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"The Parlement of Foules (modernized: Parliament of Fowls), also called the Parlement of Briddes (Parliament of Birds) or the Assemble of Foules (Assembly of Fowls), is a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer (1343?–1400) made up of approximately 700 lines. The poem is in the form of a dream vision in rhyme royal stanza and contains one of the earliest references to the idea that St. Valentine's Day is a special day for lovers.Oruch, Jack B., "St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February," Speculum, 56 (1981): 534–65. Oruch's survey of the literature finds no association between Valentine and romance prior to Chaucer. He concludes that Chaucer is likely to be "the original mythmaker in this instance." Colfa.utsa.edu Summary The poem begins with the narrator reading Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis in the hope of learning some "certeyn thing". When he falls asleep, Scipio Africanus the Elder appears and guides him up through the celestial spheres to a gate promising both a "welle of grace" and a stream that "ledeth to the sorweful were/ Ther as a fissh in prison is al drye" (reminiscent of the famous grimly inscribed gates in Dante's Inferno). After some deliberation at the gate, the narrator enters and passes through Venus’s dark temple with its friezes of doomed lovers and out into the bright sunlight. Here Nature is convening a parliament at which the birds will all choose their mates. The three tercel (male) eagles make their case for the hand of a formel (female) eagle until the birds of the lower estates begin to protest and launch into a comic parliamentary debate, which Nature herself finally ends. None of the tercels wins the formel, for at her request Nature allows her to put off her decision for another year (indeed, female birds of prey often become sexually mature at one year of age, males only at two years). Nature, as the ruling figure, in allowing the formel the right to choose not to choose, is acknowledging the importance of free will, which is ultimately the foundation of a key theme in the poem, that of common profit. Nature allows the other birds, however, to pair off. The dream ends with a song welcoming the new spring. The dreamer awakes, still unsatisfied, and returns to his books, hoping still to learn the thing for which he seeks. Manuscripts right There are fifteen manuscript sources for the poem: * British Library, Harley 7333 * Cambridge University Library Gg. IV.27 * Cambridge University Library Ff. I.6 (Findern) * Cambridge University Library Hh.IV.12 (incomplete) * Pepys 2006, Magdalene College, Cambridge * Trinity College, Cambridge R.3.19 * Bodleian Library, Arch. Selden B.24 * Bodleian Library, Laud Misc. 416 * Bodleian Library, Fairfax 16 * Bodleian Library, Bodley 638 * Bodleian Library, Tanner 346 * Bodleian Library, Digby 181 * St. John's College, Oxford, J LVII * Longleat 258, Longleat House, Warminster, Wilts William Caxton's early print of 1478 is also considered authoritative, for it reproduces the text of a manuscript now considered lost. The stemma and genealogy of these authorities was studied by John Koch in 1881, and later established by Eleanor Prescott Hammond in 1902, dividing them into two main groups, A and B (last five MSS), although the stemma is by no means definitive. Concerning the author of the poem, there is no doubt that it was written by Geoffrey Chaucer, for so he tells us twice in his works. * The first time is in the Introduction (Prologue) to The Legend of Good Women: "He made the book that hight the Hous of Fame, / And eke the Deeth of Blaunche the Duchesse, / And the Parlement of Foules, as I gesse". * The second allusion is found in the Retraction to The Canterbury Tales: "the book of the Duchesse; the book of Seint Valentynes day of the Parlement of Briddes". A more difficult question is that of date. Early criticism of the poem, as far as the first decades of the 20th century, relied mainly on the different interpretations of the text—comparing the fight for the female eagle with royal betrothals of the age—to produce a date of composition for the poem. Fred N. Robinson (Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 1957: 791) mentioned that "if the theories of allegory in the Parliament are rejected, the principal evidence usually relied on for dating the poem about 1381-2 disappears". Later criticism, however, is much more objective on the reasons why the poem has been dated in 1382, the main reason given in lines 117–118 of the poem itself: "As wisly as I sawe the [Venus], northe northe west / When I begane my sweuene for to write" for according to John M. Manly (1913: 279–90) Venus is never strictly in the position "north-north-west...but it can be easily thought to be so when it reaches its extreme northern point". Manly adds that this condition was met in May 1374, 1382, and 1390. The third date is easily discarded since we know that the poem is already mentioned as composed in the Prologue to The Legend of Good Women. Derek Brewer (1960: 104) then argues that the date of 1382, as opposed to that of 1374, is much more likely for the composition of the poem since, during the same period (1373–85), Chaucer wrote many other works including The House of Fame which, in all respects, seems to have been composed earlier than The Parliament of Fowls, thus: "a very reasonable, if not certain, date for the Parlement is that it was begun in May 1382, and was ready for St. Valentine's Day, 14th February 1383" (Brewer, 1960: 104). Although much of the criticism on the interpretation of The Parliament of Foules— which would render clues for its date of composition—is contradictory, and criticism about the importance of line 117 does not agree on whether it can be taken as serious evidence for the dating of the poem, there is nowadays a general agreement among scholars as to 1381–1382 being the date of composition for The Parliament of Foules. This places the poem in the same year as fifteen-year-old King Richard II married fifteen-year-old Anne of Bohemia. References Artistic representations * The Parliament of Fowls (2008) is a one-act comic opera by American composer John Craton Translations * Джеффри Чосер. Книга о королеве. Птичий парламент. Перевод с английского, предисловие и комментарии С. Александровского. — М.: Время, 2004. — 224 с.: с илл. — (Серия «Триумфы»). External links *"The Dream Poems – modernised versions", A. S. Kline Category:Middle English poems Category:Medieval literature Category:Visionary poems Category:Poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer Category:Poems about birds "
"Carpobrotus edulis is a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves in the genus Carpobrotus, native to South Africa. It is also known as Hottentot-fig (though this nickname is considered a racist term), ice plant, highway ice plant, or pigface, and in South Africa as the sour fig (). It was previously classified in Mesembryanthemum and is sometimes referred to by this name: Mesembryanthemum edule. Description Carpobrotus edulis is a creeping, mat-forming succulent species and member of the fig-marigold family, Aizoaceae, one of about 30 species in the genus Carpobrotus. C. edulis is easily confused with its close relatives, including the more diminutive and less aggressive Carpobrotus chilensis (sea fig), with which it hybridizes readily. C. edulis can, however, be distinguished from most of its relatives by the size and colour of its flowers. The large, diameter flowers of C. edulis are yellow or light pink, whereas the smaller, diameter C. chilensis flowers are deep magenta. On the flowers, two of the calyx lobes are longer, extending further than the petals. The leaves of C. edulis are only very slightly curved and have serrated sides near the tips. In South Africa = Distribution = The sour fig grows on coastal and inland slopes from Namaqualand in the Northern Cape through the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape. It is often seen as a pioneer in disturbed sites. = Ecology = Flowers are pollinated by solitary bees, honey bees, carpenter bees, and many beetle species. Leaves are eaten by tortoises. Flowers are eaten by antelopes and baboons. Fruits are eaten by baboons, rodents, porcupines, antelopes, who also disperse the seeds. The clumps provide shelter for snails, lizards, and skinks. Puff adders and other snakes, such as the Cape cobra, are often found in Carpobrotus clumps, where they ambush the small rodents attracted by the fruits. = Growth = Fruits Ice plants grow year round, with individual shoot segments growing more than 3 ft (1 m) per year. Ice plants can grow to at least 165 ft (50 m) in diameter. Flowers are produced mainly during late winter-spring (August–October). They open in the morning in bright sunlight, and close at night. Invasive species Carpobrotus edulis has naturalised in many other regions throughout the world, and is an invasive species in several parts, notably Australia, California and the Mediterranean, all of which have similar climates. The ice plant has escaped from cultivation and has become invasive, posing a serious ecological problem by forming vast monospecific zones, lowering biodiversity, and competing directly with several threatened or endangered plant species for nutrients, water, light, and space.(State Resources Agency 1990). Found at Cap Angela in Bizerte, Tunisia near the Mediterranean Sea = Mediterranean = On the Mediterranean coast, Carpobrotus has spread out rapidly and now parts of the coastline are completely covered by this invasive species. Moreover, another invasive species, the black rat, has been shown to enhance the spreading of the ice plant through its feces. As the ice plant represents a food resource for the rat, both benefit from each other (invasive mutualism). = New Zealand = In New Zealand C. edulis and its hybrids are classed as unwanted organisms and are listed on the National Pest Plant Accord. = US = Purple and yellow flowering ice plants in Northern California. The ice plant forms large monospecific zones. Although the ice plant may have arrived by ship as early as the 16th century,Au, Leakhana. Carpobrotus edulis in California Coastal Plant Communities , Restoration and Reclamation Review, University of Minnesota, Vol. 6, No. 1, Fall 2000. C. edulis was actively introduced in the early 1900s to stabilize dunes and soil along railroad tracks; it was later put to use by Caltrans for ground cover along freeway embankments. Thousands of acres were planted in California until the 1970s. It easily spreads by seed (hundreds per fruit) and from segmentation (any shoot segment can produce roots). Its succulent foliage, bright magenta or yellow flowers, and resistance to some harsh coastal climatic conditions (salt) have also made it a favored garden plant. The ice plant was, for several decades, widely promoted as an ornamental plant, and it is still available at some nurseries. Ice plant foliage can turn a vibrant red to yellow in color. Despite its use as a soil stabilizer, it actually exacerbates and speeds up coastal erosion. It holds great masses of water in its leaves, and its roots are very shallow. In the rainy season, the added weight on unstable sandstone slopes and dunes increases the chances of slope collapse and landslides. The ice plant is still abundant along highways, beaches, on military bases, and in other public and private landscapes. It spreads beyond landscape plantings and has invaded foredune, dune scrub, coastal bluff scrub, coastal prairie, and, most recently, maritime chaparral communities. In California, the ice plant is found in coastal habitats from north of Eureka, south at least as far as Rosarito in Baja California. It is intolerant of frost, and is not found far inland or at elevations greater than about 500 ft (150 m). Flowering occurs almost year-round, beginning in February in southern California and continuing until the autumn in northern California, with flowers present for at least a few months in any given population. = Removal of plants = Control of ice plants can be attempted by pulling out individual plants by hand, or with the use of earth-moving machinery such as a skid-steer or tractor, though it is necessary to remove buried stems, and mulch the soil to prevent re- establishment. For chemical control, glyphosate herbicides are used. Because of the high water content of shoot tissues, burning of live or dead plants is not a useful method of control or disposal. Cultivation It needs well- drained soil, a sunny position, and room to spread. It is an excellent evergreen, drought- and wind-resistant groundcover; it can be planted on flat, sandy ground, on loose sand dunes, lime-rich and brackish soils, and gravelly gardens, as well as in containers, rockeries, and embankments, and will cascade over terrace walls. Uses Its leaves are edible, as are its fruit, as with some other members of the family Aizoaceae. In South Africa the sour fig's ripe fruit are gathered and either eaten fresh or made into a very tart jam. Carpobrotus edulis, also known as igcukuma in the Xhosa language, is a medicinal plant used by the traditional healers in cases of common infections in HIV/AIDS patients. Chemistry Rutin, neohesperidin, hyperoside, catechin and ferulic acid can be found in C. edulis, and contribute to the antibacterialPurification and identification of active antibacterial components in Carpobrotusedulis L. Elmarie van der Watt and Johan C Pretorius, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, June 2001, Volume 76, Issue 1, Pages 87–91, properties of the plant. It also contains procyanidins and propelargonidins.LC/ESI-MS/MS characterisation of procyanidins and propelargonidins responsible for the strong antioxidant activity of the edible halophyte Mesembryanthemum edule L. Hanen Falleh, Samia Oueslati, Sylvain Guyot, Alia Ben Dali, Christian Magné, Chedly Abdelly and Riadh Ksouri, References External links * Carpobrotus edulis at the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry * Calflora invasive plants edulis Category:Endemic flora of South Africa Category:Flora of the Cape Provinces Category:Fynbos Category:Garden plants of Africa Category:Drought-tolerant plants Category:Edible plants Category:Leaf vegetables Category:Groundcovers "
"Myristicin is a naturally occurring compound found in common herbs and spices, the most well known being nutmeg. It is an insecticide, and has been shown to enhance the effectiveness of other insecticides in combination. Myristicin is also a precursor for amphetamine derivative compounds structurally related to MDMA; it is believed to be metabolized into MMDA in the body to produce hallucinogenic effects, and can be converted to MMDMA in controlled chemical synthesis. It interacts with many enzymes and signaling pathways in the body, is cytotoxic to living cells, and may also have chemoprotective properties. Uses Isolated myristicin has proven an effective insecticide against many agricultural pests, including Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae, Spilosoma obliqua (hairy caterpillars), Epilachna varivestis (Mexican bean beetles), Acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphids), mites, and Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies). Myristicin was shown to be an effective repellant, and to cause mortality via direct and systemic exposure. It also displayed a synergistic effect when administered to insects in combination with existing insecticides. The structure of myristicin closely resembles that of amphetamine compounds, and it is capable of producing psychotropic effects similar to MDMA compounds. Because of this, it can be used in synthetic synthesis to create amphetamine derivatives, and create designer drugs like MMDMA that are similar in structure and effect to MDMA. Out of the common spices that contain myristicin, nutmeg has the highest relative concentration of the compound. Therefore, it is used most frequently to isolate myristicin or exploit its effects. 280x280pxWhile there are accidental nutmeg poisonings, it is also known to be abused with the intention of achieving a low cost high resembling psychedelics, particularly by adolescents, drug users, college students, and prisoners. Relatively large doses of nutmeg are required to produce effects, therefore a majority of reported nutmeg intoxication cases appear to be the result of intentional abuse. Furthermore, myristicin interferes with multiple signaling pathways and enzyme processes in the body. It is toxic to cells and also may have chemoprotective properties, making it an interesting topic for further pharmacological or therapeutic research. [See Pharmacology, Toxicity] Sources Myristicin can be found in nutmeg, black pepper, and many members of the Umbelliferae family including anise, carrots, parsley, celery, dill, and parsnip. Trace amounts have also been isolated from a variety of plant species including Ridolfia segetum (harvest fennel), species of the Oenanthe genus (water dropworts), species of the Lamiaceae family (mint, sage, or deadnettle families), Cinnamomum glanduliferum (Nepal camphor tree), and Piper mullesua ("Hill Pepper"). Depending on the conditions of growth and storage of the plant, a high quality nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) seed can contain up to 13 mg of myristicin per 1 gram, or 1.3%. In the isolated essential oils, myristicin constitutes on average 13.24% of nutmeg oil, 6.32% of parsley leaf oil, 7.63% of dill herb oil, and 0.18% of celery seed oil. Physiological Effects = Psychoactive Effects = The psychotropic potential of myristicin is believed to emerge when it is metabolized into MMDA, an amphetamine derivative that is reported to have a more potent hallucinogenic effect than mescaline. There is more research needed on the exact mechanism of action of myristicin in the body. Documented symptoms include anxiety, fear, a sense of impending doom, detachment from reality, acute psychotic episodes, visual hallucinations (time, color, or space distortions) and hostile, combative, agitated behavior. There have been cases of prolonged use leading to chronic psychosis. 455x455pxWith a chemical structure resembling amphetamines and other precursors, myristicin can also be used to synthesize illicit hallucinogenic drugs. Under controlled conditions, myristicin isolated from nutmeg oil can be converted into MMDMA, a synthetic "designer drug" amphetamine derivative that is less potent than MDMA but produces comparable stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. A 400 mg dose of myristicin has been shown to produce “mild cerebral stimulation” in 4 out of 10 human subjects. Myristicin is most commonly consumed in nutmeg, and 400 mg would be contained in approximately 15 g of nutmeg powder. However, at a minimum dose of about 5 g of nutmeg powder, symptoms of nutmeg intoxication can begin to emerge, indicating the interaction of other compounds contained in nutmeg. Elemicin and Safrole are also components of nutmeg that, while at lower concentrations than myristicin, are thought to contribute to the hallucinogenic and physiological symptoms of nutmeg intoxication. = Toxicity = Myristicin has been proven to be cytotoxic, or toxic to living cells. Specifically, it stimulates cytochrome c release, which activates caspase cascades and induces early apoptosis in the cells. In human neuroblastoma SK- N-SH cells, myristicin led to apoptosis and observable morphological changes, as well as chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. This indicates a definite cytotoxic effect, and a potential neurotoxic effect that requires further investigation. Myristicin has also been shown to inhibit cytochrome P450 enzymes in humans, which is responsible for metabolizing a variety of substrates including hormones and toxins, allowing these substrates to accumulate. This can compound its own toxicity and/or lead to increased bioavailability of other substances, which can lower the threshold for overdose from other drugs that may be in the body. The effects of nutmeg consumed in large doses are attributed mostly to myristicin, where 1–7 hours following ingestion symptoms include disorientation, giddiness, stupor, and/or stimulation of the central nervous system leading to euphoria, intense hallucinations that alter one's orientation to time and surroundings, feelings of levitation, loss of consciousness, tachycardia, weak pulse, anxiety, and hypertension. Symptoms of nutmeg intoxication further include nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, dryness of mouth, mydriasis or miosis, hypotension, shock, and potentially death. Myristicin poisoning can be detected by testing levels of myristicin in the blood. There are currently no known antidotes for myristicin poisoning, and treatment focuses on symptom management and potential sedation in cases of extreme delirium or aggravation. Pharmacology Myristicin is soluble in ethanol and acetone, but insoluble in water Myristicin is additionally known to be a weak inhibitor of monoamine oxidase (MAO), a liver enzyme in humans that metabolizes neurotransmitters (e.g., serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine). It lacks the basic nitrogen atom that is typical of MAO inhibitors (MAOIs), potentially explaining a weaker inhibitory effect. While smaller concentrations of MAOIs may not cause problems, there are additional warnings regarding drug interactions. Those taking antidepressants that are MAOIs (e.g. Phenelzine, Isocarboxazid, Tranylcypromine, Selegiline) or taking selective serotonin re- uptake inhibiting (SSRI) antidepressants should avoid essential oils rich in myristicin, such as that of nutmeg or anise. Myristicin has also been shown to have anti-cholinergic activity, therefore symptoms of myristicin poisoning overlap largely with those of anticholinergic toxicity. It is thought that myristicin frequently leads to miosis while mydriasis is more typical of anticholinergic toxicity, but there is more research needed on this distinction. Myristicin also has potential chemoprotective properties. In mouse liver and small intestine mucosa, myristicin induced higher levels of glutathione S-transferase (GST), which catalyzes a reaction that detoxifies activated carcinogens. This indicates that myristicin may act as an inhibitor of tumorigenesis. It is still unknown how much the tendency of myristicin to induce apoptosis in cells contributes to its chemoprotective abilities. References Category:Plant toxin insecticides Category:Monoamine oxidase inhibitors Category:Phenylpropenes Category:O-Methylated phenylpropanoids Category:O-Methylated natural phenols Category:Benzodioxoles Category:Allyl compounds Category:Pyrogallol ethers "