General Discussion Thread

[Róisín]

thorny, I find that it is often easier to recognise people by their shape and carriage than by their facial features. And features can vary greatly with the expression. My avatar picture is actually a rather good cartoon of me, enough so that people have recognised me from it. Haiz is rather flattering in her depiction of me, she did it from a photo taken at a Mediæval Fair. There are several photos of me on the reenactment thread.

[dmeck7755]

I just read an interesting article about a very poisonous tree in the Caribbean/Florida

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/whatever-you-do-do-not-eat-touch-or-even-inhale-the-air-around-the-manchineel-tree?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=7e40aa36b5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_09_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-7e40aa36b5-63479941&mc_cid=7e40aa36b5&mc_eid=76db88f14c

[JoB]

I just read an interesting article about a very poisonous tree in the Caribbean/Florida

Tell it to move in already.

[Róisín]

JoB, I have visited the Poison Garden, and I know about the manchineel tree (retired field botanist and botany lecturer here). Poisonous plants are fascinating).

[dmeck7755]

Tell it to move in already.

Oh wow!! Next time i visit the UK, I *really* need to visit that.

It makes mention about Giant Hogweed.  A few years ago our state had a "scare" of this invsive plant.  There are still warnings about it and if you see it, you are supposed to report it to Department of Agricultural Resources.  Then they come and verify and destroy the plant and surroundings...

I have seen pictures of the burns from the plant...very nasty

[Jitter]

We have giant hogweed and its equally nasty relative here too! It’s on the EU list of dangerous invasive plants, and there is duty to destroy them but it rests primarily with the landowner. Other such plants include Rosa rugosa and the large-leaved lupine, both of which have been used profusely in public landscaping.

Lupines grow all along highways and in abandoned fields etc in Finland, but in Iceland they are a catastrophe. We visited Iceland in June 2019 and the blue stain was well visible in the airplane. It’s terrible.

[Jitter]

To be exact, the lupine conquering Iceland is the Alaskan or Nootkan lupine, a different species but very similar to the large-leaved lupine we get here.

Here’s also an interesting article about the lupines and environmental history of Iceland more generally: https://hakaimagazine.com/features/why-iceland-is-turning-purple/

[Róisín]

Rosa rugosa has its uses in medicine and food. I use mine to make tea, wine, syrup, sauce eglantine, liqueurs and an award winning melomel (fruit mead). I am presently experimenting with making rosehip delight (like Turkish Delight but with rosehip syrup). Yum! As the saying goes, a weed is a plant whose uses have been forgotten or not yet discovered.

[dmeck7755]

Rosa rugosa has its uses in medicine and food. I use mine to make tea, wine, syrup, sauce eglantine, liqueurs and an award winning melomel (fruit mead). I am presently experimenting with making rosehip delight (like Turkish Delight but with rosehip syrup). Yum! As the saying goes, a weed is a plant whose uses have been forgotten or not yet discovered.

A weed is a plant that grows where you do not want it to grow.

My neighbors are not over fond that I let Blue wood-aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) and goldenrod grow in my yard.  I get lots of bumble bees and honey bees that go to them.  I love watching the bees, and they need the plants. 

(I also allow milkweed to grow for the monarchs)

So my yard is a bit wild..

[Jitter]

In Finland and I suppose in other parts of Europe as well, Rosa rugosa has become a threat to natural vegetation in dry places, in particular sand dunes and other shore biotopes. Precisely because of its many good qualities (rosehips among them) which has led to the abundant use, resulting in turn to it spreading into the wild.

[Yastreb]

The manchineel was a major plot device in one of Rafael Sabatini's Captain Blood stories, wherein it was called "manzanilla."

[Róisín]

One good thing about using the rosehips is that if you gather and cook them the seeds are killed, and the plants canbe removed from places they shouldn’t be growing.

[dmeck7755]

I used to drive by this from the commuter rail

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ponyhenge?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=094d14c5fc-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_09_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-094d14c5fc-63479941&mc_cid=094d14c5fc&mc_eid=76db88f14c

It has gotten bigger since COVID

[Jitter]

The world is weird. Sometimes lovely weird

[dmeck7755]

The world is weird. Sometimes lovely weird

yeah..so true.  I'd smile every time I drove past