattern clinging to the bark by aerial roots formed by each leaf node. The flowers are produced in axillary bunches of 8 or 10. They are yellowish-green with a yellowish-orange labellum and about 10 cm in diameter. Vanilla flowers all year round but blooms mainly from January to May. The fruit is a pendant pod, 12-25cm long, 3cm or more in circumference when fresh, and contains myriads of minute seeds. These pods, when properly cured and dried, are the Vanilla of commerce.

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References

(1) Vanilla, Wikipedia
(2) Vanilla, Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
(3) The Smell Report - Vanilla, Social Issues Research Centre
(4) The Scent of a Man, Scientific American

Thymus serpyllum / Wild Thyme / Lamiaceae (Mint family)

Information

This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.