Knapweed

This plant is considered a noxious weed. Doesn't "noxious" sound just so odious?
Anyway, here it is:

2007 August 12

Yes, that spindly purple plant there ...

2007 August 12

2007 August 12

2007 August 12
... the one with the pretty flowers is the culprit in question. There are some, however, that don't "get" the noxious part ...

2007 August 12
... for the nectar is tasty and plentiful. Oh yum.
Oh ... you want the NAME of the plant? Okay, this one is called "Spotted Knapweed" (Centaurea maculosa).

2008 August 24

2007 August 25
The Seed Pod full of seeds and one seed laying right on top, ready to escape!

This plant is a biennial or short lived perennial. It is an introduced species through contaminated seed (eg. with alfalfa seed) coming in from Eurasia. One plant can produce over 1000 seeds and these seeds are viable for 5-7 years. This plant releases a toxin that reduces the growth of good forage crops ... now you know ... the "noxious" part of the story.

Indian Pipe

Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)

2008 September 8

2008 September 8

2008 October 18

2008 October 18

We were walking down a new trail one day, a wooded, older growth section of trail, when I espied these growing up on the bank through a thick bed of moss. I was so excited for I had only ever seen pictures of them in books. These were on the wane already but I'll be sure to try and get there earlier next year to at least try and capture them as they are coming up.

One name for this plant is "wolf urine" for it was said to grow where wolves urinated! Hmmm ... yes, we do have wolves in our area.

Some First Nations people used the ashes or a powder from this plan to rub on sores that would not seem to heal.

Goldenrod

I have found two types of Goldenrod growing in our area. All goldenrods contain small amounts of natural rubber in their latex. The first Goldenrod we will look at is:

"Canada Goldenrod" (Solidago canadensis)

2007 July 30

2007 July 30

2007 September 23
During the American Revolution, this plant was used as a tea substitute, as tea arriving from Britain was being so heavily taxed. The leaves may also be eaten as greens. Tea from the stems and flower was used to treat diarrhea or to bathe colicky babies.

"Spikelike Goldenrod" (Solidago simplex)

2007 July 15

2007 July 15

2007 July 15

2007 July 15

2007 August 12

2008 August 24

2012 May 15

This plant was boiled and used as a dressing for wounds and to treat hemorrhoids (just might work better then that Preparation H)!