> >What plant has been consumed since 2737 BC and is still popular
> >in most of the world, can be grown in most of the US but few people
> >grow it? This plant motivated England to go to war and is now gaining
> >popularity as a healing herb.
On 16 Sep 99, at 22:52, Terry J. Klokeid wrote:
> I'd have guessed that you were suggesting the opium poppy, since
> (1) everybody grows it
> (2) USA magazines often refer to its illegality in that country
> (3) Britain waged the Opium Wars against China.
Ah... thanks for the guesses. Opium is close and does fit the question.
There is a better answer though.
> Tea is the third possible answer
Tea is the answer. The Opium War between England and China was
actually caused by tea and not opium. England wanted tea and need
money to balance its trade with China. The answer they came up with
was to sell opium to china and use the money to buy tea. At that time
all tea was controlled by China.
A good history of tea can be found at: http://www.teatalk.com/index.htm
What i find interesting is the limited cultivation of tea outside of India and
China.
> >Many plants contain tanic acid, is this the same as tannins?
This question caught me by surprise. I had always assumed
tannins were the same as tanic acid. Actually...
The formula for Tannic Acid (Acidum Tannicum) is:
C14 H10 O9
The formula for Tea Tannins is:
C20 H20 O9
A few months ago i started growing a tea (Camellia sinensis) plant
and that is what prompted this quiz. A lot of the information i'm
finding is new to me and i thought someone else might enjoy it
also. I'll write up a summary in a few days.
----
jeff owens, [EMAIL PROTECTED], http://www.teleport.com/~kowens
underground house, solar power, self-reliance, edible landscape
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