Mullein

 This tall tower like plant can grow up to seven feet tall. It was dipped in animal fat and used as a funeral torch by the Romans, and the Greeks used the leaves as lamp-wicks. The leaves are covered with velvety-hairs. Hummingbirds have been seen gathering the hairs to line their tiny nests. One nature writer wrote " Pale country beauties rub their cheeks with the velvety leaves to make them rosy". Also, American Indians would line their moccasins with them. The hairs that cover the leaves protect the delicate, sensitive, cells from intense light, draught, and even cold. In harsh conditions the hairs have been known to felt together for more protection. I have read that at the end of each hair is a star.... I have not been able to see that yet, but don't think I am going to give up looking. I want to see that and add it to my list of fascinating marvels that fill this planet we call home.

Where I found it. In the field

The Season of Butterflies and Dragonflies

Yesterday, I was talking with someone about walking in the wild. I mentioned that I really never see any wild animals. My guess is that they see me first. But, I do see other wild life, besides flowers, on my walks. Frogs, toads, snakes, and all sorts of insects are my fellow companions on these nature hikes. Here are a few photos of some beauties photographed recently. If you click on the photos you will get a closer look at how truly beautiful they really are.  It is the season for butterflies and dragonflies in New England, which make my walks all the more magical.

Where I found them : in the field

Bouncing Bet

Bet or Betty is an old English word for washerwoman. The Bouncing part of the name is thought to be what you might see if you were behind a washerwoman who was bent over and scrubbing the clothes at the rivers edge.  The leaves of the plant contain saponin which is what produces the bubbles in soap. It not only makes suds but it also dissolves oils and grease.  If you take a few leaves and a little water and rub vigorously you will get a soapiness .... It was called " Fuller's Herb " by monks that used to clean cloth . Even around the ruins or old locations of  Fulling  Mills where they use to plant fields of this plant ,  you can still find  Bouncing Bet growing.

Where I found this : In my yard

Herb Robert

 Recently I wrote of common names being a problem. Herb  Robert was not a problem, but I was impressed with the common names I could find for this little flower. Here are a few..... Red Robin, Red  Shanks,  Dragon's Blood, Death Come Quickly,  Doves Foot, Crows Foot, and  Stinky Bob. Dragons blood struck me as an interesting name for the plant, and it turns out that the leaves become stained with red at the end of the flowering season. In Washington state it is known as a noxious weed and called  Stinky Bob. It does have a disagreeable odor when you break or crush the stem or leaves.  Some say it can be rubbed on the body to act as a mosquito repellent. Historically, what ever is in the secretion, tannins, bitters, or essential oils, was thought to be a cure for the plague. The name Robert may have come from either a Benedictine monk,  St. Robert, or Robert Duke of Normandy for whom the "Ortus  Sanitatis" was written. The "Ortus  Sanitatis" was a medical guide or Herbal,  written and wonderfully illustrated in the  1400's, and was used for nearly one hundred years.

Where I found it : Near a river

P. S.   Somehow when I see this flower I want to say " Bob's your Uncle " .... a  British saying I will never understand.

Arrowhead

Such an amazing water plant with just three ruffly petals. Lucky for me it was living near a river in a little ditch, so I didn't have to wade out into the water to get a photo. Its water source was run off from the hillside or maybe even ground water. I have read that this plant is so efficient at moving water by respiring through their leaves, that it has been taken out of reservoirs because it can lower the water levels. I have written many times of how the flowers are pollinated by bees and other insects but this one can even be pollinated by snails. The potato shaped tuber that grows in the muck can be cooked up like potatoes. Animals and people both ate these at one time. It is said that American Indians would raid Muskrat lodges to take their winter stash. Lewis and Clark wrote about them, saying that they were used for trading by the American Indians.

Where I found it : close by a river.

Yellow Loosestrife / Lysimachia Vulgaris

This is another of the flowers that you might not expect to be very historical, but, Pliny said that the plant's name comes from King Lysimachos, who had been a body guard to Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander, Lysimachos became the ruler of what is now known as Turkey. Lysimachos was an herbalist, and is said to be the one who discovered the benefits of the Loosestife. This was another flower that was hard to pin down to a correct name. A friend of mine and I  have been going back and forth about the name .... she said that her guides lead her to the name Garden Loosestrife ... but when I look it up in my guides the flower pattern is not the same. Garden Loosestrife in the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers shows Garden Loosestrife as a plant that alternates whorled yellow flowers with whorled leaves down the length of the stem. These flowers are clumped at the top of the stem. Finally I found a site that spoke of the flowers using their Scientific names with a description of them that matched the two that I was struggling with. At that sight this flower was named Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia Vulgaris) and the more whorled version was named Garden Loosestrife (Lysimachia Punctata). I often read that common names are a problem in the world of botany and it is why the botanists stay with the Latin names. This is my first time experiencing this ... even after getting the correct scientific name, if I type it in on the Internet to see what comes up, I get both names and images of both Yellow Loosestife and Garden Loosestrife...... but at least now I feel I have found its correct name. It is an invasive plant in Massachusetts.

Where I found it : Near a river

Yellow Star Grass

This little lovely was very difficult to identify. I thought it was Yellow Star Grass, but when I looked in my guides, all their photos and drawings show a flower with three petals and three sepal...... this does not have three and three .... it has four petals and four sepals????? I asked those I know who might shed some light on the mystery and no one knew. Finally I emailed the botanist at the Hitchcock Center in Amherst and he said that it just must be a variant of the three petal and three sepal Yellow Star Grass. Now my question..... will this variant  pass on this trait in it's seeds and next year reveal more of these variants???? We will just have to wait and see.  This flower is not only unique but it is independent also, usually  it is pollinated by certain bees, but if they fail in their job, this little flower will close up, and the radiating stamen with pollen laden anthers will squeeze close enough to the stigma to pollinate itself.

Where I found it : In a field

Queen of the Prairie

This has been blooming along side an out building in my neighborhood. It is called , of all things...... Queen of the Prairie. Tucked here in the foot hills of the Berkshires, it seems unlikely that we might stumble across Queen of the Prairie growing in our neighborhood ...... but it is indeed native to  the Northern Eastern United States. One article I read referred to this flower as the cotton candy of flowers, and when it is in full bloom it indeed does look like cotton candy. It is endangered or threatened in six states... But on an up note.... it has been given the Award of Garden Merit.  from  the Royal Horticultural Society.

Where I found it : growing along side and out building

Monkey Flower / Mimulus Ringens

Neltje Blanchan wrote in 1917, in her book Wild Flowers , " Imaginative eyes see what appears to them the gaping (ringens) face of a little ape or buffoon (mimulus) in this common flower whose drolleries, such as they are, call forth the only applause desired .... the buzz of insects that become pollen-laden during the entertainment."  The creative writing style of nature writers of the past can be such a treat. One thing she writes though, is not true today.... she used the words common flower, the Monkey Flower today is on the endangered list in Massachusetts.

Where I found it : Its a secret

Evening Primrose

 Evening Primrose is one of the flowers that opens at night. During the mid-day you will probably only see faded, ragged, and closed flowers ,along with unopened buds. By evening, if patient .... you will see the new buds open. A nature writer named Mrs. William Star Dana said that they open for a longer period time in the fall, and she thought it had to do with the sun not being as strong at that time of year. Moths pollinate this lemony smelling flower and moths have been known to just cuddle up inside the primrose flower as it is closing for the day, and sleep in its delicate tent.

Where I found it :  growing in a field

Forget-Me-Nots

There are many interesting facts about this little flower, and here are a just few.
It is Alaska's state flower. I would have thought something with a little more chutzpah would have been Alaska's state flower. Making this their state flower gives us a peek into the spectrum of beauty that Alaska contains. Next, those who put together the  Doctrine of Signatures believed the curving stalk (raceme) of this plant looked like a scorpions tail and so it was used for treating scorpions stings. Lastly, King Henry the Fourth, who was exiled, chose this flower as his symbol because he didn't want people to forget him.  I don't know if you are seeing the pattern here, but I am impressed with the idea that history books are filled with dates of wars and conquests, kings and queens and president after president, but rarely are flowers mentioned in our histories. Don't you think that the fact that King Henry the Fourth picked this flower as his emblem says a lot more about him, and makes him more memorable than a page full of dates.

Where I found it : Near the Knightsville Dam. s

Queen Annes's Lace

 We once knew an ol' timer who called this flower, Queen Anne's Doily. If you click on the photo to the right you will notice two things .... first, the  florets on the outer edge are larger than all the other florets . I have never noticed this before. The second thing to notice is the velvety maroon floret in the very center of the flower. The ol' timer told my children that this is where the Queen pricked her finger and left a tiny little blood stain on her doily. Queen Anne's Lace is part of the carrot family, and the carrot like root can be cooked and eaten. This plant is considered an invasive weed in about fourteen states ... but as Ralph Waldo Emerson said " A weed is simply a plant whose virtues we haven't discovered yet".

Where I found it : in the field

Goat's Beard

The Goat's Beard has some similarities to Chicory, the blog post before this one. It is sensitive to light, and the root has also been roasted and used as a coffee like drink. I went out early this weekend to pick raspberries and then walked about in a field close by to see if any interesting flowers were blooming. In my search I found this handsome flower. If you only glance at this flower you may mistake it for the Dandelion, but (don't tell the Dandelion) I think this flower is much more handsome. The dark headed stamen and the sepals that are longer than the petals make this a more interesting flower to look at. This is the first flower I photographed ( to your right) as I started through the field... as time went by I found others, but they were all partially closed.... it was then that I remembered  that this is another of the flowers that close up by noon. It is written that in times past, in England and France, farmers would watch these flowers to know when it was lunch time. Now, you and I know that any farmer could just look over head, or even just look at his shadow and know it was noon, but watching the flowers does make for a more romantic story.

Where I found it : in a field

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