HERBSPHERE
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An Orchid for 2005
Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 1: 563. Courtesy of Kentucky Native Plant Society.
Stream Orchid (Epipactis gigantea Dougl. Ex Hook.) Photo: J.S. Peterson. USDA NRCS NPDC. Amidst the internationally deeply felt sorrows of 2004’s Festive Season’s dark overshadowing by the catastrophic tsunamis that wiped out thousands of innocent coastal people mainly in South-East Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Malaysia and Indonesia on Boxing Day that resulted from a submerged sea earthquake; one of the world’s worst disasters on record - a little flower brings us a tiny sliver of hope in the New year 2005 from the spiritual Holy island of Lindisfarne.
"For with the flow and ebb, its style Varies from continent to isle; Dry shood o'er sands, twice every day, The pilgrims to the shrine find way; Twice every day the waves efface Of staves and sandelled feet the trace.” 1
A cradle of Christianity, where land and water meet, Lindisfarne’s Holy Island is the site of an Anglo-Saxon monastery founded by St Aidan in AD 635, chosen for its isolation and solitude. It is famous for The Lindisfarne Gospels, written between AD 715-720 in honour of St Cuthbert, then Bishop of Lindisfarne. It is a wonderful historic and artistic document of amazing intricate design and decoration made in the monastery and a most important surviving national treasure held in the British Library. These days Holy Island, a wild place equally famous for Nature’s works of art, rich in flowers and wildlife on its tidal mudflats, salt marshes and dunes, is a National Nature Reserve. Its landscape boasts purple and pink marsh orchids in early summer and in July a multitude of marsh helleborines. The recent discovery that the humble, wild, tiny pale green flowered Lindisfarne ‘dune orchid’, now named the Lindisfarne Helleborine (Epipactis sancta), is the most precious orchid in the world, having had a DNA test that proves it is genetically and organically different from any other species, seems a good way to start the New Year.2 Orchids, which means testicles, have fascinated people since antiquity. The ancient Greeks regarded them as a symbol of virility, an aphrodisiac and it was used in love potions. The Chinese called them ‘The plant of the King’s Fragrance’. Orchids have been the symbol of love, luxury, and beauty for hundreds of years. At one time to their detriment, come the 18th century, orchids first brought back by British Sea Captains fast became part of the Plant Collector’s agenda. They may be found growing naturally all over the world in rainforests, monsoon forests, swamps, on grasslands, in meadows, on coastal lowlands and boglands. Orchids are said to be the most complex, advanced, and successful family of flowers on the planet. There are approximately 25,000 species that occur naturally throughout the world. The majority of these, with their unusual flowers and intoxicating fragrances, are found growing naturally in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world.3 In Medieval times they were used in herbal remedies. The Vanda orchid (Vanda Roxburghii R. Br.: and Vanda tessellata Lodd ex Loud: Orchidaceae) or Sanskrit: ‘Rasna’, used in Ayurvedic medicine in oils for treating rheumatism, “was said to be bitter and useful in treating rheumatism.”4 Our scarce native Lady’s Slipper’s (Cypripedium pubescens) root was once commonly used for its nervine properties as a sedative and relaxant herbal remedy.5 The wild orchid (Orchis maculata), commonly called ‘Salep’ which is a substance produced from its tubers and listed in the German Pharmacopoeia, is high in nutrients with demulcent properties. It is used when decocted and sweetened to taste to nourish children and for convalescents and reportedly is particularly useful for chronic diarrhoea and bilious fevers.6
COMMENT To speak of remedial flowering plants may appear trivial at such a time, but orchids have close links with those countries now devastated by the tsunamis. They abound in Malaysia, where the world’s largest orchid Vanda Miss Joaquim, discovered in 1893 can grow to 20 metres long and are Singapore’s National Flower, which is also used in their national costume, the Orchid Dress.7&8 The orchid is Thailand’s National symbol.9 The Vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia), which grows in India and Asia, is said to exhilarate the brain, and on the endurance front it prevents sleep and increases muscle energy, as well as sexual drive – something one hopes those in distress will remember and find useful at this time.10 References: 1. Sir Walter Scott’s Marmion: - Canto II – IX (1808) 2. For Orchid enthusiasts: The Linidsfarne National Nature Reserve will be offering guided walks next summer. And, in partnership with English Nature, there is a new book called “Wild Guides: Britain’s Orchids. 3. Orchid Fact Sheet – http://www.gardnes.si.edu/orchid/fact_sht.htm 4. http://www.himalayahealthcare.com/herbfinder/h_vanda.htm 5. http://www.naturalhealthholistic.com/herbguid.html 6. http://www.herbalremedies.com/orchid.html 8. http://cf2001.sngs.sch.edu.sg 9. http://www.stockphotoasia.com/photo_cds/photocd_thaiflora.html |
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