Information for this blog is again from various websites, for more information follow the links on the plant names. Green background signifies all sorts of uses, blue background for wildlife and ecological uses and pink background is for medicinal use. Pictures by Matt Summers, otherwise stated.
The very recognizable stems of the Silver Birch at Cannock Chase
After all the native, short, flowering plants, this time a blog on the native, tall, woody trees called Betulaceae, which includes the main genus, Betula or Birch but also our native Alder, Hornbeam and Hazel belong in this family.
The Betulaceae or Birch Family is number 59 in Stace and has 3 straight native species of Birch as well as several hybrids, subspecies and introduced, ornamental varieties.
The birch is a typical pioneer, which means it can colonize new land very rapidly in the right conditions and can therefore be seen as a weed by some who wouldn’t like them to do this!
But most of us can agree that the Birch tree is very beautiful and hoping for you to learn in the following text that it is also a very useful tree as are its cousins, Alder, Hornbeam and Hazel about which I will tell you more in the second part!
Close up from our Common Knapweed or Centaurea nigra. The main heading of my wonderful weed blog is of Greater Knapweed or Centaurea scabiosa! See further in today’s block to learn about all the virtues of this genus.
Today I will write the last part on our native Asteraceae or ‘composites’ and daisy family in common terms. All known medicinal uses and other uses are mentioned.
On the end of this post all the links to the posts I’ve done so far about this large family!
In the last post I covered with what we see as the common daisies: yellow centred disk flowered with a ray of white florets as well as a few other composites or Asteraceae.
This time we start with plants we don’t immediately associate with the composites, but closely observed we find always the common combination of many disc florets, surrounded or not with ray florets.
Then finishing off with the other typical group of the Asteraceae which are the various ‘dandelion like’ flower members!
Most medical information again from the Medicinal Flora by J. Barker. The links to the scientific and common name provide also with good, general information about the plants!
There is a green background for the text if the plant is edible, ornamental or otherwise useful for wildlife, etc. Pink background is either as a warning or medicinal use. Blue background for interesting facts!To make the post more colourful I have given the plant a background of the flower colour!
MOST MEDICINAL PLANTS ARE ALSO TOXIC IN LARGE DOSE. Advice is to never self-medicate.
In my last blog I introduced you to the main uses of the Asteraceae or the Daisy family. The first post was all about the classification of this large family.
Today I will list some of the commonly known, medicinal ones in our temperate climate, as mentioned in the Medicinal Flora by Julian Barker.
I will include links on both of the plant names so you will be able to read more about each plant on other useful websites. You can find more pictures on Wikipedia> tools >Wikipedia Commons as well as in the Gallery of Plant Atlas 2020 Online.
I will also colour code the blocks on the colour of the flower. Hope you will find that useful as well as pretty! Most uses are medicinal. Plants used as an ornamental or other uses are backed by a green colour! The link on the Scientific name as well as the information about habitat is from Plant Atlas 2020 Online (backed by blue).
Cautions: This is a ‘ethno’ blog on the known medical uses of the Composites or Daisy family. There are many cautions mentioned and self-medication is therefore not advised: seek help through a qualified herbalist!
Cardoon and Sunflower are both non-native ornamental as well as economical food crops in the Asteraceae (both pictures by Matt Summers)
The post on Asteraceae went through the entire classification and might have been a little tedious for you?
However, I do hope you find it fascinating like myself how classification does make sense, especially in large families such as the Composites or Asteraceae.
It neatly groups similar looking plants together and when these plants ‘look similar’ they most likely also have the same properties and uses.
This week we start with the uses of this family.
Of course weeds or native plants as I like to call them, are ALWAYS useful in any habitat situation, soil and indeed for other living creatures apart from ourselves.
When we pull out the dandelion or ragwort we are taking away a valuable food source for multiples of creatures. Is it really worth that?
With my recent research into the Bagnall Herbarium at Birmingham Museum I’ve been looking through many boxes of this large and diverse group of ‘blackberries’.
Bagnall seem to be fascinated by them and I discovered also there is a lot more to them than you first may think!
I don’t really want to repeat what this brilliant website says, as my weekly blog wants to highlight the positive things about those weeds!
Weeds are also just being ‘themselves’; one of the many native plants of these Isles! They grow in soil and habitat in which they naturally like to grow in and often we are actually helping them greatly by providing a pleasant environment to thrive even more!
The more I work with all kinds of plants, in my daily life and work, the more I appreciate them, and this even includes ‘WEEDS’, or our native plants as I prefer to call them; or even wild flowers as many are pretty as well as useful…. Or ‘PRETTY USEFUL’!!
Crambe maritimaor Sea kale looking stunning in its native habitat!
As I wrote in a recent blog, I would like to re edit most of the last year’s blogs as we now have the Gutenberg editing and this makes the blogs more beautiful and pleasant to read!
As in any science there are some difficult words and terms used of which I would like to explain some this week.
If not explained you will often find a link on the ‘difficult’ word which will guide you to an explanatory page.
Yarrow and Ragwort are 2 different members of the large ‘Aster’ family – All images are with thanks from Matt Summers
Today and in several future posts I will be talking about members of the Asteraceae. This was called the Compositae for a very long time, which I think is a lot more descriptive about this largest dicotyledon family on Earth!
The first post is all about the classification which is extensive but makes good sense you will discover on the next page!
More information will be given in post 4, 5, 6 below as well as their known uses:
The Third Subfamily is the largest one in this family and called Asteroideae, it has 13 tribes and 66 genera! But many are ornamental plants or garden escapes.
