“The Most Popular Leaf” [] Joseph Toone
News Category: News and General Discussion
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Published June 29, 2022
Recently on a tour was an antiques collector that I asked “Out of all the vintage items she collected over a lifetime what was a unifying design element?”
Without missing a beat she replied “Acanthus”.
Acanthus is a flowering plant that does well here in Mexico and in her garden North Carolina. Actually it does well most anywhere from the Mediterranean to the Orient if is warm, dry and semi-shady, coming back yearly with one to six foot stalks of purple flowers butterflies cling to.
Surprisingly though, it isn’t the flowers that have given the Acanthus eons of fame, but the leaves. The leaves are sharp, thick and large similar to those on an over-sized thistle or dandelion. If not regularly cut back, they’ll overtake your garden.
Acanthus has been used since ancient times for treating asthma, diabetes, leprosy, snake bites and arthritis. In Thailand and Indonesia the leaves have long been used in tea as an herbal antioxidant.
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Joseph Toone is the Historical Society’s short-story award winning author of the SMA Secrets book series. All books in the series are Amazon bestsellers in Mexican Travel and Holidays. Toone is SMA’s expert and TripAdvisor’s top ranked historical tour guide telling the stories behind what we do in today’s SMA. Visit JosephTooneTours.com, also on FaceBook.
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