Wildflowers

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by freeztar

...Plastic works great for plants as you are using it. Placing the plastic on the plants is not a good idea, imho. A better way to catch the seeds might be to use some cheesecloth. Fwiw, I've been buying my garlic in packs of 5 packaged in cheese cloth. I'm saving the 'cloth' for a sprouting project, but it could be equally useful for the purposes you seek. Another idea is to place paper baglettes around the seed heads. The idea is to not stifle gas transfer so much as well as to keep a bare necessity of moisture.

gracias.

here's a shot of the blue violet plant where it came up. talk about rocky ground! i never thought to smell the flowers, and a strong smell seems to be key on that invader species. missed another opportunity to stop & smell the flowers!



here's a detail of the violet with a scale. the un-exploded seed pod is on the left and you can see a single seed still in one of the exploded pods at right-central.

[Turtle]

detail shots on the suspected western yellow wood sorel.

entire plant


closed bloom


seed pod

[freeztar]

Upon further review (awesome pics Turtle!), I'm comfortable with calling the violet an adunca. Nice!

The oxalis is still a bit troubling. Can you measure the petals when open? Also, how many flowers does it have? (it looks like it has 4-5 peduncles, yes/no?)

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Upon further review (awesome pics Turtle!), I'm comfortable with calling the violet an adunca. Nice!

The oxalis is still a bit troubling. Can you measure the petals when open? Also, how many flowers does it have? (it looks like it has 4-5 peduncles, yes/no?)

proceeding to promote & preserve my Viola aduncu.

of the 3 other Oxalis species you mentioned as possibilities:

O. stricta has pointy petals; my Oxalis has roundy petals.

O. dillenii is not in my area apparently.

O. corniculata has a creeping habit; my Oxalis is upright.

when open, the flower petals measure 3/8" from base to tip. hard to say how many flowers total, but it looks like they only have 3 open at a time. the plants have a mix of buds, blooms, & seed capsules.
i'm still leaning to my original id, but then who doesn't want a legit opportunity to say suksdorfii!

Edit PS: no leaf stipules & 2 flowers per peduncle.

i was off making a video of the Oxalis, yes i ate a leaf, as i saw some bees visiting whilst chewing. i have some nice action shots of 3 visits and at least 2 species of bees. will put that video over in the bugs & butterflies when it is finished processing.

[freeztar]

Sweet! So we can say Suksdorfii!

Oxalis is one of my favorite "weeds". It grows nearly everywhere and is a good source of vitamin C. I have used them in wild salad mixes with much delight from the surprised, and skeptical, partakers. While they are tasty and nutritious, they can be deadly if ingested in high enough quantities. Apparently, oxalic acid inhibits the uptake of calcium. Of course, it's highly unlikely anyone would eat enough for that to become lethal.

In the human body, ingested oxalic acid is not (so far as is known today) a useful nutrient; so, like all such unneeded components of diet, it is processed by the body to a convenient form and that byproduct is then excreted--in this case, in the urine. In the course of being processed by the body, oxalic acid combines with other substances to form various salts, called oxalates; usually, those salts are in solution (like salt in salt water or sugar in coffee), but if their concentration is high enough some may precipitate out in crystalline form. Such tiny crystals of these salts can be irritating to human tissue, especially to the stomach, the kidneys, and the bladder. It is commonly believed that oxalates contribute to the formation of kidney and bladder stones; one common nutrient with which oxalic acid combines is calcium, making the salt calcium oxalate, and calcium oxalate is found in kidney stones.
...
Some have argued that by readily combining with calcium, oxalic acid in the diet reduces one's effective intake of dietary calcium. That is true, but the size of the effect is, for anyone getting decent nourishment, not meaningful. Even the conservative RDA for calcium is a gram or so (1000 mg) a day, and many believe that 1.5 to 2 g a day is better. (As one source put it: "While research studies confirm the ability of phytic acid and oxalic acid in foods to lower availability of calcium, the decrease in available calcium is relatively small.")

Oxalic Acid and Foods

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by Turtle

if i seem a little competitive at times, it's because i'm a little competitive...at times.

I love having someone to share these things with. Someone who appreciates the hunt, the discovery, and the exploration for more. Its not a competition, its an exchange of knowledge and ideas. Not only do we rush home to the grand halls of hypo, we search for links to back up our claims and we share information gathered to increase each others knowledgebase.

So anyways, I dont feel its a competition. I submit things to various data gathering sites on the net to increase their data. When I post these things at hypography, I consider it an extension of that data sharing.

btw, there is no sacrifice when I am chasing butterflies or photographing flowers. It is a reward to self. And am I getting a pretty decent tan again this year!

Hey, whens the next hunt for sasquatch? Speaking of motivational ideas

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Cedars

Hey, whens the next hunt for sasquatch? Speaking of motivational ideas

possibly august, though Squatchy is going to play second fiddle to my effort to document some rare tailed frogs i saw in a mountain stream over 10 years ago.

took a short walk yesterday to find some flowers to pick & picture. didn't find the natives i was after, any natives, but there is no shortage of invaders here so that is what i got. still have some poking to do to nail this species of Nightshade.


nightshade -Solanum
possible species: S. americanum, American Nightshade
Solanum physalifolium, Hoe Nightshade
S. nigrum, European Black Nightshade

Edit: because the berries on my example have remained green, and because the photo of the S. physalifolium at the washington burke site looks just like my photo, i am satisfied that this is Solanum physalifolium.
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/...on.php?ID=4430

hoe nightshade is listed as introduced from s. america, but no mention of the how's, when's, and wherefore's of that introduction. a tantalizing hint that it was way back is an ethnobotanical entry i found indicating uses by sw native americans. >> results of search

additional descriptive material: >> PLANTS Profile for Solanum physalifolium (hoe nightshade) | USDA PLANTS

[Turtle]

poking around my yard this morning, i ran across Oxalis stricta.

http://biology.burke.washington.edu/...on.php?ID=2823

[Turtle]

poking around the kids' yard today, i noticed a 3rd Oxalis. looks like it's another native. they didn't want it where it came up volunteer, a bare cobble boundary, so i shot a couple photos then dug it up. it's currently in intensive car in a pot in my windowsill. i see we have many more Sorels here than my little Washington Wildflower guide lets on. anyway, i have the plant on hand if there is any quibble with my identification of Trillium-leaf Wood Sorrel -Oxalis trilliifolia

http://biology.burke.washington.edu/...on.php?ID=2825



Edit: PS i have looked high & low, and no source actually describes this species. that is to say describes Oxalis trilliifolia, if that is what i have found. i observed on my plant that each leaf and flower has a solitary stem that comes from a central mass where the stems are all nearly white. there is only a single peduncle on my specimen & it is bearing 5 flowers. the petals measure 1/4" and the green sepals have a reddish-brown tip. the stems all lay down in a tangly mat. uhm...i think i counted 5 stamens; tough to be sure for my old eye even with a glass. that 's a wrap.

[Turtle]

went to lechtenberg forest today and i have lots to process still. this first little native gem however was growing in the field next to the parking lot across the road from the park.

PLANTS Profile for Brodiaea coronaria ssp. coronaria (crown brodiaea) | USDA PLANTS

http://biology.burke.washington.edu/...on.php?ID=2450