August24_2010

Botanical Glossary - Home - References Cited

Photos - Frames left and right: Continuing with a hike along Mission Creek to the east, up stream, I got to a point along the creek where the trail had been washed out and the embankment sloughed (right). At this point the dirt wall reaches up about 75 feet skyward and looks rather ominous but I think is safe as long as a person doesn't dilly dally too long under it.

Center frame: The large leaves of Arctium Minus (Common Burdock) which is is a European introduced weed commonly found in pastures, roadsides and disturbed sites through out the Pacific Northwest (low to middle elevations). The roots were boiled for used in a cough medicine, while others have used the drink for arthritis.

Photos - L-R - Green berries of Mahonia Nervosa (Dull Oregon Grape). The leathery, evergreen, spiny leaves resemble English Holly and turn reddish or purplish by winter time. Spring time sees bright yellow flower spikes, and usually by late summer, deep purple, edible berries are present in elongated clusters. The bark inside is bright yellow, due to the alkaloid berberine. The shredded bark was used for yellow dye for coloration in weaving by some natives. The bark and berries were known as a medicine for liver, gall bladder and eye problems. "Eating the berries in quantity was the only known antidote for shellfish poisoning" use caution, the alkaloid is very potent.

Libellula Pulchella (Twelve-spotted Skimmer) resting on a bare branched at stream side. The dark patches at the wing tip, middle and base of each wing gives this dragonfly its name. The mature males such as this one, have white patches in between the dark ones giving the wings a camouflage effect. These skimmers are not very strong fliers so that when you find a favorite perch, you can safely assume that the flier will return to it frequently. They usually fly from late spring to early fall in the southern interior and Coastal mountains.

Clematis Ligusticifolia (White Clematis). Clematis ligusticifolia is a climbing, spreading vine with showy flowers. It is also known as Old-man's Beard and Yerba de Chiva, and Virgin's bower, (though the last name may also refer to C. lasiantha). It is native to North America where it is widespread across the western United States in streamside thickets, wooded hillsides, and coniferous forests up to 4,000 feet. It was called "pepper vine" by early travelers and pioneers of the American Old West. They used it as a pepper substitute to spice up food since real black pepper (Piper nigrum) was a costly and rarely obtainable spice. Like the rest of the Clematis genus, it contains essential oils and compounds which are extremely irritating to the skin and mucous membranes. Unlike Black Pepper or Capsicum, however, the compounds in clematis cause internal bleeding of the digestive tract if ingested internally in large amounts. The plants are essentially toxic. Despite its toxicity, Native Americans used very small amounts of clematis as an effective treatment for migraine headaches and nervous disorders. It was also used as an effective treatment of skin infections. A whole-plant hot water extraction was used to treat eczema, and a leaf compress is used to treat chest pain, sores, and boils.

Photos - L-R - A brightly colored rose petal attracts a Pachyta Liturata (Brown Douglas Fir Borer) is less than an inch in length is brown in color and feeds on Douglas Fir at high elevations during its larvae stage of growth. It has a large rounded head about the same width as the prothorax. The prothorax has blunt spines on it.

Acer Circinatum (Vine Maple) with seed fliers handing delicately from the branch. These trees/shrubs are usually found in moist to wet places, open areas, clearcuts, shrubfields, or lavaflows from low to middle elevations. Vine Maple has more leaf lobes than other Maple trees, totaling 7-9 lobes in all. The wood has been used for snowshoe frames, drum hoops, small implements, spoons and dishes because of its dense, hard wood which is more flexible when fresh and dries in position without stress on the branch.

Bombycilla Cedrorum (Cedar Waxwing) perched upon a dead branch above the Mission Creek Greenway Trail. The Waxwings mostly like to gulp down the ripe fruits but supplement their diet with bugs as an appetizer. The Waxwing is easily recognized by the yellow band at the tip of tail, generally this is a sleek, crested, brown-gray bird with a bit of white and pale yellow on belly, and a black eye triangle that starts from the forehead above the beak and ends behind and under the head crest. They are migratory, spending winters in southern USA to Panama.

Click here for more photos of The Mission Creek Greenway for this day.