Amaranth was an important grain in Mesoamerica. Known to the Aztecs as huauhtli they are believed to have dedicated more than 5000 hectares of land to its growth and produced between 15 and 20 tons of grain per year (1). This is just the Aztecs. Amaranth was in high demand as a tribute and annually 20 provinces supplied amaranth to Tenochtitlan as part of their … Continue reading Recipe : Alegrias de Amaranto : Amaranth Joys.
Erythrina americana, E.flabelliformis, E.coralloides (Tzompanquahuitl) Also called : Alcaparra, chacmolcé, cuchillitos (little knives), chiil, chocolín, chumpancle, colorín, ccolorin grande, oral bean, equimite, espadita, flor de pita, flor de pitillo, flor de pito, gallitos, gasparita, gasparito, gásparo, lalhni, machetito, machetitos (little machetes), Michoacán (parensuri, puregue) patol, pemuche, pemuchi, permuche, pichocho, pichoco, pichojo, pinñón espinoso, pispirique, pito, poró, quemique, tenek, tlalhne, tsentse tsentse, tzonpantli, tzompantli, Whistle tree, … Continue reading Las Flores Comestibles : Edible Flowers : Colorin
Scientists from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Nutrition and Environment (INRAE) in France have obtained an international patent (1) for the discovery of lactic acid bacteria (2) from pulque (3). joint international patent and INRAE WO 2019/234076 A1 Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a group of bacteria which play a significant role in a variety of fermentation processes. … Continue reading Pulque : A Potential Cancer Treatment?
Mexico (and the Americas in general) has given much to the worlds food larder. We are familiar with many of these foods even though we might not know where exactly the came from (1). We can thank the Americas for staple foods such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, beans (2), squashes, chiles, avocados, the turkey, vanilla and cacao (3) as well as the highly nutritious seeds … Continue reading 31 Alimentos que México dio al mundo : 31 foods that Mexico gave to the World
The infusions of some species of Porophyllum are used in traditional medicine because of activity against cramps and venereal diseases, as well as for their antispasmodic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and insecticide properties. The terpenoid compounds of the Porophyllum genus have been of great interest due to the large number of biological activities they present. In vitro and in vivo studies performed with the purified extracts … Continue reading Porophyllums : Medicinal Utility : A Recap
P.leucospermum is considered to be a synonym for Porophyllum gracile (1) which is also known as “slender poreleaf”. See Post Porophyllum gracile : Deer Weed for further information on P.gracile. Other synonyms for P.gracile include Porophyllum caesium Greene Porophyllum cedrense Rose & Standl. ex Rydb. Porophyllum confertum Greene Porophyllum confertum var. ochroleucum (Rydb.) I.M. Johnst. Porophyllum junciforme Greene Porophyllum leucospermum Greene Porophyllum nodosum M. E. … Continue reading Porophyllum leucospermum
I think we may be overlooking the obvious. In my continuing quest to understand Xochipilli, both in spirit and in form, I am drawn to the floral imagery portrayed on the idol. I am unconvinced of the current paradigm which would have me believe that all of these plants are intoxicants designated for shamanic usage. Wasson, to fit a theory, has perhaps projected his own … Continue reading Xochipilli : Is it a Dahlia?
This is something you may hear regarding the differences between tequila and mezcal. Previously this little dicho (or saying) did bear some relevance as both tequila and mezcals are made from the maguey (or agave). The main difference was that mezcal could be made from any number of agaves (1) whilst tequila could be made from only one variety (2). Tequila is protected by both … Continue reading All Tequila is Mezcal BUT not all Mezcal is Tequila.
Myrtillocactus geometrizans Syn. Myrtillocactus grandiareolatus; Cereus geometrizans Mart. ex Pfeiff.; Cereus pugioniferus Lem.; Myrtillocactus pugionifer (Lem.) A.Berger. Myrtillocactus, in Latin, literally means “blueberry cactus”. From the medieval Latin myrtillus (diminutive of Latin myrtus) which is an obsolete spelling of mirtilo (which means “blueberry”). also called : bilberry cactus, whortleberry cactus, blue candle cactus. It gets its common name from fruits which resemble those of a … Continue reading Frutos de Cactus : Garambullo
B. spectabilis also known as paper flower (English); Buganvilla, Bugambilea, Napoleón , Veranera, Trinitaria , Santa Rita, and Papelillo (en espanol); bougainvillier (French), buganvillea (Italian); bunga kertas (Indonesian); felila (Japanese); bouganvila (Konkani); buginvila (Malay); cherei (Manipuri); bogambilya (tagalog); kagithala puvvu (Telugu); fuang fah (Thai); bong giay (Vietnamese); booganbel (Hindi); baganbilas (Bengali); mao bao jin, ye zi hua (Chinese); This plant is native to eastern South … Continue reading Bougainvillea : Bugambilia
Masa Americana 