The Chinese Dunce Cap (Crassulaceae), also known as the houseleek, has an elegant form like a lotus in full bloom. Its leaves change color, and the purplish-red tips are especially distinctive. It thrives in sunny, cool, dry conditions. It is used to treat malaria, severe vomiting and diarrhea, enteric fever, rheumatic pain, hernias, abnormal vaginal discharge, boils and abscesses, atrophic rhinitis, scrofula, furuncles, scabies, and snake and dog bites.
That day, the teacher talked about ways to relax and have fun during senior year of high school. One example was to buy a small potted plant to keep you company in the days ahead. And so that pot of Chinese Dunce Cap appeared on your desk. It was a long, long time before I learned that the plant, with its purplish leaf tips and lotus-like shape, was called Chinese Dunce Cap.
The name has a lot of cultural connotation. Like it. Come on.