[Aztlan] Possible flower match to earspool.

[Martha Gottlieb]

	Hi Folks   -   Looking at Justin's latest post -------- 
	It sure looks like a match to me.  It seems to me there are three species 
concerned here.
	Nicotiana glauca - Tree tobacco - the yellow flowered plant that is pictured.  
A powerful plant containing anabasine, similar to nicotine - and thus another 
hallucinogenic insecticide. 
	N. sylvestris - the other plant figured; is white flowered (usually).  This 
is a common flower garden plant - with a lovely fragrance.
	N. tabacum - tobacco itself.  The flower is usually shorter that  the long 
tubular earplugs illustrated by Justin.
	My question is --- why Tree Tobacco ?   Was it smoked?  That's one rough 
smoke.  Was it, like tobacco, added to Balche ?  Anabasine, like nicotine, is 
a cholinesterase inhibitor - but a stronger one.  It can be deadly, for 
instance, if it is mistaken for tobacco and chewed.   
	I know I've seen ear plugs like this here and there, but I don't  have a 
sense of how common  they are.   Are there any on vases?  
	Neat, Justin.   All this stuff under our noses all the time.   Observation!
			Martha Gottlieb

On Friday 23 February 2007 11:15 am, Justin Kerr wrote:
> Dear Friends.
>
> I thought I might throw this out for discussion. Although there has been
> considerable discussion as to the specific type of animal species in terms
> of supernaturals, the plant world doesn't get as much attention.
>
> Here is a possibility that certain types of ear decorations were based on
> the tobacco flower.
>
> The URL is www.mayavase.com/match.pdf
>
> Justin Kerr