Field of Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) and a freight in our dolomite prairie labeled as our Exxon site due to it being crammed between an Exxon refinery and intermodal train centerLogan and Naomi feeling Politically distraught on the Prairie ( PLANTS IN VIEW: Monarda fistulosa, Ratibida pinnata, and Silphium terebinthinaceum)
As I start to write this second blog post while sitting outside the office the Midewin ambience buzzes around me. Surrounding the main office is a cow pasture allotment ( One of the 50 or so lots we graze cattle on, for forest service profit), the cow pasture is an ecological refuge compared to the grotesque development encroaching the land adjacent to us. To the south, not far at all, I can sometimes get a whiff of Prairie View Landfill and the Exxon refinery to the north. Prairie View Landfill gives Illinois’ usually flat landscape some more intriguing topography, although it is probably not a fair trade for the smell of garbage. Surrounding Midewin is a plethora of warehouses, row crops (mostly corn and soy), suburban sprawl, parking lots, and industrial parks. I don’t mean to set the tone for pessimistic attitudes but I wanted to lay out the visual scene for people who are unfamiliar with Illinois and it’s unique approach to biosphere collapse. The prairie is rich with biodiversity and compared to the sterile conservative approach to landscaping and land management here in the Midwest, the prairie feels like a coral reef or an exotic land full of life.
Midwest storm rolling in over Prairie Glacial PlainsImpatiens canadensis ( Jewelweed/ Touch-Me-Not)Exxon views from my daily commute to work, rare dolomite prairie on the other side
Living here all my life for 21 years I am astonished that is has taken me this long to truly experience the prairie, some residents here have never even seen one. The power struggle dynamics and lack of political will within the mission here can be quite saddening. I am glad a small number of people truly do put their heart and soul into the goal of bringing the prairie back. The integrity and strength to keep pushing for what’s right even when it seems like nobody understands what we are loosing and what we have already lost. It surprises me that a lot of people will know more about environmental issues across the world(Amazon rainforest) but they won’t be aware of any habitat loss of local ecosystems. Not to say we shouldn’t advocate for protection of land everywhere ( these things are not mutually exclusive) but I believe all ecosystems are equal in the grand scheme of things. The prairie and it’s hard working plants sequester tons of carbon and helps put organic matter back into the soil. How do we get people to care about native ecosystems if they haven’t even seen one in the first place? What type of incentives can we practice either personally or politically that would engage people in nature and ecology more? That being said I think even the people making insensitive decisions on the top of Exxon may not be complete demons, just confused, very very confused, human beings. I believe educating people, while remaining open and compassionate, is absolutely essential for restoration and native plant efforts. We can only move forward as much as we ALL move forward, and it’s hard not to get angry with the way things are and the lack of care from the general public. But I believe things will get better and people are increasingly more interested in learning when the opportunity presents itself.
I am very grateful for all the fellow CLM interns, it gives me comfort and restores some sanity knowing there are other people that feel passionate about native plants. Each one of the other interns is uniquely clever, intelligent, funny, and warm hearted and I couldn’t have asked for a better team:)
Logan and Vlad botanizing!Female Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) on Liatris spp.“Scrap” full of Silphium terebinthinaceum (PRAIRIE DOCK) Sagittaria brevirostra Aka Midwestern ArrowheadDelaware Skipper Anatrytone loganTrailing fuzzy bean (Strophostyles helvola)
Now that I’ve been in Neihart for around a month and a half I am really starting to get in the swing of things! I’ve been really enjoying collecting seeds, it is such a peaceful task. That said, some plants I enjoy collecting from much more than others. Here is my official ranking of all the species I have collected from so far:
Geum triflorum (Prairie Smoke) 10/10
I enjoy collecting from this one for a couple of reasons. The seeds of Prairie Smoke are super easy to pull right off. This makes the process both simple and satisfying. There is no stickiness or plants parts that are easy to cut yourself on (foreshadowing for my later complaints).
Penstemon have dry easy to pull off seed pods. Each pod has a bunch of seeds, which makes it easy to collect large amounts of seed. I also found collecting from this species to be satisfying. We collected this species in a part of the forest I had never been to before, which was a dry, shrubby ecosystem that was cool to see.
Festuca campestris (Rough Fescue) 8/10
Let me start off by saying I was such a grass hater before I started this job. Now the more I have learned about grasses I have started to appreciate their beauty. This species is particularly important to restoration in the area where I am located and seeds early in the season, so we were excited to collect from this. Rough Fescue is also the first species I collected from so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Taking the seeds off this plant was very satisfying because they just pop off as you run your hands up the stem. The only reason Rough Fescue loses points is because as the name implies it is rough. Collecting from this plant really cut up my hands so for that it loses points.
Mertensia paniculata (Tall Bluebells) 8/10
Bluebells are one of my favorite wildflowers, so I was thrilled to be able to collect seeds from this species. My forest has not been able to collect these in previous years, so it was quite exciting to find a population with seeds before the moose got to it. Tall Bluebells are one of few shade tolerant species on our collection list, which is a bonus. My only issue with collecting from this species is that it grows in riparian environments, meaning I was being swarmed by bugs the entire time. The seeds are also very tiny and easy to drop.
Lupinus sericeus (Silky Lupine) 6/10
Silky lupine is one of the most satisfying plants to collect from because you can just pull the pods off. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other downsides for this one. For one they are sticky which is quite unpleasant. They are also loved by aphids which gross me out. Flies also like to lay their maggots inside of the seed pods, which is not something I like to find when I am collecting seeds.
Geranium viscosissimum (Sticky Geranium) 4/10
As the name implies this plant is very sticky. It also grows everywhere, so collecting from it can be exhausting; it is the only plant I get tired of collecting seeds from. The only thing that makes collecting from Sticky Geranium a little better is how pretty it is.
July introduced me to depths of our forest more beautiful than I could have imagined. At the beginning of the month, my co-intern, Emma, and I embarked on an exclusively seed-collecting trip around Huntington Lake. Before we left, we went to the library to do some research. Using many different sources, we scoped out some of the plants that we have been keen to collect this season, compiling information regarding their identifications, confirmed and probable growing locations, and phenology. Based on our research, we knew that we would utilize this trip to preliminarily assess populations, getting vouchers and initial estimates of population sizes to inform potential future trips for collections and for our records. Our priority populations included Mountain coyote mint, (Monardella odartissima var lechtinii), Western wallflower (Erysimum capitatum), Stickseed (Hackelia mundula), Anderson’s thistle (Cirsium andersonii). We also kept an eye out for some rare plants we knew were in the area (just for fun!) including Hulsea brevifolia, an aster that is abundant around Huntington Lake.
The next week was a departure from our normal activities: chainsaw training. We underwent this training in order to be better prepared to evacuate an area under immediate threat of wildfires. This same week, we were informed of the urgent need to survey an area for Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) in the John Muir Wilderness in our forest. This is a threatened species under the endangered species act is a white pine, containing needle bunches of five, that grows at subalpine and timberline elevations. We were enlisted to help, so we worked a great deal to get some last-minute trip planning done.
We began this following week on Sunday, packing and collecting the materials we needed–cleaning bear canisters, stocking up on batteries/chargers, readying tablets and radios, prepping the field press. We drove over Kaiser Pass to Florence Lake where we camped before taking the ferry across the lake in the morning to begin our trek. We stayed this first night in the backcountry at the Muir Trail Ranch, then completed our hike to the study area the next morning. We surveyed that day and much of the next prior to our hike out. We found a much larger population than anticipated, but we were bummed to see that most of the individuals had been infected with the blister rust, which poses a mortal threat to white pines.
Although we were overjoyed to help out on this survey for this endangered species, Emma and I were, of course, relentlessly occupied with seed collection. We had little time for it, but we still jotted down some population locations and estimated specifications, as well as collected some vouchers in hopes that we will be able to return and collect seeds from those plants. Here, we noted a population of Anderson’s thistle even stronger than that we had seen at Huntington Lake, and got excited about a native Elymus species (yet to be indubitably verified)!
Something that has become beautifully apparent and that I consider rather beautiful about my time working this field job is the intimacy of learning the plants and the opportunity to get to know them on a deeper level. Previously, I would memorize morphological characteristics and ecological for classes or for jobs—often without actually seeing them in real life—and would not form any sort of personal connection with them. Now, I can touch the plants, hold their seeds in my hands, smell them (big shoutout to Jefferey Pine!), better understand their ecological niches… and better understand them overall!
For many of us in the modern age, plants blend into the background. The joy of this internship, and other outdoor work, is the movement of plants to centerstage again as primary shapers of the world. Not long ago in Europe and much more recently in North America, plants were the primary suppliers of medicine and raw materials. Here in and around the Flathead National Forest, plants were imperative for everyday life of the Salish and Kootenai people. An exhaustive list of plants and their traditional uses is not possible here, but important edible plants included Serviceberry, Huckleberry, and Camas (Bear Don’t Walk, 2019). Plants for raw materials included Apocynum cannabinum for rope, Salix (willow) for fish traps, and Holodiscus discolor (oceanspray) for digging stick handles (Ryan, 2024). In the paragraphs to follow, I focus on three medicinal plants, common and widespread across multiple continents, that many cultures used and still use today. The independent use of these plants for similar ailments across different cultures corroborates their effectiveness. The application of these plants goes back thousands of years, with the origin of their medicinal value shrouded in myth and legend but their effectiveness indisputable and tangible with the modern-day scientific isolation of their bioactive compounds.
The view from Doris Mtn, looking west across the Flathead valley
Yarrow: ancient medical hero
Yarrow, the common name for various plant species in the Achillea genus, is widespread throughout Eurasia and North America. Species of Achillea have been used for thousands of years in the treatment of wounds, infections, inflammation and skin conditions (Applequist & Moerman, 2011). Yarrow pollen was unearthed at the 65,000-year-old burial site of several Homo neanderthalensis in a cave near Shanidar, Iran (Applequist & Moerman, 2011). The genus name, Achillea, honors the ancient Greek mythological hero Achilles. Achilles was not just a famed (nearly invincible) warrior; he was also trained in the arts of medicine by his tutor, Chiron the Centaur. The ancient Greeks believed Achilles discovered the astringent properties of Yarrow and carried it with his army to stem bleeding wounds (Chandler et al.,1982). In addition to wound healing, the Salish boiled leaves and stems of Achillea millefolium for colds and made a compress out of the leaves for toothaches (Hart,1979).
Modern-day chemical analysis and assays of the bioactive compounds in Achillea reinforce traditional medicinal uses. Sesquiterpenes isolated from yarrow display anti-inflammatory properties through inhibition of COX-2, an enzyme involved in inflammation and pain (Applequist & Moerman, 2001; Benedek & Kopp, 2007). Extracts of four Achillea species, including the Achillea millefolium species found in the Flathead National Forest, showed a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against seven different strains of pathogenic bacteria and fungi (Saeidnia et al., 2011). The aromatic, delicately feathered leaves and cloud-like flower heads of yarrow contain compounds for a familiar and ever-present need: wound-healing.
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, in flower
St. John’s Wort: revered and reviled
St. John’s Wort, Hypericum perforatum, is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but is now so common in North America it is often considered a noxious weed. The showy, yellow flowers and glandular leaves contain numerous bioactive compounds that are harmful to grazing animals but prove useful for human medicine. St. John’s Wort was used in traditional Chinese, Greek, and Islamic medicine for depression, anxiety, nerve pain, wounds, infections, and inflammation (Barnes et al., 2001). The scientific genus name, Hypericum, is ancient Greek for “above” (hyper) and “picture” (eikon). “Above picture” refers to the tradition of hanging the revered and powerful plant over religious icons (Barnes et al., 2001). The common name, St. John’s Wort, originates from the practice of harvesting the plant during the Midsummer festival, later Chirstinaized as St. John’s Feast Day. Harvesting the flowers at such an auspicious time was believed to make the herb’s healing and magical powers even more potent (Trickey-Bapty, 2001). On the festival day, St. John’s Wort was hung over doorways to ward off evil spirits. This practice inspired another common name: “fuge daemonum” (demon-flight).
Fields of the tall yellow flowers, which excrete a rusty red compound when crushed, are a familiar site along disturbed roads, old logging sites, and burns here on the Flathead National Forest. The plant’s bioactive compounds give it both medicinal properties and also invasive advantages, since the plant engages in allelopathy and releases chemicals into the surrounding soil that inhibit other species’ germination and growth (Aziz, 2006). Chemical analysis reveals two significant bioactive compounds, hypericin and hyperforin, that support several of the traditional uses of St. John’s Wort (Barnes et al., 2001). Hyperforin appears to inhibit serotonin uptake, analogous to conventional selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as well as inhibit the uptake of other neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine (Barnes. 2001). These antidepressant activities are substantiated in randomized controlled studies where the herb is more effective than a placebo and as effective as several conventional antidepressants in mild-to-moderate depression (Barnes, 2001). Hyperforin shows significant antimicrobial and antifungal effects as well as increased collagen synthesis which expediates wound healing (Nobakht, 2022).
St John’s Wort, the plant of demon-flight
A family of pungent herbs: the Mints
One of the oldest surviving medical texts in the world, the ancient Egyptian Ebers Papyrus from 1550 BC, recommends mint for stomach pain and flatulence (Pickering, 2020). The Salish and Kootenai as well as the Blackfeet used a local mint family member, Monarda fistulosa (Beebalm), for stomach pain, toothaches, colds, and fevers (Anderson; Hart 1979). Monarda fistulosa contains thymol, a strong antiseptic, with a cooling, strong flavor and odor that is popular today in mouthwashes and toothpaste (Lawson et al., 2021). The Salish rubbed Monarda fistulosa on the body for a mosquito repellant and sprinkled dried leaves on meat and berries to repel flies and preserve food (Bear Don’t Walk, 2009). The antimicrobial activity of the plant is attributed to terpenoids that slow the growth of certain pathogenic bacteria, like Streptococcus aureus (Anwar et al., 2019). Members of the mint family include an array of herbs such as beebalm, self-heal, horsemint and thyme that caught the attention of people as possessing the revered ability to heal.
Many cultures throughout the ancient and indigenous world recognized the medicinal properties of Yarrow, St. John’s Wort, and mint. The long-standing importance of these plants in the human story explains their persistence as daily shapers of our world today.
References
Anderson, M. Kat. “Wild Bergamot.” United States Department of Agriculture. https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_mofi.pdf
Anwar F, Abbas A, Mehmood T, Gilani A-H, Rehman N. Mentha: A genus rich in vital nutra-pharmaceuticals—A review. Phytotherapy Research. 2019; 33, 2548–2570. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.6423
Applequist, W.L., Moerman, D.E. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.): A Neglected Panacea? A Review of Ethnobotany, Bioactivity, and Biomedical Research1 . Economic Botany65, 209–225 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-011-9154-3
Azizi, M. and Fuji, Y. (2006). ALLELOPATHIC EFFECT OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANT SUBSTANCES ON SEED GERMINATION OF AMARANTHUS RETROFLEXUS AND PORTULACA OLERACEAE. Acta Hortic. 699, 61-68 DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.699.5 https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.699.5
Barnes, J., Anderson, L.A. and Phillipson, J.D. (2001), St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.): a review of its chemistry, pharmacology and clinical properties. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 53: 583-600. https://doi.org/10.1211/0022357011775910
Bear Don’t Walk, Mitchell Rose, “Recovering our Roots: The Importance of Salish Ethnobotanical Knowledge and Traditional Food Systems to Community Wellbeing on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana.” (2019). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 11494. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11494
Benedek, B., Kopp, B. Achillea millefolium L. s.l. revisited: Recent findings confirm the traditional use. Wien Med Wochenschr157, 312–314 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-007-0431-9
Chandler, R.F., Hooper, S.N. & Harvey, M.J. Ethnobotany and phytochemistry of yarrow, Achillea millefolium, compositae. Econ Bot36, 203–223 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858720
Hart, Jeffrey A. “The ethnobotany of the Flathead Indians of Western Montana.” Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University 27.10 (1979): 261-307.
Lawson SK, Satyal P, Setzer WN. The Volatile Phytochemistry of Monarda Species Growing in South Alabama. Plants. 2021; 10(3):482. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030482
Nobakht SZ, Akaberi M, Mohammadpour AH, Tafazoli Moghadam A, Emami SA. Hypericum perforatum: Traditional uses, clinical trials, and drug interactions. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2022 Sep;25(9):1045-1058. doi: 10.22038/IJBMS.2022.65112.14338. PMID: 36246064; PMCID: PMC9526892.
Pickering, Victoria. “Plant of the Month: Mint.” JSTOR Daily, 1 April 2020, https://daily.jstor.org/plant-of-the-month-mint/.
Ryan, Tim. “Ethnobotany of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes.” Montana Native Plant Society Annual Meeting, 28 June 2024, Camp Utmost, Greenough MT. Lecture.
Saeidnia S, Gohari A, Mokhber-Dezfuli N, Kiuchi F. A review on phytochemistry and medicinal properties of the genus Achillea. Daru. 2011;19(3):173-86. PMID: 22615655; PMCID: PMC3232110.
Trickey-Bapty C (2001). Martyrs and miracles. New York: Testament Books. p. 132. ISBN 9780517164037.
