My Bit of Heaven - by Kristl Walek

[ruweiss]

Dear Kristl,
thank you so much for taking us virtually to these beautiful places. The Cypr. reginae
are simply gorgeous and in comparison to these big clumps my plants in the garden are
only pygmies.

[Kristl Walek]

I was most interested to learn about Helianthemum canadense, and how it is in such demand medicinally... what is it used for?  When I was growing up, this was a common "weed" in my area, about 25 miles from my current location.

Looking at a 2007 Government of Nova Scotia status report---the species is Red-Listed here--according to other sources it is listed as "sensitive". In Canada I believe it only occurs in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario. It is much more widespread (and secure) in the USA.

I am not strong on the medicinal use of plants: but I do know that all parts of the small plant are used.

http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/kings/helianthemum.html

[Kristl Walek]

On July 1st, Canada Day, as most folks were celebrating, I finally headed out to collect Epigaea repens seed, fearing it would soon be gone with a stretch of very hot weather moving in. I had been putting this off--as the hours spent on all fours at ground level is becoming harder and harder as I age.

As only the occasional plant flowers, one has to search through hundreds of plants to find a few berries. Luckily the compensation is that the seed thereafter is very easy to deal with to bring it to a saleable stage.

The berries can be picked at a slightly under-ripe stage (unlike so many other seeds). Were this not the case, the collecting would become so onerous I might become too discouraged to carry it at all.

The berries are embedded in a berry (not unlike strawberries to my mind). When fully ripe, the receptable opens in four sections to expose the berry. The ideal ripe colour is black, but mature embryos will also be contained in seed that is reddish, unripe coloured. Once the berry is fully open in the wild, it is usually gone; so one is always picking closed, firm berries in their green state---not knowing how developed the seed is inside. I tend to leave them inside the plastic collecting bag until the berry opens. Then they are put on a tray to dry fully. Lastly, the seed is rubbed and put through a sieve.

They are easy, warm germinators. There is an erroneous assumption that these seeds are ephemeral/short lived: but this is not the case. In fact they are relatively long-lived stored in a dry state. 

[Kristl Walek]

While driving to the Epigaea site, I also discovered ripe Sambucus pubens berries--which had to be quickly collected, as the birds make fast work of these if one arrives too late. Unfortunately they are not edible by humans, unlike Sambucus canadensis, which had just begun flowering in the ditches.

It is unfortunate that S. pubens is not more widely grown; it is a good ornamental, with showy, very early flowers and fantastic bright red berries.

In dry, barren waste places along the road grew some of our native "weeds"---Oenothera biennis and Apocynum androsaemifolium (Spreading Dogbane).

There are also so many exotic roses loose in the wild in Nova Scotia, with much hybridizing, one never quite knows what one is looking at. Rose multiflora is a pretty, but particuarly problematic species, which has taken over large areas in the wild.

Rosa carolina is the earliest flowering of the native roses, rarely exceeding over 1m in height. Recently at the sand barrens, I saw colonies of them, dwarfed to a few inches tall, making their large flowers all the more showy.

The second batch shown was growing in a moister spot and I believe is R. virginiana.

[Kristl Walek]

At the Epigaea site, I was very near my yellow-flowering Sarracenia spot, and decided I needed a few more photographs. This time I also saw one plant that had an interesting mixed yellow-red flower.

It is amazing how much a tiny area can change in just a few weeks. The last time I was here I had no idea I would now find Kalmia angustifolia and Vaccinium macrocarpon drifts in the very same spot.

Of the Kalmia angustifolia, it is interesting to have the Flora of Nova Scotia note:

"It is one of the more problematic weeds of blueberry fields as it tends to increase after burning, which is a routine part of cultivating these fruits"

[Kristl Walek]

Not wanting to go home until I had a new spot explored, I blindly wandered down an ATV track which looked as though it might lead to some interesting mixed woods.

In a low wet, open, sunny area I found more Sambucus pubens,  a very large colony of Thalictrum pubescens still going strong, and beneath it, colonies of Lysimachia terristris, just opening. At the edges of the woodland, beautiful large clumps of Dryopteris marginalis, with its wonderful, leathery foliage, intermingled with Diervilla lonicera. At its feet were early flowers of Mitchella repens.

[Kristl Walek]

Finally wandering into the woods, I was pleased I had followed my instinct---as it ended up being a rather good, species rich site for many of the plants I will need to collect seed of later--some Clintonia borealis berries here had already turned ripe blue--quite unusual this early. Moneses uniflora was also here in some quantity.

I also found my first Nova Scotia Spotted Coral Root, Corallorhiza maculata and a large dirt mound full of Pyrola elliptica in flower, and many seedlings for future years.

On my way back to the car, a huge group of post-retirement men on ATV's zoomed down the track as if on a mission, forcing me temporarily into the same open meadow where I had been earlier to get out of the way of the vehicles. Interestingly, this necessary diversion landed me literally right on top of a stretch of Polygala polygama, growing literally under my boots where I stood. Ah....one never knows what the plant gods have in store!!!!

Tomorrow I have a challenge to return to Brier Island to find the elusive, tiny and beautiful Betula michauxii and to see Vaccinium uliginosum.

[Kristl Walek]

I've been absent for a while due to temporary setback that is hard for a seedwoman to admit publicly--but burnt finger tips from handling Helleborus foetidus pods has kept me unable to work with seed or keyboard for a while.

My box of latex gloves still somewhere in a moving box, I thought to take a chance, but that lethal combination of extreme heat and juicy pods/seeds produced its results quickly. All this, despite the fact that the last time this happened, 20 years ago, was indeed quite memorable--I had rubbed my forehead and eye area due to a headache while working with the seed and ended up with an unintended, extreme chemical peel combined with the worry of permanent damage to my eyes.

My trip to Brier Island did indeed happen, prior to the Hellebore incident---but try as I might, I was not able to locate either the Vaccinium nor Betula michauxii I had hoped to find. However, no botanical outing is ever wasted and a trip to Brier always a treat.


The ferries are in high season, tourist mode now, so there is little waiting time getting to the island. You pay one way, and the return is free ($5.00 for each of two ferries/much cheaper if you have a book of tickets). The naturalized Rosa rugosas filled the roadsides on Brier, and Epilobium angustifolium along the shore.

I first headed to my Lonicera caerulea spot---and found my timing excellent for the berries. The plants were at first difficult to locate, as the area is now a mass of vegetation since my last time here in spring. Also, because the berries form on the underside of the leaves along the stem, it took a while to find the fruit. The berries were mostly round to only slightly elongated here, smallish and utterly delicious!!!!

This was my first experience with the plants and I was surprised to see how attractive they had become, with good, clean grey-green foliage.

[Kristl Walek]

Adjacent to the Lonicera caerulea area is drier, more exposed headland that I had never closely explored and there I headed next; finding first a largish patch of Drosera rotundifolia in heavy competition just along the edge of the Lonicera bog, when leaving.

In the larger, exposed, drier area were low, wet spots between large boulders more typical of a wet bog, where drifts of ferns, Eriophorum. Carex sp and Sarracenia purpurea were at home in the hot, blazing sun. Some Potentilla fructicosa flowers were still to be found, here and there.

Vaccinium macrocarpon, the wild cranberry also crept everywhere in both wet and dry spots in full, glorious bloom.

The delicious low-bush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium, had large clusters of pre-ripe pink berries.

[TheOnionMan]

Lonicera caerulea looks to be a neat and attractive species!

Sorry to hear about your dermatitis reaction when cleaning seed, I have a friend that cleaned nearly 2000 Arisaema sikokianum seed, and had a similar terrible reaction, with terrible irritation and skin peel on her fingers.

And just for everyone's benefit, a few years ago I learned (the hard way ) about just how toxic the leaf and stem juices are from Poke Weed, Phytolacca americana.  The plant is well known for many medicinal, chemical, and poison characteristics, although it took a longer search to discover that the fluid from stems and leaves can produce severe dermatitis reactions far worse than poison ivy, typically characterized by large (huge in my case) blisters.  Now, I never try to pull out anything but a young seedling of Poke Weed, as invariably the juicy stem snaps off leaving the tough carrot like root, and with risk of the juice splattering onto skin, so I careful dig them out.  This year, even weeding out young days-old young seedlings (they're everywhere here, particularly under trees from bird droppings), I have had some bad rashes and blisters between my fingers from poke-weed-pulling.

[Kristl Walek]

And my favorite Vaccinium, vitis-idaea, filled the area, the red berries just beginning to ripen.

In this hot, exposed spots, absolutely darling tiny tufts of Kalmia angustifolia grew everywhere, no more than a few inches high, with a beautiful ring or two of flowers each.

Most of the tiny Potentilla tridentata had already finished blooming; but a few stragglers were still found. Of course, the widespread, wonderful harebell, Campanula rotundifolia goes strong for months and covered the rocky shoreline.

[Kristl Walek]

Lonicera caerulea looks to be a neat and attractive species!

Mark,
Here is another picture of the foliage---which I never expected to look as it did mature (part of the reason I had difficulty finding it again). In spring all one sees is glaucousy-appearing green tufted leaves. Many of the plants were also quite hirsute.

All of my skin reactions to plants/seed pods/seed have happened in identical environmental conditions---extremely hot and humid---Dictamnus seed collection has also sent me to hospital in past---but only once in 20 years of collecting the seed in those precise conditions.

[TheOnionMan]

Mark,
Here is another picture of the foliage---which I never expected to look as it did mature (part of the reason I had difficulty finding it again). In spring all one sees is glaucousy-appearing green tufted leaves. Many of the plants were also quite hirsute.

All of my skin reactions to plants/seed pods/seed have happened in identical environmental conditions---extremely hot and humid---Dictamnus seed collection has also sent me to hospital in past---but only once in 20 years of collecting the seed in those precise conditions.

Kristl, I'll say it again, that is a most attractive Lonicera! 

I have heard about people who get reactions to Dictamnus, the plant is covered with sticky glands, which are intensely fragrant/aromatic.  I go rub my plant everyday   Really, I do... as I pass by, I gently run my hand along the stem or buds or as they are now, seed pods, to enjoy that spicy lemon scent.  I have never had a skin reaction to it, but then again, I'm not handling tons of seeds.  While visiting gardens this year, I found many people grow this, and each plant clone has its own slightly different aroma, but always delightfully aromatic in my opinion.  And, as I have done since a boy, I still go out on warm sultry early evenings near dusk, to do the ol' light-a-match-at-the-base-of-the-stem trick, to watch (and hear) the blazing flash of combustion as the flame travels up the stem (does not hurt the plant).  Such an enjoyable plant all around!

[Rogan]

My latest batch of botanizing took me to Halifax County, some hours from home to see Houstonia (Hedyotis) caerulea (Bluets), near the Halifax Airport. They are common in the central and eastern part of Nova Scotia, but do not seem to range into south-western Nova Scotia, where I now live. I have never seen them before in the wild, as they were not native to Ontario.

For years I have been wondering why this little critter from the Karroo is so familiar to me and, after reading Kristl's fascinating descriptions of her travels in Nova Scotia, it finally dawned on me - Houstonia caerulea!. My little plant flowers in a multitude of soft pastel colours in the most inhospitable part of the country - the dry, sunbaked flats near the little town of Loxton. I'm sure it must be a fleeting annual only seen during the spring months when occasional downpours encourage its seeds to germinate. I have no idea what its name is (I'm a little lazy to look it up!) but I'm sure it would make an interesting plant to grow in pots and pans.

[TheOnionMan]

For years I have been wondering why this little critter from the Karroo is so familiar to me and, after reading Kristl's fascinating descriptions of her travels in Nova Scotia, it finally dawned on me - Houstonia caerulea!. My little plant flowers in a multitude of soft pastel colours in the most inhospitable part of the country - the dry, sunbaked flats near the little town of Loxton. I'm sure it must be a fleeting annual only seen during the spring months when occasional downpours encourage its seeds to germinate. I have no idea what its name is (I'm a little lazy to look it up!) but I'm sure it would make an interesting plant to grow in pots and pans.

Rogan, that's a beautiful little blue-flowered plant, but I'm sorry to report, it is definitely not Houstonia caerulea.  But now, I'm also curious to know what it is.