Category: Uncategorized

Hydrastis canadensis

~ Badger Johnson
Hydrastis canadensis, “Goldenseal”
RannunculaceaeTook the first picture on a toe slope near the Little Piney River (South of Rolla, MO). It shows how extensive a clonal colony can get. The second picture is from one of my masters research plots at HARC in New Franklin, MO- you can see this is a very shade tolerant species, the biggest specimens were the ones that had been overtopped by hickory seedlings, as in this second picture.

This valuable non-timber forest product has been overharvested in some places for commercial sale.

This plant has strong, proven anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, which are attributed to the berberine, beta-hydrastine, canadine and canadaline alkaloids. In one experiment, the handily killed extract killed Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sanguis, Escheria coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Scazzocchio et al. 2001)

The best sinusitis medicine I’ve ever had was a nasal spray made with this, peppermint essential oil and red root (Ceanothus americanus). That’s a Caty Crabb formula. It’s top notch.

Can form big clonal colonies if managed properly on the right site types. Harvest the fruit and start new colonies yourself if you want to spread it!

“Perennial. Knotty yellow rhizomes. Stem 20-50 cm, hairy.

Usually one basal leaf and 2 stem leaves near top.

Leaves broadly cordate-rotund, 5-lobed, palmately veined, small when they emerge in spring (3-10 cm wide) and veins appearing very prominent, later expanding greatly (to 25 cm) and veins less prominent. Lobes incised, doubly serrate.

Single terminal white flower, no petals. Cluster of red berries in late summer, fall.

Found in rich woods, slopes, ravines, wooded valley floors.”

(Hybrid MOFEP/Park Service Fire Ecology Manual)

Echinacea simulata

~ Badger Johnson
Echinacea simulata
Echinacea simulata, “Glade Coneflower” or “Wavy-leaf Purple Coneflower”
Asteraceae
Picture taken along the driveway at Echo State Park in Missouri, formerly Camp Zoey.
 
Not ordinarily one used for medicine (others in genus used for acute challenges to immune system, during those hours when you realize you need to immediately take rest if you’re gonna make it out of a stressful week without getting sick), but I imagine it could work similarly. Many commercial root diggers have assumed this too, and sold this species as E. purpurea. 
 
Perennial. Stems (40)60-120 cm tall, sparsely to mod pubescent with  stiff, minutely pustular-based hairs.
Alternate leaves, margins entire and usually pubescent with loosely appressed hairs. Leaf surfaces mod to densely pubescent with stiff, mostly spreading, minutely pustular-based hairs. Mod to strongly roughened, 3(5) main veins. Basal leaves 8-35 cm long; stem lvs 4-25 cm long.
 
Yellow pollen. Pale pink to purplish pink ray flowers
 
Found on dolomite glades, tops of bluffs, savannas, woodlands.
 
Compare to Rudbeckia missouriensis (petioles are very fuzzy rather than having a few scattered hairs) and Coreopsis lanceolate (one main vein, leaf edge slightly translucent)
 
Very similar species to Echinacea pallida (pale purple coneflower), CC=7, which in Missouri is found mostly in prairies in southwest part of the state; pollen white, ray flowers paler.
 
(Hybrid MOFEP/Park Service Fire Ecology Manual)

Desmanthus illinoiensis

~ Badger Johnson

Desmanthus illinoiensis, “Illinois bundleflower”
Fabaceae

Over the past few years I’ve picked up quite a bit of lore about this plant, and I was happy to finally notice it on the roadside yesterday!

A common plant in many areas of the south central and Midwestern US. It can often be found growing on the sides of roads, needing full sun and ample moisture during its short growing season. USDA Zones 5-8 are recommended for outside cultivation (Wikipedia).

People have had good luck interesting it into existing warm season pastures (Dovel, Hussey, Holt 1990). Bundleflower can contribute protein in summer pastures in the Midwest (Fischbach et al. 2005). In a study comparing the possibility of native prairie legumes, sheep found Illinois bundleflower extremely palatable (Sheaffer, Wyse, Ehlke 2009). Illinois bundleflower also appears to have the greatest potential as a forage species among 15 species of native legumes evaluated for forage yield, quality, and seed production (McGraw et al. 2004).

Root bark of D. illinoensis has been found to contain N,N-DMT, NMT, N-hydroxy-N-methyltryptamine, 2-hydroxy-N-methyltryptamine, and gramine (toxic). The root bark is mixed with a native source of beta-Carbolines (e.g., passion flower in North America) to produce a hallucinogenic drink called prairiehuasca, which is an analog of the shamanic brew ayahuasca.

At one time the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas looked into using its seed as breeding stock for a novel, perennial, temperate, leguminous human food but have dropped it and are evaluating other leads.

(Wikipedia)