scrisori-de-sertar: yama-bato: 1926 ’Regina Maria of Romania’, viaQueen Marie Art Gallery from Colour, Vol. 2 No. 1, January

fatchance: What’s Blooming: Sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana).

I wish I could convey how wonderful this flower smells. My sweetbay is a large shrub growing in the understory, loaded this year with hundreds of buds. Only three have blossomed so far, but even so, those few flowers completely infuse the air with the blended scents of lemon and vanilla. It smells the way a lemon cupcake with butter-cream icing tastes. Delectable. 

herbalhealing: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) 

Volumes could be written on the many uses of dandelion - indeed they have been! This common weed is often hated and poisoned by those preferring a “weed free” lawn, while those of us in love with dandelion and its many uses happily support it taking over our lawns.

Every part of the dandelion can be used as food or medicine, making back door herbalism simple and easy, as it should be. 

When the first spring leaves pop up out of the ground they can be harvested heavily and eaten fresh with salads, made into a delicious pesto, or dried for tea.  The leaves are highly nutritious, containing large amounts of vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and many more vitamins and minerals.

The French call this plant pissenlit, which alludes to its strong diuretic properties. A tea of dandelion leaves is a great way to flush excess water from the system.  When eaten with meals, the bitter taste of the leaves helps to promote digestion by stimulating bile to relieve indigestion and other digestive disturbances.

The root is a great ally for the liver. It can be tinctured or eaten fresh in a variety of recipes. Dandelion root can help clear up acne and other skin disruptions with the root cause being a stagnant liver. Most herbalists agree that long-term use of dandelion is needed for best results.

(via teaintheafternoon)

ScientificIllustration: 1828 M. Hart ~ Silvery Lupine - Lupinus argenteus Pursh [as Lupinus laxiflorus Douglas ex Lindley]; Botanical Register, Vol. 14: t. 1140

dreamssoreal: Iris Persica

(via scientificillustration)

scientificillustration: 1828 M Hart ~ Mountain Indian paintbrush - Castilleja parviflora Bong. [as Castilleja coccinea Douglas]; Botanical Register, Vol. 14: t. 1136

indigodreams: Coelia macrostachya

(via scientificillustration)

genusspecies: 1885 Maianthemum bifolium (False lily of the valley or May lily) via Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz

scientificillustration: 1840  J. C. Krauss (German) ~ Acer saccharinum L. - The Sugar Maple [as Acer dasycarpum Ehrh.]; from: Afbeeldingen der fraaiste, meest uitheemsche boomen en heesters, t. 112’

1885 Prickly Pear Cactus, Opuntia Vulgaris Miller, Ernst Hallier Engraved Botanical Chromolithograph … off to a new home ♥

stilllifequickheart: 2011 Elizabeth Blackadder (Scottish, 1931) ~ Southern Hemisphere Plants

indigodreams: Pierre Joseph Redouté (Belgian, 1759-1840) ~ Gentiana acaulis [Stemless gentian]

genusspecies: Rubus occidentalis Black Raspberry.

This is Anne Pratt (English, 1806-93) … the book is 1889, Flowering Plants. They’re gorgeous chromolithographs. Yes, I have them in my shops

(Source: hyacinthos-oldaccount, via treasurefield)