December 1, 2022 John Gerard, Sereno Watson, Ellsworth Hill, Bette Midler, Punk Ikebana by Louesa Roebuck, and Rosa Parks

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Historical Events
1597 On this day, The Herbal, by the English herbalist John Gerard, was first published.
Today the book is considered a plagiarization of Rembert Dodoens's herbal published over forty years earlier.
In his book, John shared over 800 species of plants and gorgeous woodcut illustrations. His descriptions were simple and informative.
For instance, in his description of Self-heal or Brownwort (Prunella Vulgaris), he wrote,
There is not a better wound herb to be found.
 
In other instances, his descriptions gave us a glimpse into life in the 17th century. Regarding Borage blossoms, which he called Boragewort, he wrote,
Those of our time use the flowers in salads to exhilerate and make the mind glad.
 
During his life, John was allowed to garden on land at Somerset House, and for a time, he served as the herbalist to King James. In 1578, John was the first person to record and describe the Snakeshead fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris "mel-ee-aye-gris") thought to be native to parts of Britain but not Scotland. 
Today John is remembered in the botanical genus Gerardia.
Today, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust sells Christmas cards featuring John Gerard's woodcuts of Holly, Pears, and Mistletoe. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust cares for Shakespeare's family homes and shares the love of Shakespeare from his hometown of
Stratford-upon-Avon.
Anyway, if you'd like to support a great organization and enjoy the John Gerard Christmas cards and gift wrap, head on over to https://shop.shakespeare.org.uk/.
 
1826 Birth of Sereno Watson, American botanist & curator of the Gray Herbarium at Harvard University in Boston.
He's remembered for succeeding Asa Gray at the herbarium and continuing much of his work from 1873 until his death. A great master of botany in the American west, he also wrote Botany of California. Modern botany students easily identify Sereno for his extremely impressive beard.
Sereno was admired and respected by his peers for his great attention to detail. For instance, in 1871, Sereno named a new plant genus Hesperochiron for two little wildflowers only found in the western part of the United States. Hespero means west, and Chiron is a nod to the Centaur and the first herbalist who taught humanity about the healing powers of plants. When Sereno named this genus, he rejected the classification of these plants as members of the snapdragon family. But, after dissecting them, Sereno was convinced they belonged with the gentians. This type of due diligence and careful study made Sereno Watson a great botanist.
Today, Sereno is remembered with a very cool