Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Okanagan Wildflowers and Shrubs

Wild Garden Asparagus
Clover
Baby's Breath
Rosy Twisted-Stalk
Oregon Grape
Deer Fern
Common Rabbit Brush
Deadly Nightshade aka Belladonna

This is some pineapple weed growing in a fairy ring


Stinging Nettle (Urtica urens)
Field Pennycress(Thlaspi arvense)False Solomon's Seal

Red Columbine(Aquilegia formosa)
Nootka Wild Rose
Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia)
General: Deciduous shrub to small tree, found in OK Mtn Park.
Saskatoon berries were used by Native Peoples, they can be eaten raw or dried into small cakes and used later. When I was a child, my Grandma would make Saskatoon berry jam and jelly.
Medicinal Uses: Berry juice can be drank for upset stomach, it can also be used as a mild laxative. Ear and eyedrops can be made from the juice of unripe berries.




Alpine Paintbrush (Castilleja rhexifolia)
General: Perennial that is scattered at subalpine and alpine elevations.
Medicinal Uses: None found


Leftover burnt out log in Okanagan Mountain Park
Blue Clematis (Clematis occidentalis C. columbiana)
General: Climbing or trailing vine.
Medicinal Uses: The native peoples made a poultice for scabs, itchy skin and sores from this plant. The sepals were used to relieve migraine headaches. It can be taken as a tea or smoked. Made as a tea, it has a vasoconstrictory effect on the brain lining, but a dilating effect on veins.

One of the first flowers we came upon was this beautiful Chocolate Lily