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Potpourri
Potpourri ( ) is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials used to provide a gentle natural scent, commonly in residential settings. It is often placed in a decorative bowl. Etymology The word "potpourri" comes into English from the French word . The French term has two connotations. It is the French name for a Spanish stew with a wide variety of ingredients called , a specialty of the city of Burgos. The word in French has the same meaning as it does in English (and as does in Spanish), while the word , like Spanish , means "rotten". "Potpourri" is sometimes used as an alternative for " medley". History Potpourri has been used in rooms since ancient times, in a variety of ways, including just scattering it on the floor. In early 17th-century France, fresh herbs and flowers were gathered—beginning in spring and continuing throughout the summer. The herbs were left for a day or two to become limp, then layered with coarse sea salt. The aging mixture was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sèvres Pot-pourri Vase In The Shape Of A Ship
''Pot pourri à vaisseau'' or ''pot pourri en navire'' ("pot-pourri holder as a vessel/ship") is the shape used for a number of pot-pourri vases in the form of masted ships, first produced between the late 1750s to the early 1760s by the Sèvres manufactory near Paris. The colours and details of the painted decoration vary between examples, as is typical of Sèvres porcelain, and one example is on a later gilt wood stand. The openwork lid lifts off to allow refilling of the pot-pourri. The shape was eventually produced in two or three versions, at slightly different sizes. It was first designed in 1757, probably by Jean-Claude Duplessis (c. 1695–1774), the artistic director of the factory. The first surviving finished example dates to 1759. Another name for them is ''vaisseau à mat'' (masted ship). These vases are considered to be one of the most famous models introduced by the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres; patrons such as Madame de Pompadour and her brother the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orris Root
Orris root (''Rhizoma iridis''; etymology possibly an alteration of ''iris (plant), iris'') is the root of ''Iris germanica'' and ''Iris pallida''. It had the common name of Queen Elizabeth Root. It is commonly used as a fixative (perfumery), fixative and note (perfumery), base note in perfumery and as a botanical in gin. Constituent chemicals The most valued component of orris root is orris oil, oil of orris (0.1–0.2%), a yellow-white mass containing myristic acid. Oil of orris is sometimes sold as orris butter. Other components include fat, resin, starch, mucilage, bitter extractive, and a glucoside called iridin or irisin. Uses Once important in western herbal medicine, it is now used mainly as a fixative (perfumery), fixative and note (perfumery), base note in perfumery; it is the most widely used fixative for potpourri. Orris is also an ingredient in many brands of gin,T. K. Lim including Bombay Sapphire. Fabienne Pavia, in her book ''L'univers des Parfums'' (1995, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 staff. Its board of trustees is chaired by Dame Amelia Fawcett. The organisation manages botanic gardens at Kew in Richmond upon Thames in south-west London, and at Wakehurst, a National Trust property in Sussex which is home to the internationally important Millennium Seed Bank, whose scientists work with partner organisations in more than 95 countries. Kew, jointly with the Forestry Commission, founded Bedgebury National Pinetum in Kent in 1923, specialising in growing conifers. In 1994, the Castle Howard Arboretum Trust, which runs the Yorkshire Arboretum, was formed as a partnership between Kew and the Castle Howard Estate. In 2019, the organisation had 2,316,699 public visitors at Kew, and 312,813 at Wakehurst. Its site ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jasmine
Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultivated for the characteristic fragrance of their flowers. The village of Shubra Beloula in Egypt grows most of the jasmine used by the global perfume industry. Description Jasmine can be either deciduous or evergreen, and can be erect, spreading, or climbing shrubs and vines. The leaves are borne in opposing or alternating arrangement and can be of simple, trifoliate, or pinnate formation. The flowers are typically around in diameter. They are white or yellow, although in rare instances they can be slightly reddish. The flowers are borne in cymose clusters with a minimum of three flowers, though they can also be solitary on the ends of branchlets. Each flower has about four to nine petals, two locules, and one to four ovu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incense-cedar
''Calocedrus'', the incense cedar (alternatively spelled incense-cedar), is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae first described as a genus in 1873. Three species are native to East Asia, eastern Asia and one to western North America. Description The genus is related to ''Thuja'', and has similar overlapping scale-leaves. ''Calocedrus'' differs from ''Thuja'' in the scale leaves being in apparent whorls of four (actually opposite decussate pairs like ''Thuja'', but not evenly spaced apart as in ''Thuja'', instead with the successive pairs closely then distantly spaced), and in the conifer cone, cones having just 2–3 pairs of moderately thin, erect scales, rather than 4–6 pairs of very thin scales in ''Thuja''. Taxonomy The generic name ''Calocedrus'' means "beautiful cedar". Cladogram showing the evolutionary relationships: Species Extant species Extinct species Uses Archery Incense cedar was one of the favored varieties of wood used to m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fennel
Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea coast and on riverbanks. It is a highly flavorful herb used in cooking and, along with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Florence fennel or finocchio (, , ) is a selection with a swollen, bulb-like stem base (sometimes called ''bulb fennel'') that is used as a vegetable. Description ''Foeniculum vulgare'' is a perennial herb. The stem is hollow, erect, and glaucous green, and it can grow up to tall. The leaves grow up to long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike), about wide. Its leaves are similar to those of dill, but thinner. The flowers are produced in terminal compound umbels wid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cupressaceae
Cupressaceae or the cypress family is a family of conifers. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or (rarely) dioecious trees and shrubs up to tall. The bark of mature trees is commonly orange- to red-brown and of stringy texture, often flaking or peeling in vertical strips, but smooth, scaly or hard and square-cracked in some species. The family reached its peak of diversity during the Mesozoic era. Description The leaves are arranged either spirally, in decussate pairs (opposite pairs, each pair at 90° to the previous pair) or in decussate whorls of three or four, depending on the genus. On young plants, the leaves are needle-like, becoming small and scale-like on mature plants of many genera; some genera and species retain needle-like leaves throughout their lives. Old leaves are mostly not shed individually, but in small sprays of foliage ( clad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloves
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products, such as toothpaste, soaps, or cosmetics. Cloves are available throughout the year owing to different harvest seasons across various countries. Etymology The word ''clove'', first used in English in the 15th century, derives via Middle English , Anglo-French ''clowes de gilofre'' and Old French , from the Latin word ' "nail". The related English word ''gillyflower'', originally meaning "clove", derives via said Old French and Latin ', from the Greek "clove", literally "nut leaf". Description The clove tree is an evergreen that grows up to tall, with large leaves and crimson flowers grouped in terminal clusters. The flower buds initially have a pale hue, gradually turn green, then transition to a bright red when ready for harvest. Clov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassia Bark
''Cinnamomum cassia'', called Chinese cassia or Chinese cinnamon, is an evergreen tree originating in southern China and widely cultivated there and elsewhere in South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is one of several species of ''Cinnamomum'' used primarily for its aromatic bark, which is used as a spice. The buds are also used as a spice, especially in India, and were used by the ancient Romans. Description The tree grows to tall, with grayish bark and hard, elongated leaves that are long and reddish when young. Origin and types Chinese cassia is a close relative to Ceylon cinnamon (''Cinnamomum verum, C. verum''), Saigon cinnamon (''C. loureiroi''), Indonesian cinnamon (''Cinnamomum burmannii, C. burmannii''), and Malabar cinnamon (''Cinnamomum citriodorum, C. citriodorum''). In all five species, the dried bark is used as a spice. Chinese cassia's flavor is less delicate than that of Ceylon cinnamon. Its bark is thicker, more difficult to crush, and has a rougher tex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, breakfast cereals, Snack, snack foods, bagels, teas, hot chocolate and traditional foods. The aroma and flavour of cinnamon derive from its essential oil and principal component, cinnamaldehyde, as well as numerous other constituents, including eugenol. Cinnamon is the name for several species of trees and the commercial spice products that some of them produce. All are members of the genus ''Cinnamomum'' in the family Lauraceae. Only a few ''Cinnamomum'' species are grown commercially for spice. ''Cinnamomum verum'' (alternatively ''C. zeylanicum''), known as "Ceylon cinnamon" after its origins in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), is considered to be "true cinnamon", but most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from four other speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cedrus
''Cedrus'', with the common English name cedar, is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae (subfamily Abietoideae). They are native to the mountains of the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of in the Himalayas and in the Mediterranean.Farjon, A. (1990). ''Pinaceae: Drawings and Descriptions of the Genera''. Koeltz Scientific Books. . Description ''Cedrus'' trees can grow up to 30–40 m (occasionally 60 m) tall with spicy-resinous scented wood, thick ridged or square-cracked bark, and broad, level branches. The shoots are dimorphic and are made up of long shoots, which form the framework of the branches, and short shoots, which carry most of the leaves. The leaves are evergreen and needle-like, 8–60 mm long, arranged in an open spiral phyllotaxis on long shoots, and in dense spiral clusters of 15–45 together on short shoots; they vary from bright grass-green to dark green to strongly glaucous pale ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
