Series Introduction
The tragedy of American gardens, palates and indeed agriculture in general is its overall ignorance to the potential of its own exotic native fruits. We are faced with climate change and economic crisis in a world where health and sustainable agriculture are increasingly important. It is time to consider the untapped potential, the abundant cornucopia if you will, of our own fruits.
This article is the first part of a series of articles outlining overlooked, native plants with incredible potential their uses for everything from medicines to biodegradable plastics to tropical smoothies. Importantly plants are not only remarkable, and tough-enough to be "climate-change" proof, but can be grown effortlessly by anyone in their yard..
The main focus of Capital Cacti is in researching and spreading awareness to the potential of these overlooked crops. Although we will happily sell some of these species, our intention here is not to advertise, but to inform. These are remarkable plants and the right grow and benefit from these plants belongs to everyone, so long as it is done ethically.
How this works
I am a student of science, so I have a tendency to get a bit technical, to avoid that most (not all) of the articles follow a format divided up into four sections to make the information as digestible and reader friendly as possible.
Overview: A basic summary of the plant
Why Should I Care?: Explanation of the plants potential and why its so darn important.
Fast Facts: Includes the plants "stats" in categories like lifespan, habitat, pollinators, predators, et cetera
Everything Else: A detailed report on the plant, its chemistry, history and other aspects, for those who are so inclined.
What's growing on out there?
Among our cornucopia of native plants there are Vanilla beans (actually a genus, Vanilla, of vining orchid), passion fruit and cold hardy prickly pears among others, all with flavors and uses to rival those of more tropical regions.
Others like Hopniss (Apios americana), Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) and Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) you may not have even heard of, but have the potential, with enough research, to change the face of American agriculture.
Still others, although not explicitly native, like kiwi, banana and turmeric, have seemingly naturalized themselves to our environment and climate and could provide potential benefits as well.
Check out the article series below:
Credit for all images used in this series that do not belong to capital cacti goes to their respective owners
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