silphium

so, apparently the heart symbol dates back to ancient greece, and a plant called silphium. the fruit or seed pod of the silphium plant was heart shaped, and was at the origin of that particular shape as a stand-in for the seat of human love and emotion. silphium also happened to be a critically valuable cooking herb for most of antiquity, worth its weight in gold, with a very distinct taste that has never been adequately reproduced, and that is now considered to be extinct. i am looking on my computer keyboard for the broken-heart emoji, and not finding it. wait, here it is: 💔

rooster hackle (neck) feathers