Re:gaia (hemizygia petiolata) and native california plant ps

[Guest guest]

I hadn't received Sandy from Rivendell's note yet, before I posted my inquiry on

california

natives, and non natives:

" Hello Rose from Southern Michigan,

I was reading about Gaia oil from S. Africa and it's uses for skin. Also

used in horticulture plant care for aphids.

We grow and distill many different herbs and trees here at Rivendell

Aromatics in Southern California.

An unusual one we distill is Incense Cedar, Calocedrus decurrens a native

evergreen tree in California. The GC/MS shows that the major components are

Limonene, Carene and Pinene, which are all anti-infectious. It's one of the

components of our " Panacea " blend of three Rivendell oils (Lavandin, Incense

Cedar and Helichrysum italicum).

Another unusual one we distill is a California Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare,

used for respiratory distress, nausea, flatulence, digestive aid and

gingivitis. "

Fennel is actually not native, so please take care in planting it. It is very

invasive where I

am. I am on a state committee to prevent invasive plants in horticulture from

spreading

further. (See Plantright.org for more info.) We battle invasive species at the

cost of more

than 100 million a year, just in California. Here is a quote from the website:

" A familiar wildland invader is a form of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). It is

unknown,

however, if the invasive fennel plant is related to the varieties used in

horticulture. Cal-

HIP members investigated the commercial production of fennel seed (a culinary

spice) and

fennel bulb (for eating) and found that these crops are not the source of the

invasions:

plants grown for seed are raised in isolated plots to guarantee purity, and all

of the seeds

are harvested before they can disperse. The plants grown for the bulb are

harvested before

they have a chance to set seed! Current research is using taxonomy to try to

identify the

existence or absence of a relationship between horticultural varieties and the

wildland

invasive plant. "

So, distill away. Fewer seeds in the environment.

Feeling obligated to put in my 2 cents.