May 15: Winter Cress and Redstem Stork's Bill

Today I am again amazed at the beauty of wildflowers which are considered weeds.

You've probably seen this one by the side of the road. It's Winter Cress.

Winter Cress

 Winter Cress is a favorite food of deer. When the seeds come, you can use them as a pepper substitute, because they are hot and peppery. In folk medicine, the plant is used as a poultice. But I just like the way it looks. :-)

I almost missed this next plant because it's so small. I noticed a grassy field with a hint of purple on it, so I got out to take a closer look. Turns out that it was inundated with these tiny pink flowers, Redstem Stork's Bill.

Redstem Stork's Bill

 This plant is recognizable by its fern-like leaves and hairy stems. It grows quite close to the ground and is easy to miss unless you look closely. It's known to grow mainly in the southwestern U.S., but several Michigan counties now have it too. Since it's considered a weed, though, so you won't find it in any wildflower book.

In addition to various herbal uses, Redstem Stork's Bill is rumored to have amazing abilities to straighten out one's thinking! :-D According to a blog about it, the flower is 
"used to relieve obsessive anxiety or worrying and for those who give disproportionate attention to trivial events and small problems. It is said to help them gain a wider and truer perspective on issues which to so many of us are routine events. It helps such people to spend less time worrying about things which they have blown up out of all proportion."

Just by looking at it, I tend to agree, though perhaps not for the same reason. I am reminded of Jesus' comforting admonition: "If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you?"

May 15: Wild Blue Phlox and Wild Geranium

Now blooming are two flowers which look somewhat alike, but culturally are opposites.

The first is the Wild Blue Phlox. 

Wild Blue Phlox

 This flower is so beloved that Europeans borrowed it from American and brought it back to Europe. In Victorian England, it symbolized a proposal of love and wish for pleasant dreams. This may be because it attracts butterflies, so has the sort of "sunshine and rainbows" charm about it.

On the other hand, there is Wild Geranium.

Wild Geranium

It is equally as beautiful, but it was used for opposite purposes. To counteract an unwanted love potion, Native Americans used to make a tea of Wild Geranium and place it near the afflicted person.

May 15: Time to pick garlic mustard!

Now is the perfect time to pick garlic mustard, an invasive species that spreads like crazy and which animals don't want to eat. Here's what it looks like.

Garlic Mustard

It's best to pick it early, before the seeds develop. When you pick it, be sure to put it in a bag, because the seeds develop even after it's picked and they will shoot out from the plant when mature.

A good thing about garlic mustard is that the entire plant is edible. It tastes pretty strong but makes a good garnish. If you google "garlic mustard recipe" you will find a whole bunch of entries, most of which call for a lot of other ingredients. Here's a popular recipe for Garlic Mustard Pesto.

I like things quick and easy, so I tried sauteing the garlic mustard in some butter with onions. I found that the leaves cooked down to the consistency of cooked spinach, but the stems became hardened and chewy. Next time I'll remove the leaves and just use those. Combined with the cooked onions, the leaves were pretty good -- I might put them in an omelet next time.
 

May 6: Trillium and Rue Anenome

I found a couple rarities on this walk...the first because it seems to show up less and less, and the second because I haven't seen this flower before.

The first flower is Trillium, a famous and beloved flower in Michigan.

Trillium

 Sadly, this is the only Trillium I have seen so far in the woods near my house. Hopefully there will be more as the year progresses. We get a lot of deer in the woods and I'm wondering if they are eating them.

I'm pretty sure this next flower is a Rue Anenome. 

Rue Anenome

 Unlike False Rue Anenome, Rue Anenome often has more than five petals, though sometimes it only has five. Rue Anenome doesn't have any nector -- only pollen -- so it relies on its showiness to attract bees. It's related to the buttercup and is poisonous, so deer don't like to eat it. Deer are attracted to white flowers though, so maybe they're simply going for the Trillium instead.

May 3: Violets, Dutchman's Breeches, and edible/nonedible weeds

It's rather amazing what you can find by the side of the road.
 
Just driving by an untended area between the street and the sidewalk, I found some of the richest beauty I've seen so far. There were some Common Blue Violets and a variation I hadn't noticed before.

Common Blue Violet

Variation of Common Blue Violet

Violets are rather tasty (or at least they don't taste bad -- actually to me they don't taste like much of anything) and they dissolve easily in the mouth, so people have used them as cake decorations. Sugared Violets is a time-honored thing to make and is easy to do.

I also noticed some Dutchman's Breeches.

Dutchman's Breeches

Do NOT eat them. Dutchman's Breeches are poisonous, and should be kept away from cattle. This is usually not an issue because Dutchman's Breeches grow in the woods, often on banks where there is leaf mold.

Another plant that is bad for livestock, especially horses, is Hoary Alyssum. Pull it out of pastures if you find it there.

 

Hoary Alyssum

A weed you CAN eat is Purple Dead Nettle, which is quite beautiful despite its dark-sounding name.

Purple Dead Nettle

It's called "dead' because it doesn't have nettles to sting you. It's high in antioxidants though a little fuzzy and not real tasty -- it's edible enough though, just not real exciting to eat. Some people put in in smoothies. Feel free to pick all you want because it's considered a weed and often invades people's lawns.

 

April 29: Nine beauties, some good & some bad

Today was a beautiful day to look for wildflowers. I set out biking on the Rivertrail between Mt. Hope and Scott Woods.

I saw a flower I hadn't noticed before. It's invasive, so isn't listed in any Michigan wildflower book. It's Fig Buttercup.

Fig Buttercup

There was a ton of this all along the river and dotted in the grass. If you see Fig Buttercups, pick them! This plant is rapidly becoming a serious exotic invasive pest species in moist forests along creeks and floodplains. NOTE: Buttercups are toxic, and they tend to bother cows most, then horses, sheep, and pigs.  They lose their toxicity once boiled or dried though. Here's a website all about them. http://www.eattheweeds.com/buttercups/

A plant that is much rarer is the Yellow Trout Lily. These are native to Michigan, but each plant will blossom only once every seven years. So you tend to see a lot of leaves but not very many flowers. They are called "trout lilies" because the leaves have a mottled, trout-like look.

Yellow Trout Lily

It's best not to pick Trout Lilies. The root of the trout lily is edible and tastes like cucumber, but it's very small, and really not worth killing the flower for unless you're starving!

Then there is the dandelion.  This plant is both abundant and edible, nutritious, and delicious! They are best picked when young and tender, so now would be a good time.

Dandelion

The tenderest, sweetest part of the dandelion is the crown, the unopened bud sitting above the taproot. You can eat dandelions raw, steamed, or sauteed. You can grind up the root and use it as a substitute for coffee. If you find the greens too bitter, you can blanche them, which will remove much of the bitter flavor. Here's a recipe for Cream of Dandelion Soup (popular in France) as well as Dandelion Syrup.

 Also along the river trail I spotted some Bloodroot flowers.

Bloodroot

 

Bloodroot root

They are called "bloodroot" because the roots have a blood-red juice. Native americans used to use the juice as a natural dye. However, Bloodroot is poisonous, and the juice can be caustic to skin.





Every once in a while you see flowers so small that it's hard to recognize them as flowers. So it is with Common Chickweed. The flowers look like little white stars on the ground.

Common Chickweed, much magnified

Like dandelions, common chickweed is considered a lawn pest, but is also edible, delicious and nutritious. It is an ingredient in a Japanese springtime dish, Nanakusa-no-sekku. Some people also use it as a skin treatment.

Another beautiful little lawn pest is Ground Ivy, also called Creeping Charlie. The picture below is an extreme close-up.

Ground Ivy, a.k.a. Creeping Charlie

Ground Ivy is a member of the mint family -- you can identify mint family members by the square stems. Some people like to eat it as a salad green...European settlers carried it with them and brought it here. You can also steep it in hot water to make tea, or as a substitute for rennet when making cheese. However, this plant is considered poisonous to cattle and horses.

Here's another little flower I haven't seen before -- the Thyme-Leaved Speedwell. It's so small at first I thought it was a Forget-Me-Not. But it's not.

Thyme-Leaved Speedwell

You won't find this Thyme-Leaved Speedwell in a book on Michigan wildflowers, at least not in the books I've seen. It's considered a weed. It's not considered toxic to animals though.

Another common wildflower not listed in Michigan wildflower books is the English Daisy, or Lawn Daisy. It's called a Lawn Daisy because it doesn't grow very tall, unlike the Ox-Eye Daisy, which IS listed as a Michigan wildflower.

English Daisy / Lawn Daisy

The Latin name for this flower is Bellis perennis, which means "beautiful everlasting." You can eat the flowers and leaves raw or cooked, though they are best when tender and young. Daisy juice is astringent (causing wounds to close faster), and in ancient Rome, surgeons used to soak bandages in daisy juice before using them to bind sword and spear cuts.

This last plant is a marvel to me...I've been walking the same green in Shubel Park for about 20 years and only noticed this flower this year. It's a Canada Violet. I wonder how it got there. Distributed through bird droppings, I suppose...it was in the middle of the grass all by itself, right next to the curb.

Canada Violet / White Violet

The Canada Violet, or White Violet, is one of the few violets that has a scent. I've also seen Common Blue Violets this year -- just haven't posted them yet -- but it was a real pleasure to see this beautiful little variant. Like Common Blue Violets,  Canada Violets are edible, but I wouldn't dream of picking this one til it has a chance to spread.

April 27: Bare woods, False Rue Anenome & Spring Beauty

Today is so beautiful that it's really hard to be inside. It's 67 degrees and there's not a cloud in the sky. The woods are still very sunny because there are no leaves or undergrowth yet.

A clear woods is good for flowers that like sunshine, though. The False Rue Anenome and Spring Beauty are starting to bloom. 

True Rue or False Rue Anenome?

I confess that I'm not always sure what's a Rue Anenome and what's a False Rue Anenome...Rue Anenomes have notched petals and False Rue Anenomes have lobed petals...but do the petals get more lobed as they get older? In this picture, it looks like there are lobed petals in the background. Plus False Rues always have just five petals whereas true Rues often have more. I hope it's a False Rue because they are endangered flowers in many states.

Also starting to bloom is the Spring Beauty. There's no mistaking this plant. The stripes on the blossoms lead insects to the nectar.

Spring Beauty

From http://www.naturepods.com/nature-field-guides/spring-wildflowers-of-the-southeast-naturepod/spring-wildflower-naturepod-fun-facts:

"Spring Beauty only opens on sunny days. Some old wives-tales used this behavior as a barometer to predict oncoming storms. Wildlife also relish spring beauty. Deer and wild hogs dig the starchy tuber for lunch. Some people say that the raw root tastes like a radish, but when it’s baked it tastes like a cross between a baked potato and roasted chestnuts."