Toxic alkaloids are common to the Nightshade (Solanaceae) family.

#PlantOTD #Nicotiana #Solanaceae

Two stalks of mitella flowers

#PlantOTD #Mitella #Saxifragaceae #cathartic

A purple flower with raindrops

Current events are real bad and everything feels awful. I’m trying to be like the lupine, working together with others in my biosphere to make the environment better for everyone. I sure wish I had some fungal help.

#PlantOTD #Lupinus #Fabaceae #BeExcellentToEachOther

Utah has lots of milkvetches, which are a legume. Some of them are toxic to livestock and are called locoweed for their effects on cows. The genus name might come from the Greek word for ankle bone because of the shape of their fruits.

#PlantOTD #Astraglus #Milkvetch

The cones, branches, and bark have a ton of ethnobotanical uses, from disinfecting wounds to helping with childbirth. My favorite is using the boughs to cover your tracks so that death does not follow you.

#PlantOTD #Juniper #UtahJuniper #DesertPlants #DontCallItACedar

Anyone else in a chronically foul mood? The government shutdown and misinformation around it (which popped up in my plant research) is infuriating. I'm going to sooth myself with more pictures of plants since it feels like there isn't much else I can do.

#PlantOTD #Iridaceae #Iris

They also grow on limestone, sometimes just stone. There’s not very much water, because rocks don’t hold water like soil, & it’s very alkaline.

Please enjoy the excitement of dwarf gentian & visit some high elevation plants if you can.

#PlantOTD #Gentianella #Gentianaceae #LimestoneObligate

Apache Plume branches have a long ethnobotanical history for use in broom handles, fishing poles, and cradleboards. However, the leaves have the most interesting uses, including a ceremonial emetic and a witchcraft spell to induce insanity.

#PlantOTD #Fallugia #Rosaceae #ethnobotany

The Inuit people have the best names and uses for cottongrass. The flowers can be made into boot insoles or used to absorb gunk like gauze or cotton swabs do. Their common names include terms that mean "imitation mittens" and "looks like snow geese."

#PlantOTD #Eriophorum #CottonGrass #Cyperaceae

Policies that prop up the already powerful while removing support for everyone else (the not-rich, not white, not straight, parents, old, disabled, neurodivergent etc) affect us all. We’re all connected.

We’ve learned this lesson before, both w humans & ecosystems. It sucks
#PlantOTD #Onagraceae

Other common names for this family include Spanish needles, burr marigolds & tick seeds, all due to the tenacious grasp of the fruits. Technically called a cypsela, velcro fruit are an adaptation for plants that want to send the next generation of seedlings far from home
#PlantOTD #NoddingBeggartick

It was also used in a love potion mixture involving bird tongues and ochre paint. You would speak the name of your beloved and then paint your skin with the mixture. #Arnica #Ethnobotany #DamnedYellowComposites #PlantOTD