Currency, Food, and a Mixture of Actual Learning

In the beginning of the school year, my classmates and I were asked to write a blog post about how we would use a plant or plant product as currency. Immediately, I thought about platano or plantains because I grew up in a Hispanic household. Five months later, that was not a wise choice.

How in the world is that even possible?!

The kind of plants that could probably withstand the hassle of being currency are seeds and maybe some herbs. Fruit and vegetables eventually overripe and then become completely undesirable. The seeds of plants would have to replace as the true substitute currency if need be. 

Wanna know why?

Seeds survive through hell and back. The fall from trees, animals eat them, animals then proceed to pass the seeds in their stool, and also, seeds are hard. I end my point with this. Seeds don't need any justification about their awesomeness. Besides that their worth would probably be based on rarity and size. Yeah, that's about all I have to say about seeds and whatnot. I guess platanos lost this battle. 

Oh, and readers, I end this blog with some sad news.

This is my last y:1 economic botany blog post.

That time of year has arrived when the semester comes to a close and the books are finally in the last few pages. New friends begin making plans for keeping in contact over our month long break and what to expect when spring rolls around. Y:1 is not a class many girls get to take; I'm glad I got this chance. Even though it pushed my dreadful English class back a semester, I'm still glad. (Though, I do not like me some English. Keep that away from me as long as possible). I got to look at two different fields and combine them. I never thought to look at plants in a currency-geared view. It was enjoyable to get a new look on economics. I've always liked trees, plants, and nature; not economics however.

I am going to miss some of the girls I have gotten the pleasure to meet. Hopefully, we'll have an English class in the Spring term to look forward to. 

Maldeojo is Not a Fairy Tale

This is what we do.

This is Economic Botany.

Ever heard of The Society of Economic Botany? These are the people you want to study and what they study. In my y:1 class, that is what we did. I give you: 

Plant Remedies against Witches and the Evil Eye in a Spanish "Witches' Village"

by Jose Antonio Gonzales, Monica Garcia-Barriuso, Manuel Pardo-De-Santayana, and Francisco Amich.

Trust me, this isn't a boring article. It may seem pretty boring, but its quite fascinating. The area of study was in Arribes del Duero. A small village that have a fear of witches embedded deeply in its historical and cultural roots. Out of 84 participants for the questionnaire  only 52 returned it. The others would not even touch it because they wanted nothing to do with witches. Even the parish priest

is trying to cleanse the village of its super strong witch obsession/fear. 

Anyways, onward to plants. The real reason for this to even exist. 

The researches notice a certain 15 plants that appeared constantly in answers to the questionnaire. Below, I will list the plants along with their local name which are in Spanish.

1. Allium sativum - ajo
2. Centaurea ornata - trolla, arzolla
3. Cynodon dactylon - grama
4. Genista hystrix - piorno, bolaga
5. Laurus nobilis - laurel, aurel
6. Lavandula pedunculata - tomillo
7. Magydaris panacifolia - canas de San Juan
8. Olea europaea - olivo, oliva
9. Ononis spinosa - gatunas
10. Peucedanum officinale - yerbatu
11. Romarinus officinalis - romero
12. Ruta montana - ruda
13. Scrophularia canina - maldeojo, hierba del mal do ojo
14. Thymus mastichina - senserina de San Juan
15. Triticum aestivum - trigo

Why these plants? Why would these plants make any greater difference than other plants lying about the village? A part of it has to do with the religious influence. During Palm Sunday and St. John's Eve, a good number of these plants make an appearance during these times. 

Palm Sunday: olive branches, laurel, rosemary

St. John's Eve bonfire: canas de San Juan, senserina de San Juan

For Palm Sunday, the bunches of branches from the above list, are normally blessed at mass. The plants even hold a symbolic meaning to the people. The olive represents peace. Laurel is considered a symbol of Apollo which translate to a symbol of victory and eternal life. Lastly, rosemary is known for a close relationship to the Virgin Mary. 

St. John's Bonfire is a really cool event, in my opinion. They make a bonfire and then you jump over the bonfire. The smoke cleanses you and your body and your soul. The smoke is used as a purifier. 

The one thing I loved about this article was how people still do believe in the mystic powers of the herbs and plants. It may seem a little old-fashioned, but hey, if they think it will work, that's fine by me. I enjoy reading about traditional ways of thinking. How people knew which plants to use to treat certain things. How plants became a part of a culture without even trying.

Just shows how much plants can jump into people's lives without even trying.

The Colors are Changing

Autumn is starting to really make a difference on campus. The leaves are changing colors even faster. It's becoming quite a sight now. As you can tell, and I hope you can, how the leaves in this gigapan are different from my last gigapan. It still looks pretty green though because of some evergreen trees, but some trees are showing a little color or lack of leaves. I think it's gorgeous. Have I told you that autumn is my favorite color? I had a guinea pig named Autumn. People thought I was weird because it was a male. Oh well, he was cute and reminded me of my favorite season.

Isn't he so cute? The alcohol and car and police uniform was all my mom's idea! Not mine! Just wanted to set that straight. 

Time for trees, I think so? Why else would you be reading this? I can't be interesting unless my guinea pig was the key seller. (I knew it!) Anyways, what do you see differently in the trees? Maybe the fact some are definitely missing some leaves. I noticed a tree I didn't identify in the background of everything. Its either a Maple or an Oak tree. In the last photo it had a nice green-yellow color to it. Now, all of its leaves have fallen off. It has a nice effect with the orange tree behind it since you are looking through its naked branches to see the other tree.

Sadly, my Southern Magnolia will forever be green. The leaves don't change unless they get yanked off from winds and plopped onto the ground. I think that qualifies for my Weeping Beech as well. The only I see between the two photos is just how the clouds overhead created a gradient effect over the entire area. See? How the tops of all the trees are darker than the bottom half? That's the clouds overhead. Even the sky is a darker blue than the first. Oh! Look at my Japanese Maples! They are red. Last time, we saw a tiny tinge of red along the edges, but now, both of the trees to be equally red. Doesn't seem like any leaves are going to falling off any time soon for my three trees, but the trees around seem to taken in the fall season spirit. I wonder why my trees aren't as either to loose their leaves as the other trees. Maybe they are still able to gather nutrients from the Earth while the others are just ready to kill their little leaf babies. Oh well, more fun for me and my friends. Its fall time and you know what that means!

Enjoy your fall weather while it lasts. It never hurts to go jumping into a pile of leaves every now and then for old child's sake.

Trees of My Season

Autumn in my favorite season; the best season out of all the seasons. The air becomes crisp and clean. People actually wear clothing for once. Autumn or fall is the best time because the world becomes colorful! The trees, oh the trees, the colors are gorgeous. The normal green that people see about 75% time disappears and becomes all these hues of yellow, red, and orange. Its a great contrast that opens up the imagination. Its a peaceful time of year.

That photo above, its a gigapan. It takes high-definition photos of wide landscapes or whatever you chose. Look at the trees. Soon, this landscape that is my favorite on campus will become so colorful. I'm picking out about three of the trees and attempt to describe them. That's a little later though when I decide to identify them. I currently have about 1 and a half identified. I found a Japanese maple along with some type of magnolia. Don't worry. I'll eventually figure it out.

Although, trees changing colors is so crazy! Why would they do that? I'm not a tree expert so, lets look at online sources that may be able to help me or even notes from my Economic Botany class. Notes that I shall steal from my roommate because my notes look like chicken scratch due to my consistent head-bobbing.

--15 minutes later-- 

After careful consideration, trees changing colors just depends on the tree, and the fact that its getting cold outside. Oh, it could just be leaf senescence. This super complicated sounding science-y stuff. Although science is something that I like to dabble in, so its quite appropriate. This process of senescence is just a nice slow way of killing a part of yourself. In trees, its killing their leaves to live on. Why do trees do this? I guess there are just hungry. The leaves collect nutrients throughout the year. Nutrients which trees are craving when winter starts to roll around. Seems like leaves are just pawns in this giant world of chess for trees. Oh, and the leaves changing colors? Since the tree is actually killing them, the chlorophyll is being killed off as well. No chlorophyll means no green leaves. Carotenoids take over when the chlorophyll goes bye-bye or even anthocyanins. It just depends on if the leaves want to go a orange-yellow (caroteniods) or a nice red-purple (anthocyanins.)
I guess, I better find out about those trees. I did say that I found a Japanese Maple. I feel very proud of myself to have figured that one out so quickly. Don't worry, you don't have to bow down to me although if you would like, go right ahead. No one is stopping you. Anyways, we have the beautiful Japanese Maple that is turning from a crisp green color to a dark reddish color. Even the seeds are red! Now, direct your attention to the gigapan. The Japanese Maple is located in the middle of the photo with nicely, trimmed hedges on either side. Oh and, there is two of the trees. So it looks like this: nice, trimmed hedge -> Japanese Maple -> open area -> Japanese Maple -> nice, trimmed hedge. That's simple enough, right?

--Sits and views the magnolia leaf closely and in detail--

This magnolia is a Southern Magnolia. We have a ton of magnolias on campus which is pretty crazy. Although I think this one dominates over the others. Although my favorite area of campus tends to only have the Southern Magnolia so maybe I could be bias to its population on campus. Oh well, I am only a first-year, and I still got some exploring around to do. The Southern Magnolia is located on either side of each Japanese Maple. To the gigapan: just follow earlier instructions on finding the Japanese Maples and then look even further out to the sides. TaDA!!! You have found the tree! Now, for my third tree, I must go back out and examine the actual tree because my super, duper hand LeafSnapHD app did not work in helping me identifying this tree. "CHARGE! Remember the Alamo!!" (My impression of Teddy Brewster from Arsenic and Old Lace. Just imagine me running down a hill though and not up the stairs.)

-The next day before Chemistry Class--

I have received word that I have found a Weeping Beech. I didn't find it like a discovery type of find. I just found out its actual name. To my dismay, it is not a type of Willow tree! Which explains why my tree app could not identify it due to my stupidity. Anywho, this tree is located on the far right side of the gigapan. You should see my friend walking down a path, so the tree that is HUGE and directly behind her is the Weeping Beech. Which I might add is one amazing tree. Perfect for climbing about and scaring people. An act in which I preformed yesterday cause all the girls still had their men on campus, so I decided to scare them when they walked by. Campus is such a beautiful place to mess with people.

I hope you enjoyed my little journey among trees, and my attempts at humor. Until next time!










Hanna. "How Trees Get Naked – Leaf Senescence And Why Leaves Fall Off A Tree." Web log post. This Garden Is Illegal. N.p., 4 Nov. 2007. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. <http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/2007/11/how-trees-get-naked-leaf-senescence-and-why-leaves-fall-off-a-tree.html>.

Mi Dinero es Platanos.

Living away from the crazy commutes of normal city life, the money system on this island is edible. 

The people on this island live far enough from a properly developed state to have the technology to print or mint money. Therefore, money is measure in platanos, or plantains.

It's a little confusing to understand how the system began. Only the elders on the island know the story of the how it originated. The beginning families used the nature provided to them to start a new life and community. The life on their own little world provides many different types of plants that surround them: mangos, platanos, coconuts, and many others. 

The platano stands out because of its unique changes in color and taste. This plant undergoes a color change of green to yellow to black. The taste also varies with the change of color from a starchy to sweet taste. The people learn that the value of the platano is greatest at the yellow stage of its life cycle. A time when it is in the middle of it’s starchy to sweet taste journey. The reason is because the people prefer this taste or look above the rest. The rarity comes from the limited time it stays yellow before it starts to turn black. The green platano is second valued stage. This is a time to when the plant may be cooked and offered more as a source of food as well as currency. The black is the least wanted because it can be found all over when the platanos fall from the trees and rot. Any one can pick these up from the ground to buy basic needs such as bread and cheese.

The reason this system works is because the platano has these stages in which people can use to measure a simple value. The barter system is used heavily on this island. A single yellow platano may trade for nice cloth for clothes or large amounts of food. Green platano may compare to average dollars that many “middle-class” islanders may have to buy quick supplies when the platano are fresh and cannot wait for yellow. The black is normally used by the homeless or those that cannot grow a tree near their living environment.

People respect the island and each other. This island is their home in which they have to depend on each other for supplies they need in the market. The platano system is best because everyone has a chance to buy basic needs whenever. No one can go hungry on this island and no one may ever become too wealthy because no one can mark which trees are theirs unless the tree is on their property. No one is greedy because if they truly needed something the island could not provide, they would just leave. 

Welcome to the island of the platano currency.