- Common names: Baby Rose, Japanese Rose, Many-flowered Rose, Seven-Sisters Rose
- Native to eastern Asia, in China, Japan and Korea... considered an invasive in most circles in North America.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Multi-flora Rose
Monday, 28 May 2012
Trout Lily
- The name derives from the fact that the brown-splotched leaves resemble the colouring of Brook trout.
- They form large colonies of plants of different ages. Young plants are flowerless and have only one leaf, while older plants produce two leaves and a single flower. A plant’s corm has to reach sufficient depths (10 to 20 centimetres below ground) before it will devote energy to making the additional parts.
- It takes a few years for a plant to be mature enough to produce a flower and seeds. Trout lilies have recruited the help of ants, who eat a nutritious appendage attached to each seed and leave the rest to germinate.
April 12th, 2012
Friday, 18 May 2012
Common Mullein
- Very soft, thick, velvet-like leaves, up to 30 cm long.
- Each plant can produce up to 150,000 seeds.
- The leaves were used in the past for diapers & toilet paper.
- Indians of North America lined their moccasins with the leaves to keep out the cold, and colonists used them in their stockings for the same reason.
- The tall stalks (to 8 ft) that develop in the 2nd year were dipped in melted fat and used for torches by Roman soldiers.
- The stalk has alternate leaves that clasp the stem and direct rainwater down the stem to the roots.
- Yellow flowers (1/4 to 1 inch across) bloom randomly in the stalk.
- Lone Pine Publishing - 2002
2. http://www.herbcompanion.com
April 9th, 2012
Thursday, 22 March 2012
White Snakeroot
Poisonous: White Snakeroot contains the toxin tremetol. When the plants are consumed by cattle, the meat and milk become contaminated with the toxin. When milk or meat containing the toxin is consumed, the poison is passed onto humans. If consumed in large enough quantities, it can cause tremetol poisoning in humans. The poisoning is also called milk sickness, as humans often ingested the toxin by drinking the milk of cows that had eaten Snakeroot.
During the early 19th century, when large numbers of European Americans from the East, who were unfamiliar with Snakeroot, began settling in the plant's habitat of the Midwest and Upper South, many thousands were killed by milk sickness. Notably, milk sickness was the cause of death in 1818 of Abraham Lincoln's mother. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageratina_altissima
August 18th, 2011
August 18th, 2011
September 11th, 2011
During the early 19th century, when large numbers of European Americans from the East, who were unfamiliar with Snakeroot, began settling in the plant's habitat of the Midwest and Upper South, many thousands were killed by milk sickness. Notably, milk sickness was the cause of death in 1818 of Abraham Lincoln's mother. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageratina_altissima
August 18th, 2011
August 18th, 2011
September 11th, 2011
Hedge Bindweed
- Common names: Wild Morning Glory, Bugle Vine, Heavenly Trumpets, Old Man's Nightcap, White Witches Hat, Belle of the Ball, Bride's Gown
- The open flowers are trumpet-shaped
- The flowers are produced from late spring to the end of summer.
- It twines around other plants, in a counter-clockwise direction, to a height of up to 2-4 m
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Coltsfoot
- Resemble dandelions but appear in early spring before Dandelions appear.
- The leaves (resemble a colt's foot), do not appear usually until after the seeds are set. Thus, the flowers appear on stems with no apparent leaves, and the later appearing leaves then wither and die during the season without seeming to set flowers... hence the country nickname “Son before Father”
- Typically between 10 - 30 cm in height.
- Has been used in herbal medicine for its purported cough-suppressing effects.
- In the days before most people could read and write, shops identified themselves with symbols – three golden balls for the pawnbroker, a red and white striped pole for the barber, the yellow Coltsfoot for the herbalist.
April 12th, 2011
April 27th, 2011
Dandelion
I came across these interesting questions (on the web) that someone had asked, followed by their observations:
If you're curious what the biologist's answer was, here's the link...
http://www.askabiologist.org.uk/answers/viewtopic.php?id=383
May 6th, 2011
May 14th, 2011
1. How do the yellow petals of dandelions become those white fluffy things?
2. How long does the transformation take?
3. Does it take place only at night?
I have examined hundreds of Dandelions during the season that turn from yellow to white. I have NEVER found a transitional stage! They are always completely yellow, flowerish or completely white, parachutish.
If you're curious what the biologist's answer was, here's the link...
http://www.askabiologist.org.uk/answers/viewtopic.php?id=383
May 6th, 2011
May 14th, 2011
Wild Burdock (aka Wild Rhubarb)
- First year plants have wavy green leaves in basal rosettes on the ground.
- Plants usually flower during the second year, but sometimes the flowers do not emerge until the third or forth year of growth.
- A single plant produces 15,000 seeds on average, but yields of 200,000 to 400,000 seeds have been reported.
- Toxicity: Common burdock is considered toxic due to potential diuretic effects, and there are reports of allergic reactions when the hooked bristles of burs lodge under the surface of the skin.
- Velcro was inspired by the tiny hooks on the burs of this plant that stick to fur and clothing, similar to the sticky side of Velcro. www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedguide/singlerecord.asp?id=900
July 23rd, 2011
Bull Thistle
- "Our" spiniest thistle.
- A biennial, it produces a rosette of leaves the first year, and an upright flowering stalk the second year.
- The "thistledown" , or bristles on the fruits, serve as parachutes to carry the light seeds.
SOURCE: The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers (Eastern Region)
July 23rd, 2011
July 23rd, 2011
August 10th, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)