Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire Quotes

“Plants need roots because they can't move on their own. Their roots serve them well, stopping them from getting blown all over the place by the wind. But we humans can move around at will, and our roots hold us in place unnecessarily. Usually in a place we don't want to be. Then, when we try to move, we rip our roots, and it hurts, so we end up staying right where we are.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“What a strange place, I thought. If I look up everything is so clear and beautiful, and if I look down, everything is so dangerous and ugly. I wished I could keep my head in the sky, but the scorpions brought me back to reality. Or was the sky the reality?”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“I liked the sound of that. A true plant person. It sounded so much more alive, and warmer than a true advertising person.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“I opened the door and stepped down onto something squishy. It was moss, velvety smooth, creating uneven hills of emerald green across the floor of the laundry. I slipped off my silver ballet flats, and my feet sank into the floor
”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“The model stripped down naked and stood with her arms out to her sides while genderless cohorts sprayed her body with large silver canisters of foundation. They wore masks over there faces and sprayed her from head to toe like they were putting out a fire. They airbrushed her into a mono-toned six-foot-two column of a human being with no visible veins, nipples, nails, lips, or eyelashes. When every single thing that was real about the model was gone, the make up artist fug through a suite case of brushes and plowed through hundreds of tubes of flesh colored colors and began to draw human features onto her face. At the same time, the hair stylist meticulously sewed with a needle and thread strand after strand of long blond hairs onto her thin light brown locks, creating a thick full mane of shimmering gold. The model had brought her own chef, who cooked her spinach soup from scratch. The soup was fed to her by one of her lackeys, who existed solely for this purpose. The blond boy stood in front of her, blowing on the soup and then feeding it to her from a small silver child's spoon, just big enough to fit between her lips. the model's mouth was barely open, maybe a quarter of an inch wide, so that she would not crack the flesh colored paint.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“It was a color I didn't realize the earth could make without the help of human beings. I knew the water would be blue, but I had in mind a tamer, more pastel blue: a light color through which all the sand and fish underneath would be clearly visible. This water was like super-wavy, lit up turquoise, and so beautiful I could hardly take my eyes off it. The moment I was spellbound by the color of the water was the moment I knew I had been in New York for to long and my decision to leave was a good one.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“They think they are, but the person they were born to be was covered up by years of living with parents and going to school and fitting in. Every year that passes, a person gets covered up a little bit more, like a sleeping bag slowly zipping up around a body. It's a subtle process until the day a person is totally gone. The sleeping bag is closed, and they never see the sun again”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“If you can hear the quiet while being woken up by the garbage trucks, you have power. When you can feel the stars when all you can see are the skyscrapers, that's power. When you can smell the forest in front of the dumpster, then you have power. Never let the events in front of you or the people around you, tell you what to see, feel, taste, smell or hear.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Remember, she is much more delicate than you, yet you will see that she can withstand a lot. Under the worst of conditions, she maintains her beauty and her delicacy. She adapts! She is graceful.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“I twirled it around in front of my eyes, going momentarily cross-eyed as I looked for any sign of roots. Of course it was much too soon, and I knew that there wouldn't be any, but I checked anyway, because I'm a checker by nature: lights, stoves, occasionally underneath beds, and, apparently, now plant stems. Life was getting complicated.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Digitoxin
(sometimes referred to as digitoxin or digitalis)


This widely used heart medication is a cardiac glycoside used in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and congestive heart failure. Found in the lovely purple bells of the foxglove plant and the gorgeous, velvety black wings of the monarch butterfly, digoxin is probably the most beautiful medication there ever was.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Поварвай ми, когато опознаеш себе си, никога да поискаш да се преструваш, че си някой друг.Защото да си себе си е по-прекрасно от всичко, на което можеш да се престориш, за което си мечтал, което можеи да си представиш или в което да се превърнеш.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“After the death of my marriage, I was hell-bent on keeping the bird-of-paradise alive. I would take it slowly. Plants first. And if everything went well, then I'd move on to people.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“I went back to the ocean for a wash. The salt stung my face. I didn't know my skin was so raw. I slung my backpack over my shoulders, and with the white mosquito netting wrapped around me like a wedding dress, I went back into the jungle.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“In just one moment I had emerged from a world of dark green, almost black, to a world of bright blue and light sunshine. It was what I imagined birth to be like.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Lily of the Valley
(Convallaria majalis)


Lily of the valley is known to slow the disturbed action of a weak and irritable heart, while at the same time increasing its power. As a heart medication, it is sometimes preferable to the digitalis made from the foxglove plant, because it is less toxic and does not accumulate in the blood. Lily of the valley has one of the most sexual scents of all plants and is widely used in perfume. No wonder it causes the heart to beat stronger.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“He opened his hand, and inside was a tiny lavender-colored flower with a small stem.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Mr. Exley left us a present. Cichorium intybus. Chicory. The plant of freedom and one of the nine plants. He used it to get out of the basement, and then he left us a cutting as a courtesy. Your Mr. Exley has a good sense of humor."
"He's not my Mr. Exley."
"Unimportant. This little petal tells us how he got out of here."
"He broke a deadbolt with a flower petal?"
"In a sense, yes. Cichorium intybus is a perennial related to the dandelion. It's cultivated in England and Ireland and from Nova Scotia to Florida and west to the plains. It is not cultivated here, in South America. He brought it with him!"
"For what?"
"For its magical properties. The plant has a long, thick taproot filled with a bitter milky-white juice. The ancient Egyptians believed that if the juice is rubbed on the body it promotes invisibility, and removal of obstacles. The Mayans called it the plant of freedom, for the same reason.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Chicory
(Cichorium intybus)


The ancient Egyptians considered chicory a magical plant, capable of removing all obstacles as well as opening locks, boxes, and doors. They anointed their bodies with chicory juice from the root of the plant in order to gain the powers of invisibility and special favors from important people. They believed chicory magic was much more potent if the plant was cut with a solid-gold knife, in total silence, at midnight. And if none of that worked, they ground and roasted the root and blended it with their favorite coffee to taste.
A very versatile plant indeed.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Is that an orchid?" I asked, pointing to a particularly unattractive small brown plant.
"Maxillaria tenuifolia," said Sonali. "One of my favorites. This little brown orchid is a species. Not as spectacular as a hybrid, but very satisfying nonetheless. Its charms are quite powerful. Come closer and smell it."
I leaned over the ugly brown plant.
"Coconut pie! How is that possible?"
"Wonderful, isn't it? She doesn't need bright, flashy colors or spectacular sprays of flowers. Her pollinators, the moths, come out at night. She uses her coconut scent to guide and entice the little moth in much the way we use perfume to entice men in nightclubs and cafés."
Sonali winked at me.
"You can learn much about how an orchid is pollinated by the way it looks. White, pink, and pale-green flowers usually get pollinated at night, since those colors are easily seen under moonlight. The little moth sneaks up on the flower in the middle of the night like a lover. He lands on her, pollinates her, and then leaves. We've all had that experience, yes?"
"Yes," I said, thinking of Exley.
"Brightly colored orchids, on the other hand, are pollinated by butterflies and birds. Butterflies prefer red and orange. Bees love orange and yellow all the way through to ultraviolet."
"Just like certain men like certain color clothing," I said.
"Yes, colored petals are the clothing of flowers. The insect must find a way through those petals to get what he wants, like a man brushing his hand through the layers of a woman's skirt.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“THE NINE PLANTS OF DESIRE

~ Gloxinia--The mythical plant of love at first sight.

~ Mexican cycad--The plant of immortality. A living dinosaur straight from the Jurassic period.

~ Cacao--The chocolate tree of food and fortune.

~ Moonflower--Bringer of fertility and procreation.

~ Cannabis sativa in the form of sinsemilla--The plant of female sexuality.

~ Lily of the valley--Delivers life force. In a pinch, this beautiful plant can replace digitalis as medication for an ailing heart.

~ Mandrake--According to both William Shakespeare and the Holy Bible, this is the plant of magic.

~ Chicory--The plant of freedom. Offering invisibility to those who dare to ingest its bitter, milky juice.

~ Datura--The plant of mind travel and high adventure. Bringer of visions and dreams of the future.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Chinese Windmill Palm
(Trachycarpus fortunei)

The Chinese windmill palm does very well in cooler climates, and it doesn't grow very tall, making it the perfect plant for small apartments in big, cold cities. Instead of discarding its older leaves as most trees do, this kindhearted palm simply drops them down until they form a warm, protective skirt around the trunk, thereby giving them a second career.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“The oil smelled floral and musky, like a flowery animal.
She kept right on stroking my body.
"It has lilac, jasmine, and musk from a rutting deer," she said.
The words for the ingredients excited me. Lilac, jasmine, and musk, I said to myself. Lilac, jasmine, and musk, I must. Lilac, jasmine, and musk, I must. They sounded like an incantation. They sounded like the sexiest words in the English language.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“I drank Datura inoxia and traveled with the black panther to find the antidote."
"And you saw the energy lines of the trees."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know."
"I smelled the lily of the valley, up close, but the scent of your skin is still sweeter."
"Not as sweet as yours."
"I danced with a rattlesnake."
"There are many of those in life."
"And then, under a flash of lightning, a tree caught fire and I found the bromeliad with no name."
"How strange that a tree caught fire in the rain forest. It's very wet in there."
"I found the plant of passion. The tenth plant."
"You found it with your passion. You set the tree on fire with your passion."
"I love you."
"I love you, too," he said.
"And that is the story of us."
"It is."
"It's true, then, whoever finds the nine plants really does find what they desire."
"It's true."
"Let's say them together."
We began.
"Moonflower, gloxinia, cycad, Theobroma cacao, mandrake, chicory, sinsemilla, Datura inoxia, lily of the valley, and the tenth plant. The bromeliad. The passion plant with no name.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“It started when I met you in the rain forest. When I almost stepped on the cycad and the gloxinia, but you stopped me just in time."
"That's when I made you go back and get the moonflower."
"The umbilical cord, you called it."
"We walked to Casablanca through the jungle."
"And then alongside the ocean."
"I liked you already."
"I liked you, too. You introduced me to Tamatz Kauyumari. The oldest and biggest deer."
"I sang you his spirit song."
"And then he led us to Theobroma cacao."
"I saw Panthera onca following you through the jungle, twice."
"I never should have gone to the market without you, but you were sleeping."
"That's where you met the Cashier."
"And found the mandrake. And cichorium intybus. The plant of invisibility.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“A bromeliad extinct for so long that no one bothered to look for it anymore. A plant so rare even its name was gone. It was Sonali's prize. The passion plant with no name.
There was no mistaking the mysterious bromeliad, its inward-spiraling leaves forming a small black hole in the center. A mandala, Sonali had said, created by the plant world, about the mind of human beings. I had in my sights the very plant Sonali and Armand had spent so many years searching for.
Being an air plant, it did not require any soil to live- it grew straight out of a log. It was not parasitic. It had attached itself for stability only.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Tropical Air Plants
(epiphytic plants)


Air plants include orchids, bromeliads, and all staghorn ferns. They are not planted in soil, and they do not need to be watered. They derive nutrition from decomposing insects and leaves, and nitrogen from lightning strikes. There's not much to add to the story of plants that live off lightning and death. That is drama enough for ten stories.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Datura
(Datura inoxia)


This one is for the men out there. Datura inoxia is a plant that behaves exactly like a woman. If she lets you spend time with her, you will begin to feel powerful. But you will also become weak, because you will be at her mercy. But if you treat her well, and handle her with the utmost respect, care, and precision, she will bestow upon you visions of a future beyond your wildest imagination.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“The monarch butterfly is a cardiotonic. It increases the tone of the heart muscle, causing more effective emptying of the chambers. The butterfly will help Diego. It will be good for him."
"Do we use monarchs, too- in the United States, I mean?" I asked desperately.
"You take digitalis from the digitoxin found in plants. Mostly foxglove. I use a digitalis-like toxin found in the monarch butterflies. Both have the same properties. The monarch lays its eggs on the milkweed plant, which also produces cardioglycosides. As the insects hatch and grow, they feed on the milkweed and ingest the heart medicine from the plant. They sequester it in their bodies, never using it and never excreting it."
"Why do they do that?"
"To keep predators away. Digitalis has a bitter taste that keeps the birds away.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Bird-of-Paradise
(Strelitzia reginae


Native of South Africa, member of the banana family, prized for its tall, highly colored structures.
This plant is not for the easily disappointed, impatient, or bossy, as it can take seven years to produce a single bloom.
Perfect for the person who gives and gives without getting anything in return. You know who you are.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

“Mandrake is medicinal because the root contains an alkaloid that belongs to the atropine group. It's a powerful narcotic and analgesic, and, in larger doses, a superb anesthetic. It's magical because of the bizarre shape of the root, which looks like a human being, sometimes male, sometimes female. This root can and will exercise supernatural power over the human body and mind. It's both an aphrodisiac and a strong hallucinogen. Think about it. Those two things together can create the most mind-bending sex you're ever likely to have. And babies, too. In the book of Genesis, the barren Rachel eats the root and becomes pregnant with Joseph. The plant produces out-of-body experiences in some susceptible people, and a vastly increased sex drive in almost all men."
"Sounds good to me."
"A lot of people think so. Folks love to experiment with the mandrake. The problem is that it's poisonous in the wrong doses, and, too often to mention, people end up sick, or worse. They forget that the mandrake is in the family Solanaceae, similar to deadly nightshade.”
― Margot Berwin, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire