ideas out here that I don't see shared much
anywhere-as a stimulant to response, and further,
deeper interaction...
What is it that fascinates about these plants?
How did you first become interested in them?
My first interest in aroids occurred when, after seeing pictures of
Jack-in-the-pulpit, I finally came across one in real life, in swampy woods
in Tiverton, Rhode Island. What fascinates me about them is the uniqueness
of the inflorescence--no other class of plant I knew growing up had the
spadix-and-spathe arrangement. (I have since seen cyclanthaceae
inflorescences, which are the closest I am aware of, but that was many years
later.) The amount of variation on the same basic theme fires the
imagination.
Let me restate the big question--to the human
spirit, what do these plants mean? What is the
Earth/Gaia/God/Goddess trying to tell us through them,
if anything?
Interesting question. I do not believe that God is necessarily trying to say
anything with them, anymore than through any other type of plant; however,
they do arouse in me feelings of primal energy. I am not sure I believe in a
collective unconscious, but if there is such a thing, perhaps my feelings are
echoes of distant pagan ancestors in the mists of time--those bygone people
were strange and mysterious, just as aroids are. Also, aroids appeal to my
primitive side--their shapes and odors
are often "uncivilized," symbolizing freedom from all the stupid hangups of
society. Society is inherently circumscribed; only in wildness is there
freedom--at least, that is what my imagination tells me.
<
the current extinction spasm continues. How many
Anthuriums and others have already been lost as the
great burning of South America goes forward?
Do other people out there relate to any of
this? Can plants not only titillate, fascinate, and
enchant us but also act as channels, visions of glory,
great positive energy which; can crack open and
enlighten the unenlightened and change the human
spirit irrevocably for the better.
Makes sense to me. People who dismiss or ignore plants, I find, will often
be insensitive in other ways, too.
Jason Hernandez
Naturalist-at-Large
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