Wildflowers of North America – Page 14 – Botanically Inclined

Eating our way into the ‘future’ – Allium tricoccum

Plant portraits, Wildflowers of North America

Allium tricoccum (wild garlic, ramps)

Allium tricoccum is one of the first species to appear in early spring in the woodlands of North America. After a long winter, the onion-garlic scented, fleshy leaves look very delicious; actually they contain lots of vitamins and minerals. Leaves will completely disappear being replaced in the summer by flowering stems bearing a single inflorescence with white flowers, followed by capsules with black seeds (3 in each fruit – tricoccum). The bulbs and leaves of A. tricoccum have been traditionally used by the Native Americans, then by the European settlers and all the following generations.

Allium tricoccum foliage in early spring – easy to spot and smell!

Last year I didn’t collect seeds because I thought this is such a common plant around here. But I had forgotten to check the facts – it turns out that we are continuing to eat our way into the ‘future’, and what was once a very common spring sight in most North American woodlands is now rapidly fading away! Since they become more popular, with ramps festivals held annually and served in fancy restaurants as ‘local and organic’ food, they have become over-harvested everywhere.

In Quebec, wild harvesting of Allium tricoccum is currently prohibited, and in a few of the U.S.A. states it has become a ‘special concern’ species!

Allium tricoccum (ramps) colony – a common spring sight (for how long?)

As it happened with other species, the regeneration doesn’t occur fast enough to keep up with the unsustainable harvesting and entire populations may disappear from one year to another.

Allium tricoccum flowering stems

Another notorious example of woodland species that we have managed to erase almost entirely from our woodlands through overharvesting is Hydrastis canadensis (goldenseal), and there are signs in some areas that mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) may follow it in the near future.

August 15, 2015

Uvularia al dente

Wildflowers of North America

Chasing bees and butterflies is great fun but there is work to do and besides seeds I also have an overdue mea culpa note on Thalictrum isopyroides – read it here if interested.

Talking about seeds, last week I collected some of Uvularia grandiflora. I will keep writing about this wonderful but under-used woodland plant until more people start growing it! It is hard to estimate when the seeds are ripen, so for those who want to collect their own seeds here’s a tip I learned the hard way: the capsules will get from green to greenish-white to white (but still remain firm and crispy) before splitting to release the seeds. The seeds are equipped with elaiosomes and ants will carry them away quickly.

Uvularia grandiflora capsules – ‘al dente’

It is a gradual transition, easy to over-wait thinking they are not ripened yet. Just like when boiling pasta al dente; you think it’s not quite there and a few seconds later it’s already overdone.

‘Over cooked’ Uvularia grandiflora capsule

Note: I assume that everyone reading this enjoys pasta, at least eating it if not cooking.

August 9, 2015

Actaea x ludovici

Wildflowers of North America

Last week’s ‘discovery’ after a random wander through some woods. I stumbled into an area with A. pachypoda fo. rubrocarpa, A. pachypoda and… another Actaea which was looking like A. rubra (growing nearby) but not quite. What then? Well, it was the rarely seen hybrid between A. pachypoda and A. rubra – Actaea x ludovici!

: Actaea x ludovici; Red fruits like A. rubra (not shiny) with bigger black dots; thicker pedicels than in A. rubra and the raceme is more open reminding of A. pachypoda.

The hybrid berries contained a few seeds! What would come out of them, I really can’t tell… Flora of Michigan presents a short description; in mature exemplars the thickness of the fruits stalks and colour are a very good indicator, although there are other more detailed differences.

Meet the parents:

: Actaea pachypoda – Doll’s eyes (the pedicels will become red when the fruits mature)

: Actaea rubra – Red Baneberry; The fruits have slender pedicels and smaller ‘dots’ (the eye formed by the persistent stigma. Also, worth noticing that the raceme is more compact and the fruits are shiny when mature.

It seems I have a particular relation with the baneberries. Last year I also found the very rare Actaea pachypoda fo. rubrocarpa (which the obviously outdated Flora of NA says that it may not exist!). I still have to stumble onto A. rubra fo. neglecta…

: A. pachypoda fo. rubrocarpa; Magenta coloured fruits with red pedicels as thick as the axis of the raceme and with a pronounced swollen base, like in A. pachypoda

And just a note for those not interested in the botanical aspect – these are all wonderful plants for the shade garden!

August 1, 2015

Wildflowers Tuesday – Limestone calamint

Wildflowers of North America

Observing plants growing in the wild has always been my greatest source of inspiration when it comes to growing species in the rock garden or other more specific situations (like a scree garden). Growing along the shores of lakes Michigan and Huron on rocky, calcareous substrate/alvars in full sun, there is this little mint scented plant, which seems perfect for the edge of the rockery, or as a groundcover along a patio or walkway. It will bring a much needed splash of colour in mid-summer, not to mention the refreshing spicy mint scent!

: Clinopodium arkansanum (limestone calamint)

Green-purple delicate stems with linear leaves and large, lavender flowers at peak flowering usually sometimes in July.

Another one that got into the ‘seeds to be collected’ list, which keeps getting longer and longer.

July 21, 2015

Wildflowers Monday – the Partridge berry

Plant portraits, Wildflowers of North America

Mitchella repens – Partridge berry, twinberry, squaw vine

This is also in praise of little plants because partridge berry is a ‘ground hugger’, forming an excellent, evergreen carpet of small, rounded, shiny leaves with a whitish main vein. I can imagine it flowing over a big shaded boulder, mossy woodland humps or over a stony wall. But, sadly I have never seen it cultivated – little plants have sometimes difficulties to getting noticed…

Mitchella repens – partridge berry

Well-known and used traditionally by the Native Americans as a women’s herb (aid in menstrual complaints and childbirth, hence the name squaw vine); tested and still recommended by the modern herbal medicine. The berries were also used occasionally as food.

: Mitchella repens flowers – pink buds opening to white, tubular, fragrant flowers with fuzzy petals (you have to lay down to notice this); they are followed by large scarlet berries which are consumed by a variety of birds and mammals in late fall.

Note: The name Mitchella was chosen by C. Linnaeus to honor his friend John Mitchell. A physician, keen naturalist and cartographer; he set up practice in America and over the years provided Linnaeus with information about many North American species, partridge berry included.

Thanks to someone’s comment regarding Mitchella cultivation, I realized I should mention that it is often found growing close to Gaultheria procumbens or on top of moss mounds, which indicates its inclination for a slightly acidic substrate. Give it a try! – not necessarily from seeds; the stems are easily rooting at the nodes and a small portion can be used same as a cutting (already rooted ;).

Mitchella and companions (Gaultheria in the left-top corner)

June 29, 2015

Test, test – Eriogonum umbellatum var. porteri

Alpine plants, Plant portraits, Wildflowers of North America

Little plants series – the chameleon

It seems that my subscription form doesn’t always works, so I am testing with a little plant; actually from a category that should be better called ‘flat to the ground’ (or prostrate plants, botanically speaking ;) Eriogonum umbellatum (sulfur buckwheat), is well-known to the rock garden aficionados and mountain enthusiasts, and it has quite a few, hard to ID varieties.

E. umbellatum var. porteri (Porter’s sulphur flower) is the smallest of them all – a real golden nugget I acquired from Wrightman Alpines. In the wild it grows on rocky slopes and ridges at high-elevations in a few locations in Colorado, Nevada and Utah.

: Eriogonum umbellatum var. porteri – Bear in mind that this is a young plant and it needs a few more years to start glowing in its full splendour

Flat to the ground, or better said container, it is an all season interest plant: evergreen foliage with small leaves in tight rosettes, yellow bright flowers which turn red when fading (like in the featured image); the foliage will also acquire red and orange tones. Needless to say – pollinator friendly and a reliable, good companion for other little plants.

To make my point, two more images:

E. umbellatum var. aureum in full bloom in Wasatch Mts. (Utah), which is very similar with var. porteri; the later replacing var. aureum at higher elevations.

Eriogonum umbellatum var. aureum (Wasatch Mts., Utah)

And an incredible old exemplar of E. umbellatum var. porteri which has turned red after pollination – growing at the Montreal Botanical Garden (which is renown, by the way, for its Alpine Garden).

Eriogonum umbellatum var.porteri ( Montreal BG)

Sort of a chameleonic plant I would say…

June 11, 2015

Wildflowers Monday – Hydrophyllum virginianum

Plant portraits, Wildflowers of North America

It’s in the details

Conspicuously silver-marked, pinnate leaves which are among the first to appear early in the spring:

Hydrophyllum virginianum – early spring foliage

Curled flower buds with ciliate calyces which resemble an exquisite lace work; opening to reveal white or purple bell-shaped flowers with exerted stamens:

Hydrophyllum virginianum flowers

…recognized by pollination ecologists as very valuable because they attract large numbers of native bees. They must be delicious – often foraged by the bumblebees long after their prime:

Bumblebee on Hydrophyllum virginianum

Hydrophyllum virginianum grows very well in dry, shade conditions of hardwood forests, bottomlands and edges of the woods. Excellent as a groundcover in difficult shady areas and for naturalization projects. Although considered a bit weedy, I noticed that it is not capable to compete with the non-native invasive species, which are spreading in the remnants woodlots between newly developed residential areas.

Another Hydrophyllum that will save your time (and back) from weeding in the shady, moist areas of the garden, is the Broad-leaf waterleaf – Hydrophyllum canadense.

Hydrophyllum canadense

June 8, 2015

Wildflowers Monday – Jeffersonia diphylla

Wildflowers of North America

Jeffersonia diphylla – Twinleaf, Rheumatism root (Fam. Berberidaceae)

Twinleaf is quite an unusual North American native species. Not often cultivated and we still have to find it in the woods of Southwestern Ontario where it is probably quite rare. This gorgeous picture belongs to a cultivated plant. It is obviously thriving in a garden where many native species are mingling happily in a fine balance with more exotic species (many thanks for the opportunity to take the pictures).

Jeffersonia diphylla

It is easily distinguished by the bluish-green two-lobed leaves that gave both its Latin and common names. Think of them as green butterflies topped up in the spring by large white flowers resembling those of the bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). Awesome combination!

But the flowering is a short event like in many other cases; it is the foliage that makes it so special. In the spring, the newly emerged stems are purple coloured, reminding of another great perennial of Berberidaceae, the blue cohosh. A definitely show off for any garden! If we would be to say this is a rare Chinese species, would it become more desirable? Joke apart, the only other Jeffersonia species, equally special, J. dubia, grows wild in the Far East Russia, North Korea, and Manchuria.

Named in honour of US President Thomas Jefferson, which was a keen gardener himself, it has had medicinal uses in the traditional aboriginal medicine, mainly for dropsy, urinary problems and inflammations (hence the name rheumatism root).

Jeffersonia diphylla fruit

Propagation: not difficult from seeds if they are kept moist at all times and allowed a warm-cold cycle (just like its cousins Epimediums). It will germinate in the next warm cycle. Not fast growing but worthwhile the wait. It presents a peculiar capsule that opens from a slit below the top, similar with a lid (be careful to catch the arilate seeds!)

May 18, 2015

Wildflowers Monday – Pink and green Trillium

Photography, Wildflowers of North America

Wandering in the woods through masses of white trillium (T. grandiflorum) at peak flowering is a privilege.An even greater and exciting treat is finding its pink form – Trillium grandiflorum f. roseum and interesting green variants. The pink flower form can be usually found mixed in large populations of ‘normal’ white trilliums. Scouting for them has to be done early because later almost all of the “whites” will also turn slightly pink when fading.

Trillium grandiflorum f. roseum

The greening of the White Trillium flowers is believed to be caused by infection with a pathogen belonging to the genus Phytoplasma. Phytoplasmic infections are usually confined to phloem and often result in the transformation of floral parts to leafy green structures, potentially leading to sterility of the plant. But there is more research to be done until all will be clear regarding this subject.

Trillium grandiflorum – green variant No.1

Trillium grandiflorum – green variant No. 2; I think ‘Green Feather’ would be a good name for it…

Trillium grandiflorum – the No.3 green variant, arising from a carpet of wild-ginger leaves

I can only watch closely my variants to see how they evolve and if they’ll form fruits/seeds. There is something beautiful about their ‘infection’ ;) At least the No.3 looks very happy and thriving.

May 11, 2015

Spring startups

Gardens, Propagation, Wildflowers of North America

New growths, new beginnings – All equally exciting!

Caulophyllum thalictroides first germinated seeds:

Caulophyllum thalictroides germinated seeds

Caulophyllum thalictroides germination startup

The beginning of a ‘direct woodland sowing’ project (native species, of course)– more about this will be detailed soon.

The spotting of a few happy pollinators (alas not in my garden):

The first day out at ‘fresh air’ for the young seedlings:

April 16, 2015

Warm lilies

Propagation, Wildflowers of North America

Lilium michiganense, Lilium canadense (plus few others) are the kind of lilies that require warmth for the first stage of germination (about 20˚C), and then a period of cold (0-5˚C for 2-3 months) for the true leaves to emerge. If you get these seeds in late fall or winter, this is the tried recipe to make sure that they’ll start growing leaves in the spring:

Place the seeds in a Ziploc bag with moist vermiculite and keep them during the winter months (Nov/Dec.-Feb/March) at room temperature. Check the moisture once in a while. After the tiny bulblets appear, place the Ziplocs in the fridge for the cold treatment (March-May). Pot them afterwards and place outside.

These bulblets had their photos taken and now are ready to switch places in the fridge with the seeds that are coming out for sowing. Some grow out of the seed and are visible, while some can remain more or less enclosed.

And bulblets of another woodland edge growing, tall Lilium (supposedly canadense); we didn’t catch it in flower last year, but it was an impressive exemplar. It has been placed on the ‘watch list’ for this year so we can properly identify it.

Although North American native species, these Liliums and also few others are almost never grown by commercial nurseries. Start growing your own, besides being ‘hot’ plants, they are pollinated by hummingbirds, sphinx moths and butterflies like the Monarch and Spicebush Swallowtail!

Lilium michiganense

March 10, 2015

Dreams

Wildflowers of North America

“Like the seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring” – Kahlil Gibran

One of the coldest February months in history is about to end but it shouldn’t keep us from dreaming our hearts wishes…A gallery of spring flower seeds, which all bear elaiosomes; some are still dreaming under the snow or in my fridge, some have started to germinate.

(Click to see large size images)

Stylophorum diphyllum fresh seeds

Erythronium americanum fresh seeds

Claytonia virginica fresh seeds

Uvularia grandiflora fresh seeds

Hepatica americana fresh seeds

Corydalis solida fresh seeds

Trillium grandiflorum fresh seeds

The variety of elaiosome shapes and structures is simply mesmerizing when seen up-close. From barely seen in Claytonia (Spring beauty) to the ‘Mohican-style crest’ in Stylophorum (Wood poppy) and snail body-like in Sanguinaria (Bloodroot) – this is nature’s imagination at its best!

February 28, 2015

Spring beauty awakening

Gardens, Plant portraits, Wildflowers of North America

One more garage check-up before sinking into another round of low night-time temperatures. The spring beauty seeds are sprouting! – maybe they know something that we don’t? ;)

Claytonia virginica is a true ephemeral beauty, a cheer for the soul in springtime!

: Claytonia virginica

Virginia spring beauty is common in southern and south-central Ontario and it flowers before the trees are leafing out. The pink (rarely white) flowers that are glistening in the spring sun are a treat after the long winter months! After setting seeds, it retreats in the soil for the rest of the season.

As a trial out, I sown a few seeds immediately after collecting, and I kept the rest in moist vermiculite (warm then cold). The seeds in moist storage have germinated in late December; the ones sown in the spring are germinating now. Note taken: the seeds can be safely offered for sale until beginning of December.

On a top list of ‘hardest seeds to collect’, Claytonia comes first. I have expected Corydalis to win the prize but it didn’t. Like everything beautiful, Claytonia has proven very difficult to handle because it flowers in succession and the fruit maturation follows the same pattern, plus the fruits are dehiscent; a nightmare! And, do I need to mention the small seeds? No wonder is not on many seeds shops lists! But, a few people were happy to find these seeds available, so my effort did pay off. Plus, now I have a few seedlings for myself. Double hit!

Claytonia virginica seedlings

January 25, 2015

The love of winter – Pipsissewa

Medicinal plants, Wildflowers of North America

Chimaphila from Greek: cheimon – winter, philein – to love

Pipsissewa from Cree language, meaning ‘it breaks into small pieces’

As we start looking towards the New Year, another thing becomes more obvious for those living in the northern hemisphere: winter has settled in! You absolutely have to love it; or you’ll be miserably dragging over 3+ months of hating it. Choose for yourself… Myself, I can’t wait to start new seeds experiments and to write more about the plants I love. Here’s the first one to put you in the mood of winter love ;)

Chimaphila umbellata (Pipsissewa, Prince’s pine) is another species about which I developed a mild obsession to propagate from seeds. It has showy, leathery, evergreen foliage, equally interesting pink, fragrant flowers and it grows in shady places (it has a taste for a slightly acidic soils). It would look great at the edge of the woodland garden or on the shaded side of a rockery. The dry capsules are also very ornamental and last into the next season; they contain lots of tiny, dust-like seeds (much like the Cypripediums) which are released easily when mature. The best time to try to collect them is in late fall.

The species is morphologically variable across its native range. Five or six subspecies have been recognized in the literature, depending on what source you look at; for example, the one from Ontario would be C. umbellata subsp. cisatlantica – it never gets easy…

Chimaphila umbellata

Chimaphila umbellata capsules

Chimaphila umbellata in late November

Only the difficult propagation made it virtually non-existent in cultivation. According to some sources, Pipsissewa is a partial myco-heterotrophic plant, which means that it obtains a portion of its nutrients from parasitizing fungi that are part of mycorrhizal associations of other plants. It also forms its own mycorrhizal symbiosis with fungi. Kind of complicated…

Reportedly, it can be propagated from cuttings and from rhizome fragments but not very successfully (I presume, otherwise we would have seen it in cultivation). I don’t have the conditions to try rooting cuttings and don’t feel like uprooting plants to take rhizomes, so I’ll stick with seed germination trial-outs. Others have tried with some success stratification of fresh seeds in a mix inoculated with local soil, and the fine size of the seeds suggests that it might be a light sensitive germinator. We’ll see how it goes…

Chimaphila umbellata seeds

Interested in medicinal plants? – read more

Pipsissewa was and still is valued for its medicinal properties. Native Americans used it in their traditional medicine mainly for treating rheumatism, as well as for kidney, liver disorders (leaves), and other ailments. Scientific research has confirmed its pharmacological qualities a long time ago, and the modern therapeutic use of C. umbellata reflects the traditional indications. In short, it can be used like Arctostaphyllos uva-ursi, but its active components are more potent.

Today it is utilized in small scale modern herbal medicine, but has become the component of a proprietary formula – Eviprostat® largely used in Japan and Europe for the treatment of benign enlargement of the prostate.

If this is good news, the bad is that Chimaphila has been classified as a slow-growing perennial, sensitive to harvesting pressures, ecological disturbances, and foot traffic; also various reports have emphasized that it regenerates too slowly for regular commercial harvesting.

December 27, 2014

Check and skotomorphogeneticals

Propagation, Wildflowers of North America

Is this a catchy name, or what?

I got into a routine to check the moist packed seeds at mid and end of the month. Remember the germinated Trilliums? Well, some got planted in pots and some remained in moist vermiculite, which is also a proper medium to easily check on them and take a few more pictures.

You can still read in many places that Trillium has a double dormancy but that was really old school thought. Here’s a LINK for something more up to date on what’s been called skotomorphogenetic growth (found in other species too). This concept defines germination as the point when the radicle/rhizome emerges from the seed and all the growth that follows represents the development of the seedling in the dark (from ‘skoto’ – dark in Greek).

Trillium grandiflorum seedling (late November) -a cute ‘skotomorphogenetic’ with a fatty, little rhizome; the cotyledons are already visible, now it needs more cooling before elongation will start. All this growth was achieved based on the energy reserves stored in the endosperm.

It makes sense. The term double dormancy puts quite a few people off from growing such species from seeds because it implies that they really take a lot of time to germinate. Furthermore, it suggests that the seeds are lying underground and nothing happens, which is not only completely false but also dangerous as you may miss providing the care that they need.

So, skotomorphogenetical it is; I just wish they would have found another name…All the other moist packed seeds are fine; in the featured image – plump, moist seeds of Paris quadrifolia (a Trillium relative, that is also called ‘double dormant’).

Note: one Trillium fruit can have both, seeds with dormant embryos and without – these will start germinating by fall if sown or moist storage provided.

November 27, 2014

No-DOD’s

Propagation, Wildflowers of North America

(DOD meaning: Dead on delivery)

I don’t know precisely if the DOD term was coined by the renowned Prof. Norman Deno but surely he reminded me of it while reading a delightful Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society from 1991. DOD refers to the fact that seeds that require to be kept moist after collecting, when stored and/or delivered otherwise (by Seed companies or in Seed exchanges), are actually dead and there is little to expect of them in terms of germination. In his article named – Fatal Treatments of Seed he elaborates on how to kill seeds of 12 species by practicing wrong techniques of storing and/or germinating. For Trillium albidum, Fatal means: dry storage.

Same goes for many other Trillium species, and among them, Trillium grandiflorum. After collecting (see how the fruit looks when it’s ready), such seeds should be either sown right away or stored moist. When kept at room temperature, some seeds will emerge radicles by fall. The others, like in other hypogeal germinators, will grow a radicle/baby rhizome or tuber in the coming season, and then send up the first leaf only after another cold cycle (that means in their second year).

These are a few Trillium grandiflorum seeds with emerged radicles that I found last week, during my routine check of the moist stored seeds. A few more pots were added to my collection and I am looking forward to see these little Trilliums sending up their first leaf next year! The other seeds are still in moist storage, awaiting…

Providing moist-packed seeds it is a lot of work but BotanyCa will not be responsible of any DOD’s! See all the Moist-packed Seeds from the Shop.

(If someone knows of other species that would benefit from moist storage please let me know – Contact)

And here’s the link for the ARGS Bulletin -1991 (open as a pdf). It contains great articles like: Saga of a Woodland Garden by Harold Epstein and Hepaticas and Anemonellas by Jeanie Vesall to mention just a few…