Wildcrafting

 Wildcrafting isn’t as simple as going out and digging an identified plant out of the ground in order to use it! Learning and teaching others how to harvest plants must be combined with a fair amount of instruction on why one should harvest in the first place, which plants to harvest, when to harvest, and how to do it in a sustainable way. Ethics and sustainability should always be in the forefront of our minds as we forage! 🍃

While there is a lot of information we herbalists should pass on to wildcrafting newbies, perhaps the most important is teaching about at-risk plants and why we should not harvest them. 🍃

At-risk plants are either naturally rare in the environment or becoming rare through human influence. Just as some plants reproduce and spread quickly and are often termed as “invasive” plants, there are those that are quite the opposite. These are naturally rare – due to slow growth habits, habitat incompatibility, population isolation, genetic incompatibility, problems with seed dispersal, loss of pollinators (can be caused by human influence), or by competition from or overpopulation of invasive plants and animals ... and so forth! 🌼

As herbalists, our work revolves around plants, so it is important we use plants in a wise manner—protecting and preserving them with their long-term viability in mind, not just for our sakes, but for the sake of the plant and the ecosystem. We must ask ourselves if we truly need the plant we’re considering using and we must help others understand this importance, too.

Becoming a responsible wildcrafter sometimes means not harvesting a plant if the population simply cannot support that impact and sustain itself, or whenever you are not sure what the impact of harvesting could be. This is why it’s so important to study foraging with a mentor or reputable school and to make sure you’re aware of sustainable guidelines before you start harvesting.

Species At-Risk List via United Plant Savers –– Sandalwood, Kava Kava, American Ginseng, Venus Fly Trap, Sundew, Maidenhair Fern, Cascara Sagrada, Squirrel Corn, Goldenseal, Lady’s Slipper, Orchid, Ramps, Lomatium, False Unicorn Root, Peyote, Stream Orchid, White Sage, Osha, Bloodroot, Virginia Dutchman's Pipe Trillium, Beth Root, True Unicorn Root, Blue Cohosh, Echinacea, Elephant Tree, Wild Indigo, Butterfly Weed, Stone Root, Wild Yam, Yerba Mansa, Black Cohosh, Eyebright, Pipsissewa, Chaparro, Pink Root, Mayapple, Slippery Elm, Lobelia, Arnica, Gentian, Goldthread

Farmers Market Flowers

Spring At The Farmers Market

Blooming Trees

Under The Canopy Of Flowering Trees At City Hall Park

Gorgeous Gladiolas 

at the farmers market.

Cannas

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Passion Flowers

Passion Flowers

Also known as apricot vine, maypop, and

Passiflora incarnata L. is a native vine to the southeastern US. Passionflower leaves (Passiflora spp.) are the only food source for gulf fritillary caterpillars (Agraulis vanillae, Nymphalidae). Other butterfly larvae also feed on passionflower leaves. You can pop open the fruits when they are starting to turn yellow and begin to wrinkle, and slurp up the seedy flesh. You can chew up the crunchy edible seeds, though some folks opt to spit them out.

HISTORY & FOLKLORE

Passiflora sp. has a rich history of traditional use dating back to pre-historic times. Seeds that were thousands of years old were found around Virginia, where the Algonkian Indians thrived. Early European settlers have records of the Algonkian Indians eating the passionflower fruit. The Cherokee used the roots as a poultice to draw out inflammation in thorn wounds; tea of the root in the ear for earache; and tea of the root to wean infants. Additionally, various parts of the plants, including the fruits, were made into a beverage, and the leaves and young tendrils were boiled or fried and eaten. The Houma people infused the roots as a blood tonic. Various indigenous groups were known to use the plant as a topical poultice. P. incarnata has had documented uses in Europe going back to 1787. In the spirit world, passionflower has been used as a magical charm to attract friendships and to bring peace, and the leaves can be placed in a house to illicit harmony and lessens discord.

USES & PREPARATIONS

Can promote natural relaxation and stress reduction.

Primarily the above ground parts (the entire vine including leaves, stems and flowers) are dried used as a tea or tincture or are powdered and encapsulated. Fresh or dried plant material may be made into a tincture.

Passion Flower of another color.

Curly Passion Flower

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

Interesting Insects

Lichen Moth

(Lycomorpha Pholus) on Bush Honeysuckle. Some lichen moths have evolved to mimic poisonous insects as a way to avoid being eaten.

Colorado Potato Beetle

Hoverfly On Agrimony

Leaf footed Bug

Acanthocephala terminalis On Lilac

Assassin Bug Nymph

Katydid 

or bush cricket, & A Bee On Hibiscus
In my garden.

Hoverfly On Agrimony

Blue Black Wasp 

On Coreopsis

Black Beetle

Big Black Beetle on St John's Wort plant. If you know what kind of beetle this is, please tell me.

Dogbane Beetle

Western Conifer Seed Bug

The Western Conifer Seed Bug feeds on the sap of developing conifer cones throughout its life, and its sap-sucking causes the developing seeds to wither and misdevelop. It is therefore considered a minor tree pest in North America.

Grapevine Beetle 

or Spotted June Beetle on grapevine leaves.

Orange-collared Scape Moth 

(Cisseps fulvicollis)

on Goose Neck Loosetrife (Lysimachia clethroides)

It has long black wings, an abdomen of iridescent blue, and a bright yellow or orange collar, from which it takes its name. It's other common name is, Yellow-Collared Scape Moth.

The Yellow or Orange-collared Scape Moth is widespread in North America.

Habitat includes fields with flowers as adults are commonly seen visiting flowers during the day, while they also fly at night and are attracted to light.

Season for the adults is from May to October or until the first hard frost.

Adults feed on goldenrod and other small nectar bearing flowers.

The larvae feed on grasses, lichens, and spike-rushes.

Green Tiger Beetle 

(Cicindela sexguttata)
The green tiger beetle is a large beetle with a metallic-green body, long blue-green spindly legs, and long, serrated antennae, and large mandibles. This common green ground beetle is also called the six-spotted green tiger beetle due to the recognizable cream-colored spots on its elytra.
The sizable, fast-moving shiny green tiger beetle grows up to 0.55” (14 mm). It is typically found in deciduous forests, feeding on small arthropods like caterpillars, spiders, and ants. The green tiger beetle is one of the fastest ground beetles and will fly if necessary.

Ladybug On A Wet Canna Leaf

Ladybugs also known as Ladybird beetles, Lady beetles, Ladybirds, or Lady cows, can have as many as 16 spots, but some ladybugs have no spots at all. One of the most common ladybugs is the seven-spotted lady beetle. It has seven black spots on its back.

While most ladybugs are good, there is one nonnative species that people don’t like. The Asian lady beetle was introduced in California in 1916. Today it’s more common in the East.

A ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids a day. They also eat Mites, Whiteflies, Scale insects, Mealybugs, & Thrips. This makes them valuable allies for farmers and gardeners. Their presence in an ecosystem is a sign of a healthy and diverse environment. Ladybugs not only provide natural pest control benefits to humans, but also serve as a vital food source for other insects, birds, and small mammals. By maintaining a delicate balance in the ecosystem, ladybugs promote stability and overall well-being.

Females will lay up to 1,000 eggs within a few months, generally from spring to early summer.

Ladybugs usually protect themselves from predators by either playing dead or they secrete a fluid from their legs to make themselves taste bad.

You can find out about 6,000 different species of ladybugs around the world. There are about 500 species in the United States alone.

It is a myth about ladybugs is that you can tell their age by their number of spots.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

 

My New Website

Elise Creations & Passions 

My new website

elisecreations.net

is now up. Check it out and feel free to share with others who may be interested. I'll be adding new content on a regular basis, so please check back occasionally. 

Clouded Sulphur Butterfly

Clouded Sulphur Butterfly

(Phoebis sennae), On New England Asters. 

I believe this one is a female.

Clouded Sulphur Butterfly On Echinacea

Colias philodice on Echinacea purpurea.

The whole plant can be used for its immune boosting properties.Technically speaking, this thick and spiky cone is actually hundreds of flowers, all tightly packed together.

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants and mushrooms are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

Chasing A Butterfly

Rosey Chasing A Monarch Butterfly

or

as I prefer to call it a Monarch Flutterby

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.