Manzanita and Miner's Lettuce - Adding to the Nature Journal
We decided that we wanted to do a nature journal entry for the manzanita that grows alongside the walking trail. We did a little research and found that there are 106 species of manzanita in the world. I found a page that shows manzanita for Northern California with beautiful photos and descriptions.
It will soon be blooming and the buds are all starting to form. I read in my field guide that it is one of the earliest blooming plants in our area. The flowers are a pretty shape and after they start blooming I will make another journal entry to record those. This time I drew the leaf and a very stylized version of the whole plant.
I couldn't get the color of the bark just right....in real life they are such a smooth dark red color.
We need to record this plant as well...miner's lettuce. The official name is Claytonia perfoliata but the nickname comes from the Gold Rush days when the gold miner's would eat this plant to get their vitamin C. It is a great plant that makes a great addition to a salad.
During the winter season the nature study subjects are smaller in number so we thought we should take advantage of the opportunities that we do have to put something new in our journals.
Here is fun short video on Miner's Lettuce...how to identify and harvest.
Those two are as unfamiliar to me as Osage orange was to you. I have heard of Miner's lettuce in connection with the pioneers collecting it to eat, but I had never seen it. I love your journal. I know how you feel about being frustrated about not being able to get the right colors in your journal. I have that, too, sometimes.
Here is a link to a post where I talk about which journal I use and some links. http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2010/09/ohc-autumn-series-1-september-21-2010.html
Very interesting! I've never seen or heard of Miner's lettuce. It's always fascinating to see the different types of plants, flowers, and trees that grow in various parts of the U.S. Such diversity!
i'm so looking forward to something GREEN again. even the cedars, spruce and pines don't look green anymore. :( this has been the whitest winter in probably 20 years.
Those two are as unfamiliar to me as Osage orange was to you. I have heard of Miner's lettuce in connection with the pioneers collecting it to eat, but I had never seen it. I love your journal. I know how you feel about being frustrated about not being able to get the right colors in your journal. I have that, too, sometimes.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! Never ever heard of that...or seen it. Great journal entry!
ReplyDeleteJessy
Oh, and I wanted ask: Where do you get your nature journals from? The spiral bound, unlined paged ones?
ReplyDeleteJessy
Jessy,
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to a post where I talk about which journal I use and some links.
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2010/09/ohc-autumn-series-1-september-21-2010.html
Very interesting! I've never seen or heard of Miner's lettuce. It's always fascinating to see the different types of plants, flowers, and trees that grow in various parts of the U.S. Such diversity!
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to see something GREEN! I've heard of miner's lettuce before. I didn't know people really ate it!
ReplyDeletei'm so looking forward to something GREEN again. even the cedars, spruce and pines don't look green anymore. :( this has been the whitest winter in probably 20 years.
ReplyDelete