Rolandvue: 3rd Week July, Tree of Heaven

Another candidate as a tree to set your calendar is the Ailanthus or tree of heaven.  About this time of year the tree produces masses of keys or samaras in light green clusters, contrasting with the dark green leaves.  These seed clusters, like the mimosa blossoms have been appearing in the area(particularly along Bellona) since the beginning of July.

This is another tree with strong Yin Yang.  Venerated in asia, it was grown for a particularly type of silk worm.  But it is invasive, can have a strong smell, and is also known as the Tree From Hell, difficult to eradicate. It is allelopathic, producing chemicals to inhibit other plants. On the other hand, it was the tree that grew in Brooklyn, center of the novel.

large leave with pinnate pointed leaflets,Tree of Heaven

clusters of seeds in July, Tree of Heaven

Rolandvue:2nd Week July,Mimosa, Clear Weed, Mulberry(dog that didn't bark)

Clear weed is a relatively common plant for the warmer months, only a few inches high.  It is in the nettle family but without any stinging elements. The name is from the translucent stems, sometimes used in biology classes to show the movement of colored nutrients. The specimen shown is at the top of Cloverlea near the mailbox. It is easily pulled if not desired and a close-up is seen in the second photo.  The stem is squarish.  One reference says edible but not very palatable.

Clear Weed, small nettle like but non-stinging,serrated leaves

almost square translucent stem of Clear Weed

Generally the mulberry on Cloverlea would be staining the road purple, but as here the mulberry crop in the area has been thin.  V says they are beyond their normal time for ripening.  So the blank space is this year's mulberry harvest.  Maybe next year.




We like to feature plants to set your calendar by.  The Mimosa trees in the area may qualify. There does not seem to be a tree right on Rolandvue, but on Bellona, as well as Mays Chapel.  To be more  precise the trees have been blooming for about ten days, so blooms really mark the first of July. Get closer and there is a sweet smell, but for some an allegic sensitivity.

The leaves are thigmonastic, respond to touch, heat, or cold.  Might be an interesting school project.  This may be one of the trees closing its leaves at night, though possibly a reaction to temperature.

close-up after shaking the leaves,did seem to respond

profusion of sweet smelling blossoms

over view of the mimosa on Mays Chapel

Rolandvue:1st Week of July: Chickory(white), Golden Rain-tree, Smartweed,Cow Parsnip

If you are waiting for the bus on Charles Street near GBMC, turn and look at the patch of chickory behind the safety railings.  There is the usual tall blue flower but toward the back there are some bright white flowers.  V says this is not uncommon but usually just one white flower to a group.  The photo doesn't show the real difference, will return with better light. Another example of variation in nature.  You can dry the root, grind it into coffee while waiting for the bus. Even close-up does not show the difference the eye sees, maybe a blue white, would need a wavelength analysis.

chickory,blue in foreground, white in background,may need to  go look

closer view of white chicory,camera does not  like  the contrast

Further along Charles, almost to the top of the hill near Bellona is the Golden Rain Tree.  Last fall this was somewhat a mystery, just going by the papery fruit, but the flowers make it more certain to be a Rain Tree. This is from Asia, said to be common around temples.  Bladdernut was in the differential diagnosis but the fruit of the golden rain-tree fits as well. This is also seen in Naples Florida, a wide range of hardiness zones, 2 to 7a.

Flowers of the Golden Rain-tree leaves and paper capsule seen last fall

View of the Golden Rain tree from Charles Street

Another common feature along the roadside last week and this week is the grass which I am tentatively calling Pennsylvania Smartweed, or smart grass. Tentative because it doesn't have the joints or knees as prominent as some of the reference pictures.  But it is one of the characteristics of the season.

probable smartweed,commonly seen along all the road sides

At least some of the smart weeds have a peppery taste which may be conclusive, it can be used as a seasoning in small amounts.
(update) Checked with a couple of foragers, does seem to be Polygonum pensylvanicum, with small knees or joints.  It is in the buckwheat family.  None of the local samples seemed peppery or smarting to the taste.  Not sure of the variation, when others use it for pepper substitute.

Cow Parsnip is so far an out of bounds topic, but interesting.  The similar but larger Giant Hogweed and the parsnip have a toxic sap from the hollow stem which can cause a severe rash.  The rash requires exposure to the sap,followed by exposure to the sun or ultraviolet rays. This is not in the neighborhood so,if interested can follow the discussion on the web.  The picture is from Cuba Road as it crosses the Western Run bridge, about ten miles north of Rolandvue.  V has found this in the city and forages the early shoots as a delicacy but there seems to be some evidence for the skin toxicity of the older plant.

probable Cow Parsnip,top is almost six feet high,toxic sap

Rollandvue:4th Week of June, Box Elder, Chestnut,Linden, Catalpa, Fruiting and Flowering

The chestnuts in the neighborhood are producing their catkins or snakes.  Most of these are the Asian chestnuts resistant to the devastating  blight which struck in the early twentieth century.  There may be one hybrid on the north side of Rolandvue near Bellona that has native chestnut element.  There are male and female catkins, the female more knobby, the male more hairy, as close as they are they require another tree for pollination.  Like the oaks they have a timing which prevents self-pollination.  It is air born pollen so cutting down the tree 30 yards away might make this tree sterile. They will produce the spiky balls from hell in the fall protecting the chestnut.

male and female chestnut catkins

Pictured are the samaras or seeds of the box elder at the corner of Wagner lane and Wagner. Similar to the maple seeds but in tight bunches which may stay on the tree for the winter.  "Box" from wood similar to boxwood and elder do to leaves similar to elder,but actually a maple, Acer negundo.  It is a pinnately compound leaf with 3-7 leaflets, looking a little like poison ivy when only three leaflets.  It can be tapped for sugar.  End branches sometimes remain green rather than woody.  Twigs were once used for incense.  For a few years there was a paper wasp nest in this tree, apparently built new each year, but not obvious this year.

The catalpas have been blooming, one is in the front yard at the top of Cloverlea.  The picture is from the net, missed the peak of the bloom.  The tree had in the past some medicinal uses, soft wood which could be made into utensils and bowls.  Tree is known for its large leaves.

The lindens , here from the driveway at 1009 Cloverlea, are producing their unique fruit.  As a novice I like one of a kind features.  There are numerous varieties of linden all producing this type of seed and no other tree with similar seed.  Helpful since the young linden leaves are edible.  Lindens are called lime trees in English novels, commonly planted in parks and along streets. Sometimes called  the bee tree, blossoms attract the bees.

what's that in the road? a head? Linden seeds

Linden seeds or nuts

L

Rolandvue 3rd Week June:Wine Berry,Raspberry,Black Raspberry,Black Berry

In our area there are four thorny arching "canes" that produce berries, at least for practical purposes.  It may be another week or two for maximum production but you need to find your berry patches now to compete with the numerous other consumers.  The wine berry(Rubus phoenicolasius) or Japanese raspberry is semi-invasive introduced variety which is able to hybridize with the native raspberry and is otherwise similar.  So semi-quoting the forager we can lump the two together. The foreign variety may be more common in the Lake Roland area.

So putting wine berry aside we have three arching canes producing thorns and berries. Two of these will have a leaf with green upper surface and white under surface.  The blackberry will be green on both surfaces.  So a cane berry with green leaves is a blackberry (Rubus fruticosus).  The berry does not have the cup like hollow that the other berries have.  There are larger seeds, but the seeds have omega 3 oils.  The video below is of a group near the Lake Roland light rail bridge.  Ripe when dark purple, the berries will be at different stages, so taking a few at a time.

So there are two cane berries with green leaf top, white leaf bottom.  the raspberry and the black raspberry(Rubus occidentalis.)  The black raspberry fruit is a little smaller  than the raspberry and will eventually turn the characteristic deep purple.  There is often a white coating on the cane,like a mold that will come off when (carefully) wiped. These are great to eat right off the vine,but the forager likes to leave a few for seeds, to help them compete with the invasive raspberries.  They are ripe when darkest color and easily removed.

That leaves one  actual native raspberry(Rubus strigosus).  It was the typical leaf with green top and white bottom, usually no coating on the cane, and a slightly larger berry.  The berries tend to ripen at approximately the same time. These berries have the thimble shaped cup as opposed to the blackberry.  The canes tend to be redder than the black raspberry. The leaves are often three pointed leaflets but can be up to seven.  Most of the canes have perennial roots but biennial canes, first year non-bearing, second year flowering and fruiting.

The videos show the three cane berries near the light rail line.  The narrator gets the blackberry wrong and has been disciplined.  The one with the green underside of the leaf is the blackberry not the black raspberry. Good, responsible, harvesting.

raspberry,white under leaf,red cane

(there are dozens of varieties but this would be the common cane berries nearby)

Rolandvue, 2nd Week June:Curly Dock,Burdock,Wood Sorrel,Joe Pye Weed

Yellow or curly dock(Rumex crispus) is taking over the hill on the south side of Cloverlea.  These are going to seed, which should be on branched stalks about one meter high.  The seeds have a sticky casing that either floats or sticks to clothing.  This adds to the plants invasive nature(was less   common last year).  Young leaves are a common forage, but there are warnings about oxalates which might require two sequences of boiling to protect the kidneys.

Mature leaves are bitter but can be ground into powder to get the vitamins and minerals. The large leaves are entire,lance-shaped,with a lighter yellow midrib.  It is in the buckwheat family.  Thayer likes the peeled stems raw, at least from a younger plant. Buckwheat like flour is possible but difficult due to the seed's hard fibrous husk.

The photos are a little more detailed since I have not seen an ocrea before and this is the first of the family.

From top left, there is a typical plant, the large leaf with wavy but entire margin and the yellowish mid-vein, the papery fibrous ocrea where the petiole meets the stem, and a close-up of the seeds.  At this point the seeds were still not too sticky. l tried stripping the mid-vein free and eating raw, not bad but fibrous at this maturity.

Burdock  have gotten very large this week, at the Charles St end of Rolandvue and the south side of Cloverlea.  The foragers are mainly interested in the deep root of the burdock, requiring digging down alongside the plant.  Do you gain enough energy to make up for the digging?  But the plant size is impressive.  The purple flowers will turn into the somewhat dreaded sticky burrs.  Again the yin yang, noxious invasive weed or prized asian vegetable?

large burdock stalk,too late for forage,watch for flowers and burrs.

Wood sorrel is on the Charm City farm list this week, the photo is from the 1009 Cloverlea driveway but it is everywhere. With the usual warnings this is relatively safe to try in moderation.  Like many plants it has oxalates. Flowering (small yellow) is done. Leaf like a shamrock.

wood sorrel,pleasant slightly acid taste,better out of the roadway and before  lawn herb spray.

occasional wood sorrel flower still remaining end of June

The plant in the next photos was a mystery until we looked back at the list from last year. It is the early growth of the Joe Pye weed with the whirl of leaves coming off the central stalk. Thought to be used more for folk medicine than foraging.  This was at the corner of Cloverlea and Rolandvue.  This is a rich area, but not unexpected.  "Edges" are one of the richest habitats and road margins qualify as edges.  Just better for virtual foraging not actual foraging.

Rolandvue 1st Week June,Kousa Dogwood,Honeysuckle,Field Onion,Cryptomaria Pollen

The Kousa dogwoods are blooming, about a month later than the native dogwoods. They are imported from asia, being resistant to the anthracnose fungus disease.  Kousas are scattered around the neighborhood,in the woods but pictures are from south side of Rolandvue. They will have a custard like fruit later in the season.  It is so typical that even this beginner forager has tried it. This Spring the flowers seem very dramatic, particularly along Lake Roland near the dam.

Kousa or Asian Dogwood,disease resistant,prominently floral,same 4 bracts

Honeysuckle is also more obvious this week.  There is bush honeysuckle and vine honeysuckle, native and Asian honeysuckle.  This seems to be the vine type and fits more with the Japanese honeysuckle but there are native vines as well. So specific type is undetermined. Both have opposite leaves and bilateral symmetry in the flowers.  The Asian variety may be more invasive. Most of the fruit, dark berries, is good for birds but toxic to humans. The name derives from a sweet nectar which can be drained directly from the flowers.

Foragers say to use your nose when distinguishing field garlic/onion from other more toxic members of the lily family.  If it smells like onion or garlic it is edible. Check the stem, hollow seems to mean onion. The color of the flower coming out of the top bulblet  may indicate onion.  The whole plant is potential forage.

close-up of flower bursting out of top capsule,onion

stalk of field onion with turret cap,hollow stem,onion smell

This is the season for emergency room visits in Japan where cryptomeria is widespread and causes severe allergies.  Some varieties of cryptomeria are less allergenic and some produce little pollen when young.  There are scattered trees going toward the end of Wagner, maybe not enough to cause a problem.  The photo shows a change in the last tree,possibly the male fruit.  Pollen is commonly associated with flowers, but the more showy flowers are designed for insect pollination.  It is the air pollen that is more hazardous,cedars,oaks and cryptomeria.

Cryptomeria seeds on a tree which can produce allergenic pollen