Plant, Herb, and Tree Lore
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Maple: Acer rubrum
12 4th, 2016![Maple (http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1875). Gingko Tree Petrified Forest ( http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=25979). Northern Exposure: Chronicle 24 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Washington. Photos taken March 29, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=20007. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/032916-027-300x200.jpg)
Maple (http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1875). Gingko Tree Petrified Forest ( http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=25979). Northern Exposure: Chronicle 24 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Washington. Photos taken March 29, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=20007. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
Maple
Article by Thomas Baurley, Leaf McGowan, Technogypsie Research www.technogypsie.com on December 3, 2016.
Taxonomy: Kingdom: Plantae; Angiosperms; Eudicots; Rosids; Order: Sapindales; Family: Sapindaceae or Aceraceae; Subfamily: Hippocastanoideae; Genus: Acer; Acer rubrum
Common Names: Maple, Red Maple, Maple Syrup, Swamp maple
Locality/Habitat/Cultivation:
The Genus Acer can be found all over Asia, Europe, Northern Africa, and North America. Acer laurinum extends to the southern Hemisphere. Acer pseudoplatanus (Sycamore Maple) is the most common found in Europe. The most common, the Red Maple, is one of the most popular and common in the eastern deciduos forests of North America. They are very common in New England and the Northeast, especially Maine west to Minnesota, south to Texas, and east to Florida. The tree is hardy tolerating a wide range of habitats, conditions, and locales. They prefer shady or sunny locations with dry or wet soils, and can range from high to low elevations. They have adaptable roots that do well in most soil types, though deep acidic moist soils are its preference. They live approximately 80-100 years, with some as old as 200. Seeds mature 3 weeks to 6 months after flowering, with seed dispersal after maturity, able to release hundreds of thousands of seeds at once.
Description: Acer/Maple trees and shrubs with over 128 known species and are deciduous, known for their leaf colors, and shade tolerant in youth riparian understory or pioneer in adulthood. The trees generally grow upwards of 60-90 feet in height, though the largest recorded was 120 feet. Maple shrubs don’t usually exceed more than 33 feet in height. The branches are generally palmate, veined, and lobed with 3-9 veins each leading to a lobe that is central or apical that bud small red flowers from March to April, with fruit in April to June. On the Red Maple (Acer rubrum) regular, pentamerous, raceme/corymb/or umbel borne 4-5 petal 1-6 mm long green/yellow/orange/or red flowers hosting 4-10 6-10 mm long stamens and two pistils hosting a superior two carpeled ovary with elongate wings with 4-5 sepals produce the fruits are called samaras which have an enclosed seed at one end with a thin dry wing-like projection on the other end some nickname whirlybirds or helicopters as they spin when falling from the trees. Roots are dense and fibrous blocking growth of other plants around them.
Common/General Uses:
Red maples produce a sap that is edible, and is the source of “maple syrup”. Sugar maples produce the most sugary syrups on the market. This is eaten or drunk as a culinary desert or topping, especially on pancakes, waffles, and deserts. Furniture and flooring is made from its wood, as are clothespins, musical instruments, and boxes (especially from the Red Maple). The trees are often planted as ornamentals in landscaping as they grow fast and easy to plant. Dried wood is often used in smoking meats. Charcoal from maples is used in making Tennessee whisky. Hard maples is used to make bowling pins, bowling lanes, pool cue shafts, butcher’s blocks, wooden baseball bats, and a core material in limbs of recurve bow due to its strength and stiffness. The backs/sides/necks of most stringed instruments like violas, violins, cellos, electric guitars, and double basses are usually maple. Maple recorders, bassoons, and drums are also often made from maple.
Medicinal Uses: coming soon.
Magical Uses: coming soon.
Spirituality: coming soon.
Folklore: Canadians use the Maple Leaf as their coat of arms and icon for their flags representing strength and endurance.
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All photos and content copyrighted by Thomas Baurley, Leaf McGowan, Technogypsie Productions … www.technogypsie.com/photography.
- References:
- Cornell.edu n.d. “The Life of a Sugar Maple Tree”. Website referenced December 3, 2016 at http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/pubs/trees.htm
- National Wildlife Federation n.d. “Maple”. Website referenced December 3, 2016 at http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/plants/red-maple.aspx.
- Wikipedia n.d. “Maple”. Website referenced December 3, 2016 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple
![Maple ( http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1875). Gingko Tree Petrified Forest ( http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=25979). Northern Exposure: Chronicle 24 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Washington. Photos taken March 29, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=20007. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/032916-028-300x200.jpg)
Maple ( http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1875). Gingko Tree Petrified Forest ( http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=25979). Northern Exposure: Chronicle 24 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Washington. Photos taken March 29, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=20007. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
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Gingko Tree Petrified Forest
12 3rd, 2016![Gingko Tree Petrified Forest ( http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=25979). Northern Exposure: Chronicle 24 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf and Prince Cian. Adventures in Washington. Photos taken March 29, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=20007. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/032916-005.jpg)
Gingko Tree Petrified Forest ( http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=25979). Northern Exposure: Chronicle 24 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf and Prince Cian. Adventures in Washington. Photos taken March 29, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=20007. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
Gingko Petrified Forest
Vantage, Washington. http://parks.state.wa.us/288/Ginkgo-Petrified-Forest
Article by Thomas Baurley on 12/3/2016 ~
Enroute to a archaeological survey I was doing, we stopped the night at Wanapum State Park only to discover next door was the GIngko Petrified Forest. What a treasure trove lying within the Washington desert for any paleontology enthusiast. The park is approximately 7,470 acres including over 27,000 along the shoreline of the Wanapum Reservoir on the Columbia River. This petrified forest was once a tropical jungle that after cataclystic events became hardened into stone by volcanic activity and lava during the Miocene Period. It is located right off of Interstate 90. We took a hike along the “Trees of Stone” interpretative Trail, just down the road from the interpretive center. You have the option of the longer 2.5 mile loop or a 1.5 mile loop. Dotted along the trail are metal cages containing in situ various tree stumps and logs that were petrified long ago. There are over 22 species of trees that can be found on the paths. The petrified trees were discovered by a highway crew in 1927 led by geologist George F. Beck. In 1938 the Civilian Conservation Corps completed Beck’s excavations, built a museum here, and opening the park to the public. In 1965 it was designated a National Landmark by the National Park Service.
The interpretative center and museum tells the story of the forest, how it was formed, what life was like when it existed and how it is now. During the Miocene of the Neogene period (15.5 Million years ago), this area was a semi-humid jungle that was affected by volcanic fissures and lava flows that once came across the Columbia Plateau. These flows leveled the landscape that once was here, flattened and encased in basalt rock. During the burial, a chemical transformation converted the wood to stone by process of petrification when the minerals and silica from the volcanic ash mixes with ground water, penetrates and soaks into the wood, and mineralized it enough to make it rock. By the end of the last ice age, the catastrophic Missoula Floods around 15,000 BPE, the basalt was eroded and exposed some of the petrified wood. There are over 50 species found within the park including sweetgum, ginkgo, redwood, douglas fir, walnut, spruce, elm, maple, horse chestnut, cottonwood, magnolia, madroe, sassafras, yew, and witch hazel.
The Wanapum peoples lived in this region from the Columbia River to Beverly Gap onwards to the Snake River. They welcomed the white settlers during Lewis and Clark’s expedition. They used the petrified wood for lithic tools, carved petroglyphs in the basalt cliffs, and lived here by fishing or agriculture.
Nearby is the Wanapum campground for visitors to stay and be able to explore the ground over the course of a few days. Near the Interpretive center is a Gem shop where visitors can buy souvenirs and stones for their collections. There is collecting permitted on Saddle Mountain 14 miles away where collectors can gather up to 25 pounds a day or 250 pounds a year for personal use.
- References:
- Seattle Times 2008 “Hard Facts on Gingko Petrified Forest”. Web site referenced 12/3/16 at http://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/hard-facts-on-ginkgo-petrified-forest-state-park/
- Washington Parks n.d. “Gingko Petrified Forest”. Website referenced 12/3/16 at http://parks.state.wa.us/288/Ginkgo-Petrified-Forest
- Washington Trails n.d. “Gingko Petrified Forest Interpretative Trails.” Website referenced 12/3/16 at http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/gingko-petrified-forest-interpretive-trails
- Wikipedia n.d. “Gingko Petrified Forest”. Website referenced 12/3/16 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_Petrified_Forest_State_Park
![Walnut ( http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=11050). Gingko Tree Petrified Forest ( http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=25979). Northern Exposure: Chronicle 24 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf and Prince Cian. Adventures in Washington. Photos taken March 29, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=20007. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/032916-019.jpg)
Walnut ( http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=11050). Gingko Tree Petrified Forest ( http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=25979). Northern Exposure: Chronicle 24 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf and Prince Cian. Adventures in Washington. Photos taken March 29, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=20007. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
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Arctostaphylos uva-ursi: Kinnikinnick
11 27th, 2016Arctostaphylos uva-ursi: Kinnikinnick ~
Name: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. Kingdom: Plantae; Angiosperms; Eudicots; Asterids; Order: Ericales; Family: Ericaceae; Genus: Arctostaphylos
Common Name: Bearberry, Kinnikinnick, bear berry, pinemat manzanita, arberry, bear’s grape, crowberry, foxberry, hog cranberry, kinnikinnick, mealberry, mountain box, mountain cranberry, mountain tobacco, sandberry, upland cranberry, uva-ursi
General Description: Because the plant is very much a favorite foodstuff of bears, it has earned the name “bearberry”. This wonderful plant is part of the Manzanita genus Arctostaphylos. It is named after the Latin term uva-ursi or meaning “grape of the bear”. It is a small procumbent woody ground cover shrub that grows between 5-30 cm high, growing evergreen shiny, small, thick, stiff alternating leaves that stay green for 1-3 years before they fall off the bush. The bottom of the leaves are lighter green than the tops. The shrub blossom white to pink flowers from May to June that also bear a red berry fruit measuring 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter that persist on into early winter. The stands of this bush can be extremely dense and hard to get through, though rarely growing taller than 6 inches. The erect branching twigs emerge from long flexible prostrate stems produced by single roots.
Locality/Cultivation: This shrub can be found appearing as one of three species of dwarf shrubs belonging to the genus Arctostaphylos. It is commonly used in gardens as an ornamental. Leaves are harvested during the summer and dried for use in extracts, infusions, teas, and tablets.
Common Uses: Bearberry is edible, but mealy and bland in taste. It is a major ingredient found in the Native American smoke mix called “kinnikinnick” (means “mixture” in Algonquin) and mixed with Tobacco by the First Nations peoples. The berries have been gathered by many people as a food. It is used as an ornamental plant in landscaping and to help control erosion.
Medicinal Uses: It has been identified as having a narcotic or stimulant effect when smoked. The leaves are used in herbal medicine. Some of the constituents within it are hydroquinones that are labelled hepatotoxic. It has been used in urinary tract infections. First labelled in medicinal applications by Gerhard in 1763, and first documented in the Physicians of Myddfai a 13th century herbal. It appeared in the London Pharmacopoeia in 1788. Marco Polo thought the Chinese used it as a diuretic. In Europe the leaves are used as a phytomedicine. While edible, large doses have been said to have caused fever, vomiting, nausea, chills, back pain, and tinnitus. Should be avoided by those pregnant or possessing kidney issues.
Magical Uses: Native Americans smoke it in a cermonial mix called “kinnikinnick” and use it both as a smudge or smoked in a sacred pipe carrying the smoker’s prayers to the Great Spirit. When creating the “kinnikinnick” it is often ixed with non-poisonous sumac, inner bark of red osier dogwood, chokecherry, and alder.
Folklore:
Spirituality: In ceremonies, Native American mixed bearberry with dogwood, chokecherry, and alder into a mix called “Kinnikinnick” that was used spiritually as well as medicinally, and seen by white Euro-American settlers as a narcotic (though sometimes mixed with tobacco and granting that effect). Early colonial European hunters, traders, and settlers used the mix as such too. While Eastern tribes also used it as a smoking mix socially, they did so ceremonially. The Ojibwa smoked it mixed with dried powdered room of Aster novae-angliae L or red willow or spotted willow.
![Bearberry or Kinnickinnick. Original book source: Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany. he author died in 1925, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or less. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Illustration_Arctostaphylos_uva-ursi0-publicdomain-174x300.jpg)
Bearberry or Kinnickinnick. Original book source: Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany. he author died in 1925, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 80 years or less.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923.
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Mahonia aquifolium : Oregon Grape
11 25th, 2016Name: Mahonia aquifolium
Common Names: Oregon Grape, oregon-grape, oregon grape-holly, oregon holly-grape, oregongrape.
Description: A common species of the flowering evergreen shrub Berberidacea. Plant grows to 1 meter high x 1.5 meter in width has large pinnate leaves that grow approx. 10-50 cm in length with 5-15 spiny leaflets, and it flowers yellow clusters in racemes that are approx. 5-20 cm in length. Tends to have spiny, evergreen foliage with yellow flowers in the autumn, winter, and early spring. Produces blue-black berries.
Locality: Primarily from the Pacific Coast of North America. Name “aquifolium” means “holly leaved” referring to its spines.
Growing: Popular in shady or woodland environments. Resistant to summer drought and tolerates poor soils.
Culinary/Common Uses: Often used as a popular garden shrub or as an ornamental. Berries are edible and high in Vitamin C. Aboriginal peoples ate the berries in small quantities and mixed them with other sweeter fruits such as Salal. Today used to make jellies or mixed with salal. Its juices have been fermented to make wines. The inner bark of the larger stems and roots produce a yellow die, the berries a purple dye.
Medicinal Uses: Although edible, the plant contains berberine which can cause vomiting, lowered blood pressure, reduced heart rate, lethargy, and other effects if eaten in large quantities. Native American tribes have used it to treat dyspepsia. Some etrats have been used to treat inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis.
Magical Uses:
Folklore: State flower of Oregon
Religion:
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Lichen – Can you ID me?
04 24th, 2016Southeastern Oregon near Bonanza. Can you ID this lichen?
![Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon - Nevada - California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/042015-011-300x225.jpg)
Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
![Phosphorous green tree lichen. Can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1931. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon - Nevada - California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/042015-012-300x225.jpg)
Phosphorous green tree lichen. Can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1931. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
![Unknown phosphorous green tree lichen - can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1931. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon - Nevada - California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/042015-022-300x225.jpg)
Unknown phosphorous green tree lichen – can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1931. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
![Unknown phosphorous green tree lichen - can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1931. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon - Nevada - California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/042015-023-225x300.jpg)
Unknown phosphorous green tree lichen – can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1931. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
![Unknown phosphorous green tree lichen - can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1931. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon - Nevada - California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/042015-025-300x225.jpg)
Unknown phosphorous green tree lichen – can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1931. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
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yellow flower – can you ID me?
04 24th, 2016yellow flowers in the scrub lands near Bonanza, Oregon. Can you ID me?
![Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon - Nevada - California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/042015-018-225x300.jpg)
Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
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white flowers – can you ID me?
04 24th, 2016From scrublands near Bonanza, Oregon. Can you ID Me?
![white flowers - can you id me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1939. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon - Nevada - California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 - Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com - by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.](http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/042015-024-300x225.jpg)
white flowers – can you id me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1939. Surveying near Bonanza, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 20, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
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Can you identify me?
04 24th, 2016This new spring blossom along the scrub-land floors of southeastern Oregon – near Bonanza, Oregon. Anyone have a clue as to what plant this is?
unknown flower – can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1921. Adventures near Klamath Falls, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 22, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved. unknown flower – can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1921. Adventures near Klamath Falls, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 22, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved. unknown flower – can you ID me? http://www.treeleavesoracle.org/treelore/?p=1921. Adventures near Klamath Falls, Oregon. Exploring the Oregon – Nevada – California Borderlands: Chronicle 21 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. The Gorge/Columbia River, Oregon-Washington. Photos taken April 22, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=17409. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Eadaoin Bineid and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved.
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Bitter Root (Lewisia rediviva Pursh)
03 20th, 2016
Bitter Root: Lewisia rediviva Pursh
Lewisia rediviva Pursh [ Plantae: Angiosperms: Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales: Portulacaceae: Lewisia: L. rediviva ]
Common Names: Bitteroot, Bitter Root, racine amere, spetlum, spetlem, naamtcu, Ktanxa, naqamcu, mo’otaa-heseeo’otse, black medicine
Localities:
Commonly found in open shrub or grasslands, low lying forests in lower elevations upwards to sub-alpine terrain atop gravelly to heavy dry soils. Found throughout southern British Columbia, eastern Oregon and Washington near the Cascades south towards southern California, east to Wyoming, Montana, northern Colorado and Arizona.
Description:
Bitter root is a small low growing perennial herb that is common in North America, especially in grasslands within low or moderate elevations. Bitter root when mature, exhibits a white to pinkish flower late May / early June. It possesses a fleshy taproot with simple or branched base leaves and a leafless flow stem ranging from 1-3 centimeters in height. Flowers form at the tip of the 5-6 linear bract whorl ranging from 5-10 mm in size brandishing a single flower on each stem with 5-9 oval to oblong shaped petals approximately 18-35 mm length. Once mature, the plant produces egg-shaped capsules with 6-20 rounded seeds.
The explorer Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, wrote in his journal describing the plant as �cilindric and as white as snow throughout, except some small parts of the hard black rind which they had not seperated in the preperation� [the roots] became perfectly soft by boiling, but had a very bitter taste, which was naucious to my pallate, and [I] transfered them to the Indians who had eat them heartily.�
Species:
Lewisia rediviva Pursh
Cultivation:
Wildcrafted. Harvested throughout history by Native American tribes, especially in the Pacific Northwest.
Common Uses:
Bitter Root was a well known foodstuff utilized by various Native American tribes such as the Flathead Indians, Shoshone, Cheyenne, and others.
Culinary Uses:
Various tribes consumed the roots, often used to accompany grouse (Ktunaxa). The Ktunaxa ate bitter root with sugar while others ate it with salt. The root was often boiled in preparation. Native American women would dig up the plant, preferably before it flowered, cleaned the roots, boiled them, and mixed it with meat and/or berries. Hunting expeditions would take patties made from the pulverized root packed with deer fat and moss. Sometimes a sack of bitterroot would bring enough high trade value it was traded for a horse.
Medicinal Uses:
According to the Organic Facts website, Bitter root possesses the ability to relieve pain, eliminate respiratory irritation, calm the nerves, purify the skin, detoxify the body, regulate blood sugar, and settle upset stomachs. It is said that bitter root can be used to slow the pulse of the heart acting as a soothing agent effecting circulation, blood vessel dilation, and relief of excess stress upon the cardiovascular system and helpful preventative for atherosclerosis, heart attacks, and strokes. As a pain killer, utilized as an analgesic rub on injuries, headaches, and general muscle soreness. Eaten or added to tea could reduce inflammation of the lungs and respiratory system, loosening phegm and mucus, showing success with gout, arthritis, and gastro-intestinal disorders. Eaten it has been said to soothe sore throats. Rubbed on the skin or added to cleansing agents is well known to protect the skin from infection and decay, stimulating growth keeping young and beautiful skin tones. It is also a diuretic to detox the body from excess salts, fats, water, or toxins in the system – protecting health of the kidney. It has also been reputed for healing upset stomachs, often remedied by chewing the leaves or eating the roots to stop gastro-intestinal disorders.
Magical Uses:
The Lemhi Shoshone believed that the bitter root possessed a small red core in the upper taproot possessed many magical powers, especially one used to prevent bear attacks. It is also seen through history as a resurrection plant, because of its ability to revive each year back to life. It was because of this, that botanist Frederick Pursh gave it the latin species name Rediviva, a Latin word that translates to �brought back to life.�
Folklore and History:
Originally gathered by the Cheyenne, Shoshone, Flatheads, and other tribes in the Pacific Northwest. The use spread to the French trappers and became known as racine amere (bitter root). Meriwether Lewis ate bitter root in 1805 during the Lewis and Clark Expedition and labelled “Lewisia rediviva” by the botanist Frederick Pursh. On February 27, 1895 bitter root became the official state flower of Montana.
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Offerings of the Naiads Book Project
01 4th, 2016Please help fund our research project and publication of our book “Offerings of the Naiads: Holy Wells and Sacred Springs in Western Culture” by our Founders.
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