Leijpark013

@leijpark013 · 27 Mar 2022

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Leijpark 013 cuckoo flower

Published by Thierry P. Dinjens · 18 hours ·
In the Leijpark we find a striking purple flower, which goes by the nickname 'woman flower'. why? The flower looks rather frayed. The Flemings call her cock'sleg or crow flower, because of the shape of the flower that looks like a bird's paw. We officially call her the Real Cuckoo Flower. The origin of the word 'real' is not entirely identifiable. It is likely that this distinguishes her from the evening, the day and the night cuckoo flower. There can be no more confusion between all these members of the carnation family.
The Latin name of Real cuckoo flower is Lychnis flos-cuculi. Flos-cuculi literally means cuckoo flower, but where does this' lychnis' come from? The meaning is lamp or light and it refers to the old application of the dried herb in oil lamps. Just explain: there was a so-called pit in oil lamps. This is the wire that sucks up the oil and burns on the other side at the same time. Usually this thread is made of cotton, but in earlier times there has been a lot of experimentation with all kinds of herbs that could also perform such a function. So too with Real Cuckoo Flower.
In addition, there is also a wick in a candle. We often talk about the wick in a candle, but a wick is definitely different from a wick. A wick is made of combustible material and sets off fireworks, dynamite and gunpowder. A wick therefore burns much faster than a wick. So a candle has a wick, no wick, never forget.
We Deviate: Back to the Real Cuckoo Flower. It is named after the cuckoo because it blooms around the time when the cuckoo is back from warmer regions and reports back into our parts.
Real cuckoo flower used to have the reputation that the herb, thrown for scorpions, would make the animals powerless and also heal all kinds of poisonous bites. This immediately tells us that Real Cuckoo Flower also occurs elsewhere; in our country no scorpions live.
Real cuckoo flower is the host plant (plant on which the caterpillars live) of the largest butterfly in our country: the queen page. This beautiful butterfly is not really rare, but it is scarce.
For us, Real Cuckoo Flower is also interesting. Not because of edibility, because the plant is poisonous. It contains high concentrations of so-called saponins that we also know under the name soap substances. And here we immediately have to deal with her application: we can make soap or detergent from Real cuckoo flower. Some people find this interesting, especially because it does not take more than the plant and boiling water; the soap substances are released when the plant is cooked and in the correct composition of herb and water, natural detergent is created.
All in all, an interesting plant with quite a bit of history. If we estimate her value for the Leij Park, we leave her best for the butterflies and bees. Natural detergent we can also make from ivy, the same method. It may be called the poverty flower, it offers the Leijpark an invaluable wealth.


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