The Name of the Rose

You might recognize this title as the name of a medieval murder mystery by Umberto Ecco that inspired a popular movie.

If you are a gardener, you might recognize the title as a statement of a much more practical problem:  researching a plant by its name.  Plant names come in two flavors:  scientific and common.  And, of course, any given plant can have more than one common name.  Let's say you know the name of a plant, so in theory you can look it up.  But unless you know whether you have the common or scientific name you'll be sorely taxed to locate the appropriate reference.  Should you consult a scientific name index or a common name index?  Adding to the complexity is the fact that every scientific plant name has two parts:  one part is the genus name and the other is the species.  Unless you know both parts (and know which part is genus and which is species) you'll be hard pressed to locate a reference.  What's a gardener to do?

One skill that is useful in understanding plant nomenclature is to be able to discern which part(s) of the name you have.  The article, "Genus, Species, and Cultivars, Oh My?" published in Dave's Garden provides some easy-to-apply guidelines for identifying plant name categories.  Especially helpful for those of use whose eyes glazed over during lectures on Biological Classifications in our school days science classes.  The author also provides reasons why we "really ought wanna" know about this stuff!  Not the least of which is that it can help us use Daves Garden PlantFiles Search feature (and any other search or index) more effectively.  Isn't that clever!  Maybe now you'd like to read, "Genus, Species, and Cultivars, Oh My?"


Other searchable resources:  Floridata and Solutions for Your Life.

Carrot-Zucchini Nut Bread

Carrot-Zucchini Nut Bread by Bette, a volunteer at the GTMNERR Pollinator Day celebration

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp sale
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup sugar*
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil**
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 eggs**
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 cup shredded carrots

*you can substitute brown sugar for white if you like; if you want a less sweet bread cut the sugar in half and add 2 tsp vanilla extract

**for a lower fat bread, half the oil and substitute 1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce. substitute non-fat egg whites for whole eggs.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325

In a separate bowl combine the first 8 ingredients, ending with the baking powder and set aside. In a large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed, beat sugar, oil/yogurt, honey and eggs until fluffy.  Stir zucchini and carrots into the whipped mix.  Add dry ingredients.  Mixture should be moist.

Pour into 2 greased and floured 8 1/2x4 1/2 by 2 1/2 loaf pans.  Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.  Loaves baked in pyrex/glass pans may take longer to cook.)  Cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Turn out onto racks and cool completely.

Honey local to St. Johns County made by the St. Johns County Beekeepers Association can be used.  1-Pound jars for $10 each are available at:  the University of Florida Extension Center, 3125 Agricultural Center Drive, St. Augustine, FL (904) 209-0430  Or you can contact the Bee Keepers on Facebook or their website (listed above)

See more about honey at the Garden Club of Switzerland’s Resources page:  Honey:  Making Good Use of It.

Honey Maid Graham Muffins

Honey Maid Graham Muffins by Bette, a volunteer at the GTMNERR Pollinator Day celebration

Makes 9 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 packs Honeymaid (or similiar) honey graham crackers, finely rolled to make approx. 3 cups of crumbs

• 1/4 cup sugar*

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 cup skim milk

• 2 TBS honey

• 1 egg**

*you can substitute brown sugar for white if you like; if you want a less sweet bread cut the sugar in half and add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

**for a lower fat muffin, substitute non-fat egg white for whole egg.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400

Combine the first 3 dry ingredients.  Stir in the milk, egg, and honey until just moistened.  Spoon batter into 9 greased 2 1/2-inch muffin pan cups.

Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.  Let stand 5 minutes, then remove from pan.  Serve warm.

Honey local to St. Johns County made by the St. Johns County Beekeepers Association can be used.  1-Pound jars for $10 each are available at:  the University of Florida Extension Center, 3125 Agricultural Center Drive, St. Augustine, FL (904) 209-0430  Or you can contact the Bee Keepers on Facebook or their website (listed above)

See more about honey at the Garden Club of Switzerland’s Resources page:  Honey:  Making Good Use of It.

A Passel of Pollinators

The third week in June was National Pollinator Week.  Our own GTM Research Reserve didn't celebrate pollinators for just one week.  This author wrote a batch of "Weird Animal Wednesday" articles for their Facebook page about ALL the critters that pollinate our local flora.  Here are links to the passel.  And in case you don't know what a "passel" means, it means a bunch, a lot, a collection of indeterminate number... (Click the Read More Link below.)