Category: KENTUCKY

• KENTUCKY

  TOBACCO

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Tobacco Lisa Karen Miller           On first seeing his master smoking a pipe, Sir Walter Raleigh’s servant chucked a bucket of water over him, thinking he was on fire.           Watch Bob Newhart’s classic “Tobacco Sketch” on YouTube to see Raleigh trying to explain to his…

  October 21, 2023
• KENTUCKY

  DAY LILY

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Day Lily Lisa Karen Miller           Originating in China and Korea, the day lily was originally used as a vegetable. Young shoots were prepared like asparagus or added to salads. The buds were braised in a wok, deep-fried in batter, or added to soups. The dried…

  October 5, 2023
• KENTUCKY NATIVE AMERICANS

  CORN

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Corn Lisa Karen Miller           The Maya believed that humans had been fashioned from corn. Mayan mothers would pinch and rub their newborns’ heads to create the shape of an ear of corn.  As adults, this enhanced not only their appearance, but their status in the…

  October 5, 2023
• KENTUCKY

  COFFEE TREE

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Coffeetree Lisa Karen Miller           Native American tribes and early settlers used the seed pods of the coffeetree as a coffee substitute.  They are toxic, however, if not roasted for at least three hours at 150 degrees. Though it enjoyed the status of being Kentucky’s state…

  October 5, 2023
• KENTUCKY

  CANNABIS

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Cannabis                                                 Lisa Karen Miller          Cannabis sativa was used to make rope in ancient China.  The rope served as proxy snakes to beat sickbeds, driving out the demons who caused illness. Quality textiles, and many other useful things, are still made from the hemp plant.…

  October 4, 2023
• KENTUCKY

  BRIAR

  THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Briar Lisa Karen Miller           Little Briar Rose was the original name of that most famous of slumber party girls, Sleeping Beauty. The oldest known version of the story, written between 1330 and 1344, appears in the Perceforest narrative. Although we are familiar with the version…

  October 4, 2023