Date: 1st April 2022

Presenter: Phillip Hohenberger

Book: Helmuth Plessner, Levels of Organic Life and the Human.

Chapter: IV. The Modes of Being of Vitality (first half, 115-144)

*featured image: Dog’s-tooth-violet, Erythronium dens-canis (sl. navadni pasji zob) belongs to the genus of fawn lilies that is most closely related to the tulips. It is the only species among fawn lilies that is native to Europe (from Portugal to Ukraine); most of genus’s species are native to North America, and five species can be found in Asia. Dog’s-tooth-violet is a geophyte, i.e., a plant that flowers in early spring when the forest floor is not yet shaded by the canopy of deciduous trees. Its white bulb that resembles a dog’s canine is the source of starch used in making vermicelli and cakes; in Slovenia, however, it is classified as a vulnerable species and is therefore protected.