Recently, curators from the Botany section have been working on an AHRC-funded project, Rights and Rites. The project aims to co-create new interpretations for South Asian specimens, drawing on people’s lived-experiences and cultural understanding of the specimens’ country of origin; to engage community groups of Asian heritage with relevant biocultural specimens; and to encourage dialogue and knowledge-exchange about the South Asian flora.

We have developed new partnerships with several members of the local Asian community through a series of interactive workshops.  These events provided a wonderful opportunity to share knowledge about the use of plant products in cooking and medicine, in traditional Asian cultures.  Here guest blogger, Hasminder Kaur Aulakh, shares her experience of using fennel, fenugreek and green cardamon at home.

Spices and herbs are staples of kitchens all over the world and their smell can invoke memories of home, family, events, and happy memories. These seeds, leaves, stems, and husks have a place in the heart, reminding us of our ancestors, homelands, and roots, and in the body by helping us cure and ease ailments. 

Saumph (Fennel)

Take the humble fennel, or Saumph as my Punjabi family refer to it, which can be found in South Asian households as dried seeds or in powdered form. Saumph is a key ingredient of the palate cleansing mix of seeds offered by many Indian restaurants to freshen one’s breath, and this mix is often kept in Indian homes for the residents and guests after meals. However, this seed also assists with digestion due to the high fibre content, which can come in handy after a large meal, and is said to calm the intestinal lining. Babies with colic are often fed saumph seeds in water. Chewing saumph is also linked to stabilising blood pressure and regulating heart rate.

The digestive benefits of saumph can be complemented with mooli, white radish in English, and saumph is a necessary ingredient in the making of mooli wala paronthe. Saumph is also a key ingredient in cha, Indian masala tea, and in Ayurveda steeping saumph is the most effective way of consuming the herb. 

Methi (Fenugreek)

Methi, known as fenugreek in English, is another staple of Indian households. This herb is useful as fresh and leaves and as seeds. Fresh methi leaves is to Indian cooking what fresh basil is to Italian cooking, and the widely popular Punjabi dish of butter chicken wouldn’t taste the same without a sprinkling of methi on top. As well as improving the taste of food methi contains saponins which can help reduce the absorption of cholesterol, improving the eater’s health. Methi is also a popular preservative for pickles. 

Methi has a place in home remedies as well, such as being made into a tea along with honey and lemon to help break fevers. Skin issues are also said to be helped by treating them with methi paste, such as eczema, burns and abscesses. Methi paste can also be used to treat an itchy scalp and dandruff and is used in cosmetic soaps for this purpose. Some believe methi to have antacid properties, and when ingested can reduce heartburn.

Elaichi (Green Cardamom)

Despite being considered a truly divisive herb, with some not being able to stand the taste and others who can happily eat a whole pod raw, elaichi nonetheless has a steadfast place in South Asian kitchen. From its use in savoury dishes such as biryani and bread to sweet treats like cha and sweets elaichi’s importance in South Asian cooking and baking cannot be denied. Elaichi’s form in a kitchen, much like its uses, are versatile and can be found in pod, seed, and/or powder form, and can be green or black. Green elaichi is the more commonly used in South Asia, but elaichi is used all over the world in its various forms.

Elaichi is thought to have antimicrobial properties, and has therefore been used herbal treatments against harmful bacteria. Much like the earlier discussed saumph, elaichi’s antimicrobial properties make it a top choice for use as a mouth freshener and it is thought that chewing on the pods can aid in the fight against oral bacteria that can cause problems such as infections and cavities in teeth. It is also thought to be a powerful anti-inflammatory, and consumption of the herb is said to aid with digestion and help avoid problems such as acid reflux and stomach cramping. The anti-inflammatory properties also lend itself to being helpful with relieving sore throats when steeped in hot water or tea.

And there we have it, the versatility of herbs and spices in South Asia. Whilst these do not replace strong antibiotics, vaccines, or painkillers, they can certainly help with minor conditions. The great smelling and tasting herbs and spices that create South Asian cuisine have such an important role to play in keeping our stomach’s full and bodies healthy, and these uses have been passed down through generations.

Over the last 7 months curators have been working on an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project, Rights and Rites. The project aims to work with members of the local community to reinterpret Botany specimens from South Asia, primarily in the Economic Botany Collection, to provide cultural context, to understand traditional methods of using the plant products and to improve access to the collections.

The Economic Botany Collection, comprising approximately 5500 specimens, contains a variety of different plant products, such as leaves, roots, fibres and seeds, all with significant economic, cultural or medicinal value. In addition, the project has drawn on collections of herbarium specimens, botanical illustrations, lower plant specimens and materia medica.

A key approach to making the collections more accessible is to digitise the specimens, producing images that can be shared with museum staff, researchers and communities outside of the museum.   Several techniques have been used to digitise the specimens, depending on the size and form of the specimens.

Working with different equipment and technology, Research Assistant Nathan Kitto has built up a collection of over a thousand images that include vascular herbarium sheets, specimens in jars and boxes and beautiful hand drawn illustrations. These images will be stored on the museum’s Natural Sciences online image library, along with specimen data, which can then be used as a research and reference tool. In future the images will be made more widely available through Collections Online

Initially 2D images were created using a high quality digital SLR camera.  This is a vital step to record unique details of the specimen, including accession number, common name and scientific species name and origin.  A colour chart is normally included in the image to ensure consistency in colour, size and scale. Micrograph equipment also has been used to take extreme close ups of specimens. By magnifying the specimen, it is possible to distinguish fine details which cannot normally be seen, giving a completely different dimension. 

New high-tech 3D scanning equipment has been purchased recently, supported by a grant from AHRC. Very detailed 3D scans have been produced of selected specimens that were suitable in terms of size and shape. The equipment allows us to capture a full 3D image of a specimen and permits end-users to rotate the specimen so that it can be viewed from any angle, providing quite a different perspective compared to a two-dimensional image. 

The scanners work by taking multiple frames or images of the object from different angles to build up a real 3D image. One type of scanner, the Artec Micro, has a more automated process; with the equipment doing most of the work, by rotating and choosing specific angles from which to take high quality images. In contrast, the Artec Space Spider is a handheld scanner, controlled by the operator, that takes a higher number of images while the object is rotating. It was very easy to use and was very accurate as well. After acquiring enough images from different orientations, the images are then merged using specialised Artec Studio software. With a few tweaks and repositioning, a 3D model is created and uploaded to Sketchfab. This is the online studio where the 3D image of the specimen can be optimised with lighting and positional edits. The Economic Botany 3D image library, which can be found here, displays 21 models of specimens, supplemented by information on traditional medicinal and cultural uses of individual species.

There are many benefits of creating 3D models of museum specimens; they make the collection accessible to anyone, and suitable for online searches. Preservation of the object is facilitated, since it allows the user to get a close look at delicate objects without the danger of causing damage. A digital asset will not deteriorate with time and can be copied and stored in multiple places and it also can be used to create 3D printed models. Furthermore, a digital 3D object allows for a different interaction with an object. 

The 3D models have been used to make museum specimens accessible to members of the public during community workshops.  This form of engagement generated very positive feedback and provided a good starting point for discussions about museum collections and the many uses of the specimens. The creation of these 3D models is just the starting point.  The curators on the Rights and Rites project look forward to seeing how people will continue to interact with the models in the future and hope it can be a useful and engaging resource for the public and museum to share.  If you have any comments about the objects shown in this blog, then please contact: Heather.Pardoe@museumwales.ac.uk.

‘What a vista of possibilities is opened up in this wonderful discovery … Surely it marks the dawn of a new era – with what results, who can tell?’

With these words, the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Alderman Dr J. J. E. Biggs, opened the Cardiff Station of the British Broadcasting Company at 5.00pm on 13 February 1923. Three months after the BBC began broadcasting from its London station with the call sign 2LO, Wales had its own station – 5WA – which brought a diet of music, talks, and religious services to listeners in Cardiff, the south Wales valleys, and over the Bristol Channel in parts of the west of England.

Humble beginnings

From humble beginnings in a small studio above a cinema in Castle Street, the BBC in Wales grew to play a major part in the life of the nation. Despite being placed in the so-called ‘West Region’ in the BBC’s Regional Scheme in 1930s, pressure from institutions, groups and concerned individuals from across Wales resulted in the establishment of the Welsh Region in 1937, giving the nation a clear sense of identity. Indeed, the historian, John Davies, once argued that Wales was an entity created by broadcasting.

The advent of television and the opening of the Wenvoe transmitter in August 1952 heralded a new era in the history of the BBC in Wales. However, as transmitters did not respect national boundaries, Wales was once again ‘tied’ to the west of England, which led to complaints on both sides of the channel. The decision to create a BBC Cymru Wales service in February 1964 was a step to resolve the issue. The BBC was required to produce 7 hours of Welsh-language and 5 hours of English-language programming for Wales. Further public pressure and an increased understanding of the needs of Wales on the part of the BBC’s management in London led to the establishment of national radio stations Radio Cymru and Radio Wales in the late 1970s. The establishment of S4C in 1982 changed the broadcasting landscape of Wales and the BBC continues to play a major part in the success of the channel.

The future

And what of the future for the BBC in Wales? Well, radio is holding its ground well in the multi-platform age. Wales had the greatest proportion of radio listeners than any other nation in the UK and loyalty to BBC stations is clear. Television, which came to Wales just over 70 years ago, faces challenges from streaming services but continues to inform, educate and entertain. There are threats from a UK government which questions the whole raison d’etre of public service broadcasting and the licence fee has been called into question (although that particular debate appears to have been put on the back burner … for now).

Whatever your views on the BBC, there is no doubting the central role has played in Welsh life for a century. Happy Birthday BBC Cymru Wales – and here’s to the next hundred years!

Jamie Medhurst

Professor of Media and Communication

Aberystwyth University

The BBC 100 in Wales exhibition continues at National Museum Cardiff until 16 April 2023.

The MET Office have issued weather warnings for fog for large parts of the UK today. Fog is dangerous when travelling because it causes poor visibility. Have you walked in a thick fog before? I’ve walked into a fog where I could only see about a foot to either side of me. It was thrilling, but I was on a long, even, mostly empty beach at the time. I wouldn’t have liked to be crossing roads or surrounded by obstacles I couldn’t see. 

Fog is made of water droplets smaller than rain drops. Some parts of the world use nets designed to capture the water droplets of fog, which provides a supply of water in areas that don’t see much rain. Some places call this ‘sky fishing’ or ‘stealing from the sky’. How much water do you think can be collected from fog? The MET Office website states that ‘if you were to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with fog and then somehow condense it, you would be left with around 1.25 litres of water (or just over 2 pints).’ 

Do you know the difference between mist and fog? It’s visibility! The Met Office states that ‘If you can see more than 1,000 metres it's called mist, but if it is thicker and the visibility drops below 1,000 metres it's called fog.’ Mist and fog are both formed from water droplets collecting in the air, but mist is less dense (meaning an Olympic sized pool full of mist would provide less water when condensed) this means it can be seen through easier and is less likely to stick around for a long time. 

Fog can also be described as a cloud forming at ground level. This is because fog and clouds form in the same way. They are the result of warm, moist air being cooled. Water vapour in the air cools to form water droplets. For example, think about how the water vapour from a hot shower, clings to the cool glass of a mirror as condensation. Or, how on a cold day your breath forms a mist when you exhale, as your warm breath mixes with the cold air. Clouds form when warm, moist air meets with cooler air flows. Fog often forms when warm, moist air is cooled by cold surfaces. For this reason, fog is more common in autumn and winter when the ground is coldest. Except for coastal fog, which is more common when warm, moist summer air meets the cold surface of the sea. 

Water droplets in fog cause poor visibility by reflecting light, which can distort shapes and make it difficult to judge distances. The MET Office refers to thick fog when visibility is below 180m and dense fog when it’s below 50m (that’s the length of the Olympic sized pool we’ve been talking about!). It’s interesting to note that thicker fogs often form in industrial areas. This is because water droplets cling to tiny particles in the air. At the coast the water usually attaches to salt particles in the air. In industrial areas it’s often particles of air pollution that the water collects around. This means that industrial areas (which are usually the areas of highest air pollution) are more likely to see thicker fogs, because there are more particles in the air for the water to cling to. 

Fog that mixes with air pollution is often called smog (smoke fog). Smog can turn the sky green, yellow, red, brown, black or grey. It’s been a problem since the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700’s, which saw an increase in coal burning for industry (for example to fuel factories and steam trains). In December 1952 London saw what become known as ‘The Great Smog’, during which weather conditions trapped the smoke from coal fires and produced ideal conditions for the formation of a dense fog. Combined, this caused poor air quality that was extremely dangerous. The Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968 were a direct result of this, reducing emissions of black smoke. As a result, fewer smogs were reported in the UK in the following decades. 

However, since then something known as Photochemical smog (or summer fog) has become more common, especially in largely populated industrial cities with warm climates. This forms when sunlight reacts with pollution particles in the air (nitrogen oxides from car exhausts or coal burning and volatile organic compounds from gasoline, cleaning products and household aerosols). Photochemical smog is bad for our health and damaging to crops and plants. It forms without smoke or fog and is only named the same (smog) because the resulting haze is similar. 

So, what can we do? Well, raising awareness by talking to others about what you learn is key. That's why I'm writing this blog and telling you!  We can also think about how we can reduce chemicals in the atmosphere. We might choose to walk, cycle or get the bus rather than travel by car. We might choose natural household cleaners and detergents over chemical ones. It can be as simple as choosing a roll-on deodorant over a spray (aerosol) one. By talking about what we learn we can encourage others to sign petitions that raise awareness of issues like air quality and  to vote for politicians who show by their voting record that they take issues relating to climate seriously. There are lots of things that can be done, gaining an understanding of the problems and their causes is the first step. 

Let’s look at the weather observations sent in by schools this week. I wonder if anyone has mentioned the fog!

School comments:

Stanford in the Vale Primary School: It’s been a windy week and we have finally got to see two digit numbers with the temperatures finally. We can see spring is just around the corner with buds on the trees and snowdrops around the school grounds. We are checking our bulbs every day at the moment. 

Livingston Village Primary School: We noticed that all the bulbs have started to grow which are the daffodils. Last year’s daffodils have started growing too.

Irvinestown Primary School: We had snow this week!

Logan Primary School: We have some little green shoots in our plantpots

Sacred Heart Primary School – Omagh: Our bulbs are shooting in both the pots and the ground

St Mary's Primary School (Newry): Still no sight of flowers but the shoots are up for the leaves. 

Gavinburn Primary School: After all the rain last week the has been none at all this week and it has felt really cold.

Roseacre Primary Academy: WE can't wait for the flowers.

St Anne's Catholic Primary School – Knowsley: Other days not recorded as ground frozen and path slippery

Fleet Wood Lane Primary School: We are starting to take pictures of the bulbs because we can see the start of the daffodil flowers.

Hello bulb buddies,

What an interesting time to be studying and observing the weather! Most of you will have had frost and cold winds this last week. I've heard that many schools have had to close in January because of the effects of extreme weather conditions, such as ice and floods.  Even on days where schools were open, conditions in the school grounds may have meant you weren’t able to collect weather data.

It’s likely that you’ve heard people talking about weather warnings a lot recently. Weather warnings are released by the MET Office (the UK’s official weather service) and are colour coded (green, yellow, amber and red) to indicate how extreme the weather will be in different areas.

Green: weather is not expected to be extreme.

Yellow: possibility of extreme weather so you should be aware of it.

Amber (orange): strong chance of the weather effecting you in some way, so be prepared.

Red: extreme weather expected, plan ahead and follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities.

The Met Office also use symbols to indicate what type of weather to expect. For example, the symbols to the right show (in order) a red warning for rain, green for wind, green for snow, amber for ice and green for fog. This means there will be heavy rain and that you should prepare for ice. Why not have a look at the Met Office website and see what the weather forecast is for where you live?

The Met Office warn us about bad weather so that we can prepare for it. This is because extreme weather (such as strong winds and ice) can cause difficulties and make it hard to travel. Roads and train lines can close, flights can be cancelled, and walking conditions can be dangerous.

What was the weather like where you live? If you weren’t able to collect weather records you can enter ‘no record’ on the online form, but please let me know in the comment section what the weather was like! You can also let me know how your plants are doing and whether they have begun to sprout!

Keep up the good work Bulb Buddies,

Professor Plant