Arrowhead Plant
Flowering
Sagittaria latifolia
Common arrowhead, is a perennial aquatic plant in the Alismataceae (water plantain) family. The common names of duck potato and wapato for this plant refers to the rounded starchy golf ball-sized tubers that form at the ends of underground plant runners (rhizomes). Flowers bloom from July to September. Found in shallow water in lakes, ponds, tidal marshes, rivers, streams, and wetland margins. The tubers of the arrowheads are edible when roasted or boiled. They were important food sources of indigenous peoples and in some areas are still valued as a great food source. Tubers are typically roasted. Though the skin is edible arrowhead tubers are more palatable when peeled. The best time for collecting tubers is in fall or early spring. Tubers are high in starch and phosphorous.
Sagittaria latifolia
Common arrowhead, is a perennial aquatic plant in the Alismataceae (water plantain) family. The common names of duck potato and wapato for this plant refers to the rounded starchy golf ball-sized tubers that form at the ends of underground plant runners (rhizomes). Flowers bloom from July to September. Found in shallow water in lakes, ponds, tidal marshes, rivers, streams, and wetland margins. The tubers of the arrowheads are edible when roasted or boiled. They were important food sources of indigenous peoples and in some areas are still valued as a great food source. Tubers are typically roasted. Though the skin is edible arrowhead tubers are more palatable when peeled. The best time for collecting tubers is in fall or early spring. Tubers are high in starch and phosphorous.
Bittersweet Nightshade
Such cool looking flowers.
This plant is toxic to people, pets, and livestock. Though toxic to people, bittersweet nightshade berries provide an important fall and winter food source for birds, who happily eat the fruit and spread the seeds. Bittersweet nightshade has a long history in folk medicine and lore. Used externally in poultices and salves, it was used to remedy psoriasis and other skin afflictions. Mixed with other herbs, small doses were given internally as a diuretic or a purgative—basically to flush the body one way or the other. Sachets of the dried leaves and berries tenderly placed under the pillow were said to help heal a broken heart. And witches, spurned lovers, and farmers alike sought out the plant to protect their animals, homes, and loved ones from the evil eye. Consider the appearance of this witchy weed in your garden an auspicious omen, or at least a boon for our hungry winter birds.
Such cool looking flowers.
This plant is toxic to people, pets, and livestock. Though toxic to people, bittersweet nightshade berries provide an important fall and winter food source for birds, who happily eat the fruit and spread the seeds. Bittersweet nightshade has a long history in folk medicine and lore. Used externally in poultices and salves, it was used to remedy psoriasis and other skin afflictions. Mixed with other herbs, small doses were given internally as a diuretic or a purgative—basically to flush the body one way or the other. Sachets of the dried leaves and berries tenderly placed under the pillow were said to help heal a broken heart. And witches, spurned lovers, and farmers alike sought out the plant to protect their animals, homes, and loved ones from the evil eye. Consider the appearance of this witchy weed in your garden an auspicious omen, or at least a boon for our hungry winter birds.
Bottleneck Gentian
The corolla remains closed at the top even when the flower is ready to receive pollinating insects. Bumblebees are the primary pollinators of the flowers, as they are one of the few insects that can force their way past the closed corolla. Some gentians are used in herbal medicine as an anti-inflammatory, to lower fevers, and as a liver tonic. It is also used as a gastric stimulant to treat a loss of appetite, digestive problems, flatulence, and insufficient production of gastric juices and saliva.
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