Farmacy Flowers

Literature review: 'Invertebrates in urban areas: A review'

This is the second in a series of literature reviews exploring the personal and environmental benefits of flowers. This post will look at "Invertebrates in urban areas: A review," an article by Elizabeth L. Jones and Simon R. Leather in the European Journal of Entomology.

Let's think about the pollinators that help the flowers that help us -- the birds and the bees, the butterflies and the moths, among the many other insects, both vertebrates and invertebrates, that not only play an important role in pollination but also aid in nutrient cycling, the cycling of organic matter, and soil aeration. In cities these nonhumans, whom often dwell in green spaces scattered throughout what we might call a concrete jungle, help to maintain the health of the urban eco-system. This paper considers invertebrate bioindicators and addresses factors in urban areas that influence biodiversity and the ability of green space to serve as wildlife reserves.

"As urbanization has occurred throughout history, habitat types within these areas have changed, meaning that wildlife is influenced. Some habitats have been lost altogether, while others have been reduced and new ones created" (463). These new habitats include urban green spaces. "As urbanization increases, green spaces within urban areas will become increasingly important as wildlife habitats. Urban green spaces are important for biodiversity primarily as wildlife refugia and wildlife movement corridors" (463).

Urban farms, gardens, parks and parkways provide habitat for these invertebrate populations and are therefore extremely important in the urban environment. "Invertebrates act as a food source for higher trophic levels and changes in their numbers can influence both these organisms as well as plants" (464). Consequently, "it is reasonable that ecological value of these areas should be included in urban planning and investments" (463).

The authors consider habitat fragmentation in urban areas as it "decreases the area of habitat available to invertebrates" (470). An example of fragmentation is given in the paper regarding bumblebees: "Bumblebee movement investigated in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, found that individuals only cross roads and railways if they were displaced or forced to find new flower resources" (470). 

Here are the factors influencing urban invertebrates that are mentioned in the paper:
- site age
- site area
- fragmentation, isolation and surrounding land use
- pollution / traffic
- grass mowing
- cultivated plants, other exotics and green roofs

Read the full article here.

For more information about bees and other pollinators in New York City and ways to improve habitat for them, check out the Great Pollinator Project. 

Works Cited: Jones, Elizabeth L., and Simon R. Leather. "Invertebrates in urban areas: A review." Eur. J. Entomol 109.4 (2012): 463-478. <http://www.eje.cz/scripts/viewabstract.php?abstract=1732>

Photos: Caitlin Keller

Literature review: 'Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of edible flowers from Thailand'

This is the first literature review in a series exploring the personal and environmental benefits of flowers. This post will look at "Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of edible flowers from Thailand" from the Journal of Functional Foods.

Cassia siamea

Flowers as foods have traditionally been used in European, Asian, East Indian, Victorian English, Middle Eastern, and even early American cooking (89).

This article investigates the phenolic compounds, antioxidant properties and nutritional value of 12 edible flowers from northeastern Thailand "which have been long consumed as vegetable and used as ingredients in cooking" (88). The authors introduce the article by saying how high intakes of fruits and vegetables have been associated with a lower incidence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer -- "health benefits attributed to the antioxidant capacity derived from the phenolic compounds present in edible plants" (88). 

"In Thailand, many flowers have been eaten since ancient times, and some have medicinal properties as well as nutritional value" (89). Here in the United States, we are surrounded by a culture of convenience where many foods are processed and filled with additives and artificial ingredients, centered around energy and calorie content versus nutrition density. It therefore seems worthwhile to observe other cultures that do incorporate edible flowers into meals and find out more about their nutritional value.

Tagetes erecta

Twelve fresh edible flowers were collected from the northeastern region of Thailand for experimentation. According to the article, "phenolic compounds are a large and diverse group of phytochemicals, which includes many different families of aromatic secondary metabolites in plants" (88). "Phenolic compounds have strong in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities associated with their ability to scavenge free radicals, break radical chain reactions and chelate metals" (88). The authors used RP-HPLC analysis to identify the phenolic compounds of edible-flowers extracts (93).
 

The results: "the data of twelve edible flower samples in the present study indicate that edible flowers were a rich source of phytochemicals, with high levels of phenolic compounds and antioxidant  activities" (96). The study revealed that, of the twelve varieties, yellow flowers exhibiting higher flavonoid content were likely to have higher antioxidant potential than other colors. With these results, the authors hope readers will utilize edible flowers as sources of phytochemicals but with caution as toxicity of the plant extracts with high antioxidant activity should be tested to confirm their safety for use as food additives. 

Khee lek (Cassia siamea): highest value of total phenolic content

Daao rueang (Tagetes erecta): highest total flavonoid content

Puangchompoo (Antigonon leptopus) and Tagetes erecta: highest ferric reducing antioxidant power and value

I've included a snapshot of the table describing the tested edible flowers in detail, below:

Table 1 - The characteristics and biological activities literature of the selected edible flowers http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2011.03.002

Works Cited: Onanong Kaisoon, Sirithon Siriamornpun, Natthida Weerapreeyakul, Naret Meeso. “Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of edible flowers from Thailand.” Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 3, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 88–99. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2011.03.002>

'The Year the Monarch Didn't Appear' in NY Times

Monarch butterflies in Big Sur, Calif.  (October 2013)

On November 24, Jim Robbins, author of The Man Who Planted Trees, wrote a piece on monarch butterflies which was featured in the News Analysis section of the New York Times Sunday Review. 

Every year on the first of November, monarch butterflies reach central Mexico where they hibernate for the winter season after migrating from North America. According to Robbins, "last year's low of 60 million [monarchs] now seems great compared with the fewer than three million that have shown up so far this year. Some experts fear that the spectacular migration could be near collapse." Yikes. 

I've included some key points about this unfortunate decline from "The Year the Monarch Didn't Appear" below:

--"Another insect in serious trouble is the wild bee, which has thousands of species. Nicotine-based pesticides called neonicotinoids are implicated in their decline."
--Another factor that has not been widely recognized: the precipitous loss of native vegetation across the United States" which is mostly due to the way the United States farms. 
--"As the price of corn has soared in recent years, driven by federal subsidies for biofuels, farmers have expanded their fields. That has meant plowing every scrap of earth that can grow a corn plant, including millions of acres of land once reserved in a federal program for conservation purposes." 
--Another major cause: "Roundup, a herbicide that kills all plants except crops that are genetically modified to survive it" which results in millions of acres of native plants, like milkweed which is an important source of nectar for many species, getting wiped out.
--"The loss of bugs is no small matter. Insects help stitch together the web of life with essential services, breaking plants down into organic matter, for example, and dispersing seeds. They are a prime source of food for birds."  
--"80% of our food crops are pollinated by insects."
--In addition to monoculture farm fields, diverse natural habitat has been replaced with "the biological deserts that are roads, parking lots and bluegrass lawns." 
--Native trees are not only grocery stores, but insect pharmacies as well.
--Reversing the hegemony of chemically green lawns: if you've got just lawn, you've got nothing.
--If the bees were to truly disappear, we would lose 80 percent of plants.

Please see the NY Times article for the full story.

And since we are on the topic, here is a short video on the loss of monarch butterflies from National Geographic:

Works Cited: Robbins, Jim. “The Year the Monarch Didn’t Appear.” New York Times. 22 November 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/sunday-review/the-year-the-monarch-didnt-appear.html?_r=0>

Photo: Monarch butterflies. Credit: Caitlin Keller
Video: Monarch butterflies. Credit: National Geographic

Interview with flower farmer Molly Culver

Molly at The Youth Farm at HSPS

Molly Culver is a floral designer, Farm School NYC instructor and co-farm manager at The Youth Farm at HSPS in Brooklyn, New York. The Youth Farm is a one acre educational production farm that grows organic food, flowers, and future leaders through its training program for youth and adults. With the help of her team at the Youth Farm, Molly started the city's first urban-grown flower CSA in 2011. I got in touch with Molly for an interview and the following is what she had to say about growing flowers in the city:

FF: Why flowers? 
MC: I grow flowers for the joy of it. I farm for the joy of it - so that's the first reason. I got into farming when I was 23; I was hooked from the moment I first volunteered. That's a longer story! I first was introduced to growing flowers at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems' 6 month apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture at UC Santa Cruz in 2008. Across their 14 acres, cut flowers were incorporated into the fields and beds both for their ecological benefits and as a revenue source. We learned about growing many varieties of "specialty cut flowers" -- flowers not considered commodities (like Roses, Tulips, and Lilies) -- under the brilliant tutelage of Orin Martin and Christof Bernau. I learned about the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers and the environmental and social justice issues surrounding today's global cut flower industry. After completing my Certificate at UCSC, I went on to intern at Live Earth Farm, an 80 acre organic farm in Watsonville, CA. Tom Broz, the head farmer there, empowered me to put my trainng to use by planning and cultivating on 2 acres of his land. The first year I stuck to what I knew best - vegetables. In 2010, I decided to grow flowers; he had abandoned growing cut flowers about 10 years earlier; they were too time consuming and labor intensive for his developing small farm. He was excited to see their return, and so I began starting seeds in January 2010... That year, my sixth year into my farming career, was the first year I grew solely flowers. When I finally made my move back to NYC, I knew I wanted to keep growing flowers, not only because I really preferred growing them and arranging them to vegetables, but because I knew their was a niche I could fill. 

80% of the flowers we purchase in the U.S. come from overseas. Our local domestic flower growers have essentially been obliterated, save a few holdouts like Rose Meadow Farm on Long Island, Dutchmill Gardens in NJ, and River Garden in the Catskills. I teamed up with Bee Ayer and the Youth Farm in Febuary 2011; Bee had also been through the UCSC program, shared an appreciation for flowers, and we both agreed it would bring a great new educational opportunity to students and adults training on the farm. We started the city's first urban-grown flower CSA that year, and also sold our flowers to restaurants and at our farmers market. It was a huge success - we learned that cut flowers were 25% more valuable per square foot compared to vegetables; we also observed how some students (old and young) really enjoyed the creative process of arranging, and the meditative quality to the task -- quite different from the cut and dry hustle of harvesting and washing vegetables. We could also bring more awareness and discussion around the many relevant issues regarding the environment, social justice, human rights and racism present in today's flower growing industry.

I started a small sustainable floral design company in 2011 with urban farmer Deborah Greig - we both feel passionately about food justice and access to fresh food for all. Both of us manage urban educational farms, but we are also equally in love with arranging flowers. We're excited to offer a sustainable and environmentally conscious option for couples getting married and for organizations running events.

FF: Did you have any training?

MC: I spoke a little to my early training above. At UCSC, there are three areas that you rotate through; in the 2 acre down garden a wide variety of cut flowers are grown, and every friday morning we pick over thirty 5 gallon buckets of various stems, and then make bouquets for market. The weekly practice of making bouquets - wherein we learned about the law of odds, size, fillers and focals, etc.., was a great foundation for me. I found that when I was finally into my own operation, let's say the 2nd year at the Youth Farm, I found my "voice" with flower arranging. I continue to get training through flower growing mentors in the ASCFG - I've gone to the annual conferences and visiting flower operations all over - I try to visit farms on most of my trips and vacations. I've honed my skills through managing 3,000 sq. ft of flowers at the Youth Farm and by learning by doing. We still run a flower CSA (now in its 3rd year), sell to 5 restaurants, to DIY brides, and to our farmers market customers.

FF: Why flowers in an urban context?
MC: See Q1 for the reasons for why we grow them in an educational context, which is very important. As for the urban context - it's makes sense for people who want to farm but can't access clean, healthy soil (injestion of heavy metals isn't AS much of an issue; although, dust splash of soil particulates will always be the biggest hazard). People in urban environments may have more money to purchase flowers, which are a luxury when you compare them to food. Urban markets are extremely important to most small farms today; being situated right in the city means I can transport at a lower cost to the environment. Flowers are beautiful, and add social capital and interest to any neighborhood. They raise awareness. They make people smile - which I feel a lot of city folk need.
 
FF: Why cut flowers?
MC: I think I've mostly answered this question in terms of the profitability of them. In addition, specialty cut flowers - i.e. not commodity flowers -- help keep our environment and local ecology diverse. Different flowers (be they perennials, annuals, natives, etc.) attract different types of pollinators. Right now, anything to feed and sustain our bee population is so important. 
 
FF: How much space do you have to grow flowers? 
MC: The farm grows 70% veggies and 30% flowers so 3,000 sq ft for flowers and 7,000 sq ft for veggies.

FF: What are the personal and environmental benefits of choosing seasonal and local flowers over imported, conventionally grown flowers?
MC: There are so many environmental benefits - I am not the most well versed in terms of the statistics: it would be better to refer to Favored Flowers, or Flower Confidential for some concrete data. It goes without saying that flowers shipped daily from overseas on airplanes are exponentially more costly to the environment than their locally-grown and marketed counterparts. As for the personal reasons: I have, I think like so many others, gotten turned off by the cookie-cutter, mass-produced feel of industrially-grown flowers that are what we see at grocery stores, bodegas, and the like. Many of them have had their scent literally bred out of them in favor of enhancing their capacity to store food over long distance travel -- aroma takes a lot of energy from the flower. Garden roses, expensive and difficult to grow in rainy climates (and ouchy to harvest) have all but disappeared from the market, replaced by hybrids that are thornless, scentless, and in my opinion, stripped of what makes them special. I think a lot of people feel turned off by this aspect, but they aren't sure exactly what happened to locally grown flowers - ones their Grandmothers might have grown in their gardens. Growing and selling my own flowers has allowed my a glimpse of the excitement and satisfaction from customers over a bouquet of unique, special, unfamiliar flowers. These flowers feel REAL to them. We grow our flowers organically - without use of pesticides and herbicides or huge inputs of Nitrogen, all of which can be harmful to the surrounding environment and the people harvesting them. When I work with my own flowers, or flowers grown by other local, organic growers I am feel inspired by the individuality of the blooms, grateful for the lack of pesticide residue (all over most wholesaled flowers on 28th st), and happy to be investing and supporting a local grower, like Queens County Farm, Brooklyn Grange, or the growers I mentioned above who sell at Union Square. Having that direct relationship is powerful, and I think enriches the experience of investing in flowers. While they are a luxury, flowers are also food for the soul. But I wouldn't say commercially grown flowers feed my soul as much.

FF: Thanks, Molly!

Photos: Molly Culver

Flower Foodstuffs: Experiment 1 [texture, shape, flavor]

This entry is documentation of my first experimentation with edible flowers in foodstuffs. 

Last week I headed to the Union Square Greenmarket at 7:30 a.m. to vie for what was left of the season's edible flowers. I took all that Two Guys from Woodbridge had left in the name of edible flowers which was four small containers of calendula, borage, tarragon and pansy flowers. Later that day my professor, Natalie Jeremijenko, and I started what was to be my first experimentation with edible flowers. 

The goal of the experiment was to incorporate the nutrient density of edible flowers -- flowers as nutraceuticals -- into foodstuffs. In today's culture of convenience, where foods are designed around shelf life and cost of nutrients, how can we make a shift from food as calories and energy to food as nutrition? So we set out to make flower foods that taste and look delicious, and are also good for the health. Since flowers are so highly perishable, we thought about experimenting with edible flowers in foodstuffs while veering away from anything candy-like, especially taste-wise.

Experiment
We decided to use gellan gum (low acyl), a simple carbohydrate produced by fermentation and used in molecular gastronomy for gelification, in this first experiment. To experiment with texture, we toyed around with ratios of gellan gum to water and blended the mixture and a couple spoonfuls of inositol in a Vitamix to smooth out any clumpy bits before pouring it into various molds such as baking dishes, a silicon ice ball mold, glass plates and even a glass tabletop surface. We decided to try out a clumpy mixture, too, to see which of the two mixtures came out more appealing when hardened. We had decided to save flavoring for experiment 2 but ended up adding rose oil and cola concentrate because...why not. And when pouring these mixtures, we added edible flowers. 

Recipe
1/3 cup gellan gum [low acyl]
6 1/3 cups water [more or less depending on preferred texture]
2 spoonfuls inositol
edible flowers [calendula, borage, tarragon and pansy flowers]
flavoring of choice [rose oil, st. john's wort, cola concentrate, lemon grass, cucumber...]

Results: The clumpy mixture hardened quickly while the smooth mixture took a little longer. According to Molecule-R, "Dissolution occurs between 85°C (185°F) and 95°C (203°F) and gelling takes place on cooling between 10°C (50°F) and 80°C (176°F)." 

Both mixtures came out quite beautiful. The smooth mixture came out clear while the clumpy mixture came out with little bubbles showing throughout (see below).

We noticed that when we poured the mixture into the silicon ice ball molds and onto the glass plates, added flowers and then poured more of the mixture on top, the first and second pourings didn't solidify and instead could be easily peeled apart. So, we realized we could only pour into a mold once, consistently and fast. We placed flowers at the bottom of the mold, poured the mixture and then added more flowers while pouring. The silicon ice molds created a plastic-y, bouncy ball look which didn't totally rule it out as a possibility but I preferred the pieces that were cut out of the baking dish (see below).

Thoughts for round 2: Making a powder out of dried edible flowers to add to mixture; using cucumber to flavor gellan mixture...

Photos: Caitlin Keller

Edible Flowers 101

Pansies

My very first encounter with eating edible flowers was at a farm in Big Sur, California, just a fews years ago. I worked on this farm for a couple of months and as I grew accustomed to the lay of the land and familiarized myself with the plant-life around the property, I also discovered the medicinal qualities of various flowers around the farm through an herbalist friend. Throughout my stay on the farm, I snacked on the likes of California poppy, borage, nasturtium, calendula, Johnny Jump Up and pansy flowers. 

I've listed edible flowers that I currently know of below and will update the list as I discover others. For more information, check out The New York Botanical Garden and Treehugger -- both have useful webpages on edible flowers.

Anise hyssop: sweet, anise
Apple blossoms

Arugula flowers

Bee Balm  

Tuberous begonias: slightly lemon

Borage

Broccoli flowers

Chamomile

Chives 

Chrysanthemum: slightly to very bitter 
Dandelion

Daylily: sweetish, flowerish
Dill
Geraniums
Gladiolus
Hibiscus 
Lavender
Marigold (calendula): bitterish, clove-like 
Milkweed flowers 

Nasturtium: sharp, cress-like
Pansy, Johnny Jump Up and Viola: sweet
Edible peas 

Pinks (dianthus or carnation)

Poppy

Rose
Snapdragon
Squash blossoms 
Strawberry 
Tarragon 

Violet

Squash blossoms

Did you know that edible flowers can be dried, pickled, frozen, candied, made into oils, vinaigrettes, jellies, marinades, teas, spreads/butters and infusions? Our culture tends to use edible flowers as garnishes on a cupcake or in salads for aesthetic appeal but the nutritive quality and antioxidant activity of flowers are good reason to rethink our consumption, or lack thereof, of flowers.

The nutritional importance of edible flowers can be broken down into three major components, according to an article in Trends in Food Science and Technology on "Fresh edible flowers of ornamental plants -- A new source of nutraceutical foods":

1. Pollen: "rich source of proteins, amino acids and carbohydrates, saturated and unsaturated lipids, carotenoids, flavonoids, etc."

2. Nectar: "contains a balanced mixture of sugars (fructose, glucose and sucrose), amino acids, proteins, inorganic ions, lipids, organic acids, phenolic substances, alkaloids, terpenoids, etc."

3. Petals and other parts of flowers: "important source of aforementioned compounds as well as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc."

Borage

Works Cited: Mlcek, Jiri, and Otakar Rop. "Fresh edible flowers of ornamental plants–A new source of nutraceutical foods." Trends in Food Science & Technology 22.10 (2011): 561-569.
<http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2011.04.006>

Photos: Caitlin Keller