Did you know that the tomato, potato, chili peppers, and tobacco (as well as many other edibles and ornamentals) come from the same scientific family (Solanaceae) as deadly nightshade? Deadly nightshade is also known as Belladonna, or Atropa belladonna. I'm always fascinated to think about how early people learned which plants were safe and which were not. So many of the plants in the Solanaceae family (sometimes called the Nightshade family) are very poisonous, yet others are mainstays in our diets today. Without tomatoes and potatoes my family might starve.
A bitter nightshade flower:
Tomato flowers:
Deadly nightshade flowers:
I suppose the point I'm half-assed trying to make is about discernment. That means the ability to distinguish and discriminate between things and know what's good and what's potentially poisonous.
As the Farmer uses his Hoe he digs and scrapes the ground to separate the good from the bad.
2 comments:
I didn't know that. How interesting.
kat, I like to study that stuff. It's cool.
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