In this hot summertime, what’s more refreshing than a slice of watermelon…and wondering about the chemicals present in this fruit? A common misconception is that watermelon is only made of water. Well, first of all, besides water, there are sugars and then chemicals that are responsible for the colour and aroma. The colour is dueContinue reading “Watermelon: is there more than water and sugars?”
Category Archives: Plant of the month
Crimson bottlebrush plant and a story about herbicides
Let’s talk about a plant that is very commonly found in gardens in many areas of the world, but that is originally from Australia: the bottlebrush plant (looking at its picture, it is easy to understand why it is called like this). There are actually several bottlebrush species, all belonging to the myrtle family (Myrtaceae).Continue reading “Crimson bottlebrush plant and a story about herbicides”
O Tannenbaum
The decoration of Christmas trees is a tradition started in Germany during the Renaissance. However, its roots go far back in time; evergreen plants had a special meaning in many cultures long before the advent of Christianity. Nowadays, decorating a tree with garlands, baubles, tinsel, candy canes, blinking lights (or candles), etc. is a worldwideContinue reading “O Tannenbaum”
The king of the Mediterranean region
Autumn in the South of Italy means a lot of nice things: a still relatively warm weather, the bright warm colours of leaves of deciduous plants slowly turning into a colourful carpet, the smell of roasted chestnuts in the streets, etc. This time of the year is also linked to a very important economic activity:Continue reading “The king of the Mediterranean region”
Something against autumn blues…
Summer is almost over in Italy, but before moving on to the next season, I would like to talk about a plant that is somehow strongly connected to summer: Saint John’s Wort. Plants are wonderful organisms and some of their features make them look like magical beings to humans. If we have a look atContinue reading “Something against autumn blues…”
Loves me, loves me not
Probably everybody knows the popular game in which one person seeks to determine whether the object of their affection returns it or not, by using the “petals” of a “flower”, usually a daisy. Well, the term daisy can refer to many species. Here, we will focus on the Southern daisy, Bellis sylvestris Cir., which isContinue reading “Loves me, loves me not”
PhytoChem 