Tag Archives: funky plant

garden visits, months 04-06: spring, months 07-09: summer, months 10-12: fall, natives, perrennials

Geum macrophyllum – Large-Leaved Avens

11/14/2017 svseekins Leave a comment

garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

I first really noticed Large-Leaved Avens as a specific wildflower when I found it blooming beside the waterfall at Goldstream Park one May. Before that, it was just one of the many yellow blooms we see in spring.

Recently I was pleased to see it blooming in a parking lot, not far from the ocean, near Tofino. That was at Thanksgiving!

October is really very late for a spring wildflower to be blooming – but I’m not complaining. 🙂

The flower is a simple yellow daisy style; a smiling happy bloom that I find charming.
Unassuming.
Easy.

But Geum macrophyllum is not as plain as it first appears.

large-leaved avens, Geum macrophyllum, largeleaf avens, big leaf avens, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

The seedhead is funky – certainly something that I’d let stand in my garden rather than tidy up.

The achenes (fruits) kinda remind me of googly eyes floating above the alien body. Apparently, the pom-poms are happy to catch rides on passing pant legs or animals: free spirits looking for adventures far afield. Groovy.

But really, the magic is in the foliage. What other plant has 2 kinds of leaves? Right at the base, near the ground, the leaves are round. Further up the stem, near the flowers, they’ve morphed into 3 lobes with deep serrations. Crazy.

The guidebooks say Avens are common to wetlands across most of North America. I’m hoping they’ll become common in my garden, too. Last month I won 3 in the plant raffle at the Native Plant Study Group. They’re now growing in one of our courtyard beds (where they’re more likely to get the extra summer moisture they need). Cross your fingers for me.

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garden visits, months 10-12: fall

Shaggy Mushroom

10/25/2017 svseekins Leave a comment

This fall I’m really trying to let fungi thrive. Mushrooms pop up in several spots around our place. They’re pretty, but for some reason I’ve always weeded them out…

Perhaps they scare me a bit.
Are they edible?
Hallucinogenic?
Medicinal?
Poisonous?

Perhaps I’m just a neat- freak?

Years ago someone told me that trees use fungi root systems as information highways between other trees. I dismissed the idea. It sounded too airy-fairy. But scientists are looking into it. UBC’s Suzanne Simard explores & maps the fungi mycelium networks that trees use to share nutrients with offspring & neighbours. Sounds a bit like the storyline of Avatar, doesn’t it? Perhaps the Old Ones were on to something?

Coprinus comatus, shaggy mane — photo by SVSeekins

The Pacific Northwest is a great place for mushrooms. The rainforest at one of our favourite campsites is prime. In 2015 I was charmed by orange stools with white spots. This October, right at our campsite, was a beautiful white shaggy mushroom.

Coprinus comatus, shaggy mane, lawyers wig, mushroom fungi fungus edible garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Growing in afternoon sunshine beside a well-trodden gravel pathway, not far from the beach, it struck me as unusual. This is not the regular deep humus-rich growing site I’d expect for fungi.

The shape & outer texture of the mushroom is distinctive. I’m pretty sure it’s the edible Shaggy Mane, aka Lawyer’s Wig, aka Coprinus Comatus. That said, I’m no expert.

For several days we carefully left the cap to its business. While striking camp, the mushroom was knocked open. I felt bad but took the chance to look at the inner gills where the spores were maturing. The dark colouring is further evidence that the ID is correct. Maybe we should’ve made mushroom soup. (Actually, I wasn’t tempted to use it because of the high-traffic area & the large population of dogs around camp.)

Did you also notice how much the fruit grew in just 3-4 days? Doubling size in 48 hours seems amazing to me. The apples in our garden don’t produce like that.

Now I’ll try to keep a closer eye on the fungi growing through our gardens. Perhaps I’ll shift even further out of my comfort zone & explore farming some edible types.
🙂

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months 07-09: summer, months 10-12: fall

Alice In Wonderland Mushrooms

10/31/2015 svseekins 2 Comments

orange mushroom toad stool Alice In Wonderland, garden Victoria BC pacific northwest — photo by SVSeekins

The scorched grass of summer morphs into verdant lushness.
The air sparkles.
Leaves tremble.

I’m Alice In Wonderland, admiring a toadstool.

Am I too big?
Or are they too small?
Looking around, I’m disappointed there’s no bottle labelled ‘drink me.’

Still, I’m enchanted.

Anything this beautiful must be magical – – but NO.

Research says this is probably Amanita muscaria. Hallucinogenic, YES. But not in a good way. Bad. Very BAD.

cap of orange mushroom toad stool Alice In Wonderland, garden Victoria BC pacific northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Fungus & mushrooms are a mystery to me. Our rainforest abounds with their fruiting bodies each autumn.
They’re so exotic looking – so tempting.

Haida Gwaii (also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) is mushroom heaven. I went there one September to visit friends & forage chanterelles. We found so many varieties I lost count. And the 2 volumes on Mushroom ID just made me even more nervous about proper recognition.
So many. So similar. So tasty. So deadly.
Too risky.

orange mushrooms toad stool Alice In Wonderland, garden Victoria BC pacific northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Each year the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society host a Wild Mushroom Information Day at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary. Perhaps I should be brave this year and give it a try.

Or maybe playing with my camera in the woods is more my style. Hmmm.

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