Orchidaceae tubers after detecting the plants underground by scent. Orchids have been used in traditional medicine in an effort to treat many diseases and ailments. They have been used as a source of herbal remedies in China since 2800 BC. "Gastrodia elata" is one of the three orchids listed in the earliest known Chinese Materia Medica ("Shennon bencaojing") (c. 100 AD). Theophrastus mentions orchids in his "Enquiry into Plants" (372–286 BC). Orchids have many associations with symbolic values. For example, the orchid is the City Flower of Shaoxing, China. "Cattleya mossiae" is the national Venezuelan flower, while "Cattleya trianae" is the
What Is a Nation? What Is a Nation? "What is a Nation?" ("Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?") is an 1882 lecture by French historian Ernest Renan (1823–1892), known for the statements that a nation is "a daily referendum", and that nations are based as much on what the people jointly forget, as what they remember. It is frequently quoted or anthologized in works of history or political science pertaining to nationalism and national identity. Renan wrote "What is a Nation" in order to symbolize the nationalism which was born in France as a result of the French Revolution of 1789. Renan begins his essay by noting