#colonialuse

Fragaria virginiana // Wild Strawberry, Common Strawberry

Origin:  Native to Eastern North America

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Fragaria comes from the Latin word Fraga for strawberries, most likely originating from “fragrans” in reference to the plant’s fragrant fruit.  Common name Strawberry comes from the historic practice of mulching the plant with straw, which fought the possible threat of fungal diseases.

Strawberries were cultivated by Native Americans and colonists as a food and medicinal source.  Commercially bought Strawberries today are a hybrid of Fragaria virginiana (which has an ideal sweet flavor) and Fragaria chiloensis (which produces larger berries).  

Zone:  5-9

Habitat:  Easily grown in fertile, moist to dry, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. Prefers organically rich, sandy loams.  Generally dislikes high Summer heat, humidity and strong winds.  Found in anthropogenic habitats, fields and meadows, and along shores of lakes and rivers.  

Mature Size:  0.25-0.75′ tall with 1-2′ spread.  Spreads with ground-hugging runners (stolons).

Leaves:  Trifoliate leaves with three coarsely toothed leaflets (leaflets grow to 2.5″ long).  Each leaf appears on a slender stalk (up to 6″ long).

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Five-petaled white flowers are about 3/4″ across, and have a multitude of yellow-anthered center stamens.  Flowers bloom in April-May in flat umbel-like clusters (4-6 flowers each) below the leaves. Flowers give way to achene-dotted ovoid fruits (up to 1/2″) which mature to red.  Seeds are embedded in the pits of the strawberries. 

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

Rubus allegheniensis // Common Blackberry

Origin:  Native to North America

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Rubus means Red, and refers to a collection of plants with fruit consisting of small, rounded segments that make up a single larger berry.  Alternately called Appalachian Raspberry and Dewberry.

Harvested by both colonists and Native Americans in the 17 and 1800′s as a food source, and has also been consistently valued for medicinal properties, dyes, teas, and wine.

Zone:  3-9

Habitat:  Urban Growth community.  Prefers organically-rich, well-drained soils, but also tolerates clay-loam or rocky soil.  Grows best in full sunlight to partial shade.  Found in anthropogenic habitats, forest edges, and fields/meadows.  

Mature Size:  3-6′ tall with 2-4′ spread.    

Leaves:  Alternate.  Palmately compound leaves with long petiole have 3-7 ovate, doubly serrated leaflets.  Leaflets are dark green above, lighter green and pubescent below.

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Showy white flowers (1″ across) are borne in racemes consisting of up to 12 blossoms, each with 5 petals.  The flowers bloom during late Spring or early Summer before giving way to 3/4″ drupes later in the Summer.  The drupes begin white or green, but eventually turn red, then ultimately almost black.  They are seedy and have a sweet flavor when fully matured.

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/]

Typha latifolia // Common Cattail, Broad-Leaved Cattail

Origin:  Native to North America, Europe, Northern and Central Asia, and Northern Africa

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Typha comes from Greek Typhos, meaning marsh, or Greek Typhe, meaning cat’s tail.  Common name comes from fuzzy, cylindrical fruiting spikes which resemble cat tails.  Alternate common names include Cat-o-Nine Tails, Bulrushes, and Cossack Asparagus.  

Used by both Native Americans and colonists as a food source and for various other purposes, including basket-making, matting/bedding, and rope-making.

Zone:  3-10

Habitat:  Easily grown in rich loams in full sun to part shade in water to 12” deep.  Found in anthropogenic habitats, fens, marshes, shores of rivers and lakes, and wetland margins.  Aggressive colonizers of human-disturbed areas.

Mature Size:  4-6′ tall with 4-6′ spread.  

Leaves:  Narrow, upright, mostly basal, green leaves grow up to 7’ long. Leaves rise from base of a stiff, unbranched central stalk that rises equal to or slightly less than the height of the leaves.

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Each stalk is topped with two sets of minute flowers densely packed into a cylindrical inflorescence.  Yellowish male flowers are located at the top of the inflorescence, greenish female flowers are underneath.  Flowers bloom in Summer, then the male flowers rapidly disperse, leaving a naked stalk tip.  Pollinated female flowers turn brown as the seeds mature, forming the familiar cylindrical cattail fruiting spike (up to 9” long). Foliage turns yellow-brown in Autumn. Fruiting spikes usually persist to early winter before disintegrating. 

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

Rhamnus cathartica // Common Buckthorn

Origin:  Native to temperate Europe and Asia and Northwestern Africa

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Rhamnus comes from Greek Rhamnos meaning “branch.” Species epithet (cathartica) comes from Greek “cathartikos” meaning “cleansing” or “purging” because the bark is used to prepare purgatives.  Common name refers to terminal spikes that sometimes appear at the ends of branches.

Common buckthorn was originally introduced in the late 1700′s as an ornamental plant, and used for hedgerows and boundaries.  Since then, it has escaped cultivation and is now labeled invasive.  

Zone:  3-8

Habitat:  Spontaneous Urban Growth community.  Prefers consistent moisture but grows easily in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade.  Adapts to a variety of soils and environments.  Shade-tolerant and fast-growing, it is now considered an invasive species.

Mature Size:  16-25′ tall with 10-15′ spread.  Thicket-forming habit.

Leaves:  Subopposite.  Simple.  Leaves are elliptic to oval in shape and dark green in color.  Leaves grow to 3" long and have toothed margins.

Bark:  Distinctive thin gray-brown bark with horizontal lenticels, yellow inner bark and orange heartwood.

Flower/Fruit:  Dioecious.  Small yellow-green flowers bloom in the Spring. Fruit of female trees is round, fleshy, berry-like, black drupe (1/4" diameter).  Berries contain 3-4 seeds each. Birds are very attracted to the fruit. 

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

Rheum rhabarbarum // Rhubarb, Garden Rhubarb

Origin:  Native to Eurasia

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Rhubarb has been used in Asia for medicinal purposes for 5,000 years.  It was traded along the Silk Road, and eventually reached Europe, where it was known as “Turkish Rhubarb.”  It was introduced to America by European settlers in the 1700s, where it also became known as Pie Plant, due to its edible, tart stalks.  Thomas Jefferson planted Rhubarb at Monticello early after its introduction.

Zone:  3 to 8

Habitat:  Grows best with even and consistent moisture.  Prefers fertile, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade.  Cultivated in gardens for cooking (only stems are edible, leaves are poisonous).  Found in anthropogenic habitats and meadows/fields.

Mature Size:  2-3′ tall with 3-4′ spread.  Forms clumps on ground and spreads horizontally due to rhizomatous habit.  

Leaves:  Alternate.  Simple.  Large, heart-shaped, dark green leaves are highly toxic (oxalic acid) but ornamentally attractive.  Leaves grow up to 6-18″ long and up to 12″ across with curled edges.  Leaves die back each Winter but regrow from underground rhizomes with more leaves the following year.  

Stem:  Noted for edible, fleshy, colored stalk, ranging from deep red to pink to green.  Stalks may be used in pies, jams, and sauces.

Flower/Fruit:  Usually monoecious.  Tiny, whitish flowers form terminal panicles on erect stalks anytime between May and late Summer.  Flowers give way to angular winged fruits, each containing one seed. 

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

Juniperus virginiana // Eastern Redcedar

Origin:  Native to Eastern North America

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Early explorers took note of Juniperus virginiana.  Arthur Barlowe and Phillip Amadus proclaimed the trees "the tallest and reddest cedars in the world" when they arrived at Roanoke Island in 1564. 

Colonial craftsmen used the wood for fenceposts and furniture, since it proved workable while also resistant to weathering.  It was also used prolifically in the pencil industry until the supply was exhausted.  

Used by Creek, Choctaw, Natchez, Kiowa, and Zuni Native Americans for a variety of medicinal purposes.  

Zone:  2 to 9

Habitat:  Old Field community.  Grows easily in average, dry to medium-moisture soil in full sunlight.  Intolerant of wet soils but tolerant of drought. Often found on limestone bluffs, forest edges, fields, pastures, and fence lines.

Mature Size:  30-65′ tall with 8-25′ spread.  Broadly conical, sometimes columnar form with dense horizontal branching.  

Leaves:  Opposite.  Dark blue-green scaly foliage.  Foliage may turn brownish-green in the Winter.

Bark:  Gray to reddish-brown bark exfoliates in vertical shreds.

Flower/Fruit:  Dioecious.  Round, gray to blackish-green, berry-like cones (1/4″ diameter) produced by female plants in Fall of the first year.  Cones attract a variety of birds, including Cedar Waxwings (named for affinity for the tree).

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[www.arborday.org]

Verbascum thapsus // Common Mullein

Origin:  Native to Europe and Asia

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus name may come from the Latin word “barbascum”, meaning “bearded plant.”  Specific epithet honors the ancient village of Thapsus (now in ruins) located near Carthage in modern day Tunisia.  Common name comes from the Latin word “mollis” meaning “soft” (referring to the flannel-textured leaves).

Originally brought to the U. S. in early colonial times primarily because of its extensive history as an herbal remedy for various medicinal conditions. Listed as a noxious weed in Hawaii and Colorado.  Tea brewed from this plant has a soothing effect.

Zone:  3 to 9

Habitat:  Old Field community.  Prefers dry, stony soils, but tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, including poor soils.  Must have good drainage. Found in anthropogenic habitats, cliffs, ledges, meadows and fields, ridges and ledges.

Mature Size:  2-7′ tall with 1.5-2.5′ spread.  Erect, vertical stalk rises from rosette.

Leaves:  Basal leaves occur in a rosette.  Leaves have thick, soft, densely-hairy texture and pale gray-green color.  Leaves grow 6-15” long.  

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Stem topped in summer by a 20-inch long cylindrical inflorescence of densely-packed, 5-lobed, yellow flowers (1” across). Flowering stems appear winged because the smaller fuzzy alternate oval stem leaves have tapered and prolonged bases that extend down the surface of the stem.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

Castanea dentata // American Chestnut

Origin:  Native to Eastern United States

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus name Castanea comes from the name of a town in Thessaly, where these trees reportedly grew in abundance. Species epithet (dentata) describes toothed margins of leaves.  

Castanea dentata is referenced in the first line of H. W. Longfellow’s poem, “The Village Blacksmith.”  “Under the spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands...”

Native Americans used parts of this tree to treat whooping cough, heart conditions, and chafed skin.

Nuts are sweet and edible, and are associated with the holiday season. (”Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...”)

Zone:  5 to 8

Habitat:  Oak Hickory community.  Grow in moist, well-drained loams in full sun.  Forest edges.  Forests.  

Mature Size:  Once grew to 50-75′ tall with 50-75′ spreading crowns, but now American Chestnut trees are only seen as young saplings before dying off from a fungus blight introduced from China in 1904.

Leaves:  Alternate.  Simple.  Toothed, dull green leaves (6-10″ long) turn shades of yellow in the Fall.  

Bark: Smooth and brown when young.  Develops distinctive fissures and ridges as it matures.  Blight-infested bark is sunken and split, often with visible orange fungal bodies.

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Aromatic yellow-white male flowers borne in dense clusters on slender, 4-8″ catkins in June.  Female flowers appear in smaller catkins in June.  Flowers give way to small, sweet nuts encased in spiny burrs (2-3″ in diameter).  2-3 nuts are housed in each burr.  

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]