27 Apr 2013

A - Z Challenge - X



The reflection of British wildflowers in emotions.
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Xanthoceras sorbifolium. Xenophobic. (Intolerant)

I couldn't find a British wildflower beginning with X, so I turned to a species Xanthoceras which is native to Northern China where it grows up to 8m tall. The genus name means yellow horn. The species name refers to the leaves, similar to those of Rowans(Sorbus). The leaves, flowers, and seeds of yellowhorn are all edible, which makes it a good contender to include in the herbal remedies and natural food list I've been featuring.

If a person is Xenophobic, they exhibit a fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign. The foreign-born population of the United Kingdom includes immigrants from a wide range of countries who are resident in the United Kingdom—the biggest melting pot of nations in modern times. Some of the natives are extremely Xenophobic towards the newcomers, despite their contribution to the culture and economy.

In 2010, there were 19 foreign-born groups that consisted of at least 100,000 individuals residing in the UK. People originate from Australia, Bangladesh, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, United States and Zimbabwe. The Chinese restaurant vies in popularity with the Indian, adding their food specialties to the normal British cuisine. The same Xenophobic individuals gladly eat foreign food.


Proverb: Two wrongs don't make a right.

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for visiting my A-Z posts...I'm a wee-bit behind in visiting others! This flower kind of reminds me of impatiens and people are xenophobes because we fear change. I don't know how to fix that on a national level, but I fix it by being part of the change...something Gandhi advocated. It works, it's hard to fear what you've invested time in.

    here's my post for today:
    http://smhasty.blogspot.com/2013/04/26-books-that-changed-my-life-23.html

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    1. What a wonderful way of looking at change. I'll have to pass that on to my grandson, who's hours have just been changed at work.

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  2. Hi Francene .. love the Xanthoceras .. and I see you're comparing with Bob this year - last year it was us and our castles - we clashed twice .. I had to adjust my W!! That was it ..

    Cheers Hilary

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    1. Bob and I have sorted out our differences. Wouldn't want an angry ciberfriend.

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  3. Very beautiful flower and so very tall too!

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  4. Hello!
    In the US there is a town called Xenia, Ohio. We used to joke it was a place where everyone was afraid of strangers! Thanks for sharing. Happy A-Z!
    Alicia

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  5. very good post and indeed, folks can fear strange cultures,etc, but then turn right around and enjoy the food or an actor or product from that culture. Folks can explain away anything. I had a chuckle over this. You've had a great blog April.

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  6. lovely post Francene thank you and such a pretty flower.
    I wrote about xenophobia ...

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