Recipes!

My next project will involve edible wild plants and app technology. For the NS Plants book we crowd-sourced images. While I may need a few of those again, mainly I would like to crowd-source family recipes using wild plants or plants gathered from the wild. You may send your recipes to me and credit will be given to those submitting them.

Christmas Plants Part III

I am thinking I can only squeeze one more paragraph on the seasonal plants for December. So I will mention the Mistletoe, that sacred Druid plant, once harvested with a golden sickle. Its curious name harkens back to an Old English, Norse or Germanic word for twig, but the use has become obscured. It is a parasitic plant, a vine that twists around the host plant, inserting its stem into the tissue to gain nutrition. Some photosynthesis occurs in some species. One western European species became associated with Christmas. Beneath the mistle it is said, a man may kiss whichever female is standing below.

Nova Scotia’s Dwarf Mistletoes is a small insignificant plant that would not serve to deck the halls, so we import sprigs of the European or American species.

Of course most English-speakers have heard the carol, The Holly and the Ivy. In last week’s piece, I neglected to mention that Holly with its thorny leathery leaves, symbolizes the male while Ivy (English Ivy) refers to the female. Both plants have been used in Christian homes since the 1800s as holiday plants in December.

Christmas Rose and Christmas Cactus are two diverse plants associated with our holidays. Christmas Roses are actually not roses, but Hellebores, a relative of buttercups. Their creamy white flowers are double-petalled and rose like and associated with the holiday season, especially on early postcards. More familiar to Nova Scotian homes, may be the Christmas cactus. This Brazilian cactus displays its pink or red array of flowers near the end of December. Many a home attempts to time flowering with December 24 and 25th. My mother used to relegate the plants to the closet for a few days to delay flowering. It rarely worked other than to break off branches on her 10kg plant!

Wrapping up with a Nova Scotian species, we have the Christmas-fern. This woodland fern sports a crown of evergreen leaves, often seen as green throughout milder winters. To my knowledge, the Christmas association only refers to its being green in December.

May you enjoy the last few weeks of December with family and friends. Happy New Year and here’s hoping we connect again in 2016. See you then!

 Dwarf Mistletoe, photo by Sean Blaney

 Scrap of Christmas Rose on vintage postcard, from my collection

 photo from Southern States, a garden site, Christmas Cactus

Holly and the Ivy, vintage postcard scan from my collection

Botanical allegory

After last week’s presentation of balsam-fir and wreaths, I started thinking about other Biblical botanical references. There are several more that connect with the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ, which we acknowledge this month. One reference stated that 30 plants are associated with the Nativity alone.

The first is less allegorical and more a direct reference. It is bedstraw, specifically the Yellow Bedstraw. Apparently the manger where Christ was born, was lined with a variety of plants. Bedstraw was one such plant. Apparently after His birth, the flowers burst forth around His head, a golden halo. Bedstraw since that time has been referred to as Mary’s Bedstraw or Lady’s bedstraw, as beds were lined with matted plants found all over Europe.Yellow dye may be extracted from Galium verum. Sweet Woodruff is another Galiumspecies used. Bedstraw species also grow in Nova Scotia.

We associate Holly with Christmas and have at least since the Middle Ages in Europe. Holly is an evergreen. Legend has it the deciduous shrub grew leaves one winter during the holy family’s flight from King Herod’s soldiers. Jesus’ gratitude was to make it evergreen. Holly was once called Holy Plant. Again Nova Scotia has several native hollies growing along the edges of streams, lakes and wetlands. The English Holly we use at Christmas, is horticultural material. One legend claims the bed berries represent the blood of Christ and the prickly leaves, the crown of thorns eventually worn by Christ.

Frankincense and myrrh associated with the wise men who visited Bethlehem after the birth. The Magi carried with them, three caskets: one of gold, one of frankincense and one of myrrh. Each was said to have represented the three offices of Jesus: gold for King, frankincense for Priest and myrrh for Prophet. Frankincense is the sweet sap of a tree used as a perfume. Some say it had medicinal properties and that it symbolized royalty. Myrrh was used as an anointing oil (or embalming oil). It is also softly perfumed and is extracted from a thorny tree. Both are resins, released by the plants when the trees are wounded. Essential oils and beads of resins are both available today. Myrrh elsewhere in the Bible refers to Myrrhis odorata, a licorice-scented potherb. Neither grow in Nova Scotia, being native to the Middle East and eastern Africa.

Generally these weekly entries are written from my prior knowledge. However my religious instruction was half a century ago, long before my botanical instruction. Therefore I used wikipedia to assist me.


Yellow Bedstraw, photo by Martin Thomas
Canada Holly, photo by Ross Hall

Frankincense, from website of Paul Bennett

Myrrh, by Paul Bennett

December flowers

This darkest month is blessed by several festivals and celebrations. For those born during the month, they have a choice of two flowers. Narcissus or daffodil also serves March. These white to yellow flowers are familiar as spring bulb plants and symbolize sweetness. Narcissus is named after the attractive Greek god, who was so self-possessed that he drowned while admiring his reflection. Apparently, it is the national flower of the Kurdish culture, associated with New Year. Some claim it is the most popular flower in Germany. Giving the flower to another speaks of your respect, modesty and faithfulness.

Alternatively, the Ponsettia, is also December’s flower. These red and green flowers are native to Central America. Giving of them to another says that ‘you’re the only one’ in the language of flowers. In Mexico, the plant is known as the Mexican flame leaf or Noche Buena. I have seen them in Costa Rica, upwards of 4m in height and quite woody.

Legend has it that they became associated with Christmas when poor children picked and offered the brightly coloured roadside weeds as gifts to Christ. Aztecs reportedly used the the bright red bracts to extract a purple dye.

Sure to brighten any home in December, both are grown as potted plants. Both images below are stock photos from the web.

Balsam-fir and Christmas

Already the wreaths are appearing at local markets. Christmas tree yards are advertising and we will see cut trees available on town and city corners very soon. The Christmas-tree industry in Nova Scotia began exporting in 1932 and the majority of the trees are balsam-fir. It takes 6-10 years to grow a 2-2.5m tree.

While the use of an evergreen tree to mark the winter solstice was a pagan tradition, by the mid 1800s Europeans were decorating trees inside with the Germans credited with originating it. Certainly Queen Victoria’s families popularized it and North America took notice.

Near the turn of the 20th century many German-made ornaments arrived here to decorate the floor-to-ceiling Christmas trees. Handmade ornaments were the norm and the Germans preferred to use edibles: nuts, fruit and cookies.

Balsam-fir has been used for probably a thousand years to decorate during festivals. It was originally hung upside down in homes in northern Europe. The resin has been chewed prior to the arrival of chewing-gum. The resinous knots in fir have been used as torches. The resin even served as a balm on injured limbs during the Civil War. Small fir boughs are used for stuffing ‘pine pillows’. It provides a deodorizing decorative item in homes. Many birds and animals use fir for browse, the cones for food and the thickets for shelter.

In our historic African Nova Scotian communities, many are gathering the balsam-fir boughs needed for Christmas wreath-making. Mrs. Mazie Simmonds explained to me that there are many teachers of the fir wreath-making and many of these teachers continue to make wreaths into their 70s and 80s.
Her wreaths use no frame except for the limbs themselves. They are tied in place and decorated with rose hips and a plant she called Running Christmas (one of our clubmosses), common in our forests and barrens. They too are evergreen. Sometimes she adds ribbon and even doubles two wreaths into one.

Mrs. Simmonds’ wreaths are available at markets in Dartmouth, or directly. She lives in North Preston and even delivers.

For more information on Christmas tree traditions, please refer to http://extension.illinois.edu/trees/facts.cfm and for industry information in Nova Scotia see http://novascotia.ca/natr/christmastrees/tradition.asp

Balsam-fir, photo by Beth Cameron

Mrs. Mazie Simmonds, grandsons and wreaths, photo by Marian Munro

Back of fir wreath, photo by Marian Munro

Botanary, part ii

Let us consider some common species epithets. Stellata, lanceolata and ovata are three that immediately come to mind. These ones refer to shape. Stellate, starlike, often refers to the form of the flowers. Think of stellar performances. They have starlike qualities. Think also of Maianthemum stellatum. The flowers look like white stars.

Lanceolata means of a lance-shape. Lanceolata is often a descriptor of leaves which are wider below the middle and taper to a narrow point at the other end. Solidago lanceolata orPlantago lanceolata should illustrate that.

Thirdly, ovata again often refers to leaves, but may mean seeds, petals or sepals. The English ending -ate is used and not -al because it is referring to a flat object. Leaves are mostly flat; an egg is not.

Next a few colour references for you: straminea, ochroleuca and viridis are all colours.Straminea or stramineum refers to something having the colour of straw, a rusty golden colour. Ochroleuca or ochroleucum is a compound word, meaning yellowish-white. Andviridis means green.

Refer to the images; they demonstrate the use of these words in botany. For all of your botanical word and lingo queries, try the Botanary here:http://davesgarden.com/guides/botanary/

A further note: whether or not the epithet ends in -us, -um, -a or other sometimes depends on the genus name and whether it is a masculine, feminine or plural word.

Maianthemum stellatum, by Ross Hall

Plantago lanceolata, by Sean Blaney

Spiranthes ochroleuca, photo by David Mazerolle

Alnus viridis, photo by Sean Blaney

Tar Spot of Maple may make Good Neighbours

Dozens of folks over the year have asked about the black spots on the maple trees around the city of Halifax-Dartmouth. These sooty black marks are rarely seen on only one tree. Usually all maples nearby will enjoy these additional adornment. Their presence indicates an infection by a fungus in the genus Rhytisma. Healthy trees can withstand these attacks, although heavy infestations can cause the tree to lose leaves early.

On urban trees we see it on the Norway Maples. The cycle begins by the appearance of small yellowish spots in June, which turn black in July and August as they expand in size.

Different maple species are attacked by different fungi species. As leaves drop and remain on the ground, the fungus overwinters in the leaves. Spores are released the next spring as the young leaves unfurl, completing the cycle. The spores land on newly opened healthy leaves and cycle renews. One can only imagine how far and wide the infection spreads with a municipal composting program and a city filled with maple trees.

Control by the home owner merely involves raking, gathering leaves and burning them rather than composting them. Spread is thus reduced. Sprays are not required. But this may require owners of nearby trees to do the same if a neighbourhood or street wishes to eliminate the fungus.

Should you compost your own leaves, make sure to turn the compost before leaves open in May.

If leaves are withering and turning brown before dropping, secondary infections may be present.

Norway Maple leaves with typical "tar spot" photo taken November 9 by Marian Munro

Norway Maple tree with leaves still on, showing large tarry spots, about 2cm across. Photo taken November 9 by Marian Munro

November's flowers

The Chrysanthemum represents the month of November. This birth flower symbolizes cheerfulness although a red one sends the “I love you” message. Giving someone a white ‘mum means innocence, purity and pure love. Yellow chrysanthemums mean a slighted or jilted love. I don’t make this up. These meanings are part of the Language of Flowers, a throwback to the Victorian era, when we didn’t say what we meant; we gave symbolic flowers instead. The Ox-eye Daisy with its white petals and golden centres seen on our roadsides is related, although not native to the province.

 November is also associated with the Poppy Campaign of the Royal Canadian Legion, a tradition in place since 1921. These familiar red and black flowers bloom on the lapels of Canadians as we remember those who gave of their service and their lives in military service. This association is international and dates back to Napoleonic times, when they commemorated the fallen.

Lt. Col. John McCrae immortalized the poppies in his emotional poem In Flanders’ Fields, first published in 1915.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place;
and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.
Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I can still recite this from memory. Today and tomorrow many school children will assemble to pay their respects to events they study in history. November 11 at 11:11 won’t you give a moment of silence for those who gave?

Ox-eye Daisies, photo by Martin Thomas
Graphic by Stressed Jenny

Botany as a Forensic Science, part 2

I was going to write about the plant of the month, the Chrysanthemum, but something more timely occurred to me. As I was walking along the Run, on my way to work this morning, it occurred to me that people are cleaning up their yards for winter. The lawn mower may see one more use, the pruning shears are being honed, and furniture put it away.

Some are also assessing which plants to remove, either as weeds to be destroyed or as perennial divisions to trade. The second thing to occur to me, was the random thought of weeds and how to dispose of them. Sure enough, a call came in today about a new weed on the block, the Oriental Bittersweet. We have records from Wolfville, Digby and Upper Clements. Now we have a record from Halifax area. We may soon have more, as the caller admitted to composting the material cut out of the property through the municipal compost program.

SO, this note is a plea: do not, do not, do not compost material from plants you wish to dispose of. This ensures that other people will receive your unwanted weeds. In this case, Oriental Bittersweet, an invasive vine, may well arrive in your neighbourhood, via compost. The composting process does not heat up enough to destroy seeds. There are options: put them in the burning barrel, burn them and compost the ashes. Place in garbage bag and bake in the sun. Then they are thrown out for incineration. I notice some of our urban parks have substantial populations of Multiflora Rose, goutweed, Himalayan Balsam and Japanese knotweed. I wonder what percentage arrived from compost.

Please keep only grass clippings in the municipal compost. Or your problem weed becomes everyone’s problem weed that much faster.

Oriental Bittersweet, photo by Lisa Eggleston

Botany as a forensic science

Most people would not immediately view any given plant community, with an eye on the past. All plant communities indicate something about their environment. Individual species mature together, because they can. Their growth requirement for sunlight and nutrition are similar enough that competition may not occur. But as we view an assemblage of plants, we are viewing a habitat snapshot in time.

What led to the plant species mixture?

If one were in Hants County or parts of Inverness County, one would see very different plant communities than along the Atlantic coast. The two named counties are underlain by gypsum deposits, while the rock along the Atlantic coast tends to be acidic, resulting in different plant assemblages.
Bogs sustain plant communities that grow in infertile and acidic soil, often peat. Many plants have adapted to that environment such as the blueberry family, sundews and pitcher plants. Coniferous forests contribute to the lowering of pH of the soil beneath them as well. Deciduous forests are much more common on fertile soils, with deep horizons and increased fertility.

Humans have inserted themselves on the landscape, bringing with them a host of plant species, inadvertently or intentionally. In particular, plants such as Hawthorn, Daphne and Heather, entered the province deliberately as immigrants from western Europe wanted to bring reminders of home to their gardens here. Daphne is particularly associated with the French settlements. The English Hawthorn, or Mayflower, was a popular hedgerow tree, lining lanes leading to farms and homes. Heather is a rugged heath plant favouring acidic soils. There are urban legends claiming it was used in mattress ticking by British soldiers, hence its arrival at Point Pleasant Park. This urban park provided habitat for many plants that arrived on our shores, many not deliberate. The medicinal plant Chelidonium majus, is commonly reported from there and old gardens around the port city.

Other plants did not gain notoriety until they arrived here from the ‘old world’. One such plant is Senecio jacobaea, or Tansy Ragwort. This tall herb of the aster family proliferated in pastures and on roadsides of northern Nova Scotia. There it was grazed by pasture animals. Their ingestion of the plant caused a condition rendering the milk bitter and the animal in poor deteriorating health. This illness became known as Pictou disease. It was first described by farmers in New Scotland.

This cursory glance at forensics would not be complete without a mention of our newer arrivals. Many of those are deliberate and the result of the public’s desire for fast-growing groundcovers with flower. Of course, gardeners know I am referring to Japanese Knotweed, Multiflora Rose and Himalayan Balsam. We could through goutweed in as well. All are tenacious, well-established and invasive. Their presence in suburban gardens has ensured that our native plant communities will change drastically. All are fast-growing species that are strong competitors for light and nutrients.


Chelidonium majus, photo by Ross Hall
Crataegus monogyna, English Hawthorn, photo by Martin Thomas

Daphne mezereum, photo by Martin Thomas

Himalayan Balsam, Impatiens glandulifera, photo by Marian Munro
Tansy Ragwort, Senecio jacobaea, photo by Marian Munro
Rosa multiflora, photo by Martin Thomas

Seasonal Colour, late October

As we move towards leaf drop, there is still colour out there. Many are surprised to learn that the fields and barrens afire owe their palette to the blueberries cultivated there. Even wild lowbush blueberry plants turn crimson. Huckleberries too may be orange or red. On buildings Boston Ivy or Virginia Creeper are both red. My Euonymus shrub is flashing red, with few green leaves yet.

For those who grow them, the Chinese lanterns and Silver Dollars are ready for gathering. These popular annuals are cultivated for the interest they add to dried bouquets. Winterberry is brightening up the roadside thickets. One of our most common native shrubs, it is also known as Canada Holly. Caution should be shown with these berries around the dinner table, they are not edible.

Larches are bright yellow now in southwestern bogs. In a month’s time these decduous conifers will be denuded as they lose their needles. Lowgrowing vines such as Blackberry and Dewberry have turned purplish.

Our colourful foliage was delayed a couple of weeks, but Nova Scotia’s landscape is now ablaze.

Blueberries, photo by Graham MacKay

larch off in the distance, turning yellow, photo by Marian Munro


Burning bush, photo by Marian Munro

Red Maple, photo by Marian Munro

Ornamental Grasses

While most of us are just beginning to rake the leaves dropping from our deciduous trees, others are busy planning and scheming next years’s gardens. Paper garden catalogues are generally available in January, but with the number of online catalogues, the avid grower can begin planning at any time.

This year, won’t you consider adding a couple of clumps of grasses to your ornamental beds?

I am always impressed by the fall display of colour in the saltmarshes and even along lakeshores, where there are extensive stands of grasses. The rippling as the wind blows through the stems is something to see, whether summer or fall. The rustling sound adds another sense and the still vertical form adds even more visual interest.

Here are some especially attractive grasses to plant:

For crimson fall display select Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium).

Low-growing ground cover is provided by Japanese Blood Grass (Imperata cylindrica `Red Baron'), although its spreading nature needs containment by fencing or pots,

Plumes of flower stalks often overwinter on Pampas Grass. (Cortaderia selloana) These very tall spreading stems can provide a statement as well as a living hedge if desired.

Speaking of living hedges, silvergrass (Miscanthus sp.) is both a living hedge and a source of fibre and bio-fuel, according to recent research.

Japanese Blood Grass, photo from Dave's Garden, UK

Ragweed and Hay Fever

For those of us who suffer hay fever, October and the end of the growing season must seem like a welcome respite to the suffering. Not so, the most notorious of all plants inducing human discomfort, is hardy right up to the hardest of frosts.

This would be ragweed, (Ambrosia species), commonly found on roadsides, in vacant lots, parking lots, even along cement walls of building foundations where there is no visible soil.

Late summer and fall sufferers habitually blame the native goldenrods for their pain. These sunny yellow flowers are prolific and signify fall is near. However, goldenroads all have insect-pollinated flowers. Generally allergies to pollen involve wind-pollinated species. These plants produce copious amounts of pollen. (There are exceptions).

In the case of ragweeds, the pollen is armed with microscopic barbs. This ensures that the pollen grains adhere to sensitive lungs.

Further note on fall colour: seems in Halifax County we are just now reaching peak colour. Trees were dull and water-stressed in September, delaying the leaf colour change. After a couple days of rain, the maple reds and yellows quickly appeared. How about in your nook of the Province?


Ragweed, photo by Martin Thomas

Ragweed pollen, unknown photographer

Poisonous Mushrooms

I trust your Thanksgiving holiday included a feast. Always remember that children associate the table with edibles, not “do not touch” plants as one family found out when they used climbing nightshade berries as part of a centrepiece. Even the decorative elements on the table should be screened for plants that may harm.

With ample moisture in the fall, Nova Scotian forests begin to sprout a different kind of crop. The forms of fungi are fascinating, from the almost microscopic to the giant puffballs of well-fertilized pastures.  Armed with a camera, there is good hunting along the edges. Mushrooms are just one type of fruiting body (rightfully called a basidiocarp). There are various jellies, cups, coralline, shelflike, lacy, leather objects. They grow on dung, living trees, or on the ground. Generally ground-dwelling fungi have their mycelium embedded in decomposing subterranean organic matter. Their colours have invoked the need for specific colour charts, especially needed to describe their spores.

But mushrooms also have their dark side. There are a few edibles for those in the know. Many more are poisonous, some deadly. Some contain some of the most serious poisons found naturally. Deadly Galerina, Destroying Angel, Deadly Webcap do not imply manna from Heaven or even a tasty ploughman’s lunch.

Seriously, some of these mushrooms contain enough poison to kill an entire family. Some of the Amanitas (Destroying Angel) require only 30grams, raw, cooked or dried to kill an adult, if consumed. Amatoxin, is one such poison, reportedly responsible for nearly 90% of all mushroom poisoning deaths. It destroys the liver.

Many more are not deadly, but cause health problems. The commonly seen lawn mushrooms, the Inky Caps, Coprinus species, can cause problems for those who consume alcohol with them. Tippler’s Bane is called that because the species, Coprinopsis atramentaria, is called that because of the sensitivity to alcohol promoted by the reaction similar to that to drugs used in control of alcoholism.

For those who wish to continue reading, visit our Virtual Museum of Canada exhibit a meet The Fungus Among US, in French or English.

http://tinyurl.com/offzklo French
http://tinyurl.com/o5bb949 English


Destroying Angel, Image used from blog 'Virginia Wildflowers'

Galerina marginata, Steve Trudell photo

Fly Agaric, yellow variant, Photo by Paul Carrigan

October's flower

The Pot-marigold or Calendula, symbolize a warm and fierce undying love. Their warm colours are often associated with October celebrations such as that of the Hindu Diwali, a Festival of Light. Elegance, devotion, grace and healing are all attributes associated withCalendula. Its name is Latin for calendar. Like sunflowers, the little flower heads follow the sun across the sky. The addition of the edible Calendula petals livens a salad. Some used to think that eating the flowers allowed you to see faeries. (Not in my experience!).

Their inclusion in soaps and lotions promotes healing of skin conditions, including poison ivy rashes. In ancient days, it was believed that protection from evil spirits could be gained by stringing Calendula garlands around the home.


Burpee seed mixture package

Plants newly discovered in Nova Scotia

It has been almost one year since Nova Scotia Plants was first released. We are still working on an app that can be downloaded to iOS devices. Perhaps it is time to highlight a few of the plants newly discovered in Nova Scotia, since 1998.

With a renewed search effort, botanists are bound to find new plants. Given that there are more eyes on the ground and the mobile technology we have available, it is no surprise.

Here are three shrubs that are thriving without cultivation. One of them has recently been discovered populating the wild tangle below the MacKay bridge in Halifax, near the approaches to Seaview Park. It is about to become highly noticeable, although all summer it remained aloof in its obscurity.
Euonymus europaeus is planted for its beautiful crimson fall foliage. Intensified by humidity, the fall foliage ranges from crimson to magenta. Not to be outdone by the leaves, the square red fruit may be split open to reveal orange pulp. But be warned, the fruit ispoisonous and not to be consumed. Discovered this month in Halifax, it is also known to be naturalising in Antigonish and Coldbrook.

Maleberry or Lyonia ligistrina, does not produce such colourful fruit. Its beautiful white flowers resemble those of blueberry, but the fruit is a dry capsule which splits open to release seed. Like blueberry, it too belongs to the heath family. Unlike blueberry, it is very rare, limited to Yarmouth Co. as far as we know.

Finally, we now have another Eleagnus species, Autumn Olive, found only in Nictaux and at Avonport. With Russian Olive, these species are planted as ornamentals and both produce edible fruit. However, these shrubs have the tendency to become invasive. Their recent occurrences may be due to highway building activities.

I have mentioned only three of nearly 100 plants newly discovered here.

Euonymus europaeus, burning bush, photo by Sean Blaney
Burning bush, contributed


Maleberry, Lyonia photo by Martin Thomas


Autumn Olive, photo credited to the Pennsylvania State Dept. of Conservation and Nat. Res.

Grazing the Neighbourhood, requiem

As usual for the season, I am receiving a number of calls and emails from the IWK Poison Centre. This is good, and bad.  Good because the staff there can reach me quickly. But bad, in that people are not vigilant to two of the most important Ps to grazing: plant and part.

Generally the calls relate to children ingesting one or two berries and either showing illness or not. As many poisons affect us to varying degrees based on weight, this can be serious if we are talking toddlers. We all know how quickly they go from hand to mouth. The best advice I can give parents of young children is to learn the plants that grow in their backyards, or neighbourhood. Plants like Canada Yew have lovely red fruit surrounding or cupping the seeds. BUUUTTTT…half a dozen seeds ingested can kill. That is serious! Daphne is similarly poisonous.

In the past month I have received calls that involved buckthorn, chokecherry, wild raisin, Clintonia lily and teaberry. All but the buckthorn are edible, or at least not toxic. Buckthorn IS considered poisonous.

I also received a call concerning an adult who was sick following mushroom ingestion. This is completely preventable! Consider all fungi as a potential threat, unless you absolutely know that this Nova Scotian mushroom is edible. Many residents who grew up elsewhere assume what they are eating is the same as that which they consumed ‘back home’. Not always true! We were unable to provide much information for the patient as he had not reserved any uneaten fungus, nor taken pictures. The description provided and the circumstances did not match. Some of our most visible mushrooms and fungi are deadly poisonous.

Again please feel free to contact me with identification questions. If I don’t know the answer, I will find somebody who does. Before eating anything wild-gathered  where you are uncertain, ask. Photograph it and save some.

And of course, in the case of showing illness after eating something from the wild, call 911 and ask for the Poison Centre.

yew fruit, probably Taxus baccata, an ornamental here; contributed

Daphne, photo by Martin Thomas

Buckthorn, Frangula alnus, photo by JK Lindsey

Fall Foliage - Why do Leaves Change Colour

Fall Foliage - Why do Leaves Change Colour

Published by Marian Munro · September 21, 2015 at 7:46am

Nova Scotia is blessed with riotous colour from late September into November, especially where extensive stands of deciduous trees occur as on the hills of the highlands. Salt marshes turn characteristically yellow and orange and blueberry fields and barrens display quilted shades of crimson and vermilion.

During the growing season, leaves of most plants are green, because of the chlorophyll content. Plants are actively using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make food, via the absorption of the sun’s energy by chlorophyll. Its characteristic green colour masks the yellows and oranges also present because of the carotene and xanthophyll pigments.

As days become short and the length of night increases, temperatures drop, and the the leaves stop producing chlorophyll. The green colour gives way to the oranges and yellows seen in some species.

Reds and purples arise because of additional chemical changes in the leaves involving the anthocyanin pigment.

Some trees and shrubs turn only yellow, others turn only brown due to varying amounts of pigments present. In addition, there are other changes happening with the leaves. Where the lea and petiole attach to the tree, a special layer of cells develops (the abcission layer). This layer once complete, severs the attachment of stem to twig and the leaves drop, leaving behind a leaf scar. Sometimes a strong wind or rain is required to cause the leaves to fall. Or even the weight of the leaf is enough. Trees like oaks often retain their dried and brown leaves into winter.

Most of the conifers retain their needles or shed a few year-round. However, Nova Scotia’s bogs may be coloured yellow by the presence of larch, or hackmatack. Its needles display golden yellow late into November before dropping, completely denuding the trees.

Did you know? Our weather affects fall foliage colours and duration. Low temperatures, but above freezing favours maples’ reds. If we have an early frost, the reds become muted. Rain and overcast days intensify the foliage colours, but only if there are no high winds. These encourage early leaf drop as does excessively dry summers and fall.

Enjoy the bounty and feel free to share your fall foliage photos with us here.



Point Pleasant Park, by Marian Munro

The edible Fungus Among Us

Published by Marian Munro · September 15, 2015 at 8:54am

I used to consider myself half-knowledgeable on edible mushrooms. One bout of mushroom harvester’s disease was enough to convince me that I didn’t know near enough to be teaching others on their identification. My poisoning came from inhaling spores of a Galerinaspecies.

Of nearly 3000 species of mushrooms and other fungi in Nova Scotia, fewer than a dozen are to be considered safely edible. The following three are choice and by no means the only ones.

Mushrooms like the Shaggy Mane (Coprinus species) commonly seen in clusters on our lawn are pretty easy to identify. Their inky black spores beneath narrowly conical caps are distinctive. Beware of drinking alcohol with the meal containing them….coprine causes vomiting in the presence of alcohol, a character used in medicine.

The Common Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris) is closely related to the button mushrooms we purchase.  Also of grasslands, it has a white cap with pink gills that eventually produces a dark brown spore print.

Third choice edible on my plate is the chanterelle. All reports seem to point to a plentiful crop this year.  e, the Golden Chantarelle and its spicy flavour, with a fruity aroma are a personal favourite. Easy to identify, these funnel-shaped caps do not have gills below. Rather their spores are borne on a series of forking ridges decurrent along the stipe. Look for them on the mossy forest floor beneath mixed conifers and deciduous trees from August into October.

You might find my website, The Fungus Among Us useful. It was published in the 1990s but is a useful resource posted in both French and English on the Virtual Museum of Canada.http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/champignons-mushrooms/English/index.html and http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/champignons-mushrooms/Francais/index.html

For those in Nova Scotia, The Nova Scotia Mycological Society is presenting their annual Mushroom Foray Sept. 25-27. This weekend is guaranteed to be fun, informative and an introduction to identification. Suitable for all skill levels. http://www.nsmushrooms.org/

Agaricus campestris var. from the fungus among us
Cantharellus cibarius, Chanterelles wikipedia image

  

Shaggy Manes, Coprinus species, photo by Gary Kessler