The Elixir of Life sparks fascination and wanderlust. A fountain of youth or elixir of immortality, it's desperately sought by the first...

A mythical serpent or dragon, ouroboros appears in literature and illustration from ancient Greece. Tales of ouroboros spread east, and...

Copper (Cu) is one of the original seven metals of antiquity and has been used for thousands of years. This metal is found in the ground...

Benefits of mulberry (Morus) include personal health, wood, silk, color for yarn and food. Romantic myth surrounds fruitful mulberry...

Amanita muscaria , fly agaric or fly amanita is the most widely recognized of the psychoactive plants and fungi. The use, folklore and...

If drinking elderberry wine or tea, one might see pixies. Early Germans are animists. Spirits or spirit energies inhabit all living...

Holly, yew and mistletoe, the most cheerful and celebrated of seasonal plants, are also the most poisonous. These three toxic beauties...

Death Cap Mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) are deadly poisons of assassination and accident. Native to Europe, death caps are naturalized...

The Nachzehrer or German vampire is a type of Wiedergänger , a ghoul of the Undead who rises from the grave to terrorize mortals. A...

Caraway (Carum carvi) is a cooking and medicinal herb with a pungent anise taste, known for its strong spicy fruits, called seeds. It's...

Notorious alchemist Dippel appears in German history and science in the 17th century. Achieving moderate success with Dippel's Animal...

Moss people inhabit deep forests, trees, ancient rocks and rills. Nature spirits of German mythology, they can appear in various forms...

In the nineteenth century , Victorians are outdoors more than ever before as health spas flourish, fresh air vacations came into vogue...

Plantain ( Plantago ) is a genus of low-growing plants with tall seed heads and narrow to broad green leaves. Part of history and folk...

Of the many flowers in Germanic folk medicine and herbology, none capture the romantic imagination more than the modest edelweiss (...

Trends in natural health, exercise, pets, fashion, the occult, mourning and taxidermy span the nineteenth century. On the British throne,...

In forests of German mythology, don't step on the Irrwurz ! The name of this plant translates as errant, astray or mad root. A state of...

Anna Connelly saves countless lives when she invents and patents the first modern fire escape in 1877. After the Civil War, Americans...

Linden (Tilia) is a beloved tree for love, longevity and music in Germanic culture and mythology. Homeowners plant a linden on the...

The home gym, antiseptic, bicycles and Bunsen burners all emerge in the 19th century . European engineers, scientists, physicians and...