word of the day: philodendron

The word of the day is philodendron:

Etymology:  < scientific Latin Philodendron, genus name (H. W. Schott 1829, in Wien. Zeitschr. 3 780) < Hellenistic Greek ϕιλόδενδρον , neuter of ϕιλόδενδρος fond of trees ( < ancient Greek ϕιλο- philo- comb. form + δένδρον tree: see dendro- comb. form), in reference to the epiphytic habit of most members of the genus.(Show Less)

 

A genus of tropical American evergreen plants (family Araceae), chiefly lianas, some species and hybrids of which are cultivated as house plants; (also philodendron) a plant of this genus.  (OED)

"Chlorophyll C₅₅H₇₂N₄O₅Mg

differs from human blood

only by substitution of one

atom of magnesium

in philodendron

for the single atom of iron

in Keats."

 - Stephen Sandy, "Alchemy", 29 October & 5 November 2012 The New Yorker

For comparison, here's chlorophyll:

And here's heme:

You see how similar they are to one another: not quite identical, but I'm willing to give that to poetic license.