Comox Valley Nature

Loys Maingon provided the following explanation for the trilliums with double and triple flowers reported in the previous post Strange Trilliums!

The answer to the question about the trillium is one that I have often given to questions on my walks.  First, it is not “rare” (about 20% of the trilliums at my place are double – and I see it increasingly).  The phenomenon is quite common.  Here are three photos that can illustrate the point.

Some relevant facts:

1. The thing to always remember is that flowers arise out of “meristematic” tissue (generally apical) and therefore their cells can become anything.
2. Physiologically in their development, petals and sepals and stamens are modified leaves.
3. The genes that control modification are controlled by proteins which are activated by environmental conditions.  That can be either the environment within  the cell, or within the environment at large.
4. Protein conformation (shape) is temperature dependent. (It can also be affected by pollution, nutrients, or radiation.)  The simplest explanation is temperature.

So if you look at a common form of a trillium (photo 1) you will count 3 petals and 6 stamens.  Compare that to a double flower (photo 2)  and you will count 6 petals and 3 stamens. Interestingly enough, this development affected not only this flower, but both flowers on the same plant (photo 3).  So the protein signal was not just at the flower but throughout the plant’s programming.

An interesting aspect of this is that with climate change this is likely to become even more common.  There is an article in this week’s  Science [Loys wrote on May 2] about the decline of insects and the decline of protein production in plants.  

That is how the cookie crumbles.

This post is by Jocie Brooks, leader of the Botany Group, adapted from her email to members of the group on May 4.

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis)

General notes

Many people first learn about stinging nettle the hard way. My first encounter, as a child, was a downhill wagon ride that ended in a roll through the nettle patch. A painful, bumpy red rash was the result.  

Despite its bad reputation, stinging nettle is a highly useful plant, and can be harvested as a spinach-like vegetable for use as steamed greens or in soups or pesto. It also makes an excellent medicinal tea. When the plant dies down in the late summer/fall, the tough fibres from the stem were traditionally harvested to make netting and cordage. 

Description

Stinging nettle has a square stem, with leaves opposite each other. The bright green leaves are saw-toothed, tapering to a point. Drooping clusters of small greenish flowers at the axils are either male or female (on the same plant) with the female spikes usually above the males. Stinging nettle is a perennial and spreads from rhizomes, often forming extensive colonies.

The genus name Urtica means “to burn” and the species name dioica means dioecious, or males and females on separate plants, which is true of some stinging nettle subspecies (not ours, which is monoecious). The word nettle comes from the old German word “nezzila” which translates as “net.” 

What causes the sting?

Stinging nettle has hollow hairs called trichomes and at the base of each hair is a gland that contains formic acid. Touching the plant causes the tip of the hair to break, and the fluid is drawn through the capillary hair into one’s flesh. Brave people like to show off by grasping nettles firmly, proving that they do not sting if you break the delicate hairs. 

Where to find it

Stinging nettle likes nitrogen-rich soil and is often found on disturbed sites such as roadsides, clearings and middens. It can also be found in open forest, meadows and stream sides. 

Harvesting notes

The first leaves of nettle usually appear in March or early April, and it is best to harvest before flowering. Gloves must be worn for harvesting, but after cooking nettle loses its sting. Beware of harvesting nettle from contaminated areas. In our area, this includes old railway grades (that were heavily sprayed) and former coal mining sites (even though they may look natural). 

Note that stinging nettle is an important larval foodplant for butterflies in our area, most notably the Milbert’s tortoiseshell, Satyr angelwing and red admiral. When harvesting, take only what you need and leave the rest!

Fun facts

• Samuel Pepys reported in his diary that he enjoyed a nettle porridge on February 25, 1661.
• During WWII hundreds of tons of nettle were harvested in Great Britain for the extraction of chlorophyll and dyes for camouflage nets.
• One of Aesop’s fables (by an ancient Greek storyteller) tells a story of a boy who was stung by nettles. He ran home and told his mother, saying, “Although it hurts me very much, I only touched it gently.” “That was just why it stung you,” said his Mother. “The next time you touch a nettle, grasp it boldly, and it will be soft as silk to your hand, and not in the least hurt you.” Moral: whatever you do, do it with all of your might!

Sources

Plants of Coastal BC (Pojar & MacKinnon), Food for Free: a guide to the wild edible plants of Britain (Richard Mabey), Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest (Lewis Clark), Illustrated Flora of British Columbia (Douglas, Meidinger, and Pojar), aesopsfables.com, avogel.ca.

This post is by Jocie Brooks, leader of the Botany Group, from an email to members of the group on April 26.

Dawn Moore recently sent me some photos of unusual trilliums, some with double flowers and some even stranger “mutants” from the Snowden Demonstration Forest just north of Campbell River. I have no idea what is causing this…whether these are natural genetic mutations, or whether they could be the result of herbicide use? (which could be possible, with the Snowden forest’s history). If anyone can enlighten us with more information it would be appreciated!

Here’s a bit more of what Dawn had to say:

Here are a few photos taken of double trilliums a few days ago. One of our favourite spots for the “Big Search” for unusual trilliums is along the Lower Lost Frog Trail in Campbell River’s Snowden Demonstration Forest and we were once more successful this year.  One usually finds the extra petals of the double trillium to be incomplete or malformed, but photo 1 attached is of a rather perfect specimen.  And then…we found what was, for us, an even rarer mutant(?)- a trillium trying for 9 petals and which had at least 6 leaves, over 3 sepals and at least 2 pistils/stamens sets.

This post is by Jocie Brooks, leader of the Botany Group, from an email to members of the group on April 20.

Joy recently sent in a photo of a gnome plant from the Maple Lake area near Cumberland. This unusual and exotic looking plant is one we should look out for, and is a great topic for this week’s feature! In addition to Joy’s photo I’m including a photo of gnomes that I saw with Mandy Vaughan a few years ago on a hike up Crest Mountain (Strathcona Park) in July.

Gnome Plant (Hemitomes congestum)

General Notes:

Gnome plant has a cone-like head of shrimp-pink or whitish flowers that grow close to the ground. It looks strangely alien as it erupts from the forest duff, sometimes looking like a blackened cauliflower when it first emerges. Clark describes it as a “gnome-like dweller of the shaded woods.”

Taxonomic Details:

In the Heather Family, or Ericaceae, gnome plant is monotypic, the only member of its genus in the world. The genus name Hemitomes comes from the Greek words “hemi,” half, and “tomes,” sterile or eunuch, in reference to the fact that often half of the anther (male) cells are sterile. The species name congestum refers to the tightly packed head of flowers.

What the heck is a mycoheterotroph?

Like Indian pipe, pine sap, pinedrops, candy stick and coralroot orchids, gnome plant lacks chlorophyll, and can therefore not carry out photosynthesis.

It was originally thought that such plants fed off dead and decomposing plant matter (saprophytes). Further study revealed that they get nutrients directly from fungi. “Mycoheterotroph” means “fungus-feeding” referring to the fact that these plants depend on fungi. These fungi in turn get their food from mycorrhizal connections with tree roots.

Gnome plant has a special association with the blood fungus, Hydnellum peckii. Blood fungus has mycorrhizal associations with conifers.

Where to find it/range:

Gnome plant is typically found in coniferous forests at mid-elevation and blooms in the late spring and summer. It is limited to the Pacific Northwest and is not found outside of North America. In BC, there is a disjunct population near Terrace.

References: Plants of Coastal BC (Pojar & MacKinnon), Flowers of the Pacific Northwest (Lewis Clark), Botany Photo of the Day (UBC, Daniel Mosquin), Ericaceae of the PNW Park V (Wilbur Bluhm).

This post is by Jocie Brooks, leader of the Botany Group, from an email to members of the group on April 15.

I recently came across a nice patch of coltsfoot at the entrance to the Nile Creek trail (inland highway), which inspired me put together a few words on this interesting plant. 

Western Sweet Coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus var. palmatus)

In early spring, when I peer into muddy ditches (as the botanist tends to do) a patch of coltsfoot is always a nice surprise. This is one of the earliest blooms of the year from the Aster family.

General Notes: Thick stems (which emerge before the leaves) are topped with an attractive dome of white and pinkish blooms. The broad leaves fan out like the footprint of a colt and are woolly-white beneath. The genus name Petasites comes from the Greek word “petasos” a broad-brimmed hat, which refers to the broad basal leaf. According to Lewis and Clark, when coltsfoot goes to seed, “the radiating pappus recalls a very large, but flattened Dandelion puff.”

Taxonomy Details: The most common variety in our area is Petasites frigidus var. palmatus, which has deeply divided leaves (leaves with deep indentations between lobes). Look out for sweet coltsfoot Petasites frigidus var nivalis, which is common in the subalpine of our area. The leaves of this variety are not as deeply divided. 

Medicinal Use: Alaska natives chewed the root or soaked it in hot water and drank the tea for TB, chest problems, sore throat and stomach ulcers (Pojar & MacKinnon). 

Where to look for it: Muddy spots, wet seepage, river banks, lakeshores, roadside ditches. 

Other Trivia: A relative of this plant is Japanese butterbur, Petasites japonicus, a common garden plant with large, kidney shaped leaves.