Portia tree

 

The name 'portia' comes from the Latin word porta, which means 'gate.' Since the gate leads to a destination, the plant's name suggests that it can take the traveler to a place of refreshment. In addition to its medicinal qualities, the portia tree is also known for its sweet-scented flowers. According to legend, Hercules carried a large portia tree back to his hometown after he killed Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the Greek hero Aeneas' Trojan horse. The tree's bark is used in medicine to relieve constipation. It can also be used as an astringent and tonic for treating respiratory problems, stomach and skin problems and wounds. In Classical times, the portia tree was used as a source of wood pulp for writing documents and making paper. The wood is also used to make pulp for printing books and advertisements. In addition, the tree's fragrant orange flowers are used in perfumes. The portia tree's leaves are used to make roof shingles and flooring. They can also be cut into strips and woven through string heddles to create textiles. The wood's hardness makes it ideal for making furniture and tool handles; its toughness makes it resistant to decay. Because of its durability, portias are also good firewood and sources of heat and energy. According to Francis Albertus Locke, a naturalist in Elizabethan England, the flowers' perfume could transform a person into another creature entirely. He suggested that after smelling the flowers, one could become 'a handsome sprightly young man' with blond hair and blue eyes. Native Americans used the portia tree's flowers to make a beverage that they called cordial or cisterian or cyser. They would ferment grape juice in sugar beets stored under a sprig of portia leaves. In addition to providing sweetness, the flowers' astringent properties would leech out excess moisture in this process. Today, cordial still retains some of its astringental qualities but acts more as a mixer than an ingredient in alcoholic beverages. Because of its medicinal qualities, sweet-scented flowers and nature's durability, the portia tree has been chosen as the symbol for many institutions and causes. From medicine to lumber to industrial fuel-the plant has found use in many corners of the world. Its sweet-scented flowers have even been immortalized in popular culture via Francis Albertus Locke's vision of a different person once he smelled these flowers on their own ground.