Apr 6
From the woods & the garden
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From the woods & the garden
Forested Wetland, Old Irish Town, Mine Hill, NJ - May 30th 2025
Green False Hellebore (Veratrum viride)
Allegheny National Forest - Pennsylvania - April 27th 2024
This one is a fun one. It is such a strikingly beautiful plant. It is also HIGHLY toxic which honestly I feel like it just screams HI I'M TOXIC the way it stands out in boggy wet areas is so striking and also so suspicious. When we were hiking my friend saw this and we didn't know what it was at the time and immediately they were like that plant is 100% toxic there's no way it isn't.
NPS/A.Thompson Photo of Mount Rainier and the Paradise meadows, 9/21/22.
Fall color is arriving on the mountain! Vine maples are turning orange in the lower elevation forests, while in the subalpine meadows huckleberry bushes are sifting to red.
(Left) NPS Photo of vine maples in Longmire, 9/28/22. (Right) NPS Photo of Sitka mountain ash and false hellebore along the Paradise Valley Road, 9/23/22.
Many subalpine plants are settling down for winter as well, from the yellowing leaves of false hellebore to the emergence of bright red Sitka mountain ash berries. Sitka mountain ash berries are not edible for people, but stay on the branches well into winter and are an important winter food source for birds and animals.
NPS Photo of a black bear eating huckleberries at Paradise, 9/23/22.
Huckleberries however are a tasty treat for both humans and animals like bears. If you see a bear in the park, give them plenty of space - they are more interested in the berries than you! What fall color are you observing in the park?
~kl
Adonis vernalis | by edzerdla
Spring Blooms, Hedden Park, NJ - April 9th 2025
I've always thought these plants look the way a cello sounds
Toxic plants of Appalachia
Toxic plants of Appalachia
Most white settlers here in the Smokies region avoided mushrooms like the plague. This was because their ancestors arriving here in America had found and ingested mushrooms that were deadly look-a-likes for species they had safely eaten in Europe. On the other hand, many Cherokees still gather and eat mushrooms with gusto. Through the years, they have learned by trial and error the species that…
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