Marsh Hedge Nettle

Marsh hedge-nettle (Stachys palustris) commonly known as marsh woundwort, hedge-nettle, clown’s woundwort, downy woundwort, hedge nettle,  or marsh betony, is an edible and medicinal perennial grassland herb, found in shorelines, fields, roadsides and waste areas in New England. It is native to parts of Eurasia but has been introduced to North America. It is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae).

The term 'hedge-nettle' is probably from England where the plant is found frequently in the hedgerows and it resembles a nettle. 

The above-ground part of the herb that has been used medicinally.

The plant parts are harvested during summer when the plant is about to bloom and then used fresh or dried for later use. Internally marsh woundwort can be used in the form of herbal tea or tincture.

Highly regarded as a remedy for all kinds of wounds, both externally and internally, the fresh herb was applied directly on wounds, cuts, and scrapes in order to halt bleeding and heal.

The herb has antispasmodic and antiseptic properties. Therefore, it has been used to treat cramps, arthritis and joint pain. Marsh woundwort has also been used as an herbal remedy for diarrhea and dysentery.

As a food and animal feed, it is the small bulbous tubers on the root runners that are used. The runners should be pulled up gently and then used fresh or dried for later use. They have a good, nutty flavor. The tubers are highly nutritious with a nice taste and they can easily be used as an addition to soups and casseroles, or dried and ground into flour and mixed with cereal flour.

During spring time the young shoots can be collected, cooked and eaten like asparagus. Fully grown plants should not be collected as the stalks taste very bitter.

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Happy National Dog Day!

Happy National Dog Day! 

This one was looking longingly at ice cream at the farmers market.

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Farmland Rolls

Field Full Of Hay Rolls

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A Visit To Mom's Garden

 Me And Hollyhocks

Really nice Basket Of Veggies from mom's garden.

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Mushrooms Galore

Giant Mushroom

Berkeley's Polypore

This is the biggest mushroom I've ever seen. It has to be close to 2 feet across. Found under a big tree, in Colchester, Vt.

Mushroom emerging from under the leaves.

 Shiny Copper Colored Mushroom
found at the end of July, in Essex, Vermont. Tawny Grisette, Amanita fulva.

Pigskin puffball Mushroom (Scleroderma citrinum)

Gem Studded Puffball Mushrooms (Lycoperdon perlatum)

Russula Mushroom

Marasmius rotula commonly known as the pinwheel mushroom, the pinwheel marasmius, little wheel, collared parachute, or horse hair fungus.

Golden Gilled Bolete (Phylloporus pelletieri) Mushroom and Autumn Leaves.

This is probably a Suillus Bolete.

Bolete Mushroom - Cream Cap With Brown Pores, And A Moth, Growing Under A Hemlock Tree. End of September, in Essex Jct. Vermont. If you know what kind of Bolete this is, I'd love to know.

Bolete

Growing under an oak tree.

If you know what kind of Bolete this is, I'd love to know.

This photo was Awarded Photo of the Day, on Capture My Vermont, for October 31, 2017.

Bolete

Bolete with a cream colored cap with nibbles taken out of it, and yellow pores, growing near A Hemlock Tree. Here's a view of it's bottom.

If you know what kind of Bolete this is, I'd love to know. 

Polypore - Shelf Mushroom, Ganoderma Applanatum

Curled mushroom amongst curly moss.

If you know what kind of mushroom this is, I'd love to know.

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SaveSave

Blue Vervain

BLUE VERVAIN 

is a tall wild edible and medicinal plant. Other Names: American blue vervain, Blue Vervain, Herb of Grace, Herba veneris, Simpler’s Joy, Swamp Verbena, Vervain, Wild hyssop, Wild Vervain. Blue Vervain is a North American native perennial herb, found growing along roadsides, in open sunny fields, and waste places throughout the United States and southern Canada. Depending on the geographic location, the blooming period occurs anywhere from late spring to late summer and lasts between one to two months. 
Edible parts: Blue vervain had many uses in First Nation’s culture as food and medicine. The seed are edible when roasted and is ground into a powder (although they are somewhat bitter to taste). Leaves can be made into a tea or tossed into salads, soups, etc. The root can be collected all year round. The flowers can be tossed on top of a salad and eaten. (Dried, powdered flowers were once used as a snuff for nosebleeds).
 
Externally, this plant can be used as a poultice to help heal wounds and hemorrhoids. Internally the leaves and roots are a valuable alternative medicine. 

Used by herbalists the leaves and roots of Blue Vervain are an antidiarrheal, analgesic, anthelmintic, antiperiodic, astringent,  diaphoretic, emetic, emmenagogue, expectorant, sedative, tonic, vermifuge, vulnerary. It is useful in intermittent fevers, ulcers, pleurisy, scrofula, gravel, easing pain in the bowels and expelling worms. A very strong infusion is emetic. As a medicinal poultice it is good in headache and rheumatism. An infusion of the plant is a good galactagogue (increases breast milk) and used for female obstructions, afterpains and taken as a female tonic. The infusion is used to help pass kidney stones and for infections of the bladder. Used as a sudorific and taken for colds and coughs. Also useful for insomnia and other nervous conditions.

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Castor Bean Plant

My Castor Bean Plant flowering and fruiting.

Castor bean plants are stunning with their mammoth star-shaped leaves that can reach 2-3 feet in length. Castor Bean plants typically grow one or more, smooth, reddish colored central stalks with very large palmate shaped, glossy, deep green to dark purple leaves, white or pinkish flowers, and reddish, spined fruit.

Castor Bean Plants (Ricinus ommunis) are native to the southeastern Mediterranean Basin, Eastern Africa, and India, but are widespread throughout tropical regions. Commonly found in the wild along stream banks, riverbeds on low lying areas. They have been naturalized in warm climates all over the world, and are widely grown elsewhere as an ornamental plant.

Despite its name, is not a true bean.  

Despite its poisonous reputation, the castor bean, also known as Palma Christi, has been grown for thousands of years and has been used for everything from lamp oil to medicine.

As far back as 4,000 B.C., castor beans have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. The valuable oil from this tropical beauty was used thousands of years ago to light lamp wicks.

The seeds are extremely poisonous, but the toxins do not pass into the oil.

These days, about a million tons of castor oil seeds are grown worldwide, for making everything from paint and varnish to lubricant for jet engines, nylon, transparent soap and contraceptives. The seeds have also been considered as an alternative energy source for motor and diesel fuel. And scientists involved in cancer and AIDS research are studying the seeds' compounds.

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