I KNEW OF A HIDDEN POND that I figured would be full of fish, so one day I loaded up my car with fishing gear and set out. There was no path to this pond, and you couldn't see it from the road. You had to know it was there to know it was there. Getting to it involved brushing my way through tall stands of rushes and cattails.
Soon enough I was flinging a colorful plug out into the deep part of the pond, hoping to hook a largemouthed bass, when a sharp pain hit the little finger on my left hand. A bee had found my pinkie and as I squeezed the fishing rod's handle, it stung me.
Almost immediately I felt a hot streak zinging up my left arm. It began to itch and red welts appeared on my skin. In another couple of minutes, I abandoned the pond, flung my tackle into the back seat and began a tortuous 40-mile drive home. My body was covered with itching skin and red welts, and I was in torment the whole way. Once home, I ran into the house and bleated my misery to my wife.
She told me to "take your clothes off and lay down," then walked out of the house. A few minutes later she came back with a basket of green leaves that she pounded into a wet paste and rubbed all over my body. Almost instantaneously, the itching stopped, the red welts disappeared and I felt fine-except on the heels of my feet, where she hadn't applied the poultice.
"What did you do-what was that?" I asked.
"Plantago lanceolata-the ribwort plantain," she said.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2024-Ausgabe von Horticulture.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2024-Ausgabe von Horticulture.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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RIBWORT PLANTAIN
Before you call it a weed, consider its many talents
JARED BARNES - Propagating gardeners
JARED BARNES is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He also hosts The Plantastic Podcast and publishes a weekly e-newsletter called plant ed, both of which can be found at his website, https://www.meristemhorticulture.com. At home, he gardens with wife Karen and daughter Magnolia.
FILMS WITH FLOWERS
Relax with an uplifting garden-themed movie
TOTAL TOMATO GROWING GUIDE
Niki Jabbour's advice for making the most of this grow-at-home favorite
HANGDOG NO MORE
I'M A CURIOUS and impetuous guy. Good at thinking but terrible at remembering. And dammit if I'm not impatient.
LOOKING AHEAD
A colorful, fruitful summer follows winter's well-used days
NEW PLANTS
Pollinator Favorites
PLANTS from PIECES
ALL ABOUT PROPAGATION BY STEM, LEAF & ROOT CUTTINGS
FULL SUN FOLIAGE
IT'S A BIT MORE CHALLENGING THAN IN THE SHADE, BUT WE CAN FIND DELIGHTFUL LEAVES TO EMBELLISH SUNNY SPACES
CHANGE OF PLANS
HOW TO PLAN A GARDEN RENOVATION THAT WORKS WITH THE SITE AND ITS ECOLOGY