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Sunday, October 21, 2007

Georgia’s News Bouquet:  3rd Week of Oct.


Georgia Silvera Seamans, of local ecology, tidies up the news garden and brings back floral stories from Afghanistan, New York, and Kenya. Thank you, Georgia!


image

Government agents destroyed an opium poppy crop in

Ningarhar, Afghanistan, in April, 2007. Some recommend

that the crop be harvested and used to supply needed

pain medications for people with chronic diseases.

Photo: Ahmad Masood, for Reuters

By Georgia Silvera Seamans

New York Times reporter, Donald G. McNeil, Jr., wrote about the use of the Afghan poppy as a pain reliever for the world’s poor.  Senlis Council, a drug-policy think tank with based in London, Brussels, and Kabul, is advocating for “protected status” for Afghanistan’s poppy crops as opposed to the current U.S., British, and local Afghan governors’ policy of eradication.

The feverfew and the common bachelor button have also made the headlines, this time on ABCNews.com, for their curative properties.  The flowers contain parthenolide, a derivative of which is believed to be effective in the treatment of leukemia.  As of the reporting on October 9, phase one trials (to be conducted in Britain and, if successful, then the U.S.) have not yet begun.

In a less serious vein, a bride sued her florist over the “egregious” substitution of pastel green and pink hydrangeas for her contracted colors – dark green and russet.  Anemona (note that Anemone is a genus of species in the buttercup family) Hartocollis of the New York Times reported that the bride felt the pastels clashed with the décor of luxury restaurant Cipriani where the wedding was held.  The bride is seeking $400,000 in damages.  She paid $27,435.14.

Though working conditions in Kenya’s flowers farms have attacted international criticism and some major outlets in the U.K.have threatened to cut their consumption of African blooms, Kenyan growers have expanded their sales. Catherine Riungu writes for the East African that Kenya’s flower industry reports “an 8 per cent leap in market share for the period up to September.”

Finally, the Arizona Republic carried a Newsday story about an upstate New York resident who gardens with plastic flowers.  Perhaps gardening is not the most appropriate term for this activity.


Posted by Julie on 10/21 at 12:08 PM
FloristsGardening & LandscapeMedicinePermalink