Portions of plant - Specimen details
| Catalogue Number: 46213 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Image | Plant Name | 126.01 LABIATAE Sideritis syriaca | Entry Book Number | ||
| Artefact Name | Portions of plant | Vernacular Name | |||
| Iso Country | Greece | TDWG Region | Greece | ||
| Parts Held | Portions of plant | Geography Description | Crete | ||
| Uses | Portions of plantUse: MATERIALS User: Man | TDWG use | MATERIALS | ||
| Storage | Bottles, boxes etc | Related Items | |||
| Donor | Coningham Mrs | Donor No | |||
| Donor Date | 00/00/1876 | Donor Notes | |||
| Collector | Collector No | ||||
| Collection Notes | Collection Date | ||||
| Exhibition | Expedition | ||||
| Number Components | Publication | ||||
| Notes: | Label source: Tapestries still retain their brilliant colours Opuscular source: Letter from Mrs Coningham, 124 Marine Parade, Brighton, April 18th, /76 Sir, As I am wholly a stranger to you, I must apologize for intruding on your attention and time, and, I had therefore better begin my letter, by making my excuses for writing it. I venture to ask, if you will be so kind as to tell me, and some friends of mine, what the plant is of which I send you a bit. The gentleman who gathered it, unfortunately cut, it off, and did not send the roots. Its history is this; Our Consul in Crete, or should I say Caudia?? is Mr Sandwith, a brother of Dr Humphrey Sandwith. He has bought all the remains of the fine embroideries on the Island intending them for sale. Mr, s Sandwith being in England, I asked her, what was used to wash them, in the Island? She wrote to her brother in Crete, and he sent the plant I enclose with a copy of his letter of of a part of her own to me. I know that in Germany, wild Soapwort is u, sed to wash all delicate dyes and fabrics, and that in Morocco they employ for that purpose a plant they call Ghassoul, Moorish not Arabic - of which the author of Morocco and the Moors says, it is allied to the genus Mesembryanthemum, and is used instead, of soap. These old Cretan dyes are considered to be a lost art, and to have been obtained wholly from the herbs growing wild on Mount Idate? Unfortunatly for ourselves, neither Mrs Sandwith, nor I are botanists. So I venture to lay our difficulties bef, ore you, commending ourselves to your charity for a word of help. I add my address and I am Sir, Yours truly, Elizabeth Coningham. PS. They tell me that they wash their embroideries, with a plant called Malatera, of which I enclose you a specimen. It gr, ows wild, in very many hilly parts of Crete, and is sometimes infused as a tea, and drunk, being considered wholesome (From Crete April 11th) Mrs Sandwith says, within 12 hours of starting I can do nothing with the plant. Can you learn from any friend wi, th botanical knowledge whether we have this, or any plant of the kind, in England? Or whether we could import the Greek plant (I fancy she means grow it). It would be a great thing - a specific for washing our embroideries. It throws a light on the las, t few words to mention that I believe many hundred pounds are invested in them, some in admirable condition, some with local spots, which could be washed out, if their specific were used; and which are doubtless lessened in value, by having been tarnishe, d. EC | ||||