Solomon’s Seal
Back in college I was lucky to have Mr. Steinbach for botany. He was a real character. One time my friend and I were not paying attention in class. which was held in a medium- sized lecture hall. Mr. Steinbach climbed up the tables until his head was level with ours. He said that we were having such an interesting conversation he didn’t want to miss out. Another time, while showing us a slide show of photographs of various types of tropical plants he displayed a close-up of a woman’s pubic area and told us we’d never forget that hibiscus preferred a moist and warm environment. He was right. I’ve never forgotten that. I also never liked hibiscuses much after that.
On field trips he would tremble with delight when he found certain kinds of flora — one of which was the trout lily. Another plant that I thank Mr. Steinbach for teaching me to identify is Solomon’s Seal. Not only can I identify it, I can also distinguish it from False Solomon’s Seal. (which has flowers at the end of the stalk of leaves instead of dangling along the stem)
Dean’s sister, Debbie, was in my botany class and I idolized her from afar. She never knew who I was and by the time Dean and I met, she’d been killed in a car accident. At this time of year when my Solomon’s Seal is in bloom, I always think of Debbie, albeit in a round about way, through memories of Mr. Steinbach and botany class.
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