Monthly Archives: August 2012

August 12, 2012 · 9:19 am

Plant of the day: common nightshade

Solanum americanum

As a kid I called this plant deadly nightshade, which may be why it has always looked sinister to me. It likes to grow in shady places, where its white or purple flowers gleam like little stars. Solanum americanum twines its narrow stem up through bushes, or drapes over tree branches. The deep green leaves are arrow-shaped–like a weapon, or the head of a rattlesnake or pit bull. It may look pretty but its very outline says “don’t mess with me.”

Despite being in the same family as peppers, potatoes and tomatoes, nightshade is quite toxic. My childhood respect was well-founded; eating the unripe berries has been fatal to more hapless tots. But just how poisonous nightshade is can vary with population, environment, and the age of the plant. Farmers don’t like it because the berries can’t be separated from peas and some beans, it is resistant to some herbicides, and the vines can gum up the harvesting machinery as well (according to the CA Department of Food and Agriculture).

I’m not sure whether this is a plus or not, but nightshade also contains salasodine, a natural compound that is used in some countries to manufacture steroid hormones.

Common nightshade is considered native, but there is a chance that it was an early introduction from South America.

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August 11, 2012 · 10:49 pm

Plant of the day: hedge parsley

This is one of the many unassuming plants that will be leaving souvenirs in your socks throughout the summer. With seed pods studded with hooked barbs, it catches easily on fabric and fur. Hedge parsley, or Torilis arvensis, is a mildly invasive species that has spread throughout much of the state (below 5,249 feet according to CalFlora, though such a precise number seems a tad arbitrary).

With tiny white flowers and only a few small leaves scattered along the stem, this calf-high plant is easily missed–though its burrs are more noticeable. Hedge parsley is in the large and diverse carrot family (or Apiaceae), landing on the untasty end of the spectrum that ranges from poison hemlock to culinary parsley.

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August 10, 2012 · 6:43 pm

Plant of the day: California hemp

A tall, sprawling bush grows in a rocky creek bed, decorated with cone-shaped heads of purple pea flowers. Plain, broadly pointed leaves are arranged in threes. Often the leaves are folded slightly towards their central vein, and also bent at a sharp angle to the stem so they look upraised, like a hand cocked at the wrist.

This is California hemp (Hoita macrostachya). This leggy plant has hollow stems and likes to live in moist places and is a good indicator of wetlands. It is found almost exclusively in California, as are the other two species in the Hoita tribe. All have purple flowers and similar leaves, but one is a creeping, low-growing plant and the other is found in serpentine chaparral, not in wetlands.

The name California hemp likely derives from this plants historic use as a textile. The fibers of its stem are strong enough that they reputedly have been used for sewing, as well as been woven into ropes or bags. A yellow dye can be made from its roots.

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August 9, 2012 · 10:09 am

Plant of the day: coastal gumweed

Masses of yellow flowers are blooming beside the lagoon. Bees swarm over the blossoms, rummaging for pollen in their daisy-like centers. Nearby, white goo that looks like Elmer’s glue coats the younger, unopened buds. The green bracts surrounding the petals are fleshy spikes, curved strongly backward.

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This is coastal gumweed, or Grindelia stricta. The species is highly variable, growing either upright to about waist height, or prostrate along the ground. You can find it along the Pacific coast from Los Angeles to Washington state. The erect version shown above (Grindelia stricta var. angustifolia) was photographed at the Bolinas Lagoon; it’s usually found in salt marshes. This is the only local species of Grindelia to have woody stems so it is easy to tell apart from other gumweeds. Other names for this species include Oregon gumweed and marsh gum plant.

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August 8, 2012 · 11:40 pm

Plant of the day: sticky sandspurry

Spergularia macrotheca

On the upper edge of a salt marsh, pale purple flowers grow low to the ground. This is sticky sandspurry, or Spergularia macrotheca. There are several different species of spurrys in the area, and all are very similar. To identify S. macrotheca I had to get out my hand lens and look close at the tiny seeds. In this species, each seed is surrounded by a narrow, papery halo (or “wing”).

With its five pale petals surrounding cheery yellow stamens, sticky sandspurry can be found along the Pacific coast states up to Canada and southeast Alaska. The plant earns its name by being covered with short, sticky hairs. Clustered leaves, rising from a swollen spot in the stem, give a clue that it’s in the Caryophyllaceae family.

It prefers to grow in wet places, often near saltwater, but it also can be found by freshwater seeps, springs and vernal pools–and in non-wetlands as well.

Notice the swollen stem at the leaf nodes

 

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August 7, 2012 · 3:28 pm

Plant of the day: chicory

This tough, blue-eyed plant is a rugged survivor (aka, a weed). Chicory (Cichorium intybus) thrives on the edges of human activity: roadsides and empty lots. It was originally native to Europe, but now it is so well established across North America that it often is described as “naturalized”.

Chicory also has a long relationship with people as a food. It’s roots–roasted, toasted and ground–are a renowned coffee substitute. They also can be cooked and eaten like parsnips. The bitter leaves are used in salads or spaghetti; they are less bitter in the wintertime. Because chicory plants have plenty of inulin (a type of starch that diabetics can’t digest) they are a recommended food for people trying to limit their glucose.

Their pretty blue flowers are light sensitive, opening at dawn and closing by the afternoon.

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August 6, 2012 · 6:45 am

Plant of the day: saltmarsh dodder

Bright orange patches dot the green swath of a salt marsh. Look close and you will see what looks like a mat of fishing line or straw. Hundreds–thousands–of narrow orange threads are wrapped tightly around bright green pickleweed stems. Copious white flowers often bloom off the threads. This is saltmarsh dodder (Cuscuta salina), a parasitic native plant that mooches nutrients off its host plant. Instead of photosynthesizing its own food, it sinks tiny root-like organs (called haustoria) into the flesh of the plant. Once it taps into the vascular system it can suck out all the water, minerals and carbohydrates that it needs.

Dodder seeds are scattered by wind, tides and animals so there is no guarantee that they will germinate near a suitable host plant. But they die if they can’t find one quickly. It sounds impossible for a  brainless, eyeless, noseless  plant to do, right? Nope–not if a host is anywhere close. They can detect the volatile compounds emitted by the host (basically, its smell) and then they grow towards it.

There are a lot of species of dodder in the US, and some of them are parasitic to some of our favorite crops like alfalfa, potatoes and petunias. Though the group is much maligned as a result, some ecologists make a case for the role that parasitic plants can play in the natural environment. Species like dodder or mistletoe don’t decimate their hosts’ population, but they do create patchiness. And in ecology, patchiness tends to lead to diversity, which is a good thing!

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August 5, 2012 · 9:27 am

Plant of the day: pickleweed

The pickleweed is in bloom, but you probably won’t notice.

First, you would have to notice the plant itself. Sarcocornia pacifica is a fleshy, low-growing plant of the salt marshes. It is named for its leafless, segmented succulent stems, which resemble tiny pickles. Or, little green fingers. I think it’s an adorable plant, but it is undeniably unobtrusive. Often people just see it as something to step on while they are getting to the water, the beach or the view…

To see the flowers, you have to look even closer. The blooms themselves are simply tiny white threads emerging from the green wall of the plant; you can barely see them with the naked eye (click on the middle picture to get an idea).

I’ve never nibbled on it, but pickleweed (also called Virginia glasswort) is edible, with a mild salty flavor. Not surprising, since it often grows in a dense mat along the wet edges of marshes. Regularly drenched by the tide,  it has the ability to absorb large amounts of saltwater.

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August 4, 2012 · 9:15 am

Plant of the day: alkali heath

Along the edge of a lagoon is a small purple flower perched atop dusky green leaves. This is alkali heath, or Frankenia salina. It’s mainly found in California, though it also can be found occasionally in other parts of the US.

This plant often grows in dense clumps, but it is not very tall. I have only seen it growing to about a foot tall, and that is when it was using other plants for support.

Because it grows in areas that are often submerged by the tides, alkalai heath has the ability to withstand large amounts of salty water–unlike most plants. The technical description for this talent is “halophytic”, and the community of plants that shares this trait is comparatively small. With its five purple petals, comparatively long stamens, pale green leaves and ability to live in salty marshes, alkalai heath is fairly unique to identify.

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August 3, 2012 · 8:09 pm

Plant of the day: stinging nettle

Urtica dioica

Stinging nettles are a common denizen of the shady forest. These tall plants have heart-shaped leaves with jagged edges like the edge of a bread knife. Though seemingly delicate, Urtica dioica packs a hidden weapon: stinging hairs that give a painful bite to the bare skin of any unwary passersby.

But these plants are friend as well as foe. They are tasty as a tea, in soup, and also as an addition to one of my favorite fancy cheeses. Nettle wine is still being made. Even brief exposure to heat destroys the sting, but some actually seek it out–a British nettle eating competition is a vivid example. One winning contender ate the leaves off 48 feet of stalks! I don’t recommend trying this. But I can vouch that a tea made from the fresh leaves is delicious. Collect them using a plastic bag or gloves, and simply pour boiling water over them in a cup. The water turns a dark green with a rich flavor, and when you drain your cup the leaves can be eaten as well. The plant contains large amounts of chlorophyll, and is a natural source of magnesium, iron, and calcium. Plus it’s delicious!

Nettles have had many uses besides food over the centuries as well. The fibrous plants are great for textiles–they have been made into shrouds, sailcloth, rope, silk-like fabric, and military uniforms.

Stinging nettles are native to Europe, Asia and also North America. There is another, less common type of nettle as well. Dwarf nettle is low growing, less than 1.5 feet tall as opposed to stinging nettle which grows 3 to 10 feet tall. Also, it isn’t native to California.

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