"Lily of the valley" - Convallaria majalis L.

Lily of the valley is a highly poisonous herbaceous perennial flowering plant with sweetly scented bell-shaped white flowers.

Synonyms: Mary's tears, Our lady's tears, Muguet (French).
Family: Asparagaceae
Geographical distribution: It is a native of Europe. Also found in Asia.

How to tell the age of a tree

       
      If we examine the trunk of a tree that has been chopped down, we will see first of all the outer ring of the bark which acts as a sort of waterproof coat for the tree. Inside the outer covering come a number of concentric rings. 

Each one of these rings represents a year in the life of the tree. The space between the rings is the wood which the tree produced during one year.

        By counting the number of rings we can tell when the tree has born. These rings also indicate the dry periods the tree lived through as well as wet periods. In dry times the rings are very thin. In heavy rainfall years, the rings are thicker.

       The slender course of wood can be taken from a tree, from the bark to the center of the trunk: these samples reveal the same information and are taken with a borer that does so significant damage to the tree.

       Scientists can learn about the climatic changes that happened in the past by studying the shape and size of the rings.

How cedar oil is made

       Cedar oil or cedarwood oil is an essential oil, which the ancient peoples used to embalm dead bodies. It was also once used to coat books to preserve them from insects and damp. 

Cedar oil
Image courtesy: 
Itineranttrader/
Wikimedia commons
(CC0)

       The oil is produced by distilling it from the African cedar and is an essential oil which has a pleasing scent. These oils are used for the scenting or flavouring of numerous products, such as perfumes, cosmetics and soaps.

    The African cedar grows in the north of that continent, especially on the Atlas Mountains. It is a very imposing conifer that bears many leaves and grows to a height of more than 40 meters. It closely resembles the more famous cedar of Lebanon which was also highly prized by the ancient peoples.

       Cedarwood is soft and rich in resin. It can be worked easily and is used extensively in building and furniture-making. Cedarwood and cedar oil are known to be a natural repellent to moths.