Self Heal
Heal All
If you look this plant up on the internet you will find a lot of information regarding the medicinal properties of the plant.
I see it all over the place, it grows in the pastures and in the forest.
The next two bushes had me going for a while. I started to pay attention to different bushes growing alongside the back roads that Charlie and I walk on a year or so ago. I walk past them and note their differences.
The funny thing is, I had no idea that there were so many kinds of plants/bushes located within a mile radius of where I live.
At first I just noticed the flowers on these bushes and made a mental note to keep an eye on them. I thought I was seeing the 'same' plant or bush in two separate locations.
When I stopped to really look at the leaves on each bush and photographed them so I could see the difference, I discovered they were not the same at all.
The thing that struck me, was the berries looked very similar.
Nanny Berry
Highbush Cranberry
I know that I have shots of the Highbush Cranberry from last fall. When it changes color, it is simply stunning!
I will have to wait to see what the Nannyberry bush looks like in the fall.
Ninebark
In the fall, the Ninebark leaves turn dark purple-ish and quickly dry up and fall off. Perhaps this fall I can get a good shot of them.
Winter Ninebark seeds:
The seeds are very distinctive while the bark and plant itself blends in with the plants around it.
Meanwhile back in the pasture, there are a few of these plants with cheery yellow blossoms on them. The mules don't eat them and they don't seem to spread too fast.
This is St. John's Wort:
An herbalist friend of mine showed me this plant years ago. Apparently some consider it a small shrub that comes back year after year and can be very slow to spread. That is fine with me, if the animals don't eat it, then it isn't really a good plant to have in the pasture.
However, I read that it is another one of those plants with medicinal properties. The scientific jury is still out on if St. John's Wort actually does everything the herbalists claim it does.
One last weird plant that is actually a lichen and not a plant. I didn't notice these right away as they were also in the pasture growing on a mound of moss which surprised me.
Pixie Cup Lichen:
According to different 'googled' sites, this too has medicinal properties. Imagine if we could find great medicinal cures just growing around us?
I am sure these little guys were in hiding for the past few years. They live in a wet environment which is certainly something we've had this year.
The more I learn, the more I know that I have so much more to learn.
I love any plant with "pixie" in it's name.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you!
DeleteYou found lots of cool plants!
ReplyDeleteThanks. This summer has been different for me. Looking at grasses and pasture forage which I have to walk through to find cool fungi and trees and ... rocks!
DeleteI've never heard of the Self Heal plant, although I've likely walked past it at some point. I find nature ID difficult, even with internet sources. You do an admirable job with your many discoveries!
ReplyDeleteI spent 2009 through 2011 walking the woods and looking for plants. I took notes of where I found them and also photos of them. I then sat down at night and researched them in the book I got.
DeleteI didn't use internet services then as I was doing this while I was sitting in a guard shack from midnight to 8am. I didn't even have a smart phone.
It was a great learning experience.
This book:
https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4634.htm
Interesting. I bet there a a lot of plants around us that have medicinal uses. Now I want to research them!
ReplyDeleteThere are! Not all have been tested, but I've had wonderful teas made from nettles and other common plants found around just our yard!
DeleteNettle tea is my favorite herbal tea; I often combine it with clendula flowers or bee balm leaves and flowers.
DeleteYou have a curiosity I find admirable. You are always learning. It will keep your mind sharp like the hiking is doing for your body.
ReplyDeleteThere should be more promotion of plants for healing instead of man made chemical drugs.
ReplyDeleteEzekiel 47:12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”