The New York Botanical Garden is featuring the “Wild Medicine” exhibit through Sept. 8. If you’re interested in medicinal plants and planning a trip to New York, a short train ride to NYBG in the Bronx offers a real treat.
“Wild Medicine” fills the Enin A. Haupt Conservatory and some of the surrounding gardens and buildings. The Victorian-style glasshouse was opened in 1902 and is the nation’s largest conservatory of that era. The east wing houses plants grown in Italian Renaissance gardens for their beauty as well as their healing powers. Included are plants you might find in a Kona garden, such as thyme and rosemary, as well as plants such as foxglove and willow that grow better in temperate climates. A few unusual plants suitable for tropical gardens are also included.
Ashwaganda, Withania somnifera, is a small shrub native to parts of Asia, Africa and Europe but best known for its use in the Indian Ayurvedic healing tradition. The leaves and roots contain a powerful adaptogen that helps the body handle stress. More information on this and other medicinal plants in the exhibit can be found at nybg.org/wildmedicine/plants.html.
Another specimen displayed in the Italian Renaissance garden area is known as the toothache plant, for good reason. Also known as spilanthes, Acmella oleracea is a low growing ground cover which produces red and yellow flower heads that offer relief from oral pain and promote salivation. The unusual appearance of the flowers, as well as their medicinal use, makes spilanthes an interesting addition to any garden. Seeds are available online and the plant can be found at local nurseries in Kona.
The west wing of the conservatory includes tropical specimens such as tamarind, coco palm and kava.
Small booths within the exhibit offer additional information and samples. One on chocolate displays posters describing processing techniques used to create chocolate from cacao tree beans. Tastings are available along with information about the health benefits of chocolate. Learning more about cacao’s healing properties can serve as excellent justification for consuming chocolate in its many forms.
Two other booths at the exhibit offer expanded information and tastings. Tea, Camellia sinensis, is offered for tasting. The person pouring shares a wealth of information on the health benefits of green tea. Also included in the kiosk are samples of several skin care products containing green tea. Though many of tea’s benefits to the skin are still being researched, the powerful antioxidants it contains are getting attention for their ability to fight damage caused by free radicals.
A booth extolling the health benefits of tropical juices is also on the conservatory’s outdoor terrace. Samples seemed limited to citrus juices. Though these juices certainly make healthy beverages, any of us living in Hawaii could suggest some equally healthy and far more exotic tropical juices to feature.
An interesting addition to the exhibit is the regular screening of a short film about medicinal plants and the Garden of Padua narrated by Sigourney Weaver. Several other cultural presentations are also scheduled. The music and dance of the Italian Renaissance is featured on various days with performers in period costumes and musicians playing historical instruments reproducing the sights and sounds of the period. On select days, local poets read translations of 16th-century botanically inspired poetic works.
The William and Lynda Steere Herbarium at NYBG is the largest herbarium in the Western Hemisphere, with 7.3 million specimens. Guided tours are offered of the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory, which researches ways plants benefit human health. Pfizer is a major sponsor of the “Wild Plants” exhibit.
A tram ride through the garden’s 250 acres reveals many other interesting areas and displays beyond the exhibit.
If you are a gardener visiting New York this summer, be sure to put NYBG on your list of activities. Directions to the garden and additional information are available at nybg.org.
Diana Duff is an organic farmer, plant adviser and consultant.
Tropical gardening helpline
Email plant questions to konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu for answers by Certified Master Gardeners.
Some questions will be chosen for inclusion in this column.
Roland asks: We were thinking of planting some small palms along the side of our house in Kona. What varieties would you recommend?
Tropical Gardener answer: To be sure you are putting the right plant in the right place, your elevation as well as the wind and salt exposure should be considered when selecting the best palm for your location.
The bamboo palm, Chamaedorea seiffrizii, grows to about 10 feet and does best in partial shade. Other members of the Chamaedorea genus are even smaller and might work for you.
The lady palm, Rhapis excelsa, is also a short palm that does well in partial shade. The pygmy date palm, Phoenix roebelenii, is a solitary palm that grows well in full sun as well as partial shade. The Licuala genus also has several small fan palms you may want to consider.
Newly available and gaining in local popularity is the dwarf acai, Euterpe oleracea. The clumping palm grows to about 15 feet, provides a nice screen and bears the acai berry. To learn more about these and other locally available palms, visit palmsinkona.com.
If your planting location is in an area with wind or salt exposure, look at the charts in the UH CTAHR publication at ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/L-13.pdf. This chart will tell you the mature size of the palms as well as their salt and wind tolerance levels.
Gardening events
Monday: “Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers” from 7 to 9 p.m. at Cooperative Extension Office in Kainaliu with Ken Love. Discussion of lemon types and other citrus as well as upcoming conference. For more information, contact Brian Lievens at 895-8753 or greenwizard@hawaii.rr.com.
Saturday: “South Kona Seed Exchange” from noon to 3 p.m. Information exchange at noon potluck lunch. Seed, cutting and huli exchanges start at 1:30 p.m. See kohalacenter.org/publicseedinitiative/events.html for more information.
“County Composting Workshop” from 10 a.m. to noon at Paauilo School in Paauilo. $10 includes composting instructions and a bin. To register, for information or directions, contact Ann Hassler at 937-1100 or crazy4compost2@gmail.com.
Farmer direct markets
Wednesday: “Hooulu Community Market” 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay
Saturday: “Keauhou Farm Bureau Market” 8 a.m. to noon at Keauhou Shopping Center
Sunday: “South Kona Green Market” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook
Plant advice lines
Email questions to master mardeners at konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu.
Call UH-CES in Kainaliu at 322-4892 from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday.
This column is produced by Diana Duff.
