GardenBanter.co.uk - Reed-stem Epidendrum: Grip's White

On Sun, 18 May 2003 14:20:43 -0400, "Ray @ First Rays Orchids"
wrote:

Paul's name is spelled with two L's.

Right. That should have been Epidendrum 'Gripp's White.' My
oversight.

There's nothing in Wildcatt.

Thank you for that information, Ray.

White is one of the more difficult reed-stem Epidendrum colors to find
in the marketplace. SBOE offers Tokyo Snow, and Yamada offers Kauai
Snow, and there is the little E. mosenii alba, but I haven't yet seen
any good sized white flowers. Perhaps Gripp's White will be larger
than those. Someone was selling a nice sized white at $55 each at the
last show I attended, but that's a little expensive IMO.

Incidently, I ran across this bit of trivia while researching:

http://www.nurseminerva.co.uk/pain1.htm

After cooking with hot chillies, my finger tips burned for a long
period of time (and still are as I type this), presumably because
of the chemical "capsaicin," which I read about in one of your
articles. How can I relieve this burning in my fingertips? I have
washed my hands many times since I was cooking, and even tried
soaking my fingertips in milk. But those didn't work. Any
suggestions?
26th March 2000

Various substances have been found to moderate the burning
sensation produced by capsaicin, but they are not the sorts of
thing found in an average household. For example, an extract from
the stem of the orchid Epidendrum Mosenii (Ferreira et al, 2000),
the anaesthetics lidocaine (Koppert et al, 2000) and EMLA
(Yosipovitch et al, 1999), and a cannabinoid (Ko and Woods, 1999).
One of the reasons behind this research is to find a way of
reducing the unpleasant burning sensation produced when capsaicin
is applied to the skin in the treatment of the chronic neurogenic
pain that follows shingles. Using capsaicin alone, the discomfort
of the treatment during the first week causes many patients to
give up prematurely.

If the idea of applying a local anaesthetic to your finger tips
before cooking with chillies is not appealing, the other options
that you have are prevention: manipulate the chillies with a fork
while cutting to avoid contact with the skin or wear disposable
gloves, or adaptation: use the chillies so regularly that you
become tolerant of the effect.

References

Ferreira, J., Floriani, A.E., Filho, V.C., Delle Monache, F.,
Yunes, R.A., Calixto, J.B., and Santos, A.R. (2000)
Antinociceptive properties of the methanolic extract and two
triterpenes isolated from Epidendrum Mosenii stems (Orchidaceae).
Life Science, 66(9), 791-802 (Jan 21).

Floriani, A. E.; Ferreira, J.; Santos, A. R. S.; Delle-Monache,
F.; Yunes, R. A.; Cechinel-Filho, V.: Analgesic compounds from
Epidendrum mosenii stems

Ferreira, J.; Floriani, A.E.O.; Cechinel Filho, V.; Monache, F.D.;
Calixto, J.B. and Santos, A.R.S. Antinociceptive properties of the
methanolic extract and two triterpenes isolated from Epidendrum
mosenii stems (Orchidaceae). Life Sciences, 66 (9): 791-802, 2000.

Ko, M.C., and Woods, J.H. (1999) Local administration of
delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol attenuates capsaicin-induced thermal
nociception in rhesus monkeys: a peripheral cannabinoid action.
Psychopharmacology (Berl), 143(3), 322-326 (Apr).

Koppert, W., Ostermeier, N., Sittl, R., Weidner, C., and Schmelz,
M. (2000) Low-dose lidocaine reduces secondary hyperalgesia by a
central mode of action. Pain, 85(1-2), 217-224 (Mar).

Yosipovitch, G., Maibach, H.I., and Rowbotham, M.C. (1999) Effect
of EMLA pre-treatment on capsaicin-induced burning and
hyperalgesia. Acta Dermatology Venereology, 79(2), 118-121 (Mar).

http://www.sbq.org.br/publicacoes/qu...vol23n5/16.pdf

Synonyms Epidendrum mosenii Barb. Rodr. 1881; Epidendrum rodriguesii
Cogn. 1898; Epidendrum strobiliferum var. swartzii Rchb. f. ex
Griseb.1864; Epidendrum verecundum Schltr. 1922; Isochilus ramosus H.
Focke 1851; Spathiger strobiliferus (Rchb. f.) Small 1933

http://147.46.94.112/e_journals/pdf_.../l03_66903.pdf