Episode 1 - Acanthus thru Almond

In this episode, we finish out the Apple family with descriptions of the Downy Shadblow, the American Mountain Ash, and Chokeberries

Today's episode features entries from the 1924 National Geographic Society field guide The Book of Wild Flowers on various Hawthorns. Members of the apple family, hawthorns exist around the world. The spiny shrubs have been used as spiky hedgerows in Europe and the bright red berries as heart medicine by Native North Americans.

In this episode of Albino Woodchuck Among the Ferns, I read the beginning of the entry for the Apple Family and the description of its defining member, the Apple and Blossom. With another nod to the amazing procreative ability of flowers and a collection of myths and traditions, this entry paints a beautiful, if somewhat dated, picture of the steadfast apple.

This episode starts with a reflection on the entry on Mazzard, a delightfully archaic name for a Sweet Cherry. It then returns to our text ("The Book of Wild Flowers", published 1924 by the National Geographic Society) for readings from the Amaranth and Amaryllis Families.

In this Episode, I read the descriptions of American Plum (Prunus americana Marsh.) and Black Cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) from The Book of Wild Flowers, published in 1924 by the National Geographic Society.

In this episode, I read the entry for Mazzard (Prunus avium L.) or Sweet Cherry. It is interesting to me that the last bit of this description imagines the future of the famous Washington D.C. cherry trees in 100 years. From the vantage point of 96 years later, they were absolutely right about the beauty of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival! How interesting that we never use the term "mazzard" to refer to sweet cherries anymore!

This episode begins with the author's intent regarding the Spirit of the Plant Biographies featured in The Book of Wild Flowers, published in 1924 by the National Geographic Society. It contains the entries for the Acanthus Family: the Hairy Ruellia (Ruellia ciliosa Pursh), and the first listed member of the Almond Family: the Peach Blossom (Amygdalus persica L.)

This is a test episode to try out the equipment and software. I hope you like it!