Jardin Etnobotanico de Santo Domingo
The Ethno-Botanic Garden - my new favorite place in Oaxaca
I went over to the ethnobotanic garden behind Santo Domingo. Why it is an ethnobotanic garden and not just a regular botanic garden I do not know.
I got there just in time for a lecture at 6. Well, it would have been just in time, but this is Mexico, after all, so at 5 minutes before 6 it looked like nothing was going on.
So I wandered around the garden by myself (which I later found out was a major rules violation - all visitors must be on guided tours!) for about 15 minutes, looking at all the plants and being a bit baffled because none of them have name plaques like every other botanic garden I have been to.
They had several beautiful plumeria trees in all different colors. I was so excited to see them, because I loved them in Hawaii for their gorgeous smell. But here the flowers had a different, spoiled smell, not sweet and lovely like in Hawaii. They are sure pretty though, like five-pointed stars in white and pink with sunshine yellow centers.
The lecture finally got underway about 6:40, in Spanish. There were about 14 people in attendance, all gringos as far as I could tell.
The subject was plants and insects that provide textile materials and dyes. There are 13 fiber and 36 dye species in Oaxaca, which is far more than any other Mexican or Central American region. Of course, Oaxaca state is so diverse in climate and topography that it doesn't seem that surprising.
I think I understood most of the lecture. It was a slide show, with pictures demonstrating how many of the fibers and dyes are manufactured.
The most amazing dye is cochineal, (keep scrolling down) a red dye that comes from a little "scale" insect that feeds on prickly pear cactus. When it is mashed, it squirts red juice, which can be used to make a red dye that is permanent and stable. When the Spaniards found it, they were overjoyed, because at that time, no good red dye existed.
So they exploited it and made a fortune. That money built Santo Domingo and many of the beautiful old colonial buildings in downtown Oaxaca. Pretty good for a furry little bug.
I walked home, had some tortillas and mole, read for a bit, and went to sleep.
I went over to the ethnobotanic garden behind Santo Domingo. Why it is an ethnobotanic garden and not just a regular botanic garden I do not know.
I got there just in time for a lecture at 6. Well, it would have been just in time, but this is Mexico, after all, so at 5 minutes before 6 it looked like nothing was going on.
So I wandered around the garden by myself (which I later found out was a major rules violation - all visitors must be on guided tours!) for about 15 minutes, looking at all the plants and being a bit baffled because none of them have name plaques like every other botanic garden I have been to.
They had several beautiful plumeria trees in all different colors. I was so excited to see them, because I loved them in Hawaii for their gorgeous smell. But here the flowers had a different, spoiled smell, not sweet and lovely like in Hawaii. They are sure pretty though, like five-pointed stars in white and pink with sunshine yellow centers.
The lecture finally got underway about 6:40, in Spanish. There were about 14 people in attendance, all gringos as far as I could tell.
The subject was plants and insects that provide textile materials and dyes. There are 13 fiber and 36 dye species in Oaxaca, which is far more than any other Mexican or Central American region. Of course, Oaxaca state is so diverse in climate and topography that it doesn't seem that surprising.
I think I understood most of the lecture. It was a slide show, with pictures demonstrating how many of the fibers and dyes are manufactured.
The most amazing dye is cochineal, (keep scrolling down) a red dye that comes from a little "scale" insect that feeds on prickly pear cactus. When it is mashed, it squirts red juice, which can be used to make a red dye that is permanent and stable. When the Spaniards found it, they were overjoyed, because at that time, no good red dye existed.
So they exploited it and made a fortune. That money built Santo Domingo and many of the beautiful old colonial buildings in downtown Oaxaca. Pretty good for a furry little bug.
I walked home, had some tortillas and mole, read for a bit, and went to sleep.
posted by Suebob at 4:46 PM
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