Many of us know henna as a colour long used in art, tattoos, hair dye, paints, textiles, silk, leather and rug dyes. But, have we thought about what it is? The Herb Society was privileged to have a guest speaker from Iran to tell us.
A member of the Asteraceae family, this plant has a variety of descriptive names around the world, eg Blow ball, Lion’s Tooth, Cankerwort, Priest’s Snout.
Five Season Herb Plectranthus (Coleus) ambionicus – family lamiaceae (mint) A member of the well known, ornamental Coleus, widely grown as a decorative garden plant for its attractive variegated red leaves. Cream bordered This plant is becoming popular and sought after. There have recently been several enquiries about it. There are two varieties now available … Read More
from Canterbury Herb Society [one_half] Basil is good for tomato fly Borage is good for tomatoes & attracts bees. Calendula tomatoes and attracts bees Camomile cabbage and onions Caraway peas Chervil radishes Dill cabbage Fennel green aphid Garlic silver blight, aphid, codlin moth Horseradish potatoes Hyssop cabbage-butterfy, grapes [/one_half] [one_half_last] Marjoram tomatoes, cucumbers Nasturtim woolly … Read More
Common names –Sweet Briar, Eglantine Rose The species is native to Europe, Western Asia and South America. It is a deciduous, thorny, woody, hardy shrub. It is branched from the ground to 3 – 4 metres and does well in arid conditions. It was brought to New Zealand early on as a deciduous ornamental for its … Read More
ROSEMARY Rosmarinus officinalis “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance” – Shakespeare, (Hamlet) This had to be the herb for the 50th Anniversary of the Canterbury Herb Society. Native to the Mediterranean and Asia, the Latin name Rosmarinus translates as “dew of the sea” due not only to its native habitat but the dew like blossoms seen at a … Read More
What is Frankincense? Frankincense is the aromatic resin used in incense and perfume obtained from five trees in the genus Boswellia. The Frankincense or Olibanum trees have a papery bark, sparse branches, paired leaves and white flowers with yellow or red centres. They are native to the arid stony dry lands of the Arabian Peninsula … Read More
Puarangi – Native Hibiscus Hibiscus trionum Puarangi, a short lived perennial, was considered to be a native plant but more recently considered to be of African origin, possible brought here by the Maori. Here in the cool South Island it is better treated as an annual. H. trionum grows to 50 – 80 cms high … Read More