A couple of our old friends came to visit and of course, I had to take them for a hike in the woods. Here are a few of things we saw along the way.

by Fabia Wargin

We came across 2 different varieties of Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba). Hepatica gets its name from its leaves, which, like the human liver has three lobes. It was once a very popular liver tonic. As a result, over 450,000 pounds of dried leaves were brewed into tea during 1883 alone.  That is a lot of leaves!

by Fabia Wargin

Isn’t Large-flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) a beauty! It hides its flower as if it is shy.

Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) is such a lovely delicate plant. Because the flowers move around easily in the wind, it is sometimes called “Windflower.”

I am sorry this photo is not clearer but it’s a single Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) blossom. This is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory. The seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes, and put the seeds in their nest debris, where they are protected until they germinate. They also get the added bonus of growing in a medium made richer by the ant nest debris. I guess you can think of the ants as farmers.

Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera) is delicious in salads and is very soothing to irritated skin. A couple of years ago, I had a nasty rash; it blistered like a burn and looked like it was going to leave a scar. I made an infusion from fresh Chickweed. I let the infusion cool and then soaked a cloth in it and applied the cool compresses to the rash for a couple of hours, for several days. Every time the cloth cooled down, I re-soaked it. It was as if it removed the heat from my arm and healed the rash. Within a month, there was no evidence that I ever had a rash. It was quite amazing.