Labrador Tea

Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Ledum groenlandicum
Bog Labrador Tea, Swamp Tea
Check under the rolled-down leaf edges for a woolly mat of hairs on the undersurface. (New leaves have white hairs; mature leaves have reddish hairs.)

Cree: muskekopukwa

French: Th du Labrador

Leaves: The thick leathery texture, the rolled edges and the woolly mats of reddish hairs on the undersurface are all adaptations that help to conserve moisture. Tea: Rich in Vitamin C, steep one heaping teaspoonful of leaves or flowers per person in boiling water for 5 min until clear, pale amber-orange. Can cause drowsiness and can act as a strong diuretic, cathartic or cause intestinal disturbances. It contains an andromedotoxin that can cause adverse effects including headache, cramps, indigestion, vomiting, and even death. Medicinally: was used to treat diarrhea, bad breath, pneumonia, eye infections, difficulty urinating, tension and kidney ailments, among more.

Cool Facts:

Common Freckle Pelt Lichen

Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Peltigera aphthosa Green dog lichen, leafy lichen, felt lichen

Leaf lichen. Broad 2 - 5 cm wide lobes. Dull greygreen when dry, bright green when moist, bearing scattered 'warts'. What is a lichen? A lichen is a flowerless plant that consists of two plants living together as a single unit. These plants are an alga and a fungus. The alga can make its own food, but it needs water to grow. The fungus absorbs water rapidly, but it cannot make its own food. Colour: Undergo a dramatic colour change from grey-green to bright green, with wetting.

Cool Facts:

Lichen + bacteria: The brown to black dots or 'warts' on the upper surface of freckle pelt contain tiny colonies of cyanobacteria, which supply the lichen with nitrogen. These organisms can extract nitrogen from the air and supply this nutrient to the lichen fungus and its green algal partner. Air quality: Extremely susceptible to air pollution, especially from sulfur dioxide and fluorides. Lichens also absorb radioactive fallout more readily than vascular plants. This material is then passing along the food chain.

Bunchberries
Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Cornus canadensis
Crackerberry, dwarf dogwood, dwarf cornel, puddingberry, pigeonberry Each stem has 4 or 6 smooth, egg-shaped and pointed leaves at the top of the stem; the leaves are green above and whitish beneath. Look for red cluster of berries or white flowers. Cree: pihew mina ("grouse berry"), kawiskowimin ("itchy chin berry") (Cree name comes from facial irritation caused by tiny white hairs on the fruit) French: quatre-temps, cornouiller du Canada, pain d'oiseaux, rougets Flowers: The four white bracts (modified leaves) are often mistaken as the flower; these surround the actual cluster of true flowers. Open flowers are recognized by the black spots (stigma) in the centre. Flower in May or June. Often flowers again in the fall. Berries: Scarlet-red bunches. Dry and flavorless. Explosive pollination: Each tiny central flowers has 4 closed petals forming a white bud. One petal has a hair-like trigger, about 1 mm long near the tip of the petal. When a small insect touches the trigger on a "ready to bloom" flower, the petals bend back instantaneously, and the anthers spring out, catapulting pollen into the air and onto the insect.

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Stiff Clubmoss
Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Lycopodium annotinum
Bristly clubmoss, interrupted clubmoss
Upright cluster of shoots, few (if any) branching. Bristly. Evergreen. 5-30 cm tall. They look similar to a test tube brush. Spores (highly flammable) are 12-35 mm long cones. Native Uses: The Woods Cree used club-mosses to separate raw fish eggs from the membranous sacs in which they are produced, by wriggling the egg mass and a bunch of stiff club moss together with the hands. The separated eggs were used to make fishegg bread. They used the spores to stop nosebleeds and bleeding from wounds.

Cool Facts:

Water repellent: The spores repel water so strongly that a hand dusted with them can be dipped into water without becoming wet. However, their use as an anti-absorbent is limited as they are know to irritate mucous membranes. Medicinally: Spores of the genus Lycopodium have been used as baby powder and as an inflammable powder for flash photography. Some clubmosses contain poisonous alkaloids that can cause pain in the mouth, vomiting, and diarrhea when ingested

Old Mans Beard Lichen

Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Usnea sp.
Beard Lichen, Trees Dandruff, Tree Moss
Generally found hanging from tree branches, resembling grey or greenish hair. Air Quality Indicator: Very sensistive to air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide. Worldwide: Varieties of Usnea can be found all over the world. There are at least 451 different variations. Not a disease: Grows on another plant, but does not harm the host; we call this an epiphyte. Slow Growth: It typically grows 1-3 cm per year.

Cool Facts:

Eat your home: Used as a food source and nesting material for some birds and some small mammals. Medicinally: Usnea has been used for at least 1600 years as an antibiotic to fight germs and infections. It also might decrease inflammation, pain, and fever. It has been used for weight loss, pain relief, fever control, wound healing, and to make phlegm easier to cough up. Other uses: Dyes for textiles. Used in cosmetic production as a preservative and deodorant.

Burl
Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Bur, Burr
A tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. Usually a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots.

Causes: Scientists dont know for certain what causes burls, but it is thought that it may be from stress due to injury, virus, or fungus. Despite this, they do not appear to be harmful to trees and maintain protective bark. Unseen: Most grow beneath the ground, attached to the roots. Big burls: The largest occur in redwoods and can encircle the entire trunk. When moisture is present, these burls can grow new redwood trees. Woodworkers Dream: Prized for its beauty and rarity by furniture makers, artists, and wood sculptors. Its very resistant to splitting, making it valuable for bowls, mallets, and mauls.

Cool Facts:

Witchs Broom
Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify: German Tinder, Touchwood, Tinder Conk
Look for a dense mass of shoots growing from a single point. Often resembling a broom or a birds nest.

Causes: Fungi, insects, mistletoe, dwarf mistletoe, mites, nematodes, viruses, microorganisms, etc. Whats happening? A chemical is created that stops a process in the tree that regulates growth. The tree doesnt realize that its not supposed to keep growing all the little branches. Habitat: Used as shelter by many organisms, such as moths and the northern flying squirrel. Uses: Used as pin cushions to prevent pins and needles from rusting. In Hokkaido, Japan, the fleshy part is burned overnight in a ritual to clear evil spirits.

Cool Facts:

Hoof Fungus
Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Fomes sp.
German Tinder, Touchwood, Tinder Conk
Looks like a horse hoof on the side of a tree, with a hardened top and softer underside. Watch for several of these on an infected tree.

Otzi the Iceman: It is reported the 5000-year-old carried 4 pieces of this fungus and the conclusion was that he would have used it as tinder to start a fire. Its a Polypore: A group of fungi that form bodies called conks.

Cool Facts:

White Rot: This fungus digests moist wood, causing it to rot. It acts as a parasite, harming the tree. Medicinally: Despite what may be considered a fruity smell, it is not edible. Other uses: Used as pin cushions to prevent pins and needles from rusting. In Hokkaido, Japan, the fleshy part is burned overnight in a ritual to clear evil spirits.

Dwarf Mistletoe
Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Arceuthobium sp.
Very short green/yellow shoots and leaves, with the bulk of the plant living under the hosts bark.

Disease: A very serious forest disease that results in reduced tree growth, premature tree death, reduced send and cone development, reduced wood quality, and increased risk to other diseases and/or insects. Witches broom: Dwarf mistletoe is one of many causes of witchs broom. If you see witchs broom, look for dwarf mistletoe! Thief! Steals water and sugars from the tree, yearround, even when the tree is dehydrated. Without a living tree, it cannot survive. Blast off! The fruit builds up pressure when ripe and shoots a single sticky seed up to 80 km/h, over 18 meters away from a tall tree. Long life cycle: Takes 6-8 years to go from a new infection to the point of spreading seeds. Squirrel candy: Squirrels love to eat the dwarf mistletoe, as well as branches infected by it.

Cool Facts:

Smoky Polypore
Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Bjerkandera adusta
Polyporous adustus, Smoky Bracket Fungi
Forms overlapping caps on decaying deciduous wood, sometimes conifer wood. Caps are 3-10cm wide.

Where: Widespread in northern temperate areas. When: Appears year-round, but is usually found between July-November

Cool Facts:

White Rot: This fungus digests moist wood, causing it to rot. It acts as a parasite, harming the tree. Dont eat: This mushroom is tough and inedible. As with most mushrooms, its best not to eat them any which way.

American Red Squirrel

Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Pine Squirrel, Chickaree
Medium sized (200-250g) diurnal mammal that defends a year-round exclusive territory. Hudsonicus: Refers to Hudson Bay, where the species was first catalogued in 1771. Territorial: They will defend their territory (240048000 square meters) from intruders. Diet: They eat the seeds from spruce cones and collect them in a central area for the rest of the year. They will sometimes clip and gather mushrooms and place them amongst the branches of trees to dry them in the sun. Midden: Usually have one large active midden in each territory. They will sit on their favorite branch, stump, etc and pull apart the cones to get the seeds inside. These piles can get very, very large. They will often use these piles to hide cones for winter. Forgetting where they are, you can often see holes where they have been searching for the cones. Homes: Often have several nests in their territory. Young must move out and find their own territory before their first winter.

Cool Facts:

Peat Moss
Scientific Name: Other names: How to identify:

Sphagnaceae Sphagnum
(combines 120 species of mosses)
No true leaves, stems, fruits, or roots. Usually very spongy and damp. Name: Peat moss is the name typically given to the decomposed, dead remains of sphagnum moss. Water storage: Some species can hold 20 times their dry weight in water! Uses: Used historically as bandage material because of its acidic, antibacterial quality. Fertilizer for gardens. Insulation in Arctic regions. An alternative to chlorine in swimming pool sanitation.

Cool Facts:

Bog Bodies: Sphagnum and peat are excellent at preserving due to their slow rate of decay. Bodies have been found in peat bogs relatively intact after hundreds or even thousands of years. Butter: More than 270 barrels of butter have been found in Irish bogs that are over 2000-years-old. Conservation: Peat is often used and mined faster than it can be produced. This can destroy ecosystems and wetlands.