forage friday: spurge

Last week I posted some foraged spurge in this beautiful Nippon demitasse pot and cups. This set was given to me via my sister-law from her family. Yes, I grab the common old spurge from an empty lot. There is tons of it growing everywhere right now. It looks almost as good this week as when I picked it and put it in water. (I didn’t remember to change the water either.)

simple rustic floral arrangement in a classic container

 

it’s a weed

Keep in mind it is considered a weed so, dispose of it appropriately and not in your compost. Most spurge plants have a milky white sap when cut or damaged. This sap is generally poisonous and is what makes the plant deer- and rabbit-resistant. The sap is an irritant to humans as well, so wear gloves when you are handling spurge as it can cause a skin rash. Also, avoid getting the sap in your eyes; it can cause vision problems—even blindness. So really, don’t lick the sap off your fingers or stick it in your eye and you’ll be fine.

demitasse coffee cups so cute

Nippon

A quick word about the meaning of “Nippon” porcelain. It means it comes from Japan and was imported at a time when European porcelain was getting very expensive. In 1891 the U.S. McKinley Tariff Act forbade the import of items that weren’t “plainly marked, stamped, branded or labeled in legible English words.” Nippon is an English word approximating a pronunciation of the Japanese word for Japan, but in 1921 the word was ruled Japanese in origin, so Nippon was no longer accepted. From then on the word to be used was “Japan”. Because of this it was easy to narrow down the time of manufacturing. That was until the 1970’s when lot of fakes started to come into the market. Do I know if the set is from 1891-1921 period? No, I haven’t got a clue. If you have any good ideas what to look for let me know.

beautiful simple pattern

 

It’s a beautiful delicate set and very much my mother-in-law’s taste, classy & refined.  I don’t know if she would have got a kick out of it having spurge in it or not? She liked surprising people with a little irreverent comment, now and then.  I’m sure eventually the set will go to another family member for them to enjoy.

 

What have you found this week? Post a picture on the foraged post on The Nut House Facebook page or use the hashtag #foragefriday for Instagram.

Note:  sharing doesn’t have to be on a Friday, that just for me so I remember to share at least once a week because time is flying out the window.

Have a great weekend, enjoy the sunshine, rain       … whatever gets thrown at you 😉

 

 

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