43 lines
4.2 KiB
TeX
43 lines
4.2 KiB
TeX
\chapter{Natives of Another Land}
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\begin{multicols}{2}
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\lettrine[lraise=0.0, nindent=3pt]{I}{} have been getting back into the habit of identifying plants I see out on my walks and I've noticed that many of them are ``introduced''—i.e., they were brought to this continent from somewhere else, sometimes accidentally and often deliberately.
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When I was in college, we called these ``alien'' or ``foreign'' but we don't use those terms any more because we recognize that Earth is a whole—it is composed of parts that are not fully separated from one another.
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It took me longer than it should have to realize that introduced species tend to do well in distubed places—and lawns, gardens, and the sides of roads and paths are all disturbed spaces. So it makes sense that the vast majority of what I find there are introduced species. If I want to see native species, I need to visit the wild spaces around me and go further afoot.
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\ksecp{Poison Hemlock}{\textit{Conium maculatum} L.}{Apiaceae}
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\noindent{}One plant that has wandered far afield is poison hemlock which I have noticed in increasing numbers in recent years. It is native to Europe and North Africa, and has spread to almost every continent in the past few hundred years, where it is often an invasive weed.
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A member of the Apiaceae family (which also includes carrots, dill, and parsnips), it is a striking plant. It can grow to two and a half meters in height and has fernlike bipinnately compound leaves—the botanical description is ``highly dissected'—although this varies from the bottom of the plant to the top. It also bears beautiful white flowers that are quite tiny, but make up for their dimunitiveness by appearing in large compound umbels. The hollow stems are often spotted or streaked with a dull purple color. Once you have seen it, you cannot miss it growing in other areas.
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This is the plant that the ancient Greeks used to poison the rabblerouser Socrates (which is what you get, I suppose, when you encourage people to think for themselves). All parts of the plants are toxic, especially the roots and seeds. Every once in a while somebody will mistake it for wild carrot (\textit{Daucus carota}) and make the news, occasionally posthumously. The poisonous alkaloids can also be absorbed through the skin, so handling it with ungloved hands can be dangerous. Mowing it can also be dangerous, as the compounds can be aerosolized and breathed in. A mask will provide some protection against this.
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\ksecp{Purple Deadnettle}{\textit{Lamium purpureum} L.}{Lamiaceae}
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\noindent{}I have seen this plant my entire life. It is small and unassuming, and I guess most people overlook it. But as a child I was interested in the plants around me and I could not help but notice this one, as it's a charming little plant with scalloped, textured heart-shaped leaves that often overlap and delicate purple flowers on square stems typically of many members of the mint family. Rarely growing taller than twenty centimeters, it's easy for busy humans to overlook, but the bees rarely do. If you are patient you can see bees emerge from the flowers coated with the plant's bright red pollen.
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\begin{figure}[H]
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\centering
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\begin{kbox}
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\includegraphics[scale=0.5]{lamium_purpureum}
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\caption{\textit{Lamium purpureum} L.}
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\end{kbox}
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\label{lampur1}
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\end{figure}
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It is edible, although I have never tried it as I typically see it growing by roadsides and I'm not sure how polluted those environments are. (Leaded gasoline was still a thing when I was a child, and I'm not aware of any studies that have examined how much of it is still in the soil along roads.) They are apparently good raw in salads, but can also be added to fried dishes. It also has medicinal properties, as a salve made with the plant is supposedly good at soothing skin irritations.
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The common name ``dead nettle'' refers to its superficial resemblance to true nettles (\textit{Urtica}) but it lacks the stinging hairs of plants of that genus, hence ``dead.'' It is also sometimes called ``red deadnettle'' or ``purple archangel.''
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\ksecp{Creeping Charlie}{\textit{Glechoma hederaceae} L.}{Lamiaceae}
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\noindent{}Another plant I have seen my entire life.
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\ksecp{Motherwort}{\textit{Leonurus cardiaca} L.}{Lamiaceae}
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\noindent{}Another plant I have seen my entire life.
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\end{multicols}
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