I will be the first to admit that prior to this wonderful class, I had little to no skills when it came to the identification of flora. Even less so to which flora was local versus invasive, though the invasive species is very quickly beginning to outweigh the local. It's quite ironic that I lack these skills, given that one of my partners is currently acquiring a degree for ecology with a specialization in marine biology while the other partner has always had expansive knowledge of plants and their care. It was simply something that wasn't in my scope of vision, even as I listened to the partner with expertise in marine biology speak at length about how awful the invasive species are in the marine life sphere.
As the weeks of the semester seemed to fly past, I found myself drawn to the Seek app that would aid me in identifying the nearby plant life that would sprout up in my backyard. There had been the occasional fungi and a random assortment of flowers that would pop up during the warmer days. In the end my curiosity got the best of me, which lead to me finding out quite a bit about the unique environment of my backyard. The fungi that popped up in my yard easily identified as Pale Brittlestem, the flowers that pop up after the fresh rain are yet to be identified since the app is sometimes finicky with the pictures. Though as of late I had made some very interesting discoveries using the app that I will share. I showed my partner that isn't in state (the marine biologist) and was baffled to find that he could identify it even before the app had confirmed it--Bittersweet Nightshade. it was absolutely baffling to know something like that could just grow anywhere and after his encouragement would be removed from my backyard. My partner is from Wisconsin, where Bittersweet Nighshade is invasive. I believe that is also to be true in Ohio, as it's listed as invasive in North America. So just to be certain for the safety of the local flora and my pets that frequented the backyard (along with the stray cats in my neighborhood) I took it out. Though I had never even imagined it was capable of growing in such a location--I'm used to the corn flowers and clovers, the weeds and dandelions that would sprout up, but this was entirely new to me. Even more interesting was a peculiar looking plant that had begun to sprout up near our backyard. It looked more akin to a succulent than anything else with thick green stems and bulbous orange fruits growing off of it. This was an even more riveting discovery at least to me, an amateur plant identifier. I could be wrong about the rarity of such plant life, but after some research found it to be none other than--Italian Arum. An absolutely terrifying discovery if you know anything about such a plant. It is native to the Mediterranean region, so it was beyond odd that it would travel all this way. Though given travel since the beginning of this nation being claimed shouldn't have been surprising that it was so far from home. The scary part and the reason that we made sure to be rid of it soon after--was that it was poisonous. All parts of it are poisonous and can cause skin irritations just from contact with it. I think it's so important that we learn about the plant life around us because of this discovery and all the others I have found. It will allow us to further understand the necessary precautions to allow our local environments to thrive--not to mention it helps us understand what is growing right under our feet. If I hadn't the forethought and curiosity to check out what these plants where I could have touched it or worse--one of my pets could have found it.
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I worry all too often that when the idea of ecological horror is brought up, that people begin a narrative that I have some type of interest in natural disasters or other catastrophizing events. That couldn't be further from the truth, seeing as I spent a large part of my time during the pandemic suddenly gripped by a fear seeing the reality of the state of our world. That even as it seemed to heal slightly as the world shut down around it, that all the same it was merely a bandage over a gnarly gash that had been made generations before. I felt like I couldn't open any app on my phone without news of another disaster or another place in which resources were quickly drying up. It was a terrifying reality to come to so suddenly and feel so helpless in the face of it. So, when I mention enjoying such a genre, I do not mean the glamorization of some survivalist fetish
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AuthorA place to view my thoughts and stream of consiousness during the walks through the woods. As well as discoveries and memories that tie into the overarching class ideas. Archives
November 2022
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