In today's post, Brock Feltman catalogs plants of Fenner Nature Center and the various purposes they serve for humans.
Marisa VanDamme and I are Fisheries and Wildlife majors at Michigan
State University. Most of our classes
are based around the science and management aspects of natural resources; however,
this semester we took a writing class titled: WRA 341 Nature, Environment, and
Travel Writing. This class represented one of the few opportunities we had to
be creative and combine our love for the outdoors with the process of writing.
During the class, we were assigned a project where we had to
describe a particular ‘space’ in a unique way. We decided to map Baker Woodlot,
a natural area on MSU’s campus, in terms of what plants were there and how they
were traditionally used for food, medicine, fiber, tea, etc. Not only was it
fun to hike the woodlot and identify the plants, the knowledge that we gained
through completing the project applies to natural areas outside of Baker
Woodlot as well.
On a recent hike in Fenner Nature Center, we were inspired
to catalog plants in a similar fashion.
In this sense, we hope to enhance the way users experience their
environment while hiking and observing these plants.
Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale
ID: Leaves have sharp,
irregular lobes. Single Yellow Flowers.
Add young leaves to
salad or boil them to eat. Young flowers
can be battered and fried.
Wood Nettle – Laportea canadensis
ID- Slender clusters in
leaf axils. Toothed leaves and stinging
hairs. Leaves long stalked with
alternate arrangement.
Edible cooked
greens. Soup and tea can be made from
young leaves and shoots.
Lamb’s Ear – Stachys byzantina
ID: Fuzzy/velvety
texture. Grows to about a foot tall and
leaves are arranged in whorls around an axis
Nature’s Band-Aid and
toilet paper.
Trillium – Trillium grandiflorum
ID: An ephemeral that
blooms in spring. Three petal flowers
can be white or light pink/purple.
Early leaves can be
cooked and eaten. Root has many
medicinal uses and can be grated and used in eardrops, or ingested to cure
menstrual and other abdominal cramps.
American Chestnut - Castanea dentate
ID: Deciduous tree with saw-toothed leaves that are 5 to 8 in. long.
Produces chestnuts that are edible raw or roasted; wood is excellent
for lumber.
White Oak - Quercus alba
ID: Leaves are simple
with many lobes and smooth edges. Trees
grow up to 24 meters (80ft).
Lumber used in ships,
furniture, flooring, and barrel-making.
Vernors ages their ginger ale in white oak barrels. Bark is used for tanning leather. Acorns can be eaten raw, roasted, boiled and
dried.
