Garden of the Gods Trivia Quiz

Answer: olive

The olive plant is a small tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean basin, now cultivated across the globe. The olive has a large single stone and is harvested when green or purple in colour.

While the olive originated during the Oligocene, and has been used by people in northern Africa for at least 100,000 years, it is thought that the olive wasn't cultivated until some 7,000 years ago. The oil from the olive was used as a fuel, while the flesh was used as food.

The olive was used symbolically in Ancient Greek and Roman history and represents abundance, glory and peace; the oil was, and sometimes still is, used in religious ceremonies.

Phoenix Rising's leith90, who is not particularly fond of olives, gladly offered them up for this quiz.

Answer: lavender

Lavender is grown for its beauty, for use in food, and for its essential oils, which convey its heady aroma to soaps, perfumes and more. The plant is in the mint family along with rosemary and thyme. It grows best in rocky, sandy soils and thrives with full sun and good drainage. Depending upon the species, it may grow as an herbaceous plant or as a small shrub. It matures in 100-130 days. In most cases the flowers are lavender (a purple shade) in color, but yellow and blue varieties exist. Quite popular, it has been planted far from its original range and is actually considered an invasive species in Australia. It is normally found throughout the Mediterranean, into Europe, northern Africa and as far as India to the east.

There are 47 species in the genus Lavandula; Lavandula angustifolia is the most widely cultivated. The name "lavender" has been postulated to relate to the French "lavandre" for washing, or from the Latin "livere" for bluish: the plant has been well known since ancient times, so the origin is hard to trace. It has also been called "nard," but the expensive nard perfume mentioned in the Bible (e.g. Mark 14:3) is likely a Himalayan plant called spikenard rather than lavender.

This question was planted by player pusdoc, who has visited lavender fields at the Abbey of Sénanque in Provence and at Sequim in Washington State.

Answer: St John's bread

Carob trees (Ceratonia siliqua) belong to the legume family, and the tree produces fruit in clusters of "pods" filled with 7-8 seeds. In Matthew 3:4, it states that John the Baptist ate "locusts and wild honey." Carob trees are also referred to as "locust bean trees," so some postulate that St. John consumed the pods of this tree rather than the insects known as locusts, despite the fact that grasshoppers/locusts are actually kosher. The prodigal son, whose story appears in Luke 15, was reduced to eating the pods fed to swine - carob pods were commonly used as feed for livestock. The seeds in the pod are generally very uniform in weight, hence they were used as a standard of measurement, leading to our word "carat."

The tree grows throughout the Mediterranean, with Portugal leading the world in cultivation. It prefers sandy, well-drained soil and is fairly drought-resistant, although it will not set fruit without regular watering. Carob pods are ground and used as a substitute for chocolate - the products do not contain caffeine or theobromine, so they are even safe for dogs to eat. The seeds are primarily used for production of locust bean gum, a food thickener.

Player pusdoc of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew would rather eat carob than locusts.

Answer: umbrella pine

Native to the Mediterranean, but occurring in many areas around the world - including places such as North Africa, South Africa, California, Canary Islands and New South Wales among other areas - the stone pine has travelled extensively due to its ornamental qualities. Also known as the Italian stone pine, they are the source of the valuable crop of pine nuts.

A coniferous evergreen, with mid-green, needle-like leaves, it can attain heights of 25 m (82 ft), forming an umbrella shaped canopy up to 8 m (26 ft) in width. Broad egg-shaped cones, that take 3 years to mature, are the source of the pine nuts that are dispersed by animal activity. The Iberian magpie was the main carrier, but humans generally play more a role in seed dispersal nowadays.

Red Crew's smpdit is partial to pine nuts, pesto, and umbrellas.

Answer: the appearance of its leaves

Also known as holm oak, the holly oak was so named because of the resemblance of its dark green foliage to that of the European holly (Ilex aquifolium); "holm" is also a name for the holly, though now obsolete. The glossy, leathery leaves of the holly oak, however, lack the spiny margin distinctive of the European holly, which is also native to the Mediterranean region. These two beautiful trees often occur together in the same forest habitat.

Like most oaks, the holly oak is a slow-growing but potentially very long-lived tree: a specimen in Sicily is believed to be over 700 years old. In favourable conditions, it can grow to nearly 30 m (98 ft) in height, and its trunk can reach a girth of over 6 m (20 ft). Though it is a tree that thrives in mild climates, and cannot tolerate severe frost, with climate change the holly oak has been spreading farther north, and is now found in parts of southern Great Britain such as the Isle of Wight.

The holly oak is mainly grown for ornamental purposes and as a source of firewood and charcoal, as its wood is hard, tough and difficult to work, as well as rich in tannins. An important tree in the culture of the Mediterranean region, the holly oak also has a symbiotic relationship (known as ectomycorrhiza) with black truffles (Tuber melanosporum), which grow in its roots. Truffle groves have been established in various countries by planting holly oaks and other trees, such as hazelnut and cherry, whose roots are inoculated with truffle spores.

LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew, who grew up around these beautiful trees, wrote this question with a touch of nostalgia.

Answer: bay laurel

Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) is an evergreen native to the Mediterranean. It can be in the form of a shrub or tree, has smooth leaves and a distinct, strong scent. The tree is a slow-grower and lends itself well to house plants and topiaries due to its boxy, compact leaf distribution. Although it is slow-growing, it can reach almost 18 m (60 ft) in height.

The bay laurel leaves are firm and can be sharp when broken or crushed, so you often will see whole bay leaves in sauces and stews, particularly Italian cuisine. The flavor can be minty, as there is eucalyptol as an essential oil, but also sharp and pungent when eaten whole. When crushed or dried, it is used like oregano and thyme, and very similar to that herbal taste profile.

Phoenix Rising's jaknginger regularly uses bay leaves when cooking tomato-based recipes.

Answer: strawberry tree

Part of the heather family (Ericaceae), the genus Arbutus includes twelve species of flowering plants that are native to the Mediterranean basin and other temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The strawberry tree is found in most of the Mediterranean region, as well as Portugal, western France and Spain, with isolated populations growing in northwestern and southwestern Ireland. It generally grows to a height of about 7 m (23 ft), though taller specimens exist; its leaves are a glossy green, resembling those of the bay laurel, though with a characteristic serrated edge. It produces round berries that mature in autumn, with a rough surface and vivid red colour that bear some resemblance to strawberries - hence the tree's common name. Strawberries, however, are herbaceous rather than woody plants, and belong to the rose family (Rosaceae).

The strawberry tree grows wild in Mediterranean woods and shrubland, and is resistant to the fires that often occur during the summer in that habitat. Its nectar-rich flowers are frequently visited by bees, which produce a much sought-after (and expensive) honey with a characteristic bitter, aromatic taste. The fruits are also edible, and can be used for baking or to make jams and drinks.

With its combination of green leaves, red fruits, and white flowers, the strawberry tree is considered one of Italy's national symbols - recalling the colours of the flag that was adopted after the country's unification in 1861. A strawberry tree whose fruits are being eaten by a bear appears on the coat of arms of Madrid, the Spanish capital.

This question was written by LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew, who remembers eating the fruits of the strawberry tree when she was a child.

Answer: rosemary

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is an evergreen shrub in the Lamiaceae family, which also includes sage, mint, and thyme. The origin of its name is from the Latin "ros marinus", which means "dew of the sea". Native to the Mediterranean, rosemary is thought to have been introduced first to China (circa 220 CE), and then the rest of the world.

The fragrant leaves can be used to impart flavour or scent to almost anything, but are most commonly used for meat, oils, tea, and candles. Rosemary tea and oil are often used in herbal medicines, as they are a good source of antioxidants and many other benefits.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 cultivated this question and steeped it into the quiz.

Answer: topiary (hedge-shaping)

While many box (Buxus) species are found in warmer climates all over the world, Buxus sempervirens, the common box, European box, or boxwood, is native to western and southern Europe, the tip of northwest Africa, and southwest Asia. It can grow up to 9 m (29.5 ft) tall, and is evergreen, with small leaves and small fruits.

Box is popular as an ornamental plant particularly in topiary and hedging, which is possible because of its evergreen status, small leaves, and ability to withstand close shearing. It has scented foliage. but some describe the smell as unpleasant.

Other uses for boxwood, because of its fine grain, include wood carving, particularly chess pieces and rosary prayer beads. The wood has a high density, resists chipping, and is not expensive, so it is also used in the manufacture of stringed instruments.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising Team member 1nn1, who was somewhat boxed in by the question.

Answer: broom

The plants known by the common name of brooms belong to various genera of the family Fabaceae (the legumes), most of them native to the Mediterranean region, where the highest concentration of species is found. These plants grow easily in poor soil, and are often found in dry, sandy areas and on volcanic slopes. Many of the Mediterranean species of broom belong to the genus Genista; however, one of the distinctive species of the Mediterranean shrubland (called "maquis" in French, and "macchia" in Italian) is Spartium junctum, also known as Spanish or weaver's broom, and the only member of its genus. What is called common (or Scotch) broom in English-speaking countries is Cytisus scoparius ("broom-like") - the "planta genistae" after which the royal House of Plantagenet was named. Other common English names for these plants are gorse (usually applied to the plants of the genus Ulex), furze, and whin.

The broom's adaptability to difficult living conditions was celebrated by 19th-century Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi in a poem titled "La ginestra, o il fiore del deserto" ("Wild Broom, or The Flower of the Desert"), composed in 1838 near Naples. The plant's vivid yellow flowers and intense fragrance is described as a symbol of the resilience of life on the barren slopes of Mount Vesuvius.

All the wrong answers are real plants, though two of them (ragweed and fairy duster) are native to the Americas; some species of soapwort (Saponaria sp.) are also found in the Mediterranean region.

LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew remembers and misses the heady scent of broom flowers.