Short Nature Post

[rubyelf]

Today ended up being nicer than I expected it to be... the sun came out even though the wind was chilly... so I stopped on the way home to take a walk on the other trail (the one that isn't by the lake). This is the trail along the creek where I always find all the red trilliums, and I figured it was much too early for them yet, but I might at

Comments

[rhye]

My husband pulls up all the garlic mustard in our yard, steams it, and eats it. We even have canned garlic mustard. I don't eat greens anyway but my son also loves cooked garlic mustard. I make fun of my husband because of there is anything remotely edible growing in our yard, you can bet he eats it. He even made a salad of plantain, garlic mustard, and dandelion greens.

[rubyelf]

It certainly is prolific, so if you like it, I suppose it's good that there's so much of it around! And I'm not sure what's in it that makes it toxic to insects, but apparently it doesn't hurt humans, and I suppose deer just don't like the taste. Most of the herbal flavors we find pleasant are actually repellent to insects and grazers (mints, basil, mustard... pretty much all the herbs). Only mammals can taste the hotness of peppers... it's a chemical that evolved to deter mammals from eating and ruining the seeds and to encourage birds, who don't digest the seeds and poop them out intact.

[rubyelf]

Thank you for joining me!

[koulagirl666]

Bracts, like on grevilleas? I swear I remember a study that found they photosynthesise for longer, because leaves become less efficient over time as they die, and bracts... don't. And grevilleas are prickly and I hate them. *nods*

[rubyelf]

That's entirely possible, about the bracts... I know trilliums aren't the only plants who use bracts in place of, or in addition to, real leaves.

[untiltimeends]

Oh wow! Those May apples are so cool looking. I don't think I've ever seen those before.

[rubyelf]

They're native to Eastern North America, and they're exclusively woodland plants, at least around here. They cover a good part of the forest floor for most of the season. Those ones in the picture aren't fully open yet.

[reporterstarlin]

Nice...!!

[rubyelf]

Thank you!