My dear friend, Joanne Olivieri, blogger, writer, poet and photographer, among her
many talents, introduced me to the San Francisco Botanical Garden. I had lived in
close proximity for over 20 years without having visited. Now, far away in India, I
often look back at my pictures since, in this hot, humid climate, I, sometimes, long
for the flowers, foliage, and trees of the Bay area. The Garden, however, hosts
beautiful specimens from all over the world.
For the Our Beautiful World theme this week, "Seeds," I chose this rose photo
I took at the Botanical Garden, complete with rose hips.
According to Wikipedia, the rose hip, which is the fruit of the rose plant, begins
to form after successful pollination in spring or early summer and continues to
ripen through autumn. You can see here that this flower is still being visited by
bees and the hips have grown quite large.
Rose hips are the seed pods of roses. Roses can be propagated by removing
the seeds and sowing just under the surface of the soil. They are slow to germinate
and this may take months. They usually require a period of chilling.
Rose hips have many uses. They are one of the richest sources of vitamin C.
They are often used for teas, jams and jellies, other beverages. Current trials are
being run for their use in treating various medical conditions.
Rose hips are best harvested after the first frost and, because the seeds have
hairy coverings, it is best that they be removed.
Because of their high vitamin C content, rose hips are often used in the treatment
of colds and flu. They are often used in the treatment of stomach disorder, diarrhea,
constipation, ulcers and like conditions. Much of the vitamin C content of rose hips
is lost during drying, processing and storage.
For more information on rose hips, refer to the links below. Web MD, especially,
has good information on medications, including vitamins and supplements.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_hip
http://gardening.about.com/od/rose1/f/RoseHips.htm
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-839-ROSE%20HIP.aspx?activeIngredientId=839&activeIngredientName=ROSE%20HIP
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Show us what makes your world beautiful.
