Wildflowers Monday – the Partridge berry

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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

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

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.

Mitchella repens fruits

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

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

Test, test – Eriogonum umbellatum var. porteri

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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
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

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

Eriogonum umbellatum var.porteri ( Montreal BG)

Sort of a chameleonic plant I would say…

Wildflowers Monday – Hydrophyllum virginianum

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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

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

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

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

Hydrophyllum canadense

Wildflowers Monday – Jeffersonia diphylla

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

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

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!)

Wildflowers Monday – Pink and green Trillium

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Wandering in the woods through masses of white trillium (T. grandiflorum) at peak flowering is a privilege.Trillium grandiflorumAn 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

Trillium grandiflorum f. roseum

Trillium grandiflorum f. roseum3Trillium grandiflorum f. roseum2

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 variant1

Trillium grandiflorum – green variant No.1

Trillium grandiflorum green variant2

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

Trillium grandiflorum green variant3

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.

 

Spring startups

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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.

Woodland Plot 3

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

Erica and wasp

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

Seedlings 2015

 

Warm lilies

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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

Lilium michiganense

Dreams

“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!

Spring beauty awakening

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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

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.

Claytonia virginica

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

Claytonia virginica seedlings

The love of winter – Pipsissewa

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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…(not good until now).

Chimaphila umbellata seeds

Chimaphila umbellata seeds

Interested in medicinal plants? – read more

Pipsissewa was and still is valued for its medicinal properties. Native People 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.

 

Check and skotomorphogeneticals

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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)

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.

No-DOD’s

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(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)

Trillium grandiflorumAnd 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…

A tasty lunch

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The rainy weather of this year has surely pleased all the baneberries (Actaea species). Their fruits are not indicated to be consumed for lunch!!! being poisonous, but they are so attractive. Let’s call them local gourmet foods for the soul and eyes!

All Actaea species make for superb specimens in part-shade to shaded locations of the garden. White, fragrant flowers that attract pollinators in late spring, beautiful foliage, colourful and long-lasting fruits… isn’t this enough to consider adding these native beauties to your garden?

Actaea pachypoda – Doll’s eyes, White baneberries

Actaea pachypoda

Good fortune made it that I also found a few plants of A. pachypoda with magenta coloured fruits – which is a rare form given as Actaea pachypoda f. rubrocarpa (not everyone agrees on this, but after I found them, I surely do).

Actaea pachypoda f. rubrocarpa

Actaea pachypoda f. rubrocarpa

Actaea rubra – Red baneberry

Actaea rubra

I am very pleased that I can offer them all in my Seed Catalogue – BotanyCa. They are a bit difficult to germinate sometimes (just require more time) but since when are beautiful things easy to obtain?

What’s cooking?

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My kitchen has become a small scale operation – thinking fruit pies, jams and jellies?

Caulophyllum thalictroides

Caulophyllum thalictroides seeds

Caulophyllum thalictroides (Blue cohosh) blue seeds will easily pass for blueberries but unfortunately are poisonous if ingested in large quantities. That’s very improbable to happen though because what seems like a big berry is actually a single huge seed surrounded by a thin fleshy and blue seed coat.

More likely to lose a tooth or two than being poisoned!

Caulophyllum thalictroides cleaned seeds

Caulophyllum thalictroides cleaned seeds

On the other hand, Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple) fruit it is/has been used to prepare jams and jellies. The big size fruit (hog apple, wild lemon, Indian apple), when fully ripen has a light yellow colour and a persimmon fragrance (in my opinion). It is actually the only part of the plant that’s not toxic.

Podophyllum peltatum fruits

Podophyllum peltatum fruits

To ensure good germination seeds of both species have to be placed in moist storage right away. They belong to a large category of species with hydrophylic seeds (intolerant of dry storage).

Also, both species are important North American medicinal woodland plants.

Podophyllum peltatum seeds

Mayapple seeds – enclosed in a gooey substance

PS. In case you have available large quantities of mayapple fruits to make jam, be kind and promote a sustainable harvest (always) by discarding the seeds in a nearby wooden area.

Would you care for some seeds?- click

 

A risky business – Polygala paucifolia

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I think some are imagining that trying to open a business of selling wild collected seeds is a breeze – happily wandering in fields and mountains and grabbing here and there whatever comes under your eyes. Well, very far away from the truth. For example, who would think about stumbling into a massasauga rattlesnake (the only venomous snake in Ontario), while collecting Polygala paucifolia seeds!

Massasauga snake

Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus)

The timing to collect Polygala is almost impossible; the fruiting/seed setting is usually low and then the seeds are equipped with elaiosomes that ants will carry away very fast. So, there is no wonder that seeds are almost never offered and, although desirable, neither are the plants! Looking at the flowers, you understand why all this is worthwhile!

Polygala paucifolia

Polygala paucifolia

My germination trials with Polygala seeds showed that dry stored seeds in the fridge, sown in the spring germinate very well, and also the seedlings are developing very well. Seeds stored moist-cold, germinate later and in a lower percentage.

Polygala seedlings

Polygala paucifolia seedlings – germination 95%; they may look small size but remember that this is a little plant

Would you care for some seeds? - click

PS. Keep your eyes wide open when hiking in the rattlesnake habitat! When moving, it makes a low rattle noise to make you aware, but when standing still it is very well camouflaged and it doesn’t rattle. They give birth to live baby-snakes, finger-size but already venomous! It is designated a species at risk in Ontario – more about it on Reptiles and Amphibians of Ontario website.

A Carnivorous Feast

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Happy Canada Day!

This year we had a real Carnivorous feast in advance to the Canada Day Celebration, heading out towards the Bruce Peninsula just at the right time to see in flower, among others, the butterwort – Pinguicula vulgaris. This small vegetal carnivore will trap and digest insects with the help of its sticky, glandular, bright green leaves. But the flowers are highly attractive too, reason why a few species and hybrids are also cultivated. It is great around the pond areas, bog gardens or even a moist crevice of the rockery.

Pinguicula vulgaris

Pinguicula vulgaris

Pinguicula vulgaris

Celebrating Canada Day includes honouring the wild, pristine landscapes we are fortunate to still have. Unfortunately, large areas of wetlands are threatened by housing developments (followed by the inevitable shopping malls), and one of the first things to disappear when a wetland habitat degrades are its carnivorous plants. The least we can do is first to be aware of their existence!

And there wouldn’t have been a celebration without something red, but there were plenty of pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) and slenderleaf sundews (Drosera linearis).

Sarracenia purpurea

Sarracenia purpurea

Drosera linearis

Drosera linearis

Note: Interestingly enough, in northern regions of Europe butterwort leaves were known to have bactericidal properties; for example, traditional uses included healing cattle sores and to curdle milk.
Found more about Pinguicula, including tips for growing at this website: A WORLD OF PINGUICULA.