This is spikenard. It was spotted by my trail guides when I went on the canyon hike at Camp Sagawau, to which they became very excited. When your trail guide gets real excited, you get real excited, even though you have no clue why you're getting excited. That's what happened here. I took this picture because I heard the words, "On the rare scale, this one is a 10." Oooooo a "10".
Look at how it is growing, in between some sediment of limestone! What a challenge! I love it's autumnal color.
Let's Learn About American Spikenard:
A perennial herb with large spicy smelling roots
Part of the Ginseng family
Prefers cool shady forests
Sensitive to frost
In Chicagoland area rare, but can grow anywhere from Canada to Georgia
Roots harvested in autumn for medicinal and commercial purposes:
Medical - used to treat asthma, rheumatism, eczema, also a cough syrup
Commercial - made into oils, incense, and perfume (I love perfume!)
Spikenard has been used to calm nerves and even treat hysteria!
Some of you may be saying, "Where have I heard of Spikenard before?" Hint: Think biblical times.
Mary Magdalen used spikenard perfume to anoint the feet of Jesus and she did it with her hair!
I'm so fortunate to have been with knowledgeable trail guides who knew how to spot this beautiful spikenard, because they studied their plants, we are able to enjoy it's story today. I think I'll stop at the health food/nutrition store and see if they have any of this oil or herbs!
Today is Blog Day for the Environment. The subject is supposed to be "green". I made a commitment to do this and sign up, because, he, he, he, every time I post it's in some way about the environment, so I couldn't screw it up!
Look my subject is literally green!
This is liverwort. I found it growing on a rock in the canyon at Camp Sagawau.
If you are like a scientist, here is your definition:
1 : any of a class (Hepaticae) of bryophytic plants characterized by a thalloid gametophyte or sometimes an upright leafy gametophyte that resembles a moss. Merriam-Webster
If you are a normal person like myself, here is your definition:
1: Beautiful moss looking plant that need much moisture to grow. Can grow on the ground, or on rocks, or on decaying trees. It is non-vascular, meaning it has no veins to carry water and food. It's enemy is the sun or heat, which will kill it quickly. We just love it because it's beautiful.
Here is an up close, little blurry pic of it's beautiful green "leaves". Can you see the lighter green spots? I believe these are pores? Maybe, maybe not. Somebody need to do an abstract painting of this liverwort close up! That would look great!
Moral of today's post: If we are not careful we will lose such awesome creations with our careless lifestyles. If we take the time now and learn how to be more "green", we can preserve plants like this for the next generation to blog about, or paint, or sing about. (Is there a liverwort song out there???)
Today I went to visit the ONLY canyon in Cook County, which is located in Lemont, IL at Camp Sagawau.Camp Sagawau is not a camp, but a nature education center where they have guided hikes, classes, and skiing in the winter. Here, we begin our trip as we are greeted by Ralph, the welcoming mascot. Ralph was hand carved by a talented artist, who loves Camp Sagawau and gave him as a gift.
After being "approved" by Ralph, you may walk up to the beautiful Camp Sagawau house which was built in the 1850's by an Irish immigrant who worked on the Cal Sag River. He established a dairy farm here but couldn't grow crops because the ground was unable to be tilled. We will see why later.
What a lovely looking house. Here is where the nature classes are held. It remains the same color that it had from historical photos. Interestingly enough, the house had additions build in the 1940's which are not holding up as well as the original section of the house built in 1850! Enough of the house, let's go canyon hiking!
Bad picture, but good illustration of how narrow the stairs are. You really have to suck-it-in when you go down these! The stairs are a few feet East of the house. I though we were going to hike for some time before we reached the canyon, but no, the canyon is right by the house!
Here it is! We are now in the canyon. Beautiful limestone constructed sediment. This particular limestone is called dolomite limestone, a calcium magnesium carbonate rich mineral.
Do you see all of the holes in the limestone? Do you know what was growing in them? Coral. This use to be a coral reef. I am not kidding. Here's how: before the continents split and the plates shifted, this area use to be real close to the equator, where it's tropical like. That explains the fossils found here of species that only survive in tropical climates. This use to be part of a coral reef, there are many around, but they are buried underground. This canyon was carved by glacial ice which pushed through and retreated 4 times. That will conclude our history lesson for today, you can wake up now. :)
Here is the left side of the canyon. Notice the floor, covered in water. It was REAL slippery, especially because the rocks are covered in moss and lichen. When it rains, this stream comes alive and becomes active. When it floods, it actually moves large boulders down stream! This stream leads to the Illinois River, which leads to the Mississippi, which leads to the Gulf! How cool.
