Che berries are related to mulberries. Photo by Michale Kesl

Che is not the tree it used to be.

Che’s thorns are inconsistent

At one time there were just he and she Che trees. Then a few decades ago along came a self-fertile seedless Che then Ches grafted onto a close relative the Osage Orange. The he’s and she’s have also escaped from cultivation in North Carolina and coastal Georgia. I don’t think the seedless escape. Ches are planted from about New York south and west. Your best chance of seeing one is in landscaping in the southern half of the United States and up the west coast. Whether to include Che as a wild edible was a bit of a debate. It’s wild in Asia and has been around North America for more than a century thus it was included. One reason why you might not have seen a Che is birds. They aren’t too interested in the berries so they don’t spread the tree around.

Leaf shape can vary from 3 lobes to none

The Che is native from the Shantung and Kiangson Provinces of China to the Nepalese sub-Himalayas. It was naturalized in Japan many years ago which is where I first saw one back in the early 70’s. Che (Cudrania tricuspidata) was introduced to France in 1862, England in 1872 and to the United States about 1909. There was one growing at the P. J. Berckman’s Nursery in Augusta Georgia by 1912 and fruiting, which is another issue. Both male and female trees can fruit, she more than he while the grafted seedless fruits the most.

Che benefits from pruning

The seedless Che is a small tree. The natural species is shrubby and can produce many suckers. By grafting the Che onto an Osage orange a superior single-trunk fruit tree is created. It bears a large crop of red, juicy fruit clusters reminiscent of round mulberries about an inch through, ping-pong ball-ish in size. The flavor is a cross between a mulberry and a fig, which it not remarkable as it is related to both. It is also distantly related to Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), Fig (Ficus spp.), Mulberry (Morus spp.), African Breadfruit (Treculis africana), Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) and the aforementioned Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera.)

Bonsai Che

While the Che has been promoted outside of China as the up-and-coming fruit tree for decades in China its reputation varies from valuable to intolerable. This might be because of erratic thorns. The tree is backup food for the silkworm and the leaves have to be picked by hand which means braving thorns. Worse, the tree is not consistently thorny so there’s no pattern to help you avoid them. Silk made from the leaves, however, is reported to make high quality lute strings of pure tone. The Che is also a favored tree of for bonsai. (On a personal note a life time ago I visited Bonsai Machi in Japan, the heart of the bonsai culture. There were amazing specimens there. There was also a small city laid out with miniature buildings and bonsai tress for landscaping. The effect was to be a giant walking down the street. And when I see specials about bonsai they show specimens I saw some 40 years ago, still alive and craggy.)

Che berris store well

Besides “Che” the tree is called Cudrania, Chinese Mulberry,  Cudrang, Mandarin Melon Berry, Silkworm Thorn, and Storehousebush (why it is called that no one knows.)  As for the botanical name Cudrania tricuspidata no one knows where Cudrania came from either or what it supposed to mean. It was named by one Dr. Hance in 1877 and he left no clue as to why his chose that name for the genus. I suspect it has something to do with the common name of Cudrang. Tricuspidata means three pointed as in the leaves though even Dr. Hance said the leaves vary so much calling it Tricuspidata was inaccurate. “Che” (said like the Cuban revolutionary) means “stony ground,” a reference to the tree’s natural habitat of poor, dry soil. But it likes warm, rich soil as well.

Incidentally an intergeneric hybrid exist between the Che (Cudrania tricuspidata) and the Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) called Macludrania hybrida. Mostly from France they were planted in the US National Arboretum in 1960 and have large orange-like fruit and no thorns.  Other than that planting the hybrid seems to have been largely ignored by everyone.

Green Deane’s Itemized Plant Profile: Che

IDENTIFICATION: Cudrania tricuspidata. Deciduous trees to 25 ft. height, often a broad, spreading bush or small tree.  rarely to 60 feet. Immature wood thorny, female trees larger than males. Leaves alternate, resemble mulberry but smaller, thinner, pale yellowish-green, trilobate, with central lobe sometimes twice as long as the lateral lobes, frequently unlobed. Flowers dioecious, male and female flowers on different plants, green, pea-sized. Fruit is aggregate, looks like a round mulberry crossed with a lychee, knotty, ripens to red or maroon-red, juicy, rich red flesh, 3 to 6 small brown edible seeds per fruit. Flavor varies from fig/mulberry cross to watermelon.

TIME OF YEAR: Flowers in late spring or early summer, fruit in early fall in cooler areas, later in warm areas. In warmer areas it is an evergreen. In cooler areas the leaves turn red in the fall and persist.

ENVIRONMENT: Likes a sunny, warm location with rich, well-drained soil but can grow in rocky dirt. Planted in zones 5-9, can tolerate -20F. Treat them like a mulberry tree. Fruit stains like mulberries.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Trees mature early and can produce up to 400 pounds of chewy fruit. Let the fruit stay on the tree until they are soft and dead ripe. Ripening is continuous for about a month. Fruit is eaten out of hand or used like mulberries or figs. Good shelf life.

Grafts are better than raising trees from seeds. Seed planted immediately from ripe fruit germinate at a high rate. Stored seeds must have a period of cool, moist stratification. Plants from seeds can take up to 10 years to fruit. Cloned plants bear very young.

Corn smut cause infected kernels to swell

Mexican Truffles. Corn Truffles. Corn Smut. Raven Scat. Ustilago maydis gets more unappetizing the further one goes down its list of names. The Aztecs called it huitlacoche.  The Mexicans call it a delicacy.

Edible Corn Smut is used like cooked mushrooms

Corn smut is a fungus that grows on young maize. When the corn is in silk kernels become infected. They swell to golf-ball size galls and discolor. Loaded with soluble fiber, the amino acid lysine and the antioxidant anthocyanin, the moist young galls are collected two or three weeks after the corn becomes infected. If not harvested the galls will grow hard and spore-filled looking a smutty dark blue or black. The flavor of young galls is musty, earthy if not smokey. Less expansively they taste like a cross between mushrooms and corn. While the fungus is used like expensive mushrooms and served in elegant restaurants in Latin America it is considered a plant disease in other countries. If you can’t find any fresh locally you can order canned corn smut over the Internet. Perhaps not surprisingly fresh infected corn sells for more than uninfected corn. In the U.S. an ear of huitlacoche costs some 41 cents to produce and sells for about three times that, $1.20. An ear of sweet corn costs about a dime to produce but sells for only a few pennies more.

The Aztecs intentionally inoculated their corn with spores by scratching the base of corn stalk with a soil-smeared knife. In Midwest America hail scratches corn plants allowing spores to enter. The fungus can live up to three years in the soil. The intentional infection is usually manifests itself ten days to two weeks later.

Smut is canned for international sale. A 7 oz. can sells for about $11 plus shipping. Fresh in Mexico it’s about $1.50 a pound, $20 a pound in the U.S.

Though highly nutritious there are reports of toxicity and effects such as fungal skin infection, hair loss and allergic reactions in people. There is little evidence to support that. However when digested Ustilago maydis is known to produce ustizein, guanacine, itaconic acid, ustilagic acid, and the alkaloid ustilagine, which may have similar effects to ergotamine which is from ergot (Claviceps purpurea). Efforts to use corn smut medicinally like ergot has not worked well because it is weaker. See Herb Blurb below. As a fungus corn smut is a distant relative of Boletus and Agaricus mushrooms. Also, out of 1,000 smut species it is one of two commonly eaten. The other is Ustilago esculenta, which grows on rice stalks in China.

Taco with “Mexican Truffles” photo by Hexodus

Corn smut is widespread. While native to Central America it now has almost worldwide distribution. It is rare, however, in tropical regions and is not found in New Zealand. Corn smut was first noticed in Australia in 1911 but was eradicated around the beginning of World War II. It reappeared in Australia in 1982.  It’s common in Europe wherever corn is grown. Corn smut is intentionally grown in limited quantities in California, Georgia, Virginia and in nearby Groveland, Florida. In the United States up to 5% of the corn crop can be unintentionally affected with some species of corn more susceptible than others such as sweet corn. A larger problem is when one infected ear is mechanically harvested the inky spores cover many other good ears picked at the same time making them unusable plus the machine needs to be cleaned. Millions have been spent trying to control it.

Cooked corn smut

As one might expect there are disagreements on what huitlacoche means exactly.  While authorities agree huitlacoche (week-la-KOH-chay) comes from the Aztecs there are two or more interpretations which are variations on a theme. Some say it means “sleeping excrement” others “raven excrement.” Regardless, you get the idea. As for the Dead Latin name Ustilago (oos-TILL-ah-go) it means “burnt” because of the way the smut  can look as it ages. Maydis (MAY-diss) is the local reference to the corn. Huitlacoche is also written cuitlacoche.

Green Deane’s Itemized Plant Profile: Corn Smut

IDENTIFICATION: Ustilago maydis: Look for large irregular swellings up to 7 inches (20 cm) across on the stems, leaves and ears.  Young galls are silvery-white covered by a thin grayish skin. The gall darkens then ruptures exposing a dark brown, powdery spore mass. Spores are rounded and pale brown, densely covered with small pointed spines.

Chef Rick Bayless

TIME OF YEAR:The local corn-growing season.  Rick Bayless, author, chef of Mexican cuisine, owner of Frontera Grill in Chicago says “Pick it when it feels like a pear starting to ripen, when there’s a little give to it. Too firm and it will be bitter. Too late, when the thin skin of the gall breaks if you rub it, and it will taste really muddy.”

ENVIRONMENT: Huitlacoche grows best during times of hot weather in a 78°F to 93°F (25°C–34°C). Prefers nitrogen-rich soil, dry conditions after rain.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Collected when young and still moist, they are usually cooked like mushrooms. One common simple use is to flavor scrambled eggs. See recipes below.

Mac & Cheese a la Corn Smut

Smutty Mac and Cheese with a Pecan Crust

Ingredients Pecan Crust
•    Half cup (118 ml)  butter
•    One cup (237 ml) pecans
•    One cup (237 ml) panko

Instructions Pecan Crust
•    In a small sauté pan melt the butter
•    Add the pecans and sauté until the nuts are slightly browned – about 5 minutes
•    Strain the nuts, reserve the butter
•    When cool mix with panko in a food processor and grind finely

Ingredients Smutty Mac & Cheese
•    One cup (237 ml) coarsely chopped huitlacoche
•    Quarter cup (60 ml) butter
•    Quarter cup (60 ml) flour
•    Two cups (or 500 ml) grated old Cheddar cheese
•    Two cups ( or 500 ml) grated Gouda
•    Two cups ( or 500 ml) grated marbled Cheddar
•    Three cups (700 ml) milk
•    Bay leaf
•    Salt, pepper
•    Two cups ( or 500 ml)  corn kernels
•    1 sweet onion, diced small
•    3 garlic cloves, chopped
•    13 ounces (341 g) pasta, macaroni type

Instructions: Remove the smut off the cob.Coarsely chop the huitlacoche.  Cook pasta, reserve.  In a large sauté pan use the reserved butter and heat until it bubbles.  Add the flour, stir until the roux darkens.  Add milk, bay leaf, salt and pepper, simmer for 10 minutes. Fold in cheeses, stir until melted. Add corn kernels. Caramelize onion and garlic, add to cheese mixture. Fold in pasta. Butter a baking dish. Spread half the mixture in bottom layer.  Spread the huitlacoche on top. Add the rest of the mixture, concealing the smut.  Top with the pecan mixture. Bake at 350 F. for 1/2 hour or until bubbly and the crust is browned.

Huitlacoche Soup

Recipe from Ellen and Tom Duffy

In damp weather corn frequently becomes infected with corn smut–Ustilago maydis–which when fresh occurs as pearly gray globules and ovoids displacing the rows of kernels. They should not be used when old and dried and powdery. At this time the black interior is widely exposed and the gleaming surface gone. It may cause uterine contractions in pregnant women when old and decayed. It is considered a great delicacy in parts of Mexico and here is a soup we have developed. It is delicious with a slight gray color. (There are black spores in the fresh globules also.)

A.

• 1-1/2 cups (354 ml) milk
• 3 Tablespoons (44 ml) flour
• 3 Tablespoons (44 ml) butter
• 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce
• 4-6 drops Tabasco sauce

B.

• 1 cup of huitlacoche (or slightly more)
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) bland oil or margarine or ghee
• 1 cup (354 ml) chicken broth

Whirl together all ingredients in group “A” in a blender or food processor until mixed. Cook slowly, stirring until white sauce thickens. Chop finely all solid ingredients in group “B” and sauté until tender–add the huitlacoche last as it cooks a little quicker. Whirl in blender or food processor with the chicken broth, add to the cream sauce, heat and enjoy.

Herb Blurb

Ustilago maydis, a new fungal model system for cell biology.

Abstract

The use of fungal model systems, such as Saccharomyces cerevisisae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, has contributed enormously to our understanding of essential cellular processes in animals. Here, we introduce the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis as a new model organism for studying cell biological processes. Genome-wide analysis demonstrates that U. maydis is more closely related to humans than to budding yeast, and numerous proteins are shared only by U. maydis and Homo sapiens. Growing evidence suggests that basic principles of long-distance transport, mitosis and motor-based microtubule organization are conserved between U. maydis and humans. The fungus U. maydis, therefore, offers a unique system for the study of certain mammalian processes.

[PubMed

Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 1995 Jan;35(3):191-229.

Huitlacoche (Ustilago maydis) as a food source–biology, composition, and production.

Valverde ME, Paredes-López O, Pataky JK, Guevara-Lara F.

Source

Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioquímica, Gto., México.

Abstract

Huitlacoche is the ethnic name applied to the young fruiting bodies (galls) of the fungus Ustilago maydis, which causes common smut of maize (Zea mays L). Biologists and agronomists have historically used U. maydis as a model to study a wide array of genetic, physiological, ecological, and phytopathological phenomena. In Mexico and other Latin American countries, huitlacoche has been used traditionally as human food, being highly regarded as an interesting dish or condiment. The food potential of huitlacoche is described here in terms of its chemical composition, which includes carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. In addition, essential amino acids (especially lysine) and fatty acids (linoleate) are present in huitlacoche in considerable levels, adding to its nutritional attributes. The feasibility of growing U. maydis in submerged agitated culture has yielded a variety of fermentation products, including essential amino acids, proteins, vitamins, and flavorings, among others. Recent interest in developing huitlacoche as a cash crop has come from increasing acceptance by the North American public, who prize it as a new delicacy. However, research efforts are still needed to determine the biological factors involved in the establishment of U. maydis as a pathogen on the maize plant. This review deals with the role of huitlacoche as a food source, implicating the biological components that will determine the development of technologies for large scale production.
PubMed

Farming Fungus In Florida

By the Organizations of American States

Grown in Groveland, Florida

FORTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD Roy Burns of Burns Farms Huitlacoche, Groveland, Florida, has something growing in his field that most farmers dread the sight of–corn fungus. In the last six years Burns has almost cornered the U.S. market for this latest ethnic food fad known by its Latin taxonym, ustilago maydis, but more commonly by its Nahuatl name, huitlacoche.

While other farmers fear outbreaks of the crop-killing plague they curse as “corn smut,” Burns hopes to get rich off it. “People think I’m crazy for trying to grow this stuff on purpose,” he says. “But one of these days I’ll get it right and then I’ll be the huitlacoche king.”

Huitlacoche is a delicacy in Mexican cooking, but its availability in the market is an unforeseen accident of the growing season. Rain, temperature, and wind all play a role in making the fungus break out in any given field at any given time. If an outbreak does occur, a farmer in Mexico might lose his corn but can sell his huitlacoche to any number of buyers.

It is not so simple in the U.S., however, where huitlacoche is not as well known as, say, mushrooms–still every bit the fungus as the Mexican variety. But Mexican chefs, cookbook authors, and restaurants north of the border call increasingly for this hard-to-find ingredient. It has even found its way onto menus of many non-Mexican eateries as an exotic garnish. Legend has it that Emperor Maximilian rolled huitlacoche in his crepes, turning it overnight into a rare French treat.

Josefina Howard, owner of New York City’s Rosa Mexicana restaurant on the tony East Side, has done more than anyone to popularize huitlacoche in the U.S., serving up about one hundred pounds a week. “Huitlacoche has a wonderful earthy corn taste–and cooks into the most elegant black color,” she says. “It’s so adaptable, it can go in anything–soup, sauce, ice cream, you name it.”

The Burns farm is located in Florida’s citrus belt within sight of DisneyWorld, but Burns is completely on his own when it comes to growing huitlacoche. He and his brother have been experimenting hit-or-miss to mix and apply fungus spores to individual ears of corn in order to produce a big crop at the right time.

“Our county extension agent doesn’t know the first thing about growing a crop fungus,” says Burns. “All he cares about is eradicating it. And no one on the agricultural trade board will give me the time of day. They all think I’m nuts to be trying to sell corn smut.”

Burns sold almost seven thousand pounds last year, grown on just seven acres of corn. With demand soaring and he the only grower, he plans to push the price past ten dollars per pound on his next crop. That comes to a nifty profit per acre.

But growing huitlacoche presents plenty of pitfalls. El Nino’s torrential rains wiped out all his winter corn, and with it his fungus crop. Timing the harvest is also critical. Picking by hand, ear by ear, requires strict crew control. Getting into the field just a day late means losing this highly perishable crop.

Marketing too can be a problem. If he can’t supply customers in a timely fashion, they threaten to switch to a canned Mexican product, albeit with a far inferior taste. For this reason alone, Burns has many chefs rooting for his success. This year he plans to harvest his summer crop through July and hopes to have enough in the freezer to last until the winter crop comes in October.

Hardy Orange, sometimes in the citrus clan, sometimes not. Photo by Aubree Cherie

Is the Hardy Orange edible? That depends on how hungry you are, or which century you live in.

The Hardy Orange is well-armed with thorns.

A native of China, Hardy Orange (Poncirus trifoliata) aka Trifoliate Orange, was once grown in northern Europe where the fruit rind was candied and dried. As a cold-hardy pseudo- citrus American colonists also grew the Hardy Orange because the fuzzy fruit has pectin which was used in making jams and jellies. The fruit, minus, seeds, was also made into a not-sweet marmalade. In China the bitter fruits were used as seasoning (dried and powdered) and young leaves are occasionally boiled and eaten. Fresh fruit allowed to sit for two weeks after picking yields about 20% juice which can be diluted and made into a drink. The flavor is a cross between lemon and grapefruit. A slice of it is good in a gin-and-tonic. Do note that processing leaves a hard-to-wash off resin on utensils. The University of North Carolina, which I think believes every plant is toxic, lists the Hardy Orange as “poisonous.” It says the fruit can cause “severe stomach pain and nausea, prolonged contact can cause skin irritation.”  But it also says “causes only low toxicity if eaten, skin irritation minor, or lasting only for a few minutes.” The fruit may also have some anti-allergic activity. In Chinese medicine it has been used to treat typhoid, toothache, hemorrhoids, conjunctivitis, colds and itchy skin.

Leaves are arranged in threes.

The Hardy Orange is naturalized in the United States from Pennsylvania south and west to northern Florida and eastern Texas. In recent times Poncirus trifoliata has been used primarily as root stock for citrus along with at least three developed cultivars: Barnes, Rubidioux, and Flying Dragon, the latter of which has curved thorns.  Interestingly while the original species came with the colonists the Flying Dragon was introduced from Japan to the U.S. in 1915 by American botanist Walter Tennyson Swingle (1871-1952). Swingle’s first major job was not far from here in Eustis, Florida, in 1892. He and Dr. Herbert John Webber experimented with citrus and formed the basis of much of what is known about citrus. They created Tangelos including the Minneola and crossed the Poncirus trifoliata with Citrus sinensis to create the Citrange, common in many landscaped gardens.  In 1943 Swingle wrote “The Botany of Citrus and Its Wild Relatives of the Orange Subfamily.” Webber, by the way, was no botanical slouch either. He wrote over 300 research papers and created many cotton species that are still used in the clothes you wear.

Walter Tennyson Swingle

Like many thorn-ladened trees, birds select the Hardy Orange to make their nests in as the two-inch thorns dissuade predatory creatures.  The tree can be used as a natural fence and have often been used to corral livestock. The thorns are sturdy enough to puncture a tire or use as a tooth pick. The wood is extremely is hard and dense, the bark striped with green, stems are triangular. Early spring flowers are popular with bees and butterflies. Deer don’t like it nor rabbits. The aromatic fruit, ripening in the fall,  can also be dried and used in potpourri mix. Fall foilage is butter-yellow.

Herbert John Webber

The Hardy Orange grows to about six feet (sometimes 20 feet!) and starts bearing around 12-years old. They are a common bonsai specimen. It loses its leaves in winter and can be grown in protected areas as far north as Canada. It has been cultivated in China for thousands of years and in Japan since the 8th century. As mentioned above it came to North America in colonial times and was introduced into Australia in the late 1800s. It is also commonly used in Argentina. Hardy Orange prefers low-lime soil.

The botanical name, Poncirus trifoliata, is said  pon-SEER-us try-foh-lee-AY-tuh, some say pon-SIGH-russ. Poncirus is from French meaning a citron. Trifoliata means three leaves.

Green Deane Itemized Plant Profile: Hardy Orange

IDENTIFICATION: Poncirus trifoliata: Tree to 20 feet, leaves alternate, compound, three leaflets, 1 to 2 inches long, may be finely wavy toothed, thickened, petiole winged, shiny dark green, flowers white, cup-shaped, fragrant. Vicious thorns, small fruit. Self-fertile, propagate by planting fresh seeds from ripe fruit. If you are going to store the seeds keep them cool (35-40F for at least 30 days) then warm for 24 hours in warm water. Chilled seeds germinates in two weeks if kept around 70-80F, a month at 60-70F. Poncirus is a monotypic genus with the only member the trifoliata.

TIME OF YEAR: Flowers in early spring, fruit in late fall.

ENVIRONMENT: Not too picky about soil but does not like line-heavy soil, prefers full sun but can tolerate some shade. Likes moist soil but will not tolerated being water logged.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Fruit as marmalade, dried as seasoning, juice diluted for a drink.

Hardy Orange Marmalade

Adding stick cinnamon is optional

Use 30 to 50 fruit depending upon their size. Wash well.  Cut each one equatorially and twist the halves apart. Squeeze the pulp, seed and what juice there is into a bowl. Remove the seeds. This is helped by adding a little water. You can slice the peelings or leave them whole.

Add the peelings to a jar holding 2.5 cups of water and 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour off about 2 cups of the water. Add the juice and pulp and simmer for 10 more minutes. Meanwhile put enough jars (lids and screw-caps) for eight cups of marmalade into a big pot of water and bring them to a boil. Continue to let them boil very gently until the marmalade is ready to can.

Measure 4 cups of sugar then take 1/4 cup of that sugar and mix it with one package of pectin in a small bowl.  In the large bowl add enough water to the juice/pulp mixture to bring the volume to 5.5 cups and put it in a gallon pot for cooking. Add the sugar/pectin mixture from the small bowl and a 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Bring  a full boil stirring constantly as it heats. Then add the rest of the sugar and heat this till it again reaches a full boil. Boil for one more minute only. Turn off the heat and quickly put the marmalade into the sterile jars. Fill each jar to within 1/4 inch of the top, wipe off any marmalade that touches the rim. Set the lid, tighten, then do the next jar. Sealed jars should keep for months.

If you want to reduce the bitterness of the peelings first you can parboil them in as many changes of water as you like until the water is not bitter or of a bitterness of your liking. Cooking will leave a resin on your utensils. Alcohol will remove it quickly.

Herb Blurb

Antianaphylactic activity of Poncirus trifoliata fruit extract.

lkjuio

A flower is a flower is a flower. But in Victorian England, one of the most self-repressed societies in modern times, the practice of using flowers to communicate was developed. Over time a bouquet could visually speak of feelings and thoughts one could not or would not say in person to another particularly one you might be in love with. Of course anyone else familiar with the floral code could also know what the message was, or maybe even alter it…. sounds like a nice plot for a Victorian novel…

Several segments of society developed this language of flowers. The list below is probably incomplete and opinions may vary on this or that particular flower. They are not all edible by any means. If you want to read about edible flowers, click here for edible cultivated flowers, here for edible wild flowers.

And while we may say “how quaint” of the Victorians to put such meaning into individual species a shadow of that practice is still with us with certain flowers for certain occasions or certain flowers not used on certain occasionals such as never send carnations to a funeral but do send red roses on Valentine’s Day. Oddly the practice of sending a dozen roses on Valentine’s Day is only about a century old. The previous flower of choice was violets, which are still left on Chopin’s gave in Paris even in winter. The day Chopin was buried one of his students, Jane Sterling, bought all the violets she could find in Paris to cover is grave thus starting a tradition.  Here is the Language of Flowers.

Acacia: Secret love
Acanthus: Art
Aconite: Misanthropy
Agrimony: Thankfulness
Aloe: Grief
Almond: Promise
Amaranth (Globe): Immortal love
Amaryllis: Pride
Ambrosia: Love is reciprocated
Anemone: Forsaken, sickness, unfading love
Anggrek: Royalty
Apple blossom: Preference
Arborvitae: Everlasting friendship
Arbutus: “You’re the only one I love”
Arum: Ardor
Asparagus: Fascination
Asphodel: My regrets follow you to the grave
Aster: Symbol of love, daintiness, talisman of love,trusting
Azalea: Take Care, temperance, fragile, passion, Chinese symbols of womanhood
Baby’s breath: Innocence, pure of heart
Bachelor button: Single blessedness, celibacy
Balm: Social intercourse or sympathy
Balsam: Ardent love
Balsamine: Impatience
Bay wreath: Glory
Bumblebee Orchid: Industry
Begonia: Beware, a fanciful nature
Bellflower: “Thinking of you”
Bells of Ireland: Luck
Bird’s-foot Trefoil: Revenge
Box: Constancy
Broom: Humility
Bulrush: Docility
Buttercup: Riches
Cabbage: Profit
Camellia japonica: Unpretending excellence
Campanula: Gratitude
Canterbury Bells: Gratitude
Carnation: Fascination; distinction; love. Red carnation: Deep romantic love, passion, “My heart aches for you,” “Alas; for my poor heart!” Green: secret symbol of the followers of Oscar Wilde. White: Sweet and lovely, innocence, pure love, faithfulness. Pink: A woman’s love, a mother’s love, “I’ll never forget you,” “Always on my mind. Yellow: rejection, disdain, “You have disappointed me.” Purple: Capriciousness, whimsical, changeable, unreliability. Mauve: Dreams of fantasy. Striped: No, refusal, “Sorry I can’t be with you.” Solid color: Yes, affirmative.
Celandine: Joys to come
Cherry blossom: A good education, Transience of life, Wabi-sabi, gentleness, kindness (in Japan)
Feminine beauty (in China)
Chestnut: “Do me justice”
China aster: Love of variety, fidelity, “I will think of you”
Chrysanthemum. Red: “I love.” Yellow: lighted love.
Coreopsis: Always cheerful
Cowslip: Winning grace
Clover: Red: Industry. White: “I promise”
Coriander: Lust
Cypress: Death, mourning, despair, sorrow.
Daffodil: Uncertainty, chivalry, respect or unrequited love
Dahlia: Elegance and dignity
Daisy: Innocence, loyal love, purity, faith, cheer, simplicity. Red: Beauty unknown to possessor
Dandelion: Coquetry
Delphinium: The ability to transcend the bounds of space and time.
Eglantine Rose: A wound to heal
Elderflower: Compassion
Fennel: Strength or, as in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, flattery and deceit
Forget-me-not: True love
Fungus: Resilience, loneliness, solitude, disgust
Gardenia: You’re lovely, secret love, joy, sweet love, good luck
Geranium: Gentility
Gladiolus: One means strength and moral integrity, a bunch of them means infatuation
Gorse: Love in all seasons
Grass: Submission
Heliotrope: Devotion
Hibiscus: Rare beauty, delicate beauty
Hollyhock:  Ambition
Honeysuckle:  Devoted affection, bonds of love
Houseleek:  Domestic economy
Hydrangea:  Frigidness, heartlessness
Iris:  Good news
Ivy:  Dependence, endurance
Jonquil:  “Return my affection”
Laurestine:  A token
Lavender:  Devotion, distrust
Lemon blossom:  Discretion
Lettuce:  Cold-hearted
Lichen:  Solitude
Lilac: Purple,  first emotion of love. White,  youthful innocence, memories
Lily: White, purity. Scarlet, high-souled aspirations, orange, desire, passion
Lily of the Valley:  Sweetness, Humility, Returning Happiness, Trustworthy
Lime Blossom: Fornication
Lobelia:  Malevolence
Lotus:  Purity, chastity and eloquence
Love lies bleeding:  Hopelessness
Magnolia:  Love of nature
Mallow: Consumed by love
Marigold:  Pain and grief
Mayflower: Welcome
Mignonette:  Worth
Mint:  Suspicion
Moonflower:  Dreaming of love
Morning glory:  Love in vain
Mullein:  Good-nature
Nasturtium:  Patriotism
Oak leaf:  Strength
Oats:  Music
Olive:  Peace
Orchid:  Refined beauty
Ox eye daisy:  Patience
Peach blossom:  Long-life, generosity, and bridal hope
Pear blossom:  Lasting friendship
Peony:  Shame, bashfulness,  Prosperity, honor (in China)  Masculinity, bravery (in Japan)
Pitch pine blossom:  Philosophy
Plum blossom:  Beauty and longevity
Plumeria:  Perfection, springtime, new beginnings
Primrose:  Eternal love
Poppy:  Eternal sleep, oblivion, imagination. Red, pleasure, white, consolation, dreams, modern, peace. Yellow
wealth, success.
Rose: red, true love. Blue,  Mystery, attaining the impossible, love at first sight. White, eternal love, silence or innocence, wistfulness, virtue, purity, secrecy, reverence and humility. Black, death, hatred, farewell, rejuvenation or rebirth. Yellow, friendship, jealousy, infidelity, or apology, a broken heart, intense emotion, dying love, extreme betrayal. Pink, grace. Dark pink, gratitude. Light pink, desire, passion, joy of life, youth, energy
burgundy,  unconscious beauty. Coral or orange, desire, passion. Lavender (violet) love at first sight. Red and white together, united. Red and yellow together, joy, happiness and excitement. Thornless, love at first sight.
Rosemary:  Remembrance
Rue:  Regret
Sensitive Plant:  Sensitivity
Snowdrop:  Consolation or hope
Star of Bethlehem:  Hope
Straw: United
Sunflower:  Pure and lofty thoughts
Sweetbrier:  Simplicity
Thorn-apple:  Disguise
Thistle:  Nobility
Thyme:  Thriftiness
Tulip-tree:  Fame
Tulip: Red, declaration of love. Yellow, hopeless love. Violet/blue faithfulness,  white, modesty
Viscaria (Lychnis viscaria):  Invitation to dance
Willow (creeping):  Love forsaken
Winged seeds (any kind):  Messengers
Witch-hazel:  A magic spell
Wheat:  Wealth and prosperity