The mossy microscope

Inky stems as long as my foot, squirrels drying mushrooms for winter, and a mushroom so forceful it just impaled its self through any wood in the way. All that and more.

Oxytropis campestris, native to the pacific northwest and Canada as well as Europe. In greek 'oxy' means sharp or pointed while 'tropis' means keel refering to the keel pedal (bottom structure of the flower) which is pointed or beak like. In Latin 'campester' means pertaining to a field or plain. It produces the alkaloid swainsonine which is harmful to grazers in large quantities causing locoism. That can be a problem because grazers find it a very palatable plant. It is also a larval host for butterflies. Astragalus is another genus that similarly produces swainsonine and is also called locoweed, it has a blunt keel.

Hedysarum boreale, the northern sweetvetch, member of the Fabaceae or legume family. This name goes to the greeks with 'hedys' for sweet and 'saros' for pea. It is a colorful native of north america used to add nitrogen to soil and as fodder for bears, mice, lemmings, grouse, and is pollinated by bees. Historically it has been known as both a poison and edible root. H. alpinum is a similar species but has veiny leaves while boreale has more hair on its leaf bottom.