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Botanical Accuracy: Wanted: italics and correct capitalization

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2014/01/wanted-italics-and-correct.html

Saturday, January 25, 2014. Wanted: italics and correct capitalization. As a botanists and scientists I am sure most of us have pet peeves on how scientific information is handled in everyday life. One of mine is the writing of scientific names for species, the simple Genus Species epithet. That is unique to every species and help us keep order among information and knowledge. An example of a scientific name is Acer rubrum. There really are very simple rules. The Genus name is capitalized in the beginning.

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Botanical Accuracy: A jasmine is not always a jasmine...

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2013/12/a-jasmine-is-not-always-jasmine.html

Saturday, December 7, 2013. A jasmine is not always a jasmine. Typical jasmine flower ( Jasminum. The problem is that there is a similar genus, mock orange ( Philadelphus. Typical mock orange flower ( Philadelphus. So jasmine and mock orange are really easy to tell apart, and they are not closely related plants, but they still get mixed up over and over on food, cosmetics and other product labels. True jasmine is commonly used in cosmetics and should be listed as various Jasminum. On it, not Philadelphus.

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Botanical Accuracy: Gordolobo is or isn't mullein?

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2013/05/gordolobo-is-or-isnt-mullein.html

Sunday, May 5, 2013. Gordolobo is or isn't mullein? On a recent trip to Minnesota I bought a packet of Mexican herbs by the company Mi Costeñita sold as Gordolobo, a common medicinal plant used in traditional medicine. Under the Mexican name, the translated name in English was listed as 'mullein leaves'. Gordolobo mullein leaves', which is instead some Asteraceae flowers. Close up of'Gordolobo mullein leaves', which is Asteraceae flowers. University of Texas-El Paso's website with herb fact sheets. The c...

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Botanical Accuracy: Celery - stems, stalks, or sticks?

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2014/01/celery-stems-stalks-or-sticks.html

Monday, January 13, 2014. Celery - stems, stalks, or sticks? You would think people might like to know what part of the plant they eat, right? Well, that becomes a problem for celery. Many, many times there is big confusion about what those crunchy green celery sticks (also called 'ribs') are. First, here is the species in question, a celery plant. Celery plant ( Apium graveolens. Illustration (public domain) from Thomé (1885), Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Cut up celery sticks.

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Botanical Accuracy: New York State goes after mislabeled herbal supplements

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2015/02/new-york-state-goes-after-mislabeled.html

Tuesday, February 3, 2015. New York State goes after mislabeled herbal supplements. Big news in the herbal supplement world today: Four large US companies are told to stop selling mislabeled herbal supplements after DNA barcoding analysis of herbal ingredients. More below. New York Attorney General Targets Supplements at Major Retailers",. Front page news on The New York Times, Feb 3, 2015. Screenshot from NYTimes.com's homepage by BotanicalAccuracy.com). What's in Those Supplements? Would you care if so...

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Botanical Accuracy: Why does the medicinal plant Astragalus membranaceus need to change its name?

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2014/12/why-does-medicinal-plant-astragalus.html

Wednesday, December 3, 2014. Why does the medicinal plant Astragalus membranaceus need to change its name? One of the commonly used herbal medicines in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and other herbal pharmacopeias is the Chinese milk vetch. Also called Radix Astragali, huang qi. Established as the “standard common name” according to the rules by the US Food and Drug Administration, and therefore required on labels of such products sold in the USA. Photo of astragalus / huang qi roots. Over 220 years ...

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Botanical Accuracy: November 2014

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2014_11_01_archive.html

Monday, November 24, 2014. Are you having dinosaur for Thanksgiving? This is a little detour out of the botanical world into the zoological realm. In three days Thanksgiving feasts are served all over USA, and on most tables there will be a turkey. I am going to take this opportunity to tell you all that you are about to eat a dinosaur, and that it is OK. The fantastic xkcd comic maker explains how birds are dinosaurs. Creative Commons license, link. Roasted dinosaur, aka turkey. Are Birds Really Dinosau...

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Botanical Accuracy: Frosty fern? It is a variegated spike moss

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2014/01/frosty-fern-it-is-variegated-spike-moss.html

Friday, January 10, 2014. It is a variegated spike moss. Before Christmas a fern-looking plant often shows up in the supermarkets and is marketed as 'frosty fern', a name it gets from its fern-like leaves (more on that later) and white-tipped branches. Frosty fern' for sale, with rather zoologically inaccurate cardinals as highlights, but that is for another blog. Photo (cc) BotanicalAccuracy.com. Frosty fern for sale at Shoprite in New Jersey, USA. Photo (cc) BotanicalAccuracy.com. Lycopods evolved befo...

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Botanical Accuracy: Reindeer moss is a lichen, not a moss

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2013/10/reindeer-moss-is-lichen-not-moss.html

Tuesday, October 22, 2013. Reindeer moss is a lichen, not a moss. There are several species of lichens that often are sold as 'mosses', and reindeer lichen. Is one of the most common. It is frequently used in holiday. And for trees and shrubs in train model making. This type of lichen grows on wet soil and rocks in northern temperate forests and are often harvested and sold commercially. Here are some examples of wrongly labeled products:. SuperMoss, which is not a moss, but a lichen. On Etsy, fair use.

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Botanical Accuracy: October 2014

http://www.botanicalaccuracy.com/2014_10_01_archive.html

Wednesday, October 29, 2014. Red berry, blue berry. cranberry, lingonberry? In Scandinavia many forest berries are wild-harvested and then used for home canning of jams and sauces, and also sold commercially to companies to flavor drinks, juices, yogurt, desserts, jams, and so on. Many of these are members of the Vaccinium. Genus in the blueberry family (Ericaceae). Lingonberry, also called cowberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea. Public domain photo from Lindman's Bilder ur Nordens Flora. Cranberries grow mostl...