Squawroot

This grouping of Squaw-Root was found growing in the Mammoth Cave National Forest.  These were very interesting to capture, however, they did seem a little past their prime.

Squawroot - Conopholis americana

Common Name: Squawroot, Cancerroot, American Broomrape

Scientific Name: Conopholis americana Family: Orobanchaceae, Broomrape

This plant, which lacks leaves, is parasitic on the roots of trees, especially oaks.

• Family: Broomrape (Orobanchaceae)

• Habitat: woods, often under oaks

• Height: 3-8 inches

• Flower size: 1/2 inch long

• Flower color: yellow-brown

• Flowering time: May to June

• Origin: native

Like all members of the Broomrape family, the Squawroot contains no chlorophyll. It must therefore obtain nutrients from a host plant as a parasite.  The Squawroot attaches to the root structure of oak trees for this purpose. However, this parasitic activity generally does not result in the death of the host tree.

Squawroot has astringent medicinal properties. A decoction can be used to treat hemorrhages of the bowels and uterus and as a cure for headaches.


The name Squawroot is attributed to its use by Native American females as a treatment to relieve the symptoms of menopause.

The name Cancerroot is a generic reference to its general palliative properties, as it has no measurable anti-tumor properties.

The genome of the Squawroot has been sequenced. The genes responsible for photosynthesis proteins are missing, while the remainder of the genome is consistent with other vascular, seed-bearing flowering plants, indicating an evolutionary mutation.  Excerpt taken from the Hiker's Notebook.

URL:  http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/Squawroot_040620.htm

Turkey Tango

This turkey was runnin' bout in Mammoth Cave National Park one spring morning, 2010. It was not the only one we spotted that morning, but this one did stick around long enough for me to capture a photo.

Here are some tidbits of info about the habits of a turkey.

The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which was domesticated from the South Mexican subspecies of the Wild Turkey. 
Adult Wild Turkeys have long reddish-yellow to greyish-green legs and a black body. Males have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles.
When males are excited, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, and this, the wattles and the bare skin of the head and neck all become engorged with blood, almost concealing the eyes and bill. Each foot has three toes, and males have a spur behind each of their lower legs. 
Wild Turkeys are surprisingly agile fliers and cunning, unlike their domestic counterparts. Turkeys are very cautious birds and will fly or run at the first sign of danger. Their ideal habitat is an open woodland or savanna, where they may fly beneath the canopy top and find perches. They usually fly close to the ground for no more than a quarter mile (400 m).

Turkeys have many vocalizations:
"gobbles," "clucks," "putts," "purrs," "yelps," "cutts," "whines,"    "cackles," and "kee-kees." In early spring, male turkeys, also called gobblers or toms, gobble to announce their presence to females and competing males. The gobble can carry for up to a mile. Males also emit a low-pitched "drumming" sound; produced by the movement of air in the air sack in the chest, similar to the booming of a prairie chicken. In addition they produce a sound known as the "spit" which is a sharp expulsion of air from this air sack. Hens "yelp" to let gobblers know their location.
Gobblers often yelp in the manner of females, and hens can gobble, though they rarely do so. Immature males, called jakes, often yelp.
To view a larger image please click here.

Webworm Moth

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

The definitive coloring and stripes on this moth make it unique among Webworm Moths. They tuck and roll their wings close to their bodies when resting, making themselves look more like a beetle.  Adults are active in the daytime and can be seen from spring through autumn.
This moth gets its name from the Ailanthus tree, where its larvae make webs on leaves. The grayish caterpillars feed on the foliage of the tree

Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard

Pyralidae: Oeobia, Omiodes, Pyralidae Stubs, Pyralinae, Aglossa Cuprina, Indianmeal Moth, Lesser Wax Moth, Cabbage Webworm

Lost Mountain

Lost Mountain by Erik Reece : TreeHugger

This book I am currently reading and I recommend it whole heartedly.
So far, I have the following emotions... that sickening pit of your stomach feeling, outrage and a deep sadness at our lack of attention to the ongoing destruction of our most precious resources in Kentucky... our mountains.

Handbook for an Informed American
Lost Mountain: A Year in the Vanishing Wilderness Radical Strip Mining and the Devastation ofAppalachia

"Dragonflies and damselflies"

Most damselflies hold their wings at rest together above the torso or held slightly open above (such as in the family Lestidae), whereas most dragonflies at rest hold their wings perpendicular to their body, horizontally or occasionally slightly down and forward. Also, the back wing of the dragonfly broadens near the base, caudal to the connecting point at the body, while the back wing of the damselfly is similar to the front wing. The eyes on a damselfly are apart; in most dragonflies the eyes touch. Notable exceptions are the Petaluridae (Petaltails) and the Gomphidae (Clubtails)."
Wikipedia

History

"The sunflower is native to the Central Americas. The evidence thus far is that it was first domesticated in Mexico, by at least 2600 BC. It may have been domesticated a second time in the middle Mississippi Valley, or been introduced there from Mexico at an early date, as maize was. The earliest known examples of a fully domesticated sunflower north of Mexico have been found in Tennessee and date to around 2300 BC. Many indigenous American peoples used the sunflower as the symbol of their solar deity, including the Aztecs and the Otomi of Mexico and the Incas in South America. Francisco Pizarro was the first European to encounter the sunflower in Tahuantinsuyo, Peru. Gold images of the flower, as well as seeds, were taken back to Spain early in the 16th century. Some researchers argue that the Spaniards tried to suppress cultivation of the sunflower because of its association with solar religion and warfare

During the 18th century, the use of sunflower oil became very popular in Europe, particularly with members of the Russian Orthodox Church because sunflower oil was one of the few oils that was not prohibited during Lent, according to some fasting traditions."

Source Wikipedia

Image by Mary C Smith

Sunflower - Sun Lover

"Heliotropism"
Sunflowers in the bud stage exhibit heliotropism. At sunrise, the faces of most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day they follow the sun from east to west, while at night they return to an eastward orientation. This motion is performed by motor cells in the pulvinus, a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud. As the bud stage ends, the stem stiffens and the blooming stage is reached.
Sunflowers in their blooming stage lose their heliotropic capacity. The stem becomes 'frozen', typically in an eastward orientation. The stem and leaves lose their green color.
The wild sunflower, when at full-bloom, will generally face itself towards the south as it is in this location that the sun is strongest.