Spongia Poryfera Apothecary Label

Description

Spongia Poryfera may sound all Latin and mysterious, but it’s actually literally the genus and phylum of sponges– you know, the aquatic animal that if you had to guess if it was a plant or animal, you would probably say ‘plant’, and it’s literally a sponge? Like rub a-dub-dub, get clean in the tub, sponge. Weird, huh? 

Spongia is the genus and porifera is the phylum. Remember in high school biology, there were all those classifications for plants and animals, divided into groups, like kingdom, class, order, genus, etc? Yeah, high school was a long time ago for me, too. And I never thought I would use binomial nomenclature except to squeak through with a C, except here I am, coming up with fake witchcraft labels. My teacher would be so proud. Anyway, for the label we just decided to spell “poryfera” with a “y” because it looked cooler.

Sponges are one of the simplest animals, because they have cell groups that do jobs like breaking down bits of food that float into their many holes, but the cell groups aren’t organized into tissues. So they can grow and “eat” and filter toxins out of their bodies, without a mouth, stomach, or liver. Their cell groups can even change function and work on something else! That would be like if my liver got sick of doing its job and decided to pump blood, instead. I guess that’s the benefit of having super basic cellular groupings.

Sponges might seem like they sit around in their mom’s basement eating junk food, but they actually help the coral reefs where they live- they filter the water, collect bacteria, and process things like nitrogen and carbon, making it a cleaner, healthier environment.

Sponges also have a lot of uses in medicine. From naturopathic stuff like sponge-based tablets that dissolve in your mouth and ease dry coughs to heavy hitters like anti-cancer drugs and AIDS treatments, compounds from sponges are incredibly beneficial. So the next time you hear someone carrying on about protecting coral reefs and not dumping trash in the ocean, remember they’re not just flapping their gums; the cure for cancer is literally on the line.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox. Given all the medicinal uses of sponges, Spongia Poryfera labels would be fabulous in a medical themed apothecary. And of course an ocean themed apothecary. These labels are available in both translucent and opaque options, and are printed on high-quality, easy to use, repositionable stickers.

Water-resistant and outdoor apothecary label stickers coming soon!

Available types:

• White border, opaque label (for a classic sticker look)
• Clear border, translucent label (the border is almost invisible, and the label is slightly see-through)

Repositionable: Yes (but the tackiness will be reduced with each repositioning)

Waterproof: No

Care: Clean with a dry cloth and wipe gently from the center outward.