Rock Cap Fern
Polypodium virgianum
- Rock Splitting Fern -
Showing posts with label Plant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plant. Show all posts
Monday, December 1, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Persian Speedwell, Veronica persica
Persian Speedwell
Veronica persica
Monday, January 13, 2014
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Deptford Pink, Dianthus armeria
Deptford Pink
Dianthus armeria
- Shouting for attention -
This little flower is easy to overlook when rambling through the countryside. However, during peak summer months, Deptford pinks' tiny little blossoms shout for attention. These small blossoms top out at about only a half inch in diameter.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Black Raspberry, Rubus occidentalis
Black Raspberry
Rubus occidentalis
Summer hasn't truly begun for me until I can taste the sweet, tart fruit of the black raspberry plant. And, after a well earn day of working in the summer sun there is no more tranquil way to unwind than to go foraging. In my part of the Catskills, this tasty fruit begins to appear in early July and continues to fruit to the end of the month.
The black raspberry is related to the more famous red raspberry and blackberry but its unique taste has earned it its own right. The fruit tends to be smaller, seedier, and tarter than the other two species. But where I wander they are bountiful and make up the backbone of my foraged fruits. And, like all (non-poisonous) berries, they are good for one's health.
When foraging for this berry it's best to wear long sleeves and long plants because one will have to dive into masses of thorny, sticker branches to get the finest fruits. But all that hard work and those bleeding scratches pay off for that one delicious little berry! Take note, if one waits too long, the birds will greedily snatch up the fruit leaving none behind. And finally, remember, black bears also like berries!
Fellow naturalist, Dave Spier, has more information on and appreciation for the black raspberries here.
The black raspberry is related to the more famous red raspberry and blackberry but its unique taste has earned it its own right. The fruit tends to be smaller, seedier, and tarter than the other two species. But where I wander they are bountiful and make up the backbone of my foraged fruits. And, like all (non-poisonous) berries, they are good for one's health.
When foraging for this berry it's best to wear long sleeves and long plants because one will have to dive into masses of thorny, sticker branches to get the finest fruits. But all that hard work and those bleeding scratches pay off for that one delicious little berry! Take note, if one waits too long, the birds will greedily snatch up the fruit leaving none behind. And finally, remember, black bears also like berries!
Fellow naturalist, Dave Spier, has more information on and appreciation for the black raspberries here.
The darker, the tastier
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Joe-Pye Weed, Eutrochium
Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium
During the summer wetlands are a great place to find colorful flowers, which is where I found this whimsical Joe-Pye weed. (Mother Nature must have been inspired by Dr. Suess.) This collection of bursting purple flowers was accompanying jewelweeds and cardinal flowers near a roadside culvert. Unfortunately when I photographed this flower I did not take note of the plant's details (stem color, leaf pattern, etc.) to determine its species.
Joe-Pye weeds are native to many states in North America and have undergone recent reclassification. Other names for the plant are trumpet weed and sometimes thoroughwort. The legend is that Joe-Pye was a Mohegan Indian healer from western Massachusetts who used this plant (E. purpureum) to treat typhoid fever. However, this folk medicine has not been verified by modern science.
Purple floweres of Joe-Pye weed
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Spotted Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis
Spotted Jewelweed
Impatiens capensis
The same day I discovered the lovely cardinal flower I discovered the spotted jewelweed, also known as touch-me-not. This little orange flower is a native species to much of the eastern United States. Like the cardinal flower, it prefers wet soil and can found, like the ones I discovered, in culverts and wetlands.
The touch-me-not name comes from the flowers seed capsules which will burst open if touched. It is also known as jewelweed because of how water beads up on the plant's leaves. It is fun and beautiful to take a leaf and swirl it around a bowl of water!
Jewelweed, has also been reported as a cure for poison ivy. Just mash up the stems and leaves and then apply to the irritated skin. I have not tried this natural cure myself. According to discussions on the web, the jewelweed cure has mixed results everything from alleviation to doing nothing at all.
Orange spotted jewelweed flowers
It looks like it might eat you
Water "jewels" on a leaf
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
As I was walking alongside a country road, this cardinal flower's vibrant color caught my attention. It was growing in a slow flowing culvert. When I got down in the culvert I was greeted by a slew of pleasant cardinal flowers off in the creek-bed.
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