How did mums receive their name?

Those yellow flowers that are ubiquitous this time of year are not called mums because they are quiet. Their real name is chrysanthemum. The word is from the Greek "chrys" which means yellow and "anthemon" meaning (you're never going to guess this one) "flower!" Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist also known as the father of modern taxonomy gave the flower its name. Taxonomy is just a fancy word for the arbitrary art of naming things.

Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as a flowering herb and are described in writings as early as the 15th Century B.C. As an herb, it was believed to have the power of life. Legend has it that the boiled roots were used as a headache remedy; young sprouts and petals were eaten in salads; and leaves were brewed for a festive drink. Please don't try this at home. I can't imagine anything festive about drinking chrysanthemum tea; but then again, I've never tried it.

All this trivia about mums came about because someone told me that they wanted to learn something and were curious as to how the plant got its name. It is this curiosity that compels me to spend hours looking up any number of things. I have found that bark from the willow tree has been used throughout the centuries in China and Europe for the treatment of pain (particularly low back pain and osteoarthritis), headache, and inflammatory conditions. The bark of white willow contains salicin, which is a chemical similar to aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). In fact, in the 1800s, salicin was used to develop aspirin. White willow appears to be slower than aspirin to bring pain relief, but its effects may last longer.

Jewelweed is a cure for poison ivy and often grows alongside of it. Joe Pye weed is taller than ironweed even though they both sport bluish-purple flowers this time of year.

It is not just plants that spark my interest. If someone asks me a question I will search high and low until I find the answer. I have researched alpacas, (fancy llamas); swine flu; duckweed; why tree leaves change color in the fall and how to get algae out of a pond without killing anything else.

I can tell you what happened to your goldfish that you "buried at sea" in your bathroom. I have an endless supply of mostly useless knowledge in my brain. When my husband and I compete while watching trivia shows we each have our areas of expertise.

I think that our inherent curiosity is one of the things that make us unique. It was curiosity that settled the world. Because it doesn't matter if you believe in Adam and Eve or the Australopithecus afarensis Lucy as our common ancestors, we all came from the same place - somewhere in Africa.

Curiosity led the ancients to settle the Americas, Asia, Europe and Australia. We have an innate need to know what is over the horizon. We must find out all we can about whatever piques our curiosity. Along the way, we discover things we didn't even know were possible. Many of our modern conveniences came about because somebody said, "What if . . ." or "Why?" or "Hey, what's over there?" Curiosity may have killed the cat but it leads to all sorts of adventures. Most of all it leads to the satisfaction of KNOWING. I know why a particular plant is called one thing and not another.

Now you do, too.[[In-content Ad]]