Hana "Nara"’s Reviews > Orchid Muse: A History of Obsession in Fifteen Flowers > Status Update

[...] The next time you bake cookies, think of the history and the promise of the vanilla orchid. Its bean produces one of the most complex flavors in the world, expressing hundreds of organic components in every bite. Vanilla is an ancient survivor, but that doesn’t guarantee it will remain with us forever.

17th-19th century in Japan is the birth of "honzogaku" -- academics, gardeners, artists of the empirical and aesthetic study of plants and animals.

"Unlike much of the West, in Japan, the orchid’s shape, root tips, variegation, connection point between the axis and leaves[...], as well as presentation of the plant upon its moss mound, are all more important in defining a valuable variety than its blooms."

Finished the chapter Five. Rafinesque really wanted things to be refined. I couldn't help but adore this kind of obsession.

“Every pure botanist is a good man, a happy man, and a religious man.”--I somehow agree with this statement of Rafinesque.

Kahlo. Kahlo. Kahlo. What a woman you are. The Flower Basket is such a twist.

Currently on the chapter Three. I appreciate the fact that the author doesn't shy away from colonialization issues.

Currently on the chapter Three. I appreciate the fact that the author doesn't shy away from colonialization issues.