Broom Celtic Sacred Shrub - Stories and medicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 237-365

Cytisus scoparius, the common broom or Scotch broom, syn. Sarothamnus scoparius, is a perennial leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe

Also known as Scotch Broom or Irish Broom. It can be substituted for furze (gorse) at the Spring Equinox. The Irish called it the "Physician's power" because of its diuretic shoots. Sweep your outside ritual areas with it to purify and protect. Burning the blooms and shoots calms the wind. 

Good for Reforestation
 

Be cautious if you plant Broom however, it will quickly multiply.

Broom is a member of the “Leguminosae” family, which includes beans, peas, clover, vetch, locust, lupine, acacia and alfalfa.  Broom plants convert nitrogen from air that is used for growth, making them hardy and able to invade and flourish in harsh areas.

The broom is such a versatile plant that it has many uses.  It is commonly planted on the sides of steep banks were its roots serve to hold the earth together.  On some parts of the coast it is one of the first plants to grow on sand dunes, together with the stems of mat grasses and other sand-binding plants.  
 
 Broom will flourish within reach of sea spray, and like gorse, is a good sheltering plant for seaside growth.  Inland it is grown extensively as shelter for game, and is one of the more important species of shrubs used to protect them and other small animals from the wind and weather. 

Other Uses

The bark of the Broom yields excellent fiber, which is finer than but not so strong as the Spanish Broom.  The bark is easily separated from the stem by simply macerating them in water.  This has been done since ancient times, and from its fibers paper and cloth was manufactured.  The fibres were also used to make quill-pens as used by old scribes. 

 The bark contains a considerable amount of tannin, which can be used for tanning leather.  The leaves and young tip’s of the Broom produce a green dye that was once used to colour clothes and garments.  
 

Celtic folklore and mythology 

The Reed or Broom has always been associated with music, for since time began pipes and flutes were made from reeds.

Trees are living things, filled with the essence and energy and of the Elementals and Mother Earth with an aura of power which is visible to those who are in total balance and harmony. The lore which surrounds a particular tree or wood often reflects the power the old ones sensed and drew from their presence.

To the Celts and many other peoples of the old world, certain trees held special significance; many woods  provided a powerful spiritual presence. The specific trees varied between different cultures and geographic locations, but those believed to be "sacred" shared certain traits.

 Unusual size, beauty, the wide range of materials they provided, unique physical characteristics, or simply the power of the tree's spirit could grant it a central place in the folklore and mythology of a culture. Even our modern culture finds that certain trees capture our imagination. 

The Reed or Broom was revered by the ancient Druids, and is one of the sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft.  According to the Celtic Tree calendar, the Reed dates from the 28^th October to the 24^th November, which includes the Celtic New Year of 31^st October (better known today as Samhain or Halloween). 

 In folklore, Reeds or Brooms symbolize purification, protection and fertility; they also represent established power, for wands, rods and scepters made from their wood were often carried as symbols of authority.    

In mythology we see a connection to reeds through the panpipes of the Greek god Pan (Roman god Faunus).  In legend Pan had a contest with Apollo to determine who could play the most skillful and sweetest music, Pan on his reed pipes or Apollo on his lyre.  Pan was judged to be the winner, which Apollo considered an insult.  In rage Apollo turned Pan into half a man and half a goat.  In art, Pan is often depicted with the legs, horns and beard of goat. 

To the Greeks Pan was a god of the woodlands, pastures, herds and fertility.  Hills, caves, oaks, reeds and tortoises are all sacred to him.  In another legend Pan fought with the gods of Olympus during their battle against the Titans, as the battle raged he fashioned a giant seashell into a trumpet and raised such a noise with it, the Titans thought they were being attacked by a sea monster and fled in terror.  The word “panic” is said to have come from this myth.  

In folklore the Pied Piper of Hamelin played a magickal tune on a pipe made from reeds, and rid the town of a plague of rats.  As the story goes, in 1284 the Pied Piper was hired to rid the town of Hamelin of a plague of rats.  He walked through the streets playing a magickal tune on his pipe, and on hearing the music all the rats followed him.   

The piper led the rats all the way to the banks of the river Weser, where all the rats fell in and were drowned.  Although the town council had agreed to pay the piper, they changed their minds once the task was done and refused to pay him. 

 

In retaliation the piper walked the streets again, only this time he played a different tune on his pipe.  On hearing the music all the children in the town follow him as he led them out of town and into the foothills of the mountains.  As they approached a door in the side of the mountain opened and the piper and all the children vanished never to be seen again.  After their disappearance the spirits of the piper and children forever haunted the town of Hamelin.  From this story the magickal qualities of the reed and music can be discerned. 

Throughout history the Broom has featured as a heraldic device, and was adopted at a very early period as the badge of Brittany.  Geoffrey the 5th count of Anjou thrust it into his helmet at the moment of going into battle so that his troops might see and follow him.  As he plucked it from a steep bank which its roots had knitted together, he is reputed to have said:  “This golden plant rooted firmly amid rock, yet upholding what is ready to fall, shall be my cognizance.  I will maintain it on the field, in the tourney and in the court of justice”

 

The broom is depicted on the Great Seal of Richard I, this being its first official heraldic appearance in England. 

 

Another origin is claimed for the heraldic use of the broom in Brittany, in that a prince of Anjou assassinated his brother and seized his kingdom.  Overcome by remorse he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in expiation of his crime.  Every night on the journey he scourged himself with a brush of “genets” or “genista”, and adopted the plant as his badge in perpetual memory of his repentance.  

St. Louis of France continued the heraldic use of the broom as a symbol of chivalry and honour, and on the occasion of his marriage in the year 1234 he founded a special order called the “Colle de Genet”.  The collar of the order was decorated alternately of the fleur-de-lis of France and a broom-flower.  

 His bodyguard of a hundred nobles also wore on their coats a broom-flower emblem with the motto “Exaltat humiles” (“He exalteth the lowly”).  The order was held in high esteem, and to be bestowed with it was regarded as a great honour.  King Richard II was honoured with it, and a broom plant with open empty pods can be seen ornamentally decorating his tomb in Westminster Abbey.   

In 1368 Charles V of France bestowed the insignia of the broom pod on his favourite chamberlain, and in 1389 Charles VI gave the same decoration to his kinsmen.  

In Scotland the broom is the badge of the Forbes clan, and according to Scottish lore:  “it was the bonny broom which the Scottish clan of Forbes wore in their bonnets when they wished to arouse the heroism of their chieftains”.  In the Gaelic dialect of the highlands they called the broom “bealadh” in token of its beauty:  “This humble shrub was not less distinguished than the Rose herself during the civil wars of the fourteenth century”. 

Apart from its use in heraldry, the Broom has been associated with several popular traditions.  In some parts it used to be considered a sign of plenty and fertility, for it bore many flowers and flourished quickly.   

Magical Uses 

The flowering tops were used for house decoration at the Whitsuntide festival, but it was considered unlucky to use them for menial purposes when in full bloom 

Ritual wands made from Broom are used in purification and protection spells, and if working outdoors (the best place to perform magic) sweeping the ground with a brush of Broom (if it grows nearby) will clear the area of unwanted influences. 

 To raise the winds, throw some Broom into the air while invoking the spirits of the Air, and to calm the winds burn some Broom and bury the ashes. 

Of old, Broom was hung up in the house to keep all evil influences out, and an infusion of Broom sprinkled throughout the house was used to exorcise poltergeist activity.  

 An infusion of Broom was also drunk to increase psychic powers and awareness through its intoxication properties, but this is no longer recommended as the plant can also be poisonous. 

The Broom is known by many folk names:  Banal, Basam, Besom, Bisom, Bizzon, Breeam, Broom Tops, Brum, Genista, Green Broom, Irish Broom, Link, Scotch Broom and Hog Weed.  Its gender is Masculine.  Its planet association is with Mars.  Its element association is Air.  

 Its deity associations are with:  Pan, Hermes, Apollo and Dionysus/Bacchus.  It is used to attract the powers needed for:  Purification, Protection, Fertility, Wind, Divination and all spells associated the element Air. 

 

Medicinal Uses

The Broom is also the only native medicinal plant used as an official drug.  The Latinized name “Scoparius” is derived from the Latin “scopa”, meaning “besom” (hence the common folk name broom), and “Cytisus“ is said to be a corruption of the name of the Greek island Cythnus, where the Broom once grew in abundance.  

The properties of Broom as a healing herb was well known to the ancients, and such early writers as Virgil (70-19 BC) and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) speak of the “Genista” species of Broom.  It was also mentioned in some of the earliest printed Herbals, such like:  the Passau (1485), the Hortus Sanitatis (1491) and the Grete Herball (1516). 

 John Gerard in his Herbal of 1597 tells us:  “The decoction of the twigs and tops of broom doth cleanse and open the liver, milt and kidnies”. 

The Broom is also mentioned in the first London Pharmacopoeia of 1618, from which Nicholas Culpepper (1616-1654) made an unauthorized translation published in 1649 was called “A Physicall Directory”.  Later in his celebrated Herbal “The English Physician” (1652), Culpepper considered a decoction of Broom to be good not only for dropsy, but also for black jaundice, ague, gout, sciatica and various pains of the hips and joints. 

The flowers of broom were used for making an unguent to cure the gout.  Henry VIII used to drink a water infusion made from the flowers of Broom, and being purgative he believed it acted as a guard against his overindulgences. 

 A decoction of Broom is recommended in herbal medicine for bladder and kidney afflictions, as well as for chronic dropsy.  Bruised seeds after being infused in rectified spirit was allowed to stand for two weeks and strained, then taken daily in a glass of peppermint water to cure liver complaints and ague.  The seeds were also used as a substitute for coffee. 

Broom juice in large doses can disturb the stomach and bowels, and is therefore more often used as an auxiliary to other diuretics, rather than used alone.  Called (Infusum Scoparii) it is made by infusing the dried tops of Broom in boiling water for fifteen minutes and then straining.  It was introduced into the British Pharmacopoeia of 1898 and replaced the decoctions of broom in the preceding issues.

Description

The flowers of the Broom are fragrant and about ¾ inch long, ranging in color from light yellow to orange with crimson wings.  The shape of the flower is irregular with a top banner petal, two side wing petals, and two keel petals on the bottom likened to a butterfly.   

The flowers are in bloom from April to July and occur on plants as young as 2 years old, growing more abundantly on plants of 4 years old or more.  Bees are attracted to the flowers, not in search of honey but more because they contain an abundance of pollen.  

The flowers are followed by flat oblong seedpods about 1½ - 2 inches long, these are hairy on the edges but smooth on the sides.  The pods are dark green or nearly black when mature and each contains several seeds.  The seeds are oval about ⅛ inch long, dark greenish-brown and have a shiny surface.   

The pods begin to dry out as the seeds inside mature and warp in different directions, eventually they are forced open and the seeds burst out with a sharp report landing some 4 to 12 feet away.  The continuous popping of the bursting seed-vessels can readily be heard on a hot sunny day.   

 

The seeds have a hard shell and can remain viable in the soil for more than 50 years before they germinate.  This long-term viability enables the Reed to re-populate areas even after they have been cleared and even when no plants are visible on the site.  

Rare Trees Pennantia Baylisiana

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 236-365

Humans have clearcut 80% of the planet's ancient forests, destroying the habitats of countless plants and animals, removing potential life-saving medicinal compounds and contributing greatly to global warming.

Common Name

Three Kings Kaikomako

Class: Magnoliopsida

The solitary tree was discovered by Professor Geoff Baylis on the Three Kings Islands in 1945. 

How Rare?

There is apparently only 1 tree in the wild, located on one of the Three Kinds Islands, off the coast of New Zealand.  It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the world’s rarest plant. It is threatened by habitat loss.

It wasn't always that way. But non-native goats brought to the island by humans ate all the others.

This species grows in coastal forest. It is a rare, multi-trunked small tree bearing very large broad glossy curled leaves. The leaves are 120-160 mm long and widest towards the tip. The flowers are small, green and in clusters along branches. Flowering is from October to November. The fruit is purple, 10 mm long and contains a single seed. Fruiting occurs between January and April in cultivated material. Ripe fruit has been seen in the wild during February and March.  

Conservation Action

In 2012, this species was classified as 'Threatened - Nationally Critical' based on the New Zealand Threat Classification System with the qualifiers Conservation Dependent (CD), Island Endemic (IE) and One Location (OL). This is based on criterion A(1) which is met when there are under 250 mature individuals in the population (Townsend et al. 2008, de Lange et al. 2013).

It took 20 years to get cuttings to grow and plants established in cultivation. Another 20 years passed before Dr Ross Beever at Landcare Research, Mt Albert, was able to induce the functionally female flowers to set seed by selectively treating them with plant hormones.
 
This enabled the scant residual pollen to pollinate the female ovaries and he obtained a handful of viable seed which he proceeded to germinate. From these plants, one (nicknamed Martha) has proved to be particularly fertile and although still positively a female she also has adequate virile pollen to self-fertilise her flowers.

The search is now for a fully functional male with heaps of viable pollen. If we can find one he will be the saviour of this species which can then rise again from near extinction.

Description
 
Hardy, tolerates wind & dry spells, not frost. Fantastic glossy,leathery,wavy foliage. Purple fruit. All stock comes from a sole tree discovery. Dioecious. Still rare.

The problem with there being only one known specimen and reproducing it from cutting is that no matter how many plants you distribute, they are all identical clones so lacking any genetic variation. However, the original plant finally set viable seed in 1989 and there are now seedling grown plants in existence which should strengthen the genetic base. Penanntias are dioecious which means there are male plants and female plants. Fortunately the last known plant on the planet was female and occasionally, female dioecious plants can produce a little pollen and therefore self pollinate and produce seed.

Trees in New Zealand

by Liliana Usvat
Blog 235-365

These trees on Slope Point, the southern tip of New Zealand, grow at an angle because they’re constantly buffeted by extreme antarctic winds.

It lies 4800 km (2982 mi) from the South Pole and 5100 km (3168 mi) from the equator, so it’s regularly exposed to unimaginable weather conditions. The air stream loops that travel over the Southern Ocean uninterrupted for 3200 km (2000 mi) make landfall at Slope Point, making for consistently extreme winds. And yet, even in this uniquely harsh environment, extraordinary beauty can be found.

 

Why do trees grow vertically instead of horizontally?

 
When seeds germinate they are under the ground and as such are not able to detect any light source to grow towards however they are able detect the force of gravity just like humans do. No matter which way round you plant a seed the roots always grow down and the shoot grows up, the roots show positive geotropism (this means they grow in the same direction as the pull of gravity i.e. down) and the shoots show negative geotropism which is against gravity i.e. upwards. As soon as the shoot emerges above the soil it will then grow towards a source of light so that it can convert the suns energy into usable energy through photosynthesis. It is in the plants best interest to grow straight upwards so that it get as much light as it can and not be out competed by other plants. 

Could a tree grow in zero-G? If so what would it look like?

The complication that needs to be overcome is that plants make use of gravity when planted to orient themselves (as they can't rely on being planted the right way up), so that their roots go down and their sprouts go up. Without gravity, they will tend to just stay at around the same depth and not sprout.

One astronaut reported that this was simple enough to fix, however, just by plucking the ends out of the soil, pulling them to the surface, when they first sprout. From this point, the plant can orient itself using light and will continue to grow. Roots don't suffer as much, as they just grow away from the seed and avoid light (the surface), so develop relatively normally.
After this, growth is mostly normal The resulting plants can look a little unusual because they don't have the usual drooping from gravity, so will tend to be more upright.

How Do Trees On a Hillside or Slope Grow Straight Up?

Trees grow vertically because of two things: gravity and light.
Geotropism, in which microscopic particles in plant cells react to gravity, tends to make the roots grow straight down, which means that the stems grow straight up.

Phototropism tends to make plants grow vertically as well, following the direction from which light comes. Phototropism was originally called heliotropism, or bending toward the sun, until scientists found out that plants would bend toward light in general, not just sunlight.

The phenomenon was studied by Charles Darwin and his son Francis, who recognized that the bending started just below the tip. But they did not discover the mechanism that caused the bending.

Subsequent researchers found that a class of plant hormone called auxins can regulate the growth of plant cells, interacting with other plant substances to direct and control the plant’s final shape, both above and below the ground.

In a growing tree, auxins, produced at the growth tip, promote the elongation of plant cells. Auxins are present in greater concentrations on the darker side of the plant shaft, so those cells grow longer than the cells exposed to light.

Thus, the tree bends toward the light. inner needles senesce, or grow old, turning yellow or brown, and drop from the tree after one to several years, depending on the species. By November of most years, for example, white pines may have only a year’s worth of needles attached to the tree.

Cedar Trees Stories and Medicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat

Blog 234-365

Indigenous to the Lebanese mountains, the southwest of Turkey, Cyprus, the Atlas Mountains, and the Himalayas, the cedar tree is also found in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. It is a majestic, flat-topped tree, growing to 130 feet, having dark green, needlelike leaves, and oval cones.

The Lebanon cedar

The Lebanon cedar (Cedrus libani) is a conifer that originates from, as its name might suggest, Lebanon and surrounding areas in the Middle East. Original old growth groves of this tree, that is mentioned in the Bible, are now very rare. This tree can live for thousands of years and became a popular exotic specimen tree in European landscape gardens in the 18th, 19th century. 

The oldest Cedar Trees

The oldest Cedar Trees are in a grove in Becharri, Northern Lebanon. These
trees are between 1000 and 2000 years old, making them some of the oldest trees on earth

The Cedars of God 

The Cedars of God is a small forest of about 400 Lebanon Cedar trees in the mountains of northern Lebanon. They are among the last survivors of the extensive forests of the Cedars of Lebanon that thrived in this region in ancient times. The Cedars of Lebanon are mentioned in the Bible over 70 times. The ancient Egyptians used its resin in mummification and King Solomon used the famous trees in the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem.

History

It is said that the cedar was used to build the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and Solomon's Temple.

Since ancient times, the oil has been used in incense, perfumes, and embalming.

Few people know why our planet is called the Earth. The origin of the name actually lies in the ancient city of Eridu, where the archaeologists found the earliest evidence of the Sumerian civilization.  

 

However, Eridu was not only the first city of the Sumerians, but also the first settlement of the Gods. Its name E.RI.DU echoed its earlier history, for it literally meant “Home in the Faraway Built”. a most appropriate name for the visitors from the planet Nibiru. 

In 1976, Zecharia Sitchin published a remarkable study, corroborating Sumerian claims that their cities had been built upon “the everlasting ground plan” of the Gods.’  

In one of his books " Memories and prophecies of and Extraterrestrial God The Lost Book of Enky"  Zecharia Sitchin translates the Sumerian tablets writing about Enlil an extraterrestrial being coming to Earth.

" Enlil by the heat of the Sun afflicted for a place of coolness and shade was searching."

"The show covered mountains valley on the Edin's north side he took  liking..

The tallest trees he ever saw grew there in a cedar forest. 

There above a mountain valley wit power beams the surface he flattened."

" On Earth was summer; to his abode in the cedar Forest Enlil retreated."

" In the cedar forest was Enlil walking in the cool of the day. " 

So the Sumerian  tablets written over 5000 years ago acknowledge the existence of Cedar Forests.

Cedar Tree Canada

 

 

Many big cedar trees can be seen on a walk through the rainforest of Vancouver Island in Pacific Rim National Park near Tofino, British Columbia, Canada.

Moss covered base of a large western red cedar tree (western red cedar), Thuja plicata, along the Rainforest Trail in the coastal rainforest of Pacific Rim National Park, Long Beach Unit, Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, West Coast, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)

Medicinal uses: collect in summer/fall from young trees—highest oil content, antifungal, antibacterial—stimulates phagocytosis, helps athlete's foot, ringworm, jock itch, nail fungus, chronic vaginitis, stimulates smooth muscle—helps with respiratory, urinary tract, and reproductive system problems, can make tea, tincture, cold infusion, steam

Internal uses include: boiling limbs to make a tuberculosis treatment, chewing leaf buds for sore lungs, boiling leaves to make a cough remedy, making a decoction of leaves to treat colds, chewing leaf buds to relieve toothache pain, making an infusion to treat stomach pain and diarrhea, chewing the inner bark of a small tree to bring about delayed menstruation, making a bark infusion to treat kidney complaints, making an infusion of the seeds to treat fever using a weak infusion internally to treat rheumatism and arthritis

External uses include: making a decoction of leaves to treat rheumatism, washing with an infusion of twigs to treat venereal disease, including the human papilloma virus and other sexually transmitted diseases, making a poultice of boughs or oil to treat rheumatism, making a poultice of boughs or oil to threat bronchitis, making a poultice or oil from inner bark to treat skin diseases, including topical fungal infections and warts, using shredded bark to cauterize and bind wounds. Extracts of red cedar have been shown to have antibacterial properties against common bacteria. Compounds with antifungal properties have also been isolated.

Preparations:Most preparations of red cedar call for boiling the medicinal parts to make a decoction or for making a tea or infusion. Little information exists on dosages. An essential oil can be prepared from red cedar. This oil is meant to be used topically. It is toxic if taken internally, and has the ability to produce convulsions or even death if taken in even small quantities. A 1999 study done in Switzerland noted an increase in poisoning deaths from plant products, including Thuja, due possibly to an increase in people practicing herbal healing and aromatherapy.

Acacia Medicinal Uses Reforestation and History Religion Symbolism

 By Liliana Usvat
Blog 233-365

Ancient Story

Here is a story about a Sumerina scribe Endubsar in ancient times that was given a job by Lord Enki to write a Book of Witnessing of the past and the book of foretelling the future, for the future in the past lies and the first things shall also be the last things. He wrote on tablets for 40 days and nights on tablets. After he wrote the tablets he put them one by one in the correct order in the chest.  And the chest was made of acacia wood and it was inlaid with gold on the outside.

The tablets are real, are on display in the Ashmolean Museum Oxford England and were translated by Zecharia Sitchin and are known as Sumerian King Lists.

Acacia Plant

Acacia, known commonly as acacia, thorntree, whistling thorn, or wattle, is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773 based on the African species Acacia nilotica.

 Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not. All species are pod-bearing, with sap and leaves often bearing large amounts of tannins and condensed tannins that historically found use as pharmaceuticals and preservatives.

There are over 1,300 species of Acacia

Use as human food

Acacia seeds are often used for food and a variety of other products.
In Burma, Laos, and Thailand, the feathery shoots of Acacia pennata (common name cha-om, ชะอม and su pout ywet in Burmese) are used in soups, curries, omelettes, and stir-fries.

Medicinal Uses

• anthelmintic
• antibacterial
• anticatarrhal
• antifungal
• anti-inflammatory
• antimalarial
• antimicrobial
• antiseptic
• astringent
• diuretic
• hemostatic
• mucilaginous (roots and gum)
• sedative (flowers and leaves)

 
A 19th-century Ethiopian medical text describes a potion made from an Ethiopian species (known as grar) mixed with the root of the tacha, then boiled, as a cure for rabies

An astringent medicine high in tannins, called catechu or cutch, is procured from several species, but more especially from Senegalia catechu (syn. Acacia catechu), by boiling down the wood and evaporating the solution so as to get an extract.

Acacia gum may be used to rid the mouth of the bacteria that causes periodontal disease. The gum from the plant is dissolved in water, then swished in the mouth to treat gum disease. 

Acacia gum as a demulcent, or soothing to mucus membranes. Because of this effect, this substance is often applied to affected skin to treat minor wounds and scrapes.

Acacia gum is helpful in treating cold symptoms and relieving the sore throat associated with them. You may drink a tea made with the herb or gargle it to help the sore throat.

Acacia gum is useful in treating dysentery, diarrhea and other intestinal ailments. Make a tea or extract with the gum and drink is for the desired effect.

The acacia flowers are useful in treating a hangover, nausea and vomiting when made into a tea.

In Ayurvedic medicine, Acacia leaves, flowers, and pods have long been used to expel worms, to staunch bleeding, heal wounds, and suppress the coughing up of blood.

In Ayurvedic medicine, decoctions of the bark and heartwood are used for sore throats.

The acacia in some South American cultures has been considered specific for venomous stings and bites and used in much the same manner in each culture. The juice of the chewed bark is swallowed, while the chewed bark itself is placed on the area of the bite

Any part may be powdered and applied to fungal infections, infected wounds, and to stop the bleeding of wounds and prevent subsequent infection.

To prepare gum: combine one part by weight of acacia gum with with parts by volume of distilled water.

Place into a tightly-stoppered bottle, shake occasionally, all to dissolve, and keep refrigerated. It becomes a slimy goo in the process. One or two tablespoons of this at a time can be taken as often as needed for gastrointestinal inflammations, oral ulcerations, or dysentery.

 Perfume

Vachellia farnesiana (syn. Acacia farnesiana) is used in the perfume industry due to its strong fragrance. The use of acacia as a fragrance dates back centuries.

Reforestation

 

 Acacias can be planted for erosion control, especially after mining or construction damage.

One of the most globally significant invasive acacias is black wattle A. mearnsii, which is taking over grasslands and abandoned agricultural areas worldwide, especially in moderate coastal and island regions where mild climate promotes its spread. Australian/New Zealand Weed Risk Assessment gives it a "high risk, score of 15" rating and it is considered one of the world's 100 most invasive species.

Symbolism and ritual

The acacia is used as a symbol in Freemasonry, to represent purity and endurance of the soul, and as funerary symbolism signifying resurrection and immortality. The tree gains its importance from the description of the burial of Hiram Abiff, who provided some of the builders for King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.

 It is also supposed to have been the material used for Zulu warriors' iziQu (or isiKu) beads, which passed on through Sir Robert Baden-Powell to the Boy Scout movement's Wood Badge training award.
 
Egyptian mythology has associated the acacia tree with characteristics of the tree of life, such as in the Myth of Osiris and Isis.

Several parts (mainly bark, root, and resin) of Acacia species are used to make incense for rituals. Acacia is used in incense mainly in India, Nepal, and China including in its Tibet region.

Smoke from acacia bark is thought to keep demons and ghosts away and to put the gods in a good mood. Roots and resin from acacia are combined with rhododendron, acorus, cytisus, salvia, and some other components of incense.

Both people and elephants like an alcoholic beverage made from acacia fruit. According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, the acacia tree may be the “burning bush” (Exodus 3:2) which Moses encountered in the desert.

Also, when God gave Moses the instructions for building the Tabernacle, he said to "make an ark" and "a table of acacia wood" (Exodus 25:10 & 23, Revised Standard Version). Also, in the Christian tradition, Christ's crown of thorns is thought to have been woven from acacia.




In Russia, Italy, and other countries, it is customary to present women with yellow mimosas (among other flowers) on International Women's Day (March 8). These "mimosas" are actually from A. dealbata (silver wattle).

Forestation Projects Spain Africa USA China

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 232-365

We cut forests on this planet as if we have other to go on.
Big empires in history treated land forest as resources and not as something that is necessary to coexist with.
Lately more and more people realize that the act of few companies governments mafias affect us all. Some try to reverse the destruction while other continue to have policies and money toward that that cause the depleating the land of soil water and bio diversity.

We are going to focus on the positive example that can be followed on a bigger scale, because we believe that the forest should have the right to live and coexist with human society.

Groasis Water Box     www.groasis.com
 
Groasis participates in the Life+ "The Green Deserts" project. This project takes 5 years of investigation with 32,000 Groasis Waterboxxes. They cooperate with six Spanish partners and one Belgium partner. They plant on 7 extreme places in Spain. It is extreme hot, extreme cold, extreme dry, extreme rocky, they suffer from extreme winds and they plant on extreme slopes of mine sites. The experiments are done under the supervision of the University of Valladolid. 

Africa "Great Green Wall"


The plan to build a five thousand mile band of trees across the Africa begins in Senegal, where trees are already being planted.

Permaculture Jordan Desert

Geoff Lawton went to the Jordanian ( 2 km of the place where Jesus was crucified) desert in 2001 and turned a ten acre bit of desert and turned it into a orchard.if this can be done in the Jordanian desert imagine what can be achieved not just  in the United Kingdom but everywhere.

Reforestation & Avoided Deforestation Projects

Reforestation and forest preservation carbon offset projects are part of the global warming solution. Forest-based carbon offset projects fight climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere in trees and soil and have many co-benefits for the community and local wildlife. Forest preservation creates jobs, maintains and expands wildlife habitats, protects biodiversity, and improves local environmental quality.

Much of the world’s tropical rainforests have either been cut down or are directly threatened with imminent deforestation. Deforestation and forest degradation have resulted in species loss and direct contribution to global warming.

Moreover, deforestation accounts for over 20 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions – more than the entire global transportation sector! Our reforestation and avoided deforestation offset projects meet the toughest industry standards.
Forestry projects absorb carbon emissions for years and decades into the future.

Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Reforestation Initiative USA

 

The Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Reforestation Initiative aims to reforest at least one million acres throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois. Considered North America's rainforest, this region is a vital habitat for migratory birds and numerous plant and animal species. The project will also sequester CO₂ emissions. Previously encompassing 22 million acres of temperate forest, the region now holds only four million acres of unfarmed forestland.

Trees for the Future

 

Started in 1989 by Grace and Dave Deppner, Trees for the Future works with communities in Central America, South America, Africa and Asia to incorporate tree planting into their agricultural activities

Trees for the Future is a Maryland-based nonprofit organization founded in 1989 that helps communities around the world plant trees. Through seed distribution, agroforestry training, and in-country technical assistance, it has empowered rural groups to restore tree cover to their lands, protect the environment and help to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations.

China

China has seen 3,600 km² (1,400 sq mi) of grassland overtaken every year by the Gobi Desert.

.Each year dust storms blow off as much as 2,000 km² (800 sq mi) of topsoil, and the storms are increasing in severity each year. These storms also have serious agricultural effects for other nearby countries, such as Japan, North Korea, and South Korea. The Green Wall project was begun in 1978, with the proposed end result of raising northern China’s forest cover from 5 to 15 percent and thereby reducing desertification.

Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8z5xZLY1sA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI_nRHg-0l4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1rKDXuZ8C0

http://www.replant.ca/reference/replant_chapter_04.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=joL0_4TGJKk

The Tree of Life

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 231 -365

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, are both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree

The Tree of Life in Myth

'Buddhism tells of Sakyamuni’s birth and a flash of light that travelled around the world that sparked the first growth of the Tree of Perfection – a sacred  fig tree

 that it is said to have been four hundred feet high that bloomed with flowers and fruit that glowed and glistened.  It is said that the Buddha was born, received his enlightenment, preached his first sermon and died all under the Bodhi tree. Some say he sat under the tree for six years protected by the tree while he was enlightened. 

In Judeo-Christian parable in the Book of Genesis there are actually two trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. A tree planted by God in the Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve are commanded and warned not to eat from (it is the Tree of Knowledge that God explicitly warned them about) but are tricked by a crafty and cunning serpent who promises that they will become as wise as God, that they will know knowledge and wisdom (consciousness of duality) and never die if they eat. They indulged in its fruit and they were cast out and banished from the garden. The prophet Enoch describes the tree as bearing  like grapes with a beautiful fragrance. Talmudic scripture suggest that Eve made wine from the fruit. It is the Tree of Knowledge that Christ is said to have been crucified upon.

Sumerian Clay tablet is dated c. 2,500 BCE.  The original Sumerian (Indo-Iranian) concept was that wisdom is likened to a tree whose fruit endows those who eat it with health and longevity. The symbol of an elixir of life had already been well established in antiquity by the Indo-Iranian cultures long before Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other cultures had the opportunity to recognise it. This 4,500 year old clay tablet shows a man and a woman seated below the Tree of Life. Behind the woman is seen a serpent allegedly ‘tempting’ the woman.   

In Norse mythology Yaggdrasil is the holy Ash World Tree surrounded by nine worlds. It is said to connect the Underworld to Heaven with its branches and roots. Odin is said to have hung on the tree for nine days, self-sacrificed so that he could bring the wisdom of the runes to his people. Once again, from the symbol of the tree flows human awareness and consciousness. 

In Egypt the Holy Sycamore is said to stand on the threshold of life and death, connecting the worlds.  It stands at the Eastern gate of Heaven from which the sun rises each morning.  A number of different types of trees had different functions and were sacred to different Egyptian deities.

In alchemical traditions the Arbor Philsophica is another tree that is said to bear alchemical symbols representing the seven planets and the processes of alchemy. These planets correspond to the seven metals gold, silver, copper, iron, mercury, lead and tin which were all said to grow on the tree. The tree is said to grow from the ground or sometimes from the body of man. Jung speaks of a dream where he sees a tree with branches of gold, silver, steel and mixed iron which he realises corresponds to the Arbor Philsophica and symbolises growth and illumination'. 

Other examples of trees featured in mythology are the Banyan and the Peepal (Ficus religiosa) trees in Hinduism

, and the modern tradition of the Christmas Tree in Germanic mythology, the Tree of Knowledge (Kabbalah) of Judaism and Christianity, and the Bodhi Tree in Buddhism.

 In folk religion and folklore, trees are often said to be the homes of tree spirits. Historical Druidism as well as Germanic Paganism appear to have involved cultic practice in sacred groves, especially the oak. The term druid itself possibly derives from the Celtic word for oak.

Tree Spirits 

To the ancient Greeks and Romans, trees were thought to be inhabited by female spirits called Dryad (in

(oak Tree)

oak trees) or Meliae (in ash trees).

(ash trees)

In Greek drys signifies 'Oak' from an Indo-European root *derew(o)- 'tree' or 'wood'. In Scottish folklore a friendly tree spirit, called the Ghillie Dhu, helps lost children find their way home. 

Japan is home to a rich tradition encompassing various tree spirits, generally called Kodama. Traditionally, foresters made offerings to the Kodama before cutting a tree down.

    

The Jasmine

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 230-365

The jasmine shrubs and vines (lianas) belong to the Jasminum genus and feature beautiful white, yellow or pink flowers that give off a heady aroma.

They are filed in the Oleaceae (Olive) family, where you will find other plants like olive (Olea europaea), border forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia), common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus). 

Height: If treated as a vine, the angelwing jasmine can be 15-20' or more long. If used as a shrub, it's usually pruned to be 2-4' tall.

In Syria, jasmine is the symbolic flower of Damascus, which is called the City of Jasmine. In Thailand, jasmine flowers are used as a symbol for motherhood.

Madurai, a city in Tamil Nadu is famous for its Jasmine production. In the western and southern states of India, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, jasmine is cultivated in private homes.

 These flowers are used in regular worship and for hair ornaments. Jasmine is also cultivated commercially, for both the domestic and industrial uses such as the perfume industry.

 It is used in rituals like marriages, religious ceremonies and festivals. In the Chandan Yatra of lord Jagannath, the deity is bathed with water flavored in sandalwood paste and jasmine.

Trees and Electricity

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 229-365

Trees produce electricity and can give if out - it appears that trees resonate at 7.8 Hz like soil and out brains - so trees must have some balancing function.

A team from QUT’s International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (ILAQH), led by Professor Lidia Morawska, and including Dr. Rohan Jayaratne and Dr. Xuan Ling, ran experiments in six locations all over Brisbane and found that positive and negative ion concentrations in the air were twice as high in heavily wooded areas than in open grassy areas, such as parks.

In 1891, Nikola Tesla gave a lecture for the members of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in New York City, where he made a striking demonstration. In each hand he held a gas discharge tube, an early version of the modern fluorescent bulb. The tubes were not connected to any wires, but nonetheless they glowed brightly during his demonstration. Tesla explained to the awestruck attendees that the electricity was being transmitted through the air by the pair of metal sheets which sandwiched the stage. He went on to speculate how one might increase the scale of this effect to transmit wireless power and information over a broad area, perhaps even the entire Earth. As was often the case, Tesla's audience was engrossed but bewildered.

 Other Experiments

Connecting electrodes driven into a tree trunk and the ground nearby can provide a current. But last year Andreas Mershin's team at MIT showed that using electrodes made of the same metal also gives a current, meaning another effect must be at work. Mershin thinks the electricity derives from a difference in pH between the tree and the soil, a chemical imbalance maintained by the tree's metabolic processes.

Trees seem capable of providing a constant voltage of anywhere between 20 and a few hundred millivolts – way below the 1.5 volts from a standard AA battery and close to the level of background electrical noise in circuits.

We can  to obtain a usable voltage from big-leaf maple trees by adding a device called a voltage boost converter. The converter spends most of its time in a kind of stand-by mode as it stores electrical energy from the tree, periodically releasing it at 1.1 volts.

Trees could power gadgets to monitor their own physiology or their immediate surroundings, for ecological research. 

Energy harvested from trees can power sensors that monitor temperature and humidity inside forests. It is done in Canton, Massachusetts.

Links

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/tesla/lostjournals/lostjournals07.htm