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  • Article

Cloves to mull, mask and numb

Sweet, pungent, warm, woody: cloves smell and taste like Christmas. But there’s much more to this spice than that.

  • Article

Appointments with plants

In our ‘always on’ culture, poet Elizabeth-Jane Burnett find a route away from screens – by following the ways of the trees and plants outside.

  • Article

Chasing spring

Isabella Kaminski reflects on a transformative journey that saw her cycle the length of the UK, tracking the first signs of spring. She explores what the changing seasons can tell us about ourselves and the climate crisis.

  • Article

The healing power of the physic garden

Having experienced the healing power of plants and gardens, Iona Glen goes in search of present-day “physic gardens” and their origins in history.

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Images

  • Actinomyces, spore chain and buds, SEM.
  • A plant with two children growing out of the buds., woodcut,
  • Clove plant (Syzygium aromaticum): stem with flower buds. Watercolour, c.1833.
  • Two varieties of pinks (Dianthus cultivars): flowers and buds. Coloured etching by D. Hayes, c. 1844.
  • Giant water lily (Victoria amazonica): an expanded flower with surrounding leaves and buds. Coloured lithograph by W. Fitch, c. 1845, after himself.
  • Giant water lily (Victoria amazonica): an opening flower with surrounding leaves and buds. Coloured lithograph by W. Fitch, c. 1845, after himself.
  • A woman holding a flower to her face and a vase with flower buds in her left hand, to her right is a peacock; representing the month May. Engraving.
  • Developing limb bud
  • Helianthus annuus Greene Asteraceae. Sunflower, Marigold of Peru, Floure of the Sun. Distribution: Peru and Mexico. It was much recommended by Gerard (1633) who advises that the buds, covered in flour, boiled, and eaten with 'butter, vinegar and pepper, far surpass artichokes in procuring bodily lust’. Sadly, today only the seeds of sunflower are consumed, as the source of sunflower seed oil used in cooking. It contains mono and polyunsaturated fats, linoleic acid and oleic acid, and is low in saturated fats. As such it was thought to lower cholesterol and so the risk of heart disease, but it may increase the risk of breast and prostatic cancer. However a recent report BMJ2013
  • Tongue, ?taste bud. SEM
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Events

  • Event

Performance by RawMinds

Gallery 1
Past

Part of Smoke and Mirrors Live Performances

All events (1)