Monday, May 07, 2007

You know this flower, right?

Yeah yeah, this is a hibiscus flower, at its stunning best. You'll see it all over India, wherever you go. But did you know:
That hibiscus is traditionally burnt in ghee to form a black dye for eyebrows?

That in Bengal, it is the favourite flower of the Goddess Kali?

That the women of Kerala have traditionally used the hibiscus to make a soapy shampoo?

And if you knew all that, then - aha - I bet you didnt know these things:
That Polynesian women use the bark of the hibiscus to make grass skirts?

That karkade, or hibiscus tea is said to have been a favourite drink of the Pharaohs?

That hibiscus is called "shoe flower" because it was used to polish shoes in Jamaica?
God, I love wikipedia.

3 comments:

helga said...

Hibiscus I would know mostly (except from some in Spain) as a favourite "potplant" of my mum..Pots AND flowers being huge..so not a sorry little half dead minor plant thingy of the kind I might keep alive..I'm not surprised about Wikipedia's concept for the use of it's colors as eyebrow dye or "shoepolish".. My mums favourite is a threat to anything "white" I might wear when getting too close to admire them..

Anonymous said...

I love wikipedia too.. Great pitcure.

Thx,
Ken

Anonymous said...

where can i get hibiscus powder in bombay?