Basil, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Duration: 3 mins 47 secs
Share this media item:
Embed this media item:
Embed this media item:
About this item
Description: | Why has poor old parsley been booted out of this traditional song? |
---|
Created: | 2018-11-08 14:35 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Collection: | The Ensonglopedia of Plants | ||||
Publisher: | University of Cambridge | ||||
Copyright: | John Hinton | ||||
Language: | eng (English) | ||||
Keywords: | lamiaceae; labiatae; | ||||
Credits: |
|
Transcript
Transcript:
Are you going to plant me some mint:
Basil, sage, rosemary and thyme?
If you thought I’d say ‘parsley’, then please take the hint
That parsley doesn’t belong in this rhyme.
What else could you plant if you plant me some mints?
Hyssop, lavender, oregano!
They look a bit like parsley if you really squint,
But is parsley in the mint family? No!
Parsley belongs to the family Apiaceae,
Which has its own bed over there.
But this bed’s reserved for the family Lamiaceae.
In systematic gardening, such things are fair.
What else could you legitimately plant in this bed?
Marjoram, perilla, catnip,
But not parsley, for parsley, as I’ve already said,
Has a remoter relationship.
Please take a look round this garden of mint:
Basil, sage, rosemary and thyme.
If the list includes parsley, then that’s a misprint,
For mixing up the families is a systematics crime.
Basil, sage, rosemary and thyme?
If you thought I’d say ‘parsley’, then please take the hint
That parsley doesn’t belong in this rhyme.
What else could you plant if you plant me some mints?
Hyssop, lavender, oregano!
They look a bit like parsley if you really squint,
But is parsley in the mint family? No!
Parsley belongs to the family Apiaceae,
Which has its own bed over there.
But this bed’s reserved for the family Lamiaceae.
In systematic gardening, such things are fair.
What else could you legitimately plant in this bed?
Marjoram, perilla, catnip,
But not parsley, for parsley, as I’ve already said,
Has a remoter relationship.
Please take a look round this garden of mint:
Basil, sage, rosemary and thyme.
If the list includes parsley, then that’s a misprint,
For mixing up the families is a systematics crime.