slatsz' wildflower walks 2012 #3: August 29, 2012 - Verbascum thapus, flannel mullein

August 29, 2012 – Bright light therapy - Verbascum thapsus, flannel mullein

Just a walk to spend some time in the sun.

Some information on wildflowers as food from the internet at the bottom of this message … buckwheat and yampah.

An hour and fifteen minutes. Out mostly for exercise. 125 photos, many chasing a red ant and a spider mite. Spider mites are very, very fast. 60 keepers.

Arrived about 6:00 pm. I stopped at the west end of the park to check on the late blooming Eriogonum umbellatum, sulfur buckwheat.

I had a couple of nice chats with a park-neighbor. I’ll send him blog information.

I took specimens of the late blooming sulfur buckwheat, dry, now, Artemisia tridentata, big sagebrush and a couple of grasses to photograph while sitting on slatsz stump. I walked up the north-side trail to get to the stump.

I attempted some landscapes with clouds.

I noticed an extensive patch of short bunch grass and recorded it. I didn’t see seed-heads. I wonder if it’s immature Pseudoroegneria spicata, blue bunch wheatgrass.

Then I recorded a grass with very long extensions on its seeds. I took a specimen to photograph. It was damaged in my travels so the image I have doesn’t represent it very well.

I got to the lot with the thistle by the fence and looked to see if thistle was still in bloom. No sign of it. But Verbascum thapsus, flannel mullein was there, beginning to bloom. And near it a plant that must be escaped from a flower garden was starting to bloom.

My legs were unduly weak. I was staggering around on the uneven ground trying to photograph the mullein. The householder was up on the roof, painting. He was concerned.

I picked branch of a dry Polygonum douglasii, Douglas’ knotweed that I thought might have a blossom on it. It didn’t.

There was only a little wind but it was enough to make photographing dry petals and tiny seeds a challenge. I lost some of my specimens, dealing with the frustration.

I continued my walk east, in the middle of the park, away from either trail.

I saw what I thought was a seed head on Epilobium brachycarpum, autumn willow herb. I suppose it was an open hypanthium. I came to the very low stump and sat down on it. Getting up and getting down was more difficult than it should have been all day. The very low stump was a trial.

There were patches of ragged Centaurea cyanus, bachelor buttons on each side of me. I decided to record that they were still trying to bloom.

It may be that a red ant fell off the specimen onto my shorts. I chased it for awhile.

There was another red ant on the specimen. It was so busy doing whatever it was doing that it wouldn’t run away from me. It stayed with its task, whatever that was.

Near the stump was one of many specimens of green lily or grass like foliage. Seems strange with everything else so dry.

On one of the hillocks with shrubs near north pond there was a thick patch of flattened grass. I couldn’t pick out seed-heads for the grass, for sure. I didn’t try very hard.

I took a seed head for Perideridia gairdneri, yampah, and sat on a basalt outcrop to photograph it. I need to get better images.

The close-ups of the seeds reminded me of the article on yampah as food in Montana Plant Life. That reminded me of information I had read on buckwheat as somehow a substitute for grains in environments where grains don’t prosper. I think I remember that mountain cultures grew buckwheat from ancient times.

The yampah seed head had what I believe to be a spider mite on it. Speedy little guy. I got an image of the mite but not a good image.

I noticed a patch of Eriogonum heracleoides, parsnip flower buckwheat foliage that I thought needed to be photographed. I pulled some grass stems out of it and took its picture.

WILDFLOWERS AS FOOD AND MEDICINE

Yampah, Buckwheat

http://montana.plant-life.org/

I like this website. The search features are well done.

It doesn’t seem to be associated with a school. It’s out of Emigrant, Montana.

There are not many plants on the website but they sell a dvd with 9,000 plants on it.

Perideridia gairdneri, Gairdner’s Yampah

Edible Uses:
The root of yampah is edible, raw or cooked. A pleasant sweet and nutty taste, it can be eaten in quantity as a staple food. It is best used when the plant is dormant. The root can also be dried for later use or ground into a powder and used with cereals when making porridges, cakes etc. Yampah was an important food for many native peoples and mountain men. Some people claim that these roots are the best-tasting wild roots in the mountains, with a sweet, nutty flavor, devoid of any bitterness. The seed is used as a caraway-like seasoning, or can be parched and eaten in porridge or used as piñole. Young leaves are edible too, raw or cooked.

Medicinal Uses:
The root is urine-inducing, mildly laxative, and has agents that relieve and remove gas from the digestive system, and are healing for disorders and diseases of the eyes. A tea of the roots has been taken to counter the cathartic and emetic effects of another infusion. An infusion of the roots has been applied as a wash to sores and wounds and also used as a nasal wash to get rid of catarrh. A poultice of the roots has been used to draw inflammation from swellings. The juice of the slowly chewed root is said to be beneficial in the treatment of sore throats and coughs.

USDA NRCS Plant Guide

http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/boise/research/shrub/Links/Plant%20Guides/sulphurflowerbuckwheat_plantguide.pdf

Sulfur Flower buckwheat; Eriogonum umbellatum Torr.

Ethnobotanic Uses: Modern knowledge of the ethnobotanical uses of Eriogonum is entirely attributed to Mexican and Native American herbal traditions. The Cahuilla used an infusion of the flowers as an eyewash, as well as for cleaning out the intestines, and made an infusion of the whole plant to shrink the uterus and reduce dysmenorrhea. Several California tribes used the tea to wash newborn babies. The Hopi used Eriogonum for hip and back pain, especially during pregnancy, and it was known to expedite birthing. Due to its water solubility and its lack of toxicity, Eriogonum can be taken as often as needed, and is safe to use in the last trimester of pregnancy as a diuretic to aid water retention.

Northern Arizona University

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/plants-c/bio414/species%20pages/Eriogonum%20umbellatum%20.htm

Uses
The seeds, roots, leaves and stems of Eriogonum sp. is used widely for food by Native Americans. Seeds were mostly ground and mixed with water or eaten dry and/or pounded into meal. Leaves were boiled for tea or, along with stems, eaten as greens. Medicinally Eriogonum sp. was utilized as an analgesic, dermatological aid, and as a general tonic using leaves, roots and/or entire plant in decoctions. Other uses include ceremonial, toys and games, and tools (3).