huestis species id

7/27/2019 Huestis Species ID

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Labrador TeaScientific Name: Ledum groenlandicum

Other names: Bog Labrador Tea, Swamp Tea

How to identify:Check under the rolled-down leaf edges for a woollymat of hairs on the undersurface. (New leaves havewhite hairs; mature leaves have reddish hairs.)

Cool Facts:

Cree:muskekopukwa French: Th du Labrador

Leaves: The thick leathery texture, the rolled edgesand the woolly mats of reddish hairs on theundersurface are all adaptations that help toconserve moisture.

Tea: Rich in Vitamin C, steep one heapingteaspoonful of leaves or flowers per person in boilingwater for 5 min until clear, pale amber-orange. Cancause drowsiness and can act as a strong diuretic,cathartic or cause intestinal disturbances. It containsan andromedotoxin that can cause adverse effects

including headache, cramps, indigestion, vomiting,and even death.

Medicinally: was used to treat diarrhea, bad breath,pneumonia, eye infections, difficulty urinating,tension and kidney ailments, among more.

Common Freckle Pelt LichenScientific Name: Peltigera aphthosa

Other names: Green dog lichen, leafy lichen, felt lichen

How to identify:Leaf lichen. Broad 2 - 5 cm wide lobes. Dull grey-green when dry, bright green when moist, bearingscattered 'warts'.

Cool Facts:

What is a lichen? A lichen is a flowerless plant thatconsists of two plants living together as a single unit.These plants are an alga and a fungus. The alga canmake its own food, but it needs water to grow. Thefungus absorbs water rapidly, but it cannot make itsown food.

Colour: Undergo a dramatic colour change fromgrey-green to bright green, with wetting.

Lichen + bacteria: The brown to black dots or 'warts'on the upper surface of freckle pelt contain tinycolonies of cyanobacteria, which supply the lichenwith nitrogen. These organisms can extract nitrogenfrom the air and supply this nutrient to the lichenfungus and its green algal partner.

Air quality: Extremely susceptible to air pollution,especially from sulfur dioxide and fluorides. Lichensalso absorb radioactive fallout more readily thanvascular plants. This material is then passing alongthe food chain.


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BunchberriesScientific Name: Cornus canadensis

Other names:Crackerberry, dwarf dogwood, dwarf cornel,

puddingberry, pigeonberry

How to identify:

Each stem has 4 or 6 smooth, egg-shaped andpointed leaves at the top of the stem; the leaves aregreen above and whitish beneath. Look for redcluster of berries or white flowers.

Cool Facts:

Cree: pihew mina ("grouse berry"),kawiskowimin ("itchy chin berry")

(Cree name comes from facial irritationcaused by tiny white hairs on the fruit)

French: quatre-temps, cornouiller du Canada, paind'oiseaux, rougets

Flowers: The four white bracts (modified leaves)are often mistaken as the flower; these surround theactual cluster of true flowers. Open flowers arerecognized by the black spots (stigma) in the centre.Flower in May or June. Often flowers again in the fall.

Berries: Scarlet-red bunches. Dry and flavorless.

Explosive pollination: Each tiny central flowers has 4closed petals forming a white bud. One petal has ahair-like trigger, about 1 mm long near the tip of thepetal. When a small insect touches the trigger on a"ready to bloom" flower, the petals bend backinstantaneously, and the anthers spring out,catapulting pollen into the air and onto the insect.

Stiff ClubmossScientific Name: Lycopodium annotinum

Other names: Bristly clubmoss, interrupted clubmoss

How to identify:

Upright cluster of shoots, few (if any) branching.Bristly. Evergreen. 5-30 cm tall.They look similar to a test tube brush.Spores (highly flammable) are 12-35 mm long cones.

Cool Facts:

Native Uses: The Woods Cree used club-mosses toseparate raw fish eggs from the membranous sacs inwhich they are produced, by wriggling the egg massand a bunch of stiff club moss together with thehands. The separated eggs were used to make fish-egg bread.

They used the spores to stop nosebleeds andbleeding from wounds.

Water repellent: The spores repel water so stronglythat a hand dusted with them can be dipped intowater without becoming wet. However, their use asan anti-absorbent is limited as they are know toirritate mucous membranes.

Medicinally: Spores of the genus Lycopodium havebeen used as baby powder and as an inflammablepowder for flash photography. Some clubmossescontain poisonous alkaloids that can cause pain inthe mouth, vomiting, and diarrhea when ingested


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Old Mans Beard LichenScientific Name: Usnea sp.

Other names: Beard Lichen, Trees Dandruff, Tree Moss

How to identify:Generally found hanging from tree branches,resembling grey or greenish hair.

Cool Facts:

Air Quality Indicator: Very sensistive to air pollution,especially sulfur dioxide.

Worldwide: Varieties of Usnea can be found all overthe world. There are at least 451 different variations.

Not a disease: Grows on another plant, but does notharm the host; we call this an epiphyte.

Slow Growth: It typically grows 1-3 cm per year.

Eat your home: Used as a food source and nestingmaterial for some birds and some small mammals.

Medicinally: Usnea has been used for at least 1600

years as an antibiotic to fight germs and infections. Italso might decrease inflammation, pain, and fever.It has been used for weight loss, pain relief, fevercontrol, wound healing, and to make phlegm easierto cough up.

Other uses: Dyes for textiles. Used in cosmeticproduction as a preservative and deodorant.

BurlScientific Name: -

Other names: Bur, Burr

How to identify:A tree growth in which the grain has grown in adeformed manner. Usually a rounded outgrowth ona tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots.

Cool Facts:

Causes: Scientists dont know for certain whatcauses burls, but it is thought that it may be fromstress due to injury, virus, or fungus. Despite this,they do not appear to be harmful to trees andmaintain protective bark.

Unseen: Most grow beneath the ground, attached tothe roots.

Big burls: The largest occur in redwoods and canencircle the entire trunk. When moisture is present,these burls can grow new redwood trees.

Woodworkers Dream: Prized for its beauty andrarity by furniture makers, artists, and woodsculptors. Its very resistant to splitting, making itvaluable for bowls, mallets, and mauls.


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Witchs BroomScientific Name: -

Other names: German Tinder, Touchwood, Tinder Conk

How to identify:Look for a dense mass of shoots growing from asingle point. Often resembling a broom or a birdsnest.

Cool Facts:

Causes: Fungi, insects, mistletoe, dwarf mistletoe,mites, nematodes, viruses, microorganisms, etc.

Whats happening? A chemical is created that stopsa process in the tree that regulates growth. The treedoesnt realize that its not supposed to keepgrowing all the little branches.

Habitat: Used as shelter by many organisms, such asmoths and the northern flying squirrel.

Uses: Used as pin cushions to prevent pins andneedles from rusting. In Hokkaido, Japan, the fleshypart is burned overnight in a ritual to clear evilspirits.

Hoof FungusScientific Name: Fomes sp.

Other names: German Tinder, Touchwood, Tinder Conk

How to identify:Looks like a horse hoof on the side of a tree, with ahardened top and softer underside. Watch forseveral of these on an infected tree.

Cool Facts:

Otzi the Iceman: It is reported the 5000-year-oldcarried 4 pieces of this fungus and the conclusionwas that he would have used it as tinder to start afire.

Its a Polypore: A group of fungi that form bodiescalled conks.

White Rot: This fungus digests moist wood, causingit to rot. It acts as a parasite, harming the tree.

Medicinally: Despite what may be considered a fruitysmell, it is not edible.

Other uses: Used as pin cushions to prevent pinsand needles from rusting. In Hokkaido, Japan, thefleshy part is burned overnight in a ritual to clear evilspirits.


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Dwarf MistletoeScientific Name: Arceuthobium sp.

Other names: -

How to identify:Very short green/yellow shoots and leaves, with thebulk of the plant living under the hosts bark.

Cool Facts:

Disease: A very serious forest disease that results inreduced tree growth, premature tree death, reducedsend and cone development, reduced wood quality,and increased risk to other diseases and/or insects.

Witches broom: Dwarf mistletoe is one of manycauses of witchs broom. If you see witchs broom,look for dwarf mistletoe!

Thief! Steals water and sugars from the tree, year-round, even when the tree is dehydrated. Without aliving tree, it cannot survive.

Blast off! The fruit builds up pressure when ripe andshoots a single sticky seed up to 80 km/h, over 18meters away from a tall tree.

Long life cycle: Takes 6-8 years to go from a newinfection to the point of spreading seeds.

Squirrel candy: Squirrels love to eat the dwarfmistletoe, as well as branches infected by it.

Smoky PolyporeScientific Name: Bjerkandera adusta

Other names: Polyporous adustus, Smoky Bracket Fungi

How to identify:Forms overlapping caps on decaying deciduouswood, sometimes conifer wood. Caps are 3-10cmwide.

Cool Facts:

Where: Widespread in northern temperate areas.

When: Appears year-round, but is usually foundbetween July-November

White Rot: This fungus digests moist wood, causingit to rot. It acts as a parasite, harming the tree.

Dont eat: This mushroom is tough and inedible. Aswith most mushrooms, its best not to eat them anywhich way.


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American Red SquirrelScientific Name: Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

Other names: Pine Squirrel, Chickaree

How to identify:Medium sized (200-250g) diurnal mammal thatdefends a year-round exclusive territory.

Cool Facts:

Hudsonicus: Refers to Hudson Bay, where thespecies was first catalogued in 1771.

Territorial: They will defend their territory (2400-48000 square meters) from intruders.

Diet: They eat the seeds from spruce cones andcollect them in a central area for the rest of the year.They will sometimes clip and gather mushrooms andplace them amongst the branches of trees to drythem in the sun.

Midden: Usually have one large active midden ineach territory. They will sit on their favorite branch,stump, etc and pull apart the cones to get the seeds

inside. These piles can get very, very large. Theywill often use these piles to hide cones for winter.Forgetting where they are, you can often see holeswhere they have been searching for the cones.

Homes: Often have several nests in their territory.Young must move out and find their own territorybefore their first winter.

Peat MossScientific Name: Sphagnaceae Sphagnum

Other names: (combines 120 species of mosses)

How to identify:No true leaves, stems, fruits, or roots. Usually veryspongy and damp.

Cool Facts:

Name: Peat moss is the name typically given to thedecomposed, dead remains of sphagnum moss.

Water storage: Some species can hold 20 timestheir dry weight in water!

Uses: Used historically as bandage material becauseof its acidic, antibacterial quality. Fertilizer for

gardens. Insulation in Arctic regions. An alternativeto chlorine in swimming pool sanitation.

Bog Bodies: Sphagnum and peat are excellent atpreserving due to their slow rate of decay. Bodieshave been found in peat bogs relatively intact afterhundreds or even thousands of years.

Butter: More than 270 barrels of butter have beenfound in Irish bogs that are over 2000-years-old.

Conservation: Peat is often used and mined fasterthan it can be produced. This can destroyecosystems and wetlands.

huestis species id

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