Diario de ajlind

This week I chose to focus on clovers! The species name Trifolium means "three-leaves" so you can expect the majority of clovers to have this typical count. As many of the other medicinal uses of plants, clovers can be used in tea, jellies, garnishes for salad, and even ground up and used as a gluten free baking flour (Schofield). I will have to try the flour tip as my mom is gluten-free and I am interested in how this tastes as I am not familiar with anything clover. They have a wide spread reach and are common in meadows, lawns, gardens, and many other grassy areas in nature (Kumar 1435). Just take a look outside along your driveway and you may find a patch! Clovers can help with soil nutrients and are a great natural pollination plants for bees (Wilmer). I know I have seen an increase in clover lawns being popular within the U.S. to try and help revive the bee population.

Clovers have been a staple in my family ever since I was little. Four leaf clovers are considered good luck since they deviate from the commonly found three leaf rule. When we were younger, my brother and I would see who could find a four leaf clover the fastest or who could find the most in one sitting. We would then bring them inside and pressed them in a book so we could keep our luck and carry them around with us. I still have a four leaf clover papier-mâché bookmark that I made in elementary school.

Citations:
Janice J. Schofield. Alaska’s Wild Plants, Revised Edition : A Guide to Alaska’s Edible and Healthful Harvest. Alaska Northwest Books, 2020. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=0d60d39e-3da1-34cc-9d8a-4b9a94fb4768.

Kumar, Anuj. Medicinal Plants of Uttarakhand in 3 Vols. Astral International Pvt Ltd, 2022. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=db0166f8-9590-3e63-acc2-bb8c51f84950.

Pat Willmer. Pollination and Floral Ecology. Princeton University Press, 2011. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=705cd347-5187-3f2b-ad7e-af5b4bae017f.

For this weeks iNaturalist post, I chose one of my favorite plants- Lady Ferns. Also known as Athyrium filix-femina, they are a naturally occurring common fern found throughout much of the United States in places such as Alabama, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Alaska. It thrives in the shade, or partial shade, of the forest floor here in Juneau and is mostly deer proof if you have that kind of problem. Their stems and fiddleheads tend to have wood-like husks and their spores are released on the underside of their fronds. The traditional Haida name is "ts'aagwaal" and are typically harvested towards the beginning of spring when they are still considered fiddlehead, or not sprouted fully. People cook them like they would brussel sprouts or asparagus, pickle them in brine, and even use them as a pizza topping (Schofield). There is a restaurant up north in Talkeetna, Alaska called Mountain High Pizza Pie and seasonally they offer fiddleheads as an appetizer or pizza topping and I would highly recommend them! If you decide to go and harvest, you must be mindful because if one of the clusters is over harvested, it can cause the entire plant to die. Overall the far-reaching and beautifully sprawling plants have amazed me since I was a child. I have spent many summers harvesting them with my mom and friends to make pickled fiddleheads and every now and then I go through a phase where all I want to do is eat them. Someday I hope to get a fern tattoo to show my appreciation of the beautiful plant and they never fail to bring a smile to my face.

Citations-
Janice J. Schofield. Alaska’s Wild Plants, Revised Edition : A Guide to Alaska’s Edible and Healthful Harvest. Alaska Northwest Books, 2020. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=0d60d39e-3da1-34cc-9d8a-4b9a94fb4768.

Patterson Webster. Autobiography of a Garden. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2022. EBSCOhost,
research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=b7d16117-89ad-3fc5
8554-33379db292ce.