Wednesday 13 February 2013

Blue Summer Flowers

Blue Summer Flowers Biography

Tansy is a flowering herbaceous plant with finely divided compound leaves and yellow, button-like flowers. It has a stout, somewhat reddish, erect stem, usually smooth, 50–150 cm tall, and branching near the top. The leaves are alternate, 10–15 cm long and are pinnately lobed, divided almost to the center into about seven pairs of segments, or lobes, which are again divided into smaller lobes having saw-toothed edges, giving the leaf a somewhat fernlike appearance. The roundish, flat-topped, button-like, yellow flower heads are produced in terminal clusters from mid-to-late summer. The scent is similar to that of camphor with hints of rosemary. The leaves and flowers are toxic if consumed in large quantities; the volatile oil contains toxic compounds including thujone, which can cause convulsions and liver and brain damage. Some insects, notably the tansy beetle Chrysolina graminis, have evolved resistance to the toxins and subsist almost exclusively on the plant.Tansy has a long history of use. It was first recorded as being cultivated by the ancient Greeks for medicinal purposes. In the 8th century AD it was grown in the herb gardens of Charlemagne and by Benedictine monks of the Swiss monastery of Saint Gall. Tansy was used to treat intestinal worms, rheumatism, digestive problems, fevers, sores, and to “bring out” measles.[2] [4] [5] [6] [7]
During the Middle Ages and later, high doses were used to induce abortions.[5][8][9] Contradictorily, tansy was also used to help women conceive and to prevent miscarriages.[4][5][10] In the 15th century, Christians began serving tansy with Lenten meals to commemorate the bitter herbs eaten by the Israelites.[7][10] Tansy was thought to have the added Lenten benefits of controlling flatulence brought on by days of eating fish and pulses[4][5] and of preventing the intestinal worms believed to be caused by eating fish during Lent.[11]
Tansy was used as a face wash and was reported to lighten and purify the skin.[4][5] In the 19th century, Irish folklore suggested that bathing in a solution of tansy and salts would cure joint pain.[12] Although most of its medicinal uses have been discredited, tansy is still a component of some medicines and is listed by the United States Pharmacopeia as a treatment for fevers, feverish colds, and jaundice.[2][5][10]
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers
Blue Summer Flowers

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