Rolandvue,4th Week September: White Snakeroot

We have discussed white snakeroot before, its toxicity and role in milk sickness.  It seems to be the main plant blooming at this time of year.  It will be interesting to see how much variation there is from year to year.  There has been no attempt to put error bars around the dates as plants are mentioned.  They very from location to location.  This year two weeks ago the snakeroot was not blooming, it may go another two weeks. This seems to be a rare plant with actual deaths related to secondary ingestion, the meat or milk of cows which ate the plant.

white snakeroot,one of few flowering plants this week.

Cucumber vines are growing with their unusual fruit, seen on the north side of Rolandvue near the Cloverlea entrance.  The keys or samaras on the asian elms are becoming more obvious this week. The samaras are edible in the green stage but I am not sure of the exact species here on Wagner(two trees on the south side). The tall American fireweed at the corner of Wagner and Rolandvue is going to seed.  This clump raises the possibility of rhizome spread.  What would be the effect of constant light  from the overhead street light? These plants get no dark period although the street light is minimal compared to the sun.

small notched samaras of the siberian elm?edible

tall American fireweed going to seed

Rolandvue,3rd Week September:Wingstem,Ground Cherry

The bright yellow wingstem flowers (Verbisina alternifolia) are visible along Towson Run and across the field north of Rolandvue.  They are more common along Bellona and at the north entrance to Lake Roland near L'Hirondelle club.  It is in the aster family with yellow daisy-like flowers, somewhat ragged in appearance.  The name is from the ridges or wings along the stem.  Leaves are lance like with variable margins.  There are long rhizomes on the roots accounting for closely packed colonies. It prefers rich soil and moisture like the flood plain along Roland Run.

There is little in my handy references about foraging wingstem despite it being a native plant. It is ok for livestock but can be invasive and hard to control.  Apparently not eaten by deer by preferred by numerous bees and butterflies.  Not listed among the medicinal plants.

ragged daisy-like flowers of wingstem

clump of wingstem probably from rhizomes

the ridges along the stem

We mentioned ground cherry(Physalis) last year, it is fruiting along the north side of Wagner near the end.  It had been near the beech last fall.  It is the nightshade family, associated with toxicity but like potatoes and tomatoes edible with care.  The fruit inside the hanging lanterns is still green.

ground cherry, Wagner Road, not ready for pie as yet

Rolvandvue,2nd Week of August: Chocolate vine and Golden Rod

Chocolate vine(Akebia quinata) is native to the Korea, Japan area.  Remember that the 38th parallel is the neutral zone across Korea and runs just south of Rolandvue in this hemisphere,so similar environment. It has become naturalized along the east coast of the U.S.  Like other vines it has some positives: an edible podlike fruit, the rind used in cooking and the vine in basketry. But it can also become invasive growing to thirty feet heights.  The five leaflets are  characteristic(quinata).  This photo is from the south side of Wagner near the ginko trees. It is growing over the fence.

The flowers, in the early spring are said to have a chocolate smell.  We are watching for the fruits but apparently vines are sparsely productive.

Older dark leaves,younger green leaves of chocolate vine

close-up chocolate vine,missing some leaflets

Leaves with five leaflets,same side of smooth woody stem

The goldenrod has been blooming this week, a sign of good luck, or a sign of a vigorous weed, depending on your mood.  Goldenrod is pollenated by insects and not by the wind,is therefore not a common cause of allergy.  It is the ragweed blooming at the same time which is more responsible for hay fever.  The young lance shaped leaves are edible and a tea can be made from the blooms. 

The plant was considered as a wartime(WWII) source of rubber.  The leaves contain seven percent rubber.  The final product was not suitable for tires, too tacky.  It is in the aster family with typical ray shaped flowers.

Goldenrod with unknown pollinator

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Rolandvue, 1st Week of September: Mile-a-Minute vine,Greenbriar, Wisteria

Mile-A-Minute vine (Periscaria perfoliata) or Tearthumb can ruin a good hike.  Do you backtrack along the gorge for a couple of miles or plow on through a couple of acres of Tearthumb. In hindsight, backtracking would have been better.  The photos are from the middle of Cloverlea, a vine not seen last year and possibly spread by birds.  It is beginning to seed.  Hold on while I stop being the neutral reporter, put on heavy gloves and go pull it up.

That's better.

It is another asian invasive arriving in York Pa with a shipment of hollys in the early 1930s. Now it is spread widely in the Mid-Atlantic.  It smothers the native vegetation, climbs with the sharp hooks on the leaves and the stems, and spreads with copious seeds.  The leaves are triangular, alternate, and join the stem with ocreae, a characteristic of the vine.  It prefers edgess and disturbed areas as here on Cloverlea. There is a possible biological control not yet proven, so thick gloves and pulling, before the seeds appear.

tearthumb seeds,spread by birds and small animals

triangular leaves of tearthumb

closeer view of the thorns and the ocreae

Greenbriar(smilax sp) is a native vine also with sharp barbs or thorns.  Another plant with ambivalent character, the thick mats provide cover for animals, the leaves are commonly browsed.  The berries are food for numerous bird species.  The thick mats cut down on diversity and the thorns can be a barrier.  The photo is from Lake Roland but it extends up along Towson Run.  I have tried eating the tender shoots raw in the spring and early summer. The young leaves can be used raw in salads, but not personally tested.

Wisteria is another vine encountered along the trail but probably escaped from cultivation.
This vine was at the top of Rolandvue.  Wisteria can be aggressive.  Foraging is as always cautious, making fritters from the flowers is suggested.  Some parts of the plant are toxic. Did not see the flowers this year.

Rolandvue, 4th Week August: Porcelain-berry, Cucumber vine

If someone asks "what vine is that?"  Porcelain-berry(P-b) is a good first guess, particularly this time of year. It seems to be everywhere. Continuing with theme of local vines here is the quick over view of porcelain-berry.  It is a non-native (Asia) invasive.  The ID is often paired with the similar family member, wild grape or fox grape.

P-b has variable but generally grape like leaves.  A clear difference is the fruit grows upward above the leaves with porcelain berry, while the wild grape fruit bunches hang down as would be expected with common grapes.  The fruit of P-b, when cut has white flesh vs dark flesh for the grape.  If no fruit the pith of the vine(P-b) is white while the wild grape pith is brown.  The bark of wild grape is woody and peeling while the porcelain berry bark is not.

Being related to grapes the fruit of porcelain berry is edible but apparently tasteless and with a disagreeable texture.  Will give a personal report as it ripens. Foragers will not help control the invasive. Suggested control seems to be by hand pulling and cutting since chemicals will damage the supporting plants.

berries above the plane of the leaves

f

Porcelain berry variable grape-like leaves

leaf close up, grape-like

The cucumber vine is growing around the old foundation north side of Rolandvue near the Cloverlea entrance.  This vine seems to get a more neutral response.  Aggressive but not invasive, possible for trellis but needs control.  The unusual fruits are not edible.   Because it can cover trees most suggest pulling before it goes to seed, which looks like about last week.  It has these interesting little tendrils mentioned in an earlier post.

cucumber vine flower

small irregular fruit of the cucumber vine

cucumber vine leaf

counterclockwise tendril in northern hemisphere

Rolandvue,3rd Week August: Virgin Bower, English Ivy,Kudzu,Bind Weed

On the foraging walks with Victoria,we ran into about twenty different vines.  Here in August with little active flowering we will look at a few of the common vines in the area. Clematis virginiana or virgin's bower is flowering at this time of the year.  The photo is actually from the first of September with even more active blossoms.  The latin is just a suggestion, that is the native species and common, but there is also an asian species(Clematis terniflora),more florid and more invasive.  A gardener may be more specific.  Here the leaf margin is smooth or entire not typical in many Clematis illustrations which are coarsely sawtoothed. The leaves are opposite,pinnately compound in groups of three leaflets.  The leaf margins may go better with the Asian cultivated variety.

More certainly it is in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, and therefore mostly on the poison or toxic side. As is frequently the case native Americans did find some medicinal use for the plant. The seeds were used as a pepper substitute. In small doses it was used for headache, higher doses were toxic.  Some may be sensitive to the oils on the leaves and need gloves for handling.  This is a planted specimen at the top of Cloverlea, but there are some "wild" or escapees along Rolandvue and occasionally around Lake Roland.

Foraging is mainly for the flowers, but selected species are "only slightly poisonous". Remember to boil it.

Update: Both samples, along the Cloverlea fence and "wild" along Rolandvue are the asiatic species, entire leaf margin and stronger fragrance.

Some of the English ivy(Hedera helix) is also flowering this week.  The photo is from the top of Rolandvue hill.  Another ambivalent plant.  It grows well, is evergreen and Victoria claims that sheep or goats can get through the winter browsing ivy if there is no other forage. Some states rate it invasive, others encourage it as a wall cover to moderate temperature and weather damage. But on buildings it can invade gutters and roof tiles.  The berries ripen in winter, useful for birds, but moderately toxic to humans.  In some parts of the neighborhood it seems to be a nice ground cover and in others invading and choking trees.

alternate leaves vary with species and age of plant

flowering common ivy

younger leaf common ivy

  

The kudzu photo is from the west side of Cloverlea about halfway down the hill.  It seems possible that the vine that ate the South is less dangerous than its press would suggest. Rather than spreading by the square mile it is spreading by the acre.  It kills other plants by smothering, lowers biodiversity, and outcompetes local species.  On the other hand it is a world champion nitrogen fixer (500 pounds per hectare) and has relatively large nutritious roots.  The vine lifestyle allows it to concentrate more energy in the root and less in the woody stems. It can spread by growing from nodes along the vine or by seed after insect pollination.  

Kudzu was one of those, beware of unintended consequences, cautionary tales.  It was actively supported by the government as a shade plant, erosion control and cover crop. Then quickly put on the invasive list and spending ten times the promotion investment to control it.  Control could be by wild goats, can eat an acre a day.

                                                                   

trifoliate leaves with 2 or 3 lobes,long stem

seed pods a member of the pea family,nitrogen fixer

kudzu vine with purple stain prominent hairs

close-up of three part leaf with lobed leaflets

The bind weed has been in a previous post but has been impressive in its persistence.  It also grows quickly, is easily removed by hand but seems to come back overnight.  Controlling some of the vines with hand pulling, some suggest leaving the debris on the bed as fertilizer.  But some vines grow back even from cut fragments. I am bagging the bindweed.

The arrow shaped leaves of bindweed growing among pachysandra