Jewelweed: Poison Ivy Cure?
Can jewelweed cure poison ivy? It’s been used for centuries as a poison ivy remedy, but results differ depending on who’s using it.
Read MorePoison Ivy: Jumping to Conclusions
Quick! Is this plant poison ivy? Now I’m afraid I get testy when I hear people pointing out perfectly harmless plants as poison ivy–I’ve heard people swear that a maple tree (with reddish leaves) or a raspberry bush or a geranium was a deadly plant to avoid. I’m convinced that one of the many reasons kids are so reluctant to go outdoors is that they think everything with a leaf is poison ivy. In this case, though, I can’t get all snitty because it fooled me, too. I would have to humbly pardon the person who called this plant poison ivy. It’s the best darn imitation I’ve ever...
Read MoreMullein: Yellow Lights
Cruising along Route 81 in Virginia, and I just had to pull over to take a look at these yellow stalks. I have never seen such gorgeous mullein plants. Common mullein is an odd wildflower, like a fencepost sticking straight up out of the ground. Little yellow flowers bloom up and down the stalk, each individual flower opening for only one day. At least at home in upstate New York the flowers are little, but here in the sunny south they’re the size of roses. They’re not a native plant, but not generally invasive. They love dry open ground where nothing else is growing, and can’t...
Read MoreYellow Wood Sorrel: Inspecting a Lemon
It’s that time of year again–time to get the old car inspected. While I was nervously awaiting the verdict of the inspectors (lots of mileage on that baby) I prowled around Jiffy-Lube’s surprisingly well-tended garden, looking for something to photograph. The landscape was mowed and manicured within an inch of its life, and at first I couldn’t find a single weed. But there’s always one, if you look closely enough. Yellow wood-sorrel. In my childhood, I would taste anything—it’s a wonder I’m still alive, really—I sampled clover and grass blades and pine needles. Most of the stuff tasted...
Read MoreGarlic Mustard: The Time is Ripe
Time to get rid of it. Garlic mustard. Out it goes! The name sounds tasty, doesn’t it? It’s a pretty little wildflower with lovely white blossoms. The leaves have an attractively scalloped edge, and a savory garlic taste, a fantastic addition to salads, quiche, and stir-fry. A lovely and useful plant, you’d think. But I’ve spent all day killing it. Eradicating it. Ripping it out by the roots. Doing everything short of spraying a dose of Round-Up on it. Why? I have an enormous tolerance for non-native “weeds,” as my undying love for dandelions shows. Why enjoy the dandelions, the...
Read MoreAll Roads Lead to Dandelions
No matter where you go, it seems there’s a dandelion at your feet–or under your feet. This is a cobbled pathway in Central Park, New York City. The dandelions don’t content themselves with growing on the lawn, they invade the sidewalk, too. The flower and leaves manage to survive in the spaces between the stones. Just a few small crumpled leaves. Getting walked on all the time. How on earth can they do it? The secret of their success is in the root. Dandelions are perennials, coming up year after year, for five years or even more. So the root has time to get big. Even if...
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