Dentrochronolgy & Stories Trees Tell
We went to Gar Creek Nature Preserve to study trees and learn a little about the history of the area, both natural & cultural.We found an apple tree that had an enormous number of water shoots growing out of the main branches. We concluded that it had not been pruned for many years and probably fruited poorly.
We learned that Water Sprouts often appear from latent buds, also called dormant buds. This is a bud that forms over one growing season and produce leaves, stems, or flowers the next season. Water Sprouts should be removed immediately as they drain energy from the tree. A question was asked about why this tree and not all old apple trees? A comon thought is it could be a response to some sort of damage to the trunk. A fungal infection, physical damage, and graft failure are three factors that will promote excess watersprouts.
We found some low growing plants that were green even though the weather was still quite cool. Here, we found a Dutchman’s Breeches growing alongside the trail. Patch identified it correctly and we talked a little about the lore of this plant. Among some northern tribes it may have been used as a love charm. Imagine a young man chewing the root and circling the his beloved, breathing out the fragrance in the belief that once she smells it she will follow him anywhere.
Native Americans and early European doctors considered this plant useful for several conditions including skin conditions and as a blood purifier. There are several alkaloids that scientists believe may have effects on the brain and heart. But we didn’t bother it because it may cause contact dermatitis in some people and we didn't want to ruin the day with itchy sores.
We found a tree that had been cut up since last fall when we were here last, we counted the rings. They were very close together, but we guessed it was about 12 years old. One side had a knot where a branch was starting to grow and there were signs of insect infection through several of the rings.
We measured some trees.
We talked about why some dead trees are needed in a forest. We concluded that ead trees provide vital habitat for more than 1,000 species of wildlife nationwide. They also count as cover and places for wildlife to raise young.
Some new words we learned:
- Snags – The name for dead trees that are left upright to decompose naturally.
- Logs – When a snag (or part of a snag) falls on the ground, it becomes a log–also a very useful for wildlife habitat.
- A Place to Live - Many animals, including birds, chipmunks, bats, squirrels, raccoons and several varities of insects make nests in hollow cavities, crevices and loosened bark in standing dead wood.
- A Food Source – By attracting insects, mosses, lichens and fungi, dead wood becomes an important food source for wildlife looking for a snack.
- A “Crow’s Nest” – Higher branches of snags become excellent look-outs from which birds, such as hawks and crows, spot potential prey and also come back to eat what they catch.
- A Hiding Place - The dead wood is put to good use by squirrels and other wildlife looking to store winter foods.
- A Soil Refresher - Mosses, lichens and fungi all grow on dead and decaying trees and aid in the return of vital nutrients to the soil through the nitrogen cycle. Decaying logs on the forest floor also act as “nurse logs” for new seedlings.
We counted dozens of nests sitting fully exposed in the branches of shrubs and trees. This easy nest spotting may have created the false impression that birds don’t hide their nests well. During the summer, however, we learned that nests of most species are difficult to see; even an experienced searcher rarely finds more than five or six nests per day in wooded habitats. Winter provides an excellent opportunity for us to study nests without having to peer through dense foliage.
Bark splitting can occur in response to many environmental factors at different times of the year. Splits can occur on the trunk of the tree as well as on branches. Trees which are most susceptible to this type of injury are those which are thin-barked, such as the maple trees we saw today. Young trees are more prone to bark-splitting. Today, we learned that bark splits are not always fatal to trees, although they will, in some cases, allow entry of disease organisms which can cause decay.
One reason for bark splitting on trees is during the late winter and early spring, is because of severe cold followed by rapid thawing. This cycle of freezing and thawing can result in splits referred to as “frost cracks”. Interestingly, these frost cracks can actually start from a wound inflicted earlier in the tree’s development. Sometimes the crack may remain in the internal wood, but frosts can cause the crack to expand and split the bark. Late growth in the fall stimulated by warm temperatures, high humidity, and high nitrogen levels can also increase susceptibility of trees to frost cracking.
Dry weather, and the slowing of growth, followed by wet Spring conditions may cause an excessive or vigorous amount of growth also leads to splits in the bark.We learned a little about the area we were hiking in. It was originally part of the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane. The hospital opened on September 4, 1879 and began to operate a training school for nurses in 1886. It was reorganized and renamed in 1909, it became Kankakee State Hospital. Now it it called the Governor Samuel H. Shapiro Developmental Center.
The area is much smaller, but much of the old fencing and bridges remain in the woods and across Gar Creek. We explored some of these places.
Bye hikers…see you next time!
Dragons & Damsels
Here at Bonfield Village Park, out near the ponds, sometimes you see a fast little whiz go by you. Dragonfly? Damselfly? I have heard both of these terms used interchangeably. “They are the same thing, aren’t they? One of my hikers asked last time we were here. I answered, “No, and i’ll tell you why.”Because both the damselfly and the dragonfly belong to the order odonata, they have the following things in common:
- Both have large heads and eyes compared to their bodies.
- Both have two pairs of wings with lots of veins visible
- A long thin abdomen
- Dragonfly eggs are round. Damselfly eggs are cylindrical.
- Dragonflies fly faster. The Florida Entomological Society webpsite states that the fastest dragonfly can fly as fast as 38 miles an hour!
- Damselflies have hinges enabling them to fold their wings together behind them when resting, dragonflies do not. Dragonflies hold their wings open and to the side when at rest.
- Dragonflies are larger and fatter in most cases.
This Widow Skimmer is distinctive looking, with large black and white areas on the wings. The body is smudged with a chalky light blue. We saw a lot of these at Bonfield Village Park, today.
We learned that most of a dragonfly’s life is spent in the larval stage where it molts from six to fifteen times. Depending on altitude and latitude, larval development varies from the common one or two years to as many as six years. At that time, the nymph crawls up out of the water and molts one last time, emerging from its old skin as an adult with functional wings.
This dragonfly is commonly called a twelve-spotted skimmer – Libellula pulchella. The immature stages of dragonflies and damselflies are aquatic and breath by means of gills. The young feed on a variety of small aquatic organisms. The adults typically feed on small flying insects like mosquitoes. A dragonfly can eat food equal to its own weight in about 30 minutes!
We saw several species flying about near the park's streams and ponds.We learned that dragonflies can fly forward at about 100 body-lengths per second, and backwards at about 3 body-lengths per second. They are also capable of hovering in the air for about a minute.We enjoied watching the dragons and damsels flying about.
Here is a partial list of some very common dragonflies that may be seen between mid-April and Mid October in our region:
Green Darner (Anax junius) Mid-April to October (in migration)
Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) June 1 to early SeptemberWidow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) mid-April to mid-OctoberTwelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) mid-May to mid-SeptemberCommon Whitetail (Libellula lydia) May 1 to mid-SeptemberEastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicollis) mid-May to OctoberSpot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea) mid-June to late August
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| http://www.aprairiejournal.com/spring_2009/artwork/passion_for_nature/index.shtml |
In Illinois, populations of Hine’s emerald dragonfly seem to be rare and localized. Much of the known remaining habitat has been reduced due to industrialization and urbanization. Contamination of surface and ground water from industrial sites, as well as oil products and road salt are thought be a major threat to the larval habitat.
We also added an entry into our nature journals using these coloring pages from the dragonfly site.
Can you guess from the pictures above which are the dragonflies and which are the damselflies?
Yes, hikers, the damselfly is first, then comes the dragonfly. How did you color yours? See you next time hikers!
Kankakee Sands
On the way to Kankakee Sands, we saw this Rough-legged Halk sitting on the top of a pole near the entrance of Willow Slough.
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Hiking on the wet sandy prarie, we talked about how praries became named praries, how they were formed and why these huge grasslands have disapeared over the years.
Located along the eastern extent of the Central Tallgrass Prairie, the Kankakee Sands Macrosite currently encompasses about 22,000 acres on either side of the Indiana/Illinois state line. The Macrosite has one of the richest collections of terrestrial species in the Ecoregion. It boasts the largest and finest clustering of remnant black oak barrens in the Midwestern United States, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
It also contains the largest prairie remnant in Indiana.
We learned that it was originally surrounded by miles of prairie and wetlands, and that the prairie has almost been completely converted to agriculture. Species that require wetlands for part of their life cycle, such as frogs and salamanders, are trapped on these "barrens islands”, using these small ephemeral pockets to reproduce.
Naturalists at the Kankakee Sands headquarters, off U.S. 41, told us the area was once an island surrounded by Indiana’s largest body of water, Beaver Lake, and part of the vast Grand Kankakee Marsh. In the mid-1800s, this rise, now mostly removed to provide fill for highway construction, was known as Bogus Island, a notorious haven for horse thieves, rustlers, and fugitives. In 1873, land baron Lemuel Milk dug “The Big Ditch,” and Beaver Lake surged away into the Kankakee River and its sandy bed was converted to agriculture.
We loved this prarie hiking site and look forward to re-visiting in the Spring!
Solar Cooking
A solar oven or solar cooker is a device which uses sunlight as its energy source. Because they use no fuel and they cost nothing to run, many organizations are promoting their use worldwide to help slow deforestation and desertification, caused by using wood as fuel for cooking. Solar cookers are a form of outdoor cooking, and are often used in situations where minimum fuel consumption or fire risk are considered highly important.
For us, they are just plain fun!
The oven we made was made from a pizza box and an oven cooking bag, which is light, cheap, and easy to work that is got hot enough to melt chocolate bars and toast marshmellows.
We put black paper on a small cookie sheet. You could also use a tray darkened either with flat-black spray paint (one that is non-toxic when warmed), black tempera paint, or soot from a fire.
Our thermometer in the solar box cooker reached an enternal temperature of 300 °F. This is not as hot as a standard oven, but still hot enough to cook food over a somewhat longer period of time. Food containing a lot of moisture cannot get much hotter than 212 °F in any case, so it is not always necessary to cook at the high temperatures indicated in standard cookbooks. Because the food does not reach too high a temperature, it can be safely left in the cooker all day without burning.
Our solar cooker was turned towards the sun and left until the food is cooked. Unlike cooking on a stove or over a fire, which may require more than an hour of constant supervision, food in a solar cooker is generally not stirred or turned over, both because it is unnecessary and because opening the solar cooker allows the trapped heat to escape and thereby slows the cooking process. We decided to check our hot dogs every 1/2 hour, to turn the cooker to face the sun more precisely and to ensure that shadows had not blocked the sunlight. As a result, we went for a hike and came back to check on our hot dogs.
The cooking time depends primarily on the equipment being used, the amount of sunlight at the time, and the quantity of food that needs to be cooked. Air temperature, wind, and latitude also affect performance. Food cooks faster in the two hours before and after the local solar noon than it does in either the early morning or the late afternoon, our experimenting showed. Larger quantities of food, and food in larger pieces, take longer to cook, as well. As a result, only general figures can be given for cooking time.
In our small solar panel cooker, we melted butter in 15 minutes, baked chocolate chip cookies in 2 hours, and to cooked rice for four in 4 hours. However, depending on the local conditions and the solar cooker type, these projects could take half as long, or as much as twice as long. So, it is a good idea to check often until you know how your cooker cooks in your location.
Solar cookers are for any age. a_solar_cooking_day tells about how a family in India uses solar cookers to cook their meals.
We tried this recipe sun-kabobs in our Pringles can cooker.
You will need:
- one hot dog or some sliced pieces of ham
- some pineapple chunks
- a few cherries
- sliced oranges, apples or any other fruit.
What are you cooking in your solar cooker?
Winter Trees
Ever try to figure out what tree you are staring at in the middle of the winter? For this hike we met at Panazzo Woods, in Bonfield. We started out our hike dressing up like twigs.
While hiking in Panazzo Woods, we used many clues to help us figure out what trees we were looking at, some are below.
Clue #1: Branching Formations
All trees have either ‘opposite’ or ‘alternate’ branching.
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| Alternate |
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| Opposite |
The only native trees or shrubs at Panazzo Woods that have opposite branching are:
- Maple
- Ash
- Dogwood
- Viburnums
Clue #2: Bark
Sugar Maples are common in the wet areas of Panazzo Woods. The smaller trees have smooth bark and the older, larger trees have gray, smooth bark without pattern. We found some that had longer irregular plates toward the top of the trunk, that curled out at the edges.
Do you rememeber these barks tuggers?
Look at the terminal buds at the end of your twig Basswood trees have red buds with two overlapping scales. Tulip trees have buds that look like duck bills.Look at the hickory buds below from fora of OH, hickories have stout twigs with large terminal bud, covered by two overl. aping bud scales.
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| http://floraofohio.blogspot.com/ |
Maples and birches have many thin delicate twigs; nut trees have fewer, thicker twigs. Hawthorns have sharp single thorns. Honey Locust has branched thorns on the twigs and on the trunk. Look for the place where the leaf was attached to the twig. This is called a leaf scar. Some leaf scares are heart shaped,. Maple tree leaf scars have 3 dots. Ash scars have tiny dots in a row that look like a little smile.
Clue # 4: Smell
Break a twig and smell the interior wood. Sassafrass smells like lemons. Sugar Maples have a sweet smell.Ailanthus twigs smell like popcorn.
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| Green Ash leaf scar and bud (ILDNR) |
Clue #5: Nuts, Seeds and Berries
While fruit and nuts are easy to collect, they are the least accurate means for identifying trees in the winter. We found black, white and burr oak acorns, hickory nuts and honey locust pods on the ground in the woods. Ohio Public Library has a great website identfying fruit and nuts.
We talked about how if you find nuts near the base of the tree they may have been moved there by an animal, and that for positive identification, you need to use fruit found on the tree.
Search the trees in your yard for twigs, bark and nuts. Make a collection and tell me what you found. A twig board is an excellent 4H project and many of these techniques can be used when earning your Forestry Merit Badge in scouting.
See you next time hikers!
When we were finished with oour hike, everyone got a "Twigger of America" Card from the EPA Supersite.
Some great websites to help with winter ID are:
Common Trees
Winter Trees
Winter Weather
Common Trees
Winter Trees
Winter Weather
It was sunny, but very chilly on our Winter Weather hike. Although there was no snow, we still knew it was WINTER!
We went on a winter expedition. We pretended we were in IL for the first time, explorering in the winter. We talked about what we should bring on our adventure, and how we were going to stay warm.We learned these often confusing winter weather terms:
- Freezing rain: Rain that freezes when it hits the ground
- Sleet: Rain that turns to ice pellets before reaching the ground
- Winter Weather Advisory: Cold, ice and snow are expected.
- Winter Storm Watch: Severe weather such as heavy snow or ice is possible in the next day or two.
- Winter Storm Warning: Severe winter conditions have begun or will begin very soon.
- Blizzard Warning: Heavy snow and strong winds will produce a blinding snow, near zero visibility, deep drifts and life-threatening wind chill.
We also found many trilobite fossils to put in our pockets and bring home.
Because we were playing near frozen water, we talked about Ice-Rescue Techniques. Topics we covered included self-rescue, ladder rescue and rope rescue. Everyone promised to be very careful around the ponds, including no running!
We also learned about the Lake Effect Snow which is made up of extra lake moisture in the air and effects our area.
While the ooutside tempreture today was above freezing, it felt colder on our bodies because of the wind chill caused by the wind today.We learned that wind chill can cause rapid frostbite and increase the risk of hypothermia.
We talked about having a Family Disaster Plan for winter storms. Families should be prepared for all hazards that affect their area and themselves.We talked about these basic steps to develop a family disaster plan:
- Learn your community’s warning signals.
- Meet with your family to create a plan. Pick two places to meet: a spot outside your home for an emergency such as fire, and a place away from your neighborhood in case you cannot return home (a real possibility during the day when adults are at work and children are at school). Choose an out-of-area friend as your family check-in contact for everyone to call if the family becomes separated.
- Implement your plan. Post emergency telephone numbers by the phones. Install safety features in your house such as smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. Inspect your home for potential hazards and correct them. Have your family learn basic safety and first aid measures. Make sure everyone knows how and when to call 9-1-1 or your local emergency medical services phone number. Have disaster supplies on hand.
- Flashlights and extra batteries
- Battery-operated radio and extra batteries
- Emergency non-perishable foods that do not require refrigeration
- Non-electric can opener
- Bottled water
- One week supply of essential medicines
- Extra blankets and sleeping bags
- First aid kit and manual
- Fire extinguisher
- Emergency heating equipment, used properly
- If you go out to play after the storm, dress in many layers of clothing and wear a hat and mittens. Many layers of thin clothing are warmer than a single layer of thick clothing. One of the best ways to stay warm is to wear a hat; most body heat is lost through the top of the head.
- Come inside often for warm-up breaks.
- If you start to shiver a lot or get very tired, or if your nose, fingers, toes or earlobes start to feel numb of turn very pale, come inside right away and tell an adult. These are signs of hypothermia and frostbite. If you experience these symptoms, you will need immediate attention to prevent further risk.
Fall Wild Foods
We met at Forsythe Woods in Wilmington, IL for our First Annual Fall Wild Food Hike.
Our first stop was to pick up Black walnuts, Juglans nigra, from the tree at the top of the trail. The nuts were mostly in the green state, but all that were on the ground were picked up for future use. If you are able, allow nuts to ripen on the tree. After harvest, you must husk and cure the nuts for the best flavor. Remove the outer skin of the walnut, the husk, and dry the nuts to cure them. After curing, nuts can be used or stored either shelled or unshelled. Two pounds of unshelled black walnuts found in the wild will yield about a cupful of nut meats.
When you’re ready to shell the nuts, moisten them to keep the kernels from shattering. Soak the walnuts in hot tap water for about 24 hours. Drain and replace the hot water and soak the nuts for two more hours.
The walnut tree is quite large and most of the nuts were off the tree. As we turned to head down the path, we saw an old apple tree. The apples on the ground were small and rotten, we decide to pass them by.
Along the path as we headed down the hill we found enough Dandelions to fill the gathering bags we brought along. We were going to collect greens for a light salald.
As I have sang the praises of dandelions in the past ans shared hundreds of recipes with you in the past, I did find a new one I really love. I thought you might like to try it!
Sautéed Carrots, Dandelion Greens and Violet Greens with Olive Oil
(makes 1 serving, or 2 sides)
2 medium carrots, sliced thinly on a bias
1 bunch tender spring dandelion greens
1 bunch tender spring violet greens
1 shallot, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
pinches of salt and pepper
1/4 cup water
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
Melt butter in a medium saucepan and add shallots. Cook on low heat for about 1 minute. Add the carrots, stir to coat evenly and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the water and cover. Open cover after approximately 3 minutes. Carrots should be just tender and have darkened a little in color. Cover and cook a little longer if necessary (depending on how thinly the carrots are sliced). Add a pinch of salt and pepper each and all the greens. Toss a couple times until the greens have absorbed some of the butter and have wilted. Add the vinegar and cook, stirring for another minute. Taste for seasoning, adding a tiny more salt and pepper if desired.
Remove from pan and plate onto a serving tray. Drizzle with olive oil on top and serve.
The next plant we found on our hike was Sweet Cicely, Myrrhis odorata. Sweet cicely is a hardy perennial herb that grows well in partial shade. We’ve had some discussion lately as to whether it could be used as a sugar substitute, but haven't acually tried it yet. It can be added to some dishes to reduce the sweetener, but it’s not actually a sugar substitute. It is known to increase appetite and decrease flatulence, and the roots were used as an antiseptic. Sweet cicely’s flavor is a combination of celery and anise.
The fresh leaves can be used in fresh in salads, as garnishes, or in recipes where a sweet touch is needed and you can chop it to use in dishes containing rhubarb, gooseberries and other fruits. They can also be used in fruit salads and drinks. You can use the leaves when baking fish for an interesting change. The leaves can be dried and used in tea blends, but do use it in moderation since it can be a mild laxative. It can be used in herb vinegars as well.
The root of sweet cicely can be boiled and eaten as you would a root vegetable, or steamed, simmered or cooked and pureed like a parsnip. It can also be candied and used as a breathe freshener or to soothe a sore throat. The seeds can be used in cakes, candy, syrups, cakes and liqueurs.
This is the recipe for our Sweet Cicley dish.
Apples with Sweet Cicely
1 1/2 pounds cooking apples
honey or other sweetener to taste
2 teaspoons minced sweet cicely
Peel the apples, core and slice. Place them into a heavy skillet with water to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the sweetener to taste, depending on how tart the apples are. Cover and cook until the apples are tender. Stir the sweet cicely into the apples and cool in the pan. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.
Further along the path we found a patch of violets. Their deep green heart shaped leaves were everywhere! We picked several to go into our salad. We also tried a few other dishes. Their recipes are included here.
Fried Violet Leaves
This a recipe that comes from Mrs E. V. Lucas, who said, “I would feel almost a cannibal eating them, for violets are amongst my favourite flowers.” While the leaves are quite yummy this way, I have never felt like a cnnibal eating them.
Fry leaves in a little butter until slightly brownish. We ate ours, today, with and thickened orange sauce and sprinkled with sugar
Violet Leaves Tea
Leaves make a good tea substitute. Long boiling does not make the tea bitter.
It is said that cancer can be cured by an infusion of violet leaves.
A little flower lore from my mom, who teaches classes in Flower Lore:
Blue Violet: Birthday flower for 11 March, symbolizing faithfulness and love.
Purple Violet: Signifies: “you occupy my thoughts”.
White Violet: Birthday flower for 14 March, symbolizing candor, innocence and modesty.
Wild Violet: It means love in idleness.
Yellow Violet: Birthday flower for 28 April, signifying rare worth and rural happiness.
Deep into the woods we dicovered a barberry bush which still had some berries on them. Everyone tried them, but for the most part, did not like the taste. Small wonder they are so good for you!
Did you know that the barberry is one of the most effective herbs for fighting bacterial infections? The barberry contains a chemical berberine which can also be found in goldenseal. Berberine
helps certain immune system cells to function better and it inhibits bacteria from attaching itself to human cells which, in turn, helps to prevent infection.
Barberry also contains an alkaloid, Berbamine, that helps to reduce inflammation and it has been found to be useful in treating amebic hepatitis and rheumatoid arthritis. Barberry has some specific benefits for treating health conditions that include the following: Abrasions, cuts and scrapes; infections of the bladder, eyes, nails, reproductive tract, sinuses, skin, throat and parasite problems berberine kills a very wide variety of bacteria and germs and it also kill the parasites Leishmania and Plasmodium, the organism that cause malaria, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Vibrio bacteria not to mention it also kill various kinds of fungi.
Did you know that berberine is effective against some bacteria that have become antibiotic resistant and that it is a more potent antibiotic than the sulfa drugs that are used to treat some kinds of infections? Berberine also helps to reduce the incidence of infection from first and second degree burns! You can find out more about barberry here.
As we began to come out of the deep woods, there were a lot of chockecherry trees. We did not pick any as the fruits were already eaten by birds, but we did stop long enough to talk about the potato chip bark and the medicinal uses of the tree. My favorite is an infusion made from boiled Chokecherry bark which is given for coughs, laryngitis, chills, ague, fevers and to loosen phlegm. Warm chokecherry tea was given to women when labor pains began and is still used by may midwives. The root bark is a good astringent and, when mixed with water, is used as a rinse for open sores and old skin ulcers. The fruit is boiled and eaten to treat for bloody bowels. The branches and leaves are one of six ingredients burned in sweat lodges to treat for indigestion and jaundice.
We also found my favorite plant, plantain. Plantain grows from a short, tough rootstock or rhizome, which has a large number of long, straight, yellowish roots, is a basal, rosette of large, broadly oval, dark green, leaves. The 4 to 10 inch long smooth, thick, strong and fibrous leaves have 3 to 7 or more ribbed veins, abruptly contracting into a long, petiole (leaf stalk) which is reddish at the base.
The leaf margin is of Plantain is entire, or unevenly toothed. The flower stalks, are erect, long, slender, densely-flowered spikes. Each tiny flower is brownish and bell-shaped with four stamens and purple anthers. Flowers bloom most of the summer. The fruit is a two-celled capsule and containing four to sixteen seeds. Harvest fresh young edible leaves in spring.
I gather Plantain after flower spike forms, and dry it for later herb use.Plantain is edible and medicinal, the young leaves are edible raw in salad or cooked as a pot herb, they are very rich in vitamin B1 and riboflavin.
The herb has a long history of use as an alternative medicine dating back to ancient times. The chemical analysis of Plantgo Major reveals the remarkable glycoside Acubin. Acubin has been reported in the Journal Of Toxicology as a powerful anti-toxin. The leaves and the seed are medicinal used as an antibacterial, antidote, astringent, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, diuretic, expectorant, haemostatic, laxative and poultice. Medical evidence exists to confirm uses as an alternative medicine for asthma, emphysema, bladder problems, bronchitis, fever, hypertension, rheumatism and blood sugar control. A decoction of the roots is used in the treatment of a wide range of complaints including diarrhoea, dysentery, gastritis, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, haemorrhage, haemorrhoids, cystitis, bronchitis, catarrh, sinusitis, coughs, asthma and hay fever.
Interestingly enough, it also causes a natural aversion to tobacco and is currently being used in stop smoking preparations. Extracts of the plant have antibacterial activity, it is a safe and effective treatment for bleeding, it quickly stops blood flow and encourages the repair of damaged tissue. The heated leaves are used as a wet dressing for wounds, skin inflammations, malignant ulcers, cuts, stings and swellings and said to promote healing without scars. Poultice of hot leaves is bound onto cuts and wounds to draw out thorns, splinters and inflammation. The root is said to be used as an anti-venom for rattlesnakes bites. Plantain seeds contain up to 30% mucilage which swells in the gut, acting as a bulk laxative and soothing irritated membranes. The seeds are used in the treatment of parasitic worms. A distilled water made from the plant makes an excellent eye lotion.
“Medicinal” herb tea: For colds and flu use 1 tbls. dry or fresh whole Plantain (seed, root, and leaves) to 1 cup boiling water, steep 10 min. strain, sweeten. Drink through the day.
At the end of our hike we ate salad made with the dandalions, sweet cicily, violet leaves and plantain leaves that we had gathered and mixed them with some sorrel and chickweed we had brought with us. We tossed the whole mix with a light vinegarette made with sesame oil and balsimic vinegar.
We drank pink lemonade made from staghorn sumac and Purple Clover Iced Tea sweetened with honey.
I shared a couple salves we use at home with hikers. These are our recipes
Violet Ointment.
Place 2 oz. of the best lard in a jar in the oven till it becomes quite clear. Then add about thirty-six fresh Violet leaves. Stew them in the lard for an hour till the leaves are the consistency of cooked cabbage. Strain and when cold put into a covered pot for use. It is said to help treat “Turkey-necks
Plaitain Healing salve: In large non-metallic pan place 1lb. of entire Plantain plant chopped, and 1 cup lard, cover, cook down on low heat till all is mushy and green. Strain while hot, cool and use for burns, insect bites, rashes, and all sores. Most often used as night cream for wrinkles.
See you next time hikers!
Cactus in Illinois!
Today we went to Braidwood Dunes, in Braidwood, IL to look for cactus and other things that are very specific to this area in IL.
W started out talking about some unique organisms that we were going to look for at the preserve.
The first organism we talked about was a Earth Star. Earth Stars are fungus that look like little star that have fallen from the sky.
Earthstars belong to a group of fungi called Gasteromycetes, or “stomach fungi”. Their fruiting bodies are a stomach-shaped sac filled with dry spores. They are related to puffballs.
Young, closed earthstars are onion-shaped. Their peridium, or skin, is made up of three layers. The layers allow the earthstar to do something no other fungus can do. Earthstars can move!
When it rains, the outer two layers of the peridium split and uncurl, forming a “star” with 4 to 12 rays. The inner layer of the peridium remains a closed sac. The rays spread with enough force to push aside leaves, raising the spore-filled sac above surrounding debris. Sometimes the rays even lift the earthstar high enough to break the connection to the parent mycelium. The rays close when they dry, and the sac lowers.
Some sacs release their spores when the tender inside peridium wears away. Other sacs toughen and form an opening at the top. When a raindrop strikes these sacs, it pushes in the tough wall, puffing spores out of the opening. After the spores are dispersed the sac breaks down, leaving only fragments attached to the rays. In these older specimens, the star-like rays remain open.
Earthstars are found from early June to mid-September.
Here is a little video:
Next, we talked about Prickly Pear Cactus. These cactus are adapted to the arid and hot environment of the dunes. Because of the unique structure of cactus, the plant is able to retain moisture on its own, long after the rains have stopped. We talked about how a cactus is different from other plants. They have succulent leaves which are fleshy and flat. The enlarged stems have shallow roots and lie close to the ground to retain as much moisture as possible. The entire plant carries out photosynthesis for maximum energy production. To protect itself from animals seeking moisture, the cactus has spines covering it.
It is commonly thought that Prickly Pear Cactus was brought from Mexico by Spanish explorers, such as Cortez.
Black Oak was next on our list. Black Oak , Quercus velutina, is a member of the Red oak family and is similar in appearance to the Red Oak. One of the main differences include its ability to thrive on poor and varied soils. It is sometimes called yellow oak, quercitron, yellowbark oak, or smoothbark oak. Black Oak trees occur naturally on poor sandy or clay hillsides. The leaf differs from the common Red Oak in that the Black Oak’s leaves are larger at the top then the bottom.
Another way to identify the Black Oak is the acorn’s cap is more than 1/2 of the
acorns length.Here is an interesting fact we talked about, acorns are high in potassium, complex carbs and have less fat than most nuts. More than half of these fats are mono-saturated fats–the good kinds!
Glass Lizards came next in our discussion. Glass Lizards ar lizards that have no legs and resemble snakes.
This rather large lizard looks more like a snake than a lizard. It has no legs and is smooth and shiny. It is the only limbless lizard in the United States with a deep groove along the sides. From the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, it can measure up to 12 in., and including the tail, up to 42.6 in. The tail, when complete, is more than twice as long as the body. The tail is fragile and often broken off at the tip when the lizard becomes frightened.
Last, before we set off on our adventure, we talked about the elusive Pocket Gopher.
I find this mammal very interesting. The plains pocket gopher is a small, solitary rodent. It is 5 1/2 to 9 inches long. In Illinois, this type of pocket gopher is black, rather than yellowish brown. It has large forefeet with strong claws and toes with bristles for digging. It uses its front teeth to dig and to gnaw roots and tubers. Most of their lives are spent underground. They dig burrows just under the surface to find roots. Every few feet they push the soil they have dug out up through the surface to remove it from the tunnel. It forms a mound. Plains pocket gophers live in pastures, grasslands, and prairies. In Illinois, they live in a 100-mile-wide band that stretches from the Mississippi River at St. Louis, and follows the south shore of the Illinois River and Kankakee Rivers northeast to the Indiana border. Plains pocket gophers are rare, but not protected. The disappearance of most of the prairie to agraculture has decreased its habitat.
At the start of the trail we read about the glacial lake, Lake Waubansee. This lake covered all of Kankakee & Livingston Counties and the south western portion of Will County. The boys also found a spotted salamander.
We found Club Moss, one of the first plants to emerge after a controlled burn, which the Park District does every three years at Braidwood Dunes. We also found some puffball fungus. And then, our first cactus!
Everyone was very excited!! The next one we saw had fruit on it. The fruit is said to taste like a cross between bubblegum and watermelon.
The canopy made by the black oaks was tall and covered the trail. The trail was deep with fallen leaves and we found many black oak acorns. While we found a large number of open earth stars, Margy & Ashley’s keen eyes found one that was still closed. Good eye(s) ladies!
Later we found galls on many of the oak leaves. Most were hard, but these were soft and almost fuzzy. Many insects do extremely interesting things, these make galls. The short story is that certain behaviors, such as feeding or laying eggs, of certain insects cause plant cells to begin multiplying like crazy until something is developed a lot like a plant tumor. This tumor-like growth is called a gall, and there is simply an amazing variety of galls. Moreover, very often it is easier to determine the presence of an insect by the gall it has formed, than it is to find the insect itself. Typically, when larvae develop inside these galls they eat the gall’s tissue, which may be much softer and more nutritious than regular plant tissue. Often galls also provide protective homes for the larvae or even adult insects.
The existence of the galls we found begins when the unfolding oak leaves start flattening out. At that time, the midge lays its eggs, the eggs hatch and the tiny maggots move to the veins and begin feeding. This seems to cause the vein tissue to start growing, and in a few days the maggots find themselves encased in the fuzzy gall tissue you see. Later in the spring the mature larvae will drop to the ground and remain there through summer and fall, and over the winter. Then next spring the adult midge will emerge, lay its eggs on another oak leaf, and the cycle will repeat.
We also found some grape-size galls on a Black Oak leaves (Quercus velutina). The Roly Poly Gall is hollow and caused by gall wasps in the genus Andricus. These are called roly-poly because the wasp grub develops in a seedlike shell that lies loose inside the hollow gall, so that if the gall is shaken, it rolls around.
Though the gall is common at Braidwood Dunes Forest Preserve, the life history of the Andricus wasp causing it isn’t well known. The roly-poly gall is probably an alternate generation for a twig gall not now recognized. Don’t you wonder how the rolling grub structure inside the gall gets its nutrients? Evidently it absorbs nutrients directly from gall’s wall as it rolls around inside it!
We found some staghorn sumac fruit and stopped to have a snack. They were pleasent tasting, but very tart. And crunchy! We talked about how to make lemonade, by pouring boilng water over these fruits, letting them sit and then straining the pink, tart liquid through several layers of cheese cloth. After chilling the liquid, you can sweeten it to taste. The perfect drink for a warm fall day!
Until next time, hikers!
