/oss/taxonomy/term/1930/all en /oss/article/student-contributors-environment/magic-butterfly-pea-tea <p>The scientific name for the Butterfly Pea plant is <i>Clitoria ternatea, </i>which sounds exactly like what you may be thinking: female genitalia. In fact, its name was inspired by the resemblance of its petals to female reproductive anatomy (which is also why traditional medicine often associates it with libido). The species is native to Asia; the second half of its binomial name is drawn from the Indonesian city of Ternate, where the first specimens were catalogued. This plant boasts a brilliant blue flower that can serve as a natural dye for fabrics and for…tea!</p> Fri, 12 Aug 2022 10:00:00 +0000 Haleh Cohn 9197 at /oss /oss/article/history/under-microscope-rose-petals <p>Nowadays roses are mostly used for Bachelorette ceremonies and hipster lattes, but once upon a time roses, and their fruit, rose hips, were widely used as medicines.<br /> Diarrhodon is the name given to herbal treatments containing roses, and there are lots of them, said to treat everything from liver problems to heart problems to digestion issues. Traditional Chinese medicine made use of the China rose for regulating menstruation, pain relief, thyroid problems and diarrhea.<br /></p> Mon, 06 May 2019 17:58:23 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7746 at /oss /oss/article/environment/under-microscope-pollen <p>Grains of pollen actually produce the male gametes (sperm cells) of flowering plants. They become dehydrated to better allow themselves to be carried on by wind, water and animals to other plants where they land in the gynoecium, the innermost part of a flower that contains the ovaries. After rehydrating itself, a pollen grain forms a pollen tube, through which it transfers sperm cells into the ovaries of the flower, completing the pollination process.</p> Mon, 11 Mar 2019 15:17:19 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7642 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-environment/latex-emitting-dandelions <p>Ever snap off a dandelion head and see the white liquid seeping out from the stem? It turns out that fluid isn’t sap or poison, but a defense mechanism, in the form of latex! The Lithuanian word for dandelions is ‘pienė’, which literally translates to milky, for the white liquid. Latex is produced by cells called laticifers, which exist in more than 20 000 plant species, as well as some fungi. Dandelions are fairly special though, as only 6% of temperate plants produce latex, versus 14% of tropical ones.</p> <hr /> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/adamcvean">@AdaMcVean</a></p> Tue, 30 May 2017 19:16:13 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2502 at /oss /oss/article/news-quackery-you-asked/you-asked-what-are-bach-flower-remedies <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bach_flower_remedies#Use">Bach flower remedies</a> have been around for close to a hundred years and were the brainchild of Edward Bach a British physician. Actually, there doesn’t seem to have been much “brain” involved in the development of this curious alternative healing method. Bach was a traditionally trained physician who became disenchanted with the way medicine was being practiced and began a search for novel healing methods.</p> Tue, 23 Dec 2014 06:16:13 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2223 at /oss