: A Downhome Flora

Onopordum acanthium, Scotch thistle

Fri, 25 Jun 2004 19:55:34 GMT

Thistles thistles thistles ... Along with the poison hemlock, Scotch thistle is an introduced species from Europe (and the bane of our local existence). But we're afflicted with thistles of every stripe (see the lovely snow thistles below). Even the tumbleweeds that turn up on autumn winds are actually "Russian thistle."

These grow in the same community with the others but are so different looking I don't see how they, too, can be Scotch thistles. I'll have to track them down. But you can tell that thistles came on big time this year. I've managed to take out about a third of them from this llama pasture area. but one loses enthusiasm after a while. You even "get" what the Round-up enthusiasts see in the stuff.

But then you see something like this. And for about half a second, it's OK.

Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)

Fri, 25 Jun 2004 18:52:53 GMT

This is our hemlock. Remember the drink that killed Socrates? Same thing.

From the Idaho's Noxious Weeds by Robert H. Callihan & Timothy W. Miller (no, we're not in Idaho; same plant, though): Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is native to Europe. It contains highly poisonous alkaloids toxic to all classes of livestock and humans. It has poisoned many who have mistaken it for parsley. Poison hemlock is often found on poorly drained soils, particularly near streams, ditches, and other surface water.

Mentha spicata, Spearmint, Yerba Buena

Wed, 16 Jun 2004 21:16:44 GMT

I've been waiting for this mint to appear, so I was happy to discover it finally on today's walk. It comes up all along the irrigation ditch, and even in the gravel where the culvert passes under the lane, at the edges of the driveway. Wild spearmint is an introduced species you'll find in moist places just about everywhere in the U.S. Ate4a tea made from the leaves provides relief for the discomfort that follows a heavy meal. You can also add it in tincture form to foods--a dropperful in a pitcher of lemonade, carrot juice, or a batch of applesauce, for example, adds a great minty flavor.

Cirsium pastoris (Cirsium occidentale var. candidissimum), Snow Thistle, Snowy Thistle

Wed, 16 Jun 2004 20:26:46 GMT

From eNature's description:

With its blaze of red flowers accentuated by white foliage, this is perhaps the handsomest thistle among a group considered to be composed of aggressive weeds. The genus name Cirsium comes form the Greek "kirsos," which means "swollen vein," for which thistles were a reputed remedy. Snowy Thistle is one of an intergrading complex of forms and is sometimes considered a subspecies of C. occidentale. The thistles in this group vary, some with less densely hairy foliage, others with grayer hairs; some have white, rose, or purple disk flowers. These various forms occur from northern to southern California.

Here's one I photographed a week ago, before the buds leaped out and opened:

Eriogonum umbellatum, Sulphur Flower, Wild Buckwheat

Thu, 03 Jun 2004 21:21:22 GMT

This species used to be fairly uncommon around here. I was surprised to encounter these thirsty specimens at the top of the lane today. It's surprising, too, how useful it turns out to be in terms of botanical medicine. (Obviously no plant needs to be "useful"--a relative term in any case--to justify existing. It just amazes me how almost every one offers us some kind of healing.) The whole plant can be dried and made into tea that shrinks irritated membranes, and to douche, gargle, or enema. Taken internally, it helps stop spotting at the end of a menstrual period, and can be used to treat cystitis or urethritis. The flowers are mildly diuretic, and, because it has no toxic effects, a tea made from them can be used to treat water retention in the last two months of pregnancy. Some California Native tribes used the tea to wash newborn babies.

Addendum:
Here's the larger plant shown above photographed two weeks later, on Bloomsday (June 16) 2004. The mature blossoms are fluffier, and the butterflies can't get enough.

Achillea millefolium, Yarrow

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 20:49:03 GMT

This beautiful, useful plant grows everywhere at Thistle & Hemlock. These plants, like all the others so far (except dandelion) are photographed here along the driveway. The whole upper plant, tinctured or drunk as tea, treats high fevers of colds and flu, soothe bleeding ulcers, and speeds recovery from gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and the like. The fresh plant or its powdered leaves stops or slows the bleeding of wounds. Poultices of the fresh plant ease arthritic joint inflammation and are helpful in treating severe varicose veins. And the dried stalks, of course, will help you divine the future using the I Ching...

I have a story to tell about that, but another time, perhaps...

Prunus virginiana var. demissa, Chokecherry

Sat, 08 May 2004 03:29:00 GMT

Our wild Western chokecherries aren't fully in bloom yet, but they're getting there. Our third Prunus species (see Klamath plum and bitter cherry below), chokecherries like these grow to fifteen feet max, usually forming loose thickets between five and ten feet high.

Bears love the fruit, which is quite astringent, especially if not fully ripe. I've had no success yet with preserving these, but I'm going to try again this year. This thicket stands about five feet west of the house, on the way down to the creek.

Castilleja miniata, Paintbrush

Wed, 05 May 2004 03:13:17 GMT

The Paint-brushes hereabouts tend toward oranges and saffrons, some stands with plants of several colors, all very bright. The colorful parts are bracts and sepals around narrow tubes that contain the actual flowers. This plant is partially parasitic, invading for nourishment the roots of other plants its own roots happen to contact.

Wyethia mollis, Woolly Mule's Ears

Tue, 04 May 2004 21:04:53 GMT

A lookalike plant for the medicinal Balsamroot, Wyethia mollis grow on dry slopes and clearings in Western U.S. mountains at 4500 to 10,000+ feet elevation. "Mule's ears" is one of the first plants to appear in the spring, the bright-white woolly tips of its first leaves poking up through the soil not long after the last significant snowfall has melted and the days are turning warm.

Mule's ears have lanceolate leaves, as shown in the drawing; Balsamroot's leaves are shaped more like arrows, attached to lengthier stems.

The Wyethia in the photo grow upslope toward the end of my lane. Yes--all these plants, and we're still just in the driveway! I noticed an Indian paintbrush when I was up there today; I'll go back when the light's better and snap it for the next entry. It's vivid!

Sun, 02 May 2004 02:41:44 GMT

The lupines are out!

It's taking me time to nail down which lupine this is, and place a corresponding link, so I'll have to finish up tomorrow. It took me by surprise, as did the Mahonia below.

ADDENDUM 5 June 2004 They're going to seed. Now you can see the seed pods forming on these pea-family plants.

And detail...

Smilacina stellata (or Maianthemum stellatum), starry false Solomon's seal

Sun, 02 May 2004 01:31:57 GMT

I think... It could also be Smilacina racemosa, but the low (+/-5000 ft.) altitude should preclude that. It grows in communities on the creek banks here, near the currant thickets. The roots of either plant have some slight medicinal value. These plants haven't blossomed yet.

Mahonia repens (also Berberis repens), Dwarf mahonia, Creeping Oregon grape

Sun, 02 May 2004 00:57:21 GMT

What's this, then? I didn't even know I had wild Oregon grape on the place. But this popped out from under the gravel and blossomed so brightly I couldn't not see it when I drove past. Lovely! It's a liver plant--the vivid yellow root signals the presence of berberine (hence a common name, barberry). Medicines made from the roots, flowers, and purple berries lower fevers, stimulate the liver, cleanse the skin, tonify the intestines, act as a laxative, and "cure" hangovers.

PURSHIA TRIDENTATA, Bitter brush (Antelope brush, Greasewood)

Thu, 29 Apr 2004 21:21:21 GMT

The small stubby three-toothed leaves of this rather unattractive shrub are much beloved of mule deer, elk, and antelope; rodents and ants treasure the seeds, which humans find extremely bitter. The bark is shaggy. Some sources claim First Peoples have used both seeds and bark to make a medicinal tea, but I have yet to learn what ailments it might remedy.

Artemisia tridentata, Sagebrush, Wormwood

Wed, 28 Apr 2004 21:23:15 GMT

Unrelated to true sages (Salvia spp.), this species and its variants may be found everywhere on the planet. Wet branches are thrown on hot stones during sweats, and a very bitter tea made from the leaves is useful in dispelling or inhibiting some kinds of intestinal parasites and in relieving some kinds of menstrual discomfort. The First Peoples hereabouts burn dried bundles for an aromatic "smudge" for spiritual cleansing and during some ceremonies.

It spreads and invades neglected farmyards quite readily here in the Great Basin.

Taraxacum officinale, Dandelion (don't laugh)

Wed, 28 Apr 2004 21:09:10 GMT

Yeah, OK, it's everywhere and commonly despised as a lawn weed. But it's virtually the patron plant spirit of Thistle and Hemlock, and every part of it affords powerful medicine.
Invaluable in post-hepatitis therapy and in liver and kidney ailments of all kinds. A cup of tea made from the fresh or (in winter) dried leaves keeps my gout completely at bay, and tea made from the boiled, chopped root, drunk in sufficient quantity, helps alleviate kidneystones and gravel. The fresh root, chopped and roasted dark on a cookie sheet, grinds up to make a robust coffee substitute--quite yummy, in fact.

Dandelion flowers carpet the orchard every spring. I made a delightful "beer" from them one year from a recipe (to come) I found in an old book by Grace Firth.

Lithospermum ruderale, Western stoneseed (also Columbia Puccoon, Western Gromwell)

Tue, 27 Apr 2004 22:22:31 GMT

According to Jeanne Rose, "A handful of the dried root, chipped, boiled in water to cover, and drunk daily as a tea for six months results in permanent birth control" (Herbs and Things). From what I find in other sources, she appears to be right--either sex can drink this as a tea and become permanently sterile! The first photo, taken at the end of April, shows the flowers (though not clearly; when I get an expesive camera I'll replace these snapshots).
The Second photo was taken at the beginning of June. You'll notice the shiny seeds forming where the flowers were. They do look like little orange-brown stones.

Prunus emarginata, Bitter cherry:

Tue, 27 Apr 2004 21:10:00 GMT

In fall, these shrubs produce tiny bright red extremely bitter fruits.

Prunus subcordata, Klamath plum

Tue, 27 Apr 2004 20:49:41 GMT

PRUNUS species

Shrubs that grow down the length the driveway, AKA Road 157, include three Prunus species. Only two are in flower this week. I'll post photos of the third--chokecherry--when it finally flowers in a few weeks.

First, then, is the Klamath Plum, P. subcordata, which grows only in California and Oregon. It is much valued by local Indians, who gather and dry the fruit--small dark brown- or purple-red (or sometimes yellow) slightly bitter plums. Plum wine from these fruits is made and marketed near here. We make wild plum preserves every fall.

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...and in its shrubby environment.