Post by JustPlainKitty on Feb 28, 2009 11:38:19 GMT -5
Well I figured since we've decided to throw out the plants we would like to see on Pern for mod consideration and discussion, I'd start the discussion with my pet plant: Hemp. As a maker of hemp twine jewelry I adore this plant and would love to be able to write about it.
Please keep in mind Hemp is different from Cannabis (though the two plants are related). Hemp refers to the plant used for industrial production for things such as clothing, paper, rope, brick, etc. I'll leave the Cannabis discussion to the healers.
First off, some education about hemp. Read the Wikipedia article HERE. There are many other articles on the history of hemp, production, etc but Wiki has much of it bundled right there and presented in a non-biased manner.
When the settlers first came to Pern they likely would have brought a variety of plants native to their home world in order to be sure they had what they needed for a budding colony. Since they would have known that not everything would find the new planet as friendly as it's current one, it is likely they would have brought samples of everything they could get their hands on. Plants that have the highest yield and most variety of uses would have been included, regardless of how the culture and society we live in views them.
Currently our society regards "hemp" as a "drug". However this is a misnomer. Hemp refers to the industrial plant which has insufficient THC to be even remotely psychoactive. The value in the plant comes from the fibrous stems which can be made into rope and twine of various weights, cloth, paper, and as a strengthening agent in brickwork. The oil from the seed has a variety of nutritional benefits and can be used to create paints, cosmetics, lotions and oils (itchy hide?).
In addition to the variety of uses, hemp produces larger amounts of product from smaller plots of land. The growing of hemp is also very good for the environment; it produces greater amounts of oxygen, is it's own weed control (eliminating the need for herbicides), is highly bug resistant (eliminating the need for pesticides), and puts nitrogen back into the soil itself.
Hemp also grows strong in a variety of climates. It does not need an exclusively warm climate, excessive water, certain type of soil, etc. Every continent in our world produces hemp successfully, save Antarctica. And though it grows best in the rich, dark soils with strong moisture content and vegetable matter. An effective composting program would help to ensure that the plant has the nutrition it needs for the best growth.
Now with such a huge variety of uses, the sturdiness of the adult plant, the accelerated rate at which it grows, and its own contributions to the environment I can't imagine the settlers leaving such a versatile plant out of their mix. Hemp is one of the earliest cultivated fiber plants in our own history and there is a reason why. If our own ancestors, without the benefit of technology as we know it, could identify the usefulness of this plant, exploit it in so many ways that WE get our ideas for it from THEM, then certainly it would be pretty high on the "must have" list of the Pernese settlers.
Please keep in mind Hemp is different from Cannabis (though the two plants are related). Hemp refers to the plant used for industrial production for things such as clothing, paper, rope, brick, etc. I'll leave the Cannabis discussion to the healers.
First off, some education about hemp. Read the Wikipedia article HERE. There are many other articles on the history of hemp, production, etc but Wiki has much of it bundled right there and presented in a non-biased manner.
When the settlers first came to Pern they likely would have brought a variety of plants native to their home world in order to be sure they had what they needed for a budding colony. Since they would have known that not everything would find the new planet as friendly as it's current one, it is likely they would have brought samples of everything they could get their hands on. Plants that have the highest yield and most variety of uses would have been included, regardless of how the culture and society we live in views them.
Currently our society regards "hemp" as a "drug". However this is a misnomer. Hemp refers to the industrial plant which has insufficient THC to be even remotely psychoactive. The value in the plant comes from the fibrous stems which can be made into rope and twine of various weights, cloth, paper, and as a strengthening agent in brickwork. The oil from the seed has a variety of nutritional benefits and can be used to create paints, cosmetics, lotions and oils (itchy hide?).
In addition to the variety of uses, hemp produces larger amounts of product from smaller plots of land. The growing of hemp is also very good for the environment; it produces greater amounts of oxygen, is it's own weed control (eliminating the need for herbicides), is highly bug resistant (eliminating the need for pesticides), and puts nitrogen back into the soil itself.
Hemp also grows strong in a variety of climates. It does not need an exclusively warm climate, excessive water, certain type of soil, etc. Every continent in our world produces hemp successfully, save Antarctica. And though it grows best in the rich, dark soils with strong moisture content and vegetable matter. An effective composting program would help to ensure that the plant has the nutrition it needs for the best growth.
Now with such a huge variety of uses, the sturdiness of the adult plant, the accelerated rate at which it grows, and its own contributions to the environment I can't imagine the settlers leaving such a versatile plant out of their mix. Hemp is one of the earliest cultivated fiber plants in our own history and there is a reason why. If our own ancestors, without the benefit of technology as we know it, could identify the usefulness of this plant, exploit it in so many ways that WE get our ideas for it from THEM, then certainly it would be pretty high on the "must have" list of the Pernese settlers.
