EFEIT Birders' Entomologists' Botanists' Blog

2009-10-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

Walking with Kate Havelin...
"The Best Hikes of the Twin Cities" - Kate Havelin

On All Things Considered, MN Public Radio, Tuesday Sept 22, 2009 - Author Kate Havelin picked The Richard T. Anderson, Elizabeth Fries Ellet Interpretive Trail as the first location go to and the best feature the EFEIT signage-(Installed in 2007, project Writers Rising Up)
Kate Havelin- http://katehavelin.com/default.aspx
Writers Rising Up mentioned in the audio interview
http://www.writersrisingup.org/

http://www.prairiehomeliving.com/

Kate Havelin RTA and EFEIT Signage Best Hike

2009-10-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

2009-09-23T15:08:00.001-07:00

Cynthia Thomas
Wild Food and Medicine Identification
Elizabeth Fries Ellet Interpretive Trail
Richard T. Anderson Conservation Area
This event was on Saturday, Sept 19, 2009
The purpose was to begin a continued seasonal exploration of the biomes and habitat in order to catalog the species as an educational reference, via photos.

Cutting Cottonwood Branches

2009-09-23T15:07:00.001-07:00

Cotton Wood Branches

2009-09-23T15:06:00.002-07:00

Burdock "burs" or Seed Heads

2009-09-23T15:06:00.001-07:00

Heal All (Prunella vulgaris)

2009-09-23T15:05:00.002-07:00

Crown Vetch: plant not used medicinally

2009-09-23T15:05:00.001-07:00

Wood Nettles

2009-09-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

2009-09-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum)

Leaves are very large, to 10 inches long and 6 inches wide, joined together at the main stem (perfoliate), forming a cup (hence the name). The leaves are coarsely toothed, pointed at the tip, and feel rough. The stem is thick, square, and smooth, and may be a reddish color.

Native Perennial grows up to eight ft in sun to part shade; moist; prairies, along shores, wetlands.

Aster Family-

http://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/cup-plant

2009-09-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

Buckthorn

Is an Invasive Species.

Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
Appearance: Tall understory shrub or small tree up to 25' high with a spreading loosely branched crown, often multiple stems at the base. Female and male plants.

Fruit: Large, round, berry-like clusters of black 1/4" fruit. Ripens in August and September.

Wood: Brown bark with elongate silvery corky projections (caution: native plums or cherries have a similar bark). Cut branch exposes yellow sapwood and orange heartwood.

Branch: Buds and leaves are opposite. Twigs often end in sharp, stout thorns.

Leaves: Egg-shaped, pointed at the tip, smooth, dark, glossy and finely-toothed. 3-5 pair of curved leaf veins. Leaves stay green late into fall.

www.dnr.state.mn

Showing Plantain (on right) vs "Heal-All" (on left)

2009-09-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

2009-09-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Horsetail or Scouring Rush--

Oldest plant on earth...Long ago, it was eaten by dinosaurs. Today, it is an ingredient in medications that lower cholesterol. Throughout human history, it has been used for scrubbing kitchen utensils.

Known commonly as the horsetail or scouring rush, this plant has emerged as one of the species that is increasingly recommended by garden designers in search of high concept or minimalist designs.

These are designs that utilize plants for their shapes, architectural lines, foliage color, and durability, rather than their flowering characteristics.

Horsetail consists of many reed-like, segmented green tubes that grow straight up to a height of four feet. Attractive black and gray bands are found at both ends of each segment. It is often planted in long, narrow planters and makes a strong design statement. It does best in half day sun to light shade. In full sun it turns yellow-green which means that it will appear yellow-green as opposed to the emerald green color which it shows when sun protected.

www.gardenguides.com

Fern

2009-09-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

Viewing Specimens at the EFEIT Excursion

2009-09-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

Looking at specimens on a hillside...

From wooden bridge looking at Water Cress in a creek ..

2009-09-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

Spring Water running through the trails...

2009-09-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

Nature Lovers and Hikers explore the Big Woods

Cynthia Thomas Wild Food & Medicine Identification

2009-09-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

Cynthia Thomas

Wild Food and Medicine Identification

Elizabeth Fries Ellet Interpretive Trail

Richard T. Anderson Conservation Area

This event was on Saturday, Sept 19, 2009

The purpose was to begin a continued seasonal exploration of the biomes and habitat in order to catalog the species as an educational reference, via photos.

2009-08-30T06:59:00.000-07:00

The Elizabeth Fries Ellet Interpretive Trail Minnesota River Signage at the Richard T. Anderson Conservation Center...

Our 2009 program event Nature's Medicine and Wild Food Indentification Excursion

August 29th and September 19th from 10AM to 11:30AM

Meet at Flying Cloud Drive Lower Level Parking Lot- Free Event

Bring your camera and walking shoes..

The September Excursion will include walk through the Bottomland Forest, Sedge Meadow and Big Woods Biomes.

The following images were taken on August 29th. All will be catalogued and identified.

Joe Pye Weed

2009-08-30T06:42:00.001-07:00

Joe Pye Weed "Eutrochium purpureum or E. maculatum, syn. Eupatorium purpureum and E. maculatum"

Wild Lettuce

2009-08-30T06:41:00.003-07:00

Wild Lettuce "Lactuca spp"

Plantain "Plantago Major"

2009-08-30T06:41:00.001-07:00

Plantain seed head and seeds "Plantago major" (to the right)

Plantain "Plantago major"

Sunflower

2009-08-30T06:40:00.003-07:00

Sunflower- probably Jerusalem Artichoke "Helianthus spp"

Golden Rod

2009-08-30T06:40:00.001-07:00

Golden Rod "Solidago spp"

Mullein

2009-08-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Mullein Flower "Verbascum thapsus"