INTERESTING TIMES

this stuff grows wild around my neighborhood in Portland, smells great when it rains
COMMON NAME: fennel
FAMILY: Apiaceae
GENERAL: Plants in this family are toxic until proven otherwise. ID by the ripe seed. Other medicinal schizocarps in family Apiaceae include cumin, caraway, anise, parsley, dill, and celery.
( more )

FAMILY: Zygophyllacea
COMMON NAMES: Chaparral, Creosote bush, creosotum
PART USED: leaves, tinctured or dried for tea
( more )

FAMILY: Phytolaccacaea (phyton = plant, lacca = crimson lake)
--two species common in N. America: americana (stronger dt mitogen & antiviral) and decandra
COMMON NAME: Poke root
GENERAL: perennial growing 5-8 feet tall, alternate oblong leaves, flowers in racemes, roots white and succulent with distinctive cross section, common invasive weed in central and SE US, I grew up with this one, always knew the berries are poisonous but we used them to paint our faces as children-->be savages. The constitution of the US was written with poke berry ink on hemp paper.
( more )

COMMON NAME: cayenne, red pepper
GENUS & SPECIES: Capsicum var.
FAMILY: Solanaceae
HABITAT: tropical American origin-->India and Africa
VARIETIES: hundreds, all the hot ones are medicinal
( notes on cayenne )