Darner dragonfly sp.
Autumn's glory
All decked out
A rare sighting
European Skipper on wild Bergamot
Love the style
Seeds of Showy Milkweed / Asclepias speciosa
Greater White-fronted Geese, Marsland Basin
Colourful pair of Wood Ducks / Aix sponsa
Sunflowers and a red barn
"Just" a little House Sparrow
Releasing light
Fringed Heartwort / Ricciocarpos natans liverwort,…
Malachite butterfly
A welcome cluster
Showy Aster / Aster conspicuus, rarely seen in blo…
Puffballs on a tree stump
Farmland of the Alberta foothills
Overtaken by nature
Rose hip species
Owl butterfly / Caligo sp.
Greater White-fronted Geese
Surrounded by beauty
Black Henbane
American White Pelican - synchronized feeding
Tiger Longwing butterfly / Heliconius hecale
Fringed Grass-of-Parnassus / Parnassia fimbriata
Wood grain, fungus and Harvestman
Nuttall's Sunflower / Helianthus nuttallii
Golden Eagle juvenile
Macro puffballs
Himalayan monal / Lophophorus impejanus male
Bursts of colour
ILLUMINASIA, Lantern & Garden Festival
An ornamental grass
One of few
European Skipper on Pearly Everlasting / Antennari…
Bees need our help!
Growing on a fallen leaf
A double dose of clouds
Blue and Brown Clipper / Parthenos sylvia
Like a little flower
Coffee Bean tree / Coffea
Our foothills in Impressive Art
Pileated Woodpecker female
See also...
Keywords
Authorizations, license
-
Visible by: Everyone -
All rights reserved
-
356 visits
Black Henbane seedpods


The seedpods of Black Henbane are some of my favourite seedpods. I noticed these growing near the edge of the Bow River on the east side at Mallard Point, Fish Creek Park, on 22 September 2015. The water gave me a nice, clear background.
"An annual or biennial (forming a rosette the first year) plant that reproduces by seed only. Black Henbane was introduced from the Mediterranean and has been used as a medicinal plant since the Middle Ages, and was also used in ancient religious rites because of its hallucinogenic properties. It was even used as a flavoring in beer until the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516. All parts of the plant are poisonous to humans and animals when ingested – tissues contain several toxic alkaloids. Symptoms of poisoning include impaired vision, convulsions, coma, and death from heart or respiratory failure.
It is a member of the nightshade family and also called ‘stinking nightshade’. A single plant can produce as much as half a million seeds in one season, which are viable for about 4 years."
www.invasiveplants.ab.ca/Downloads/FS-BlackHenbane.pdf -
On that morning, I was out with friends on a three hour birding walk. A beautiful sunny day, with the temperature between 8C and 13C, and 44 bird species were seen (not all by me, as usual). The American White Pelicans and the Cormorants are always favourites of mine.
After the walk, friend Sandy asked if I wanted to go back to the place SW of the city and SW of Millarville, where I had managed to spot (on 17 September) a group of three mature Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric) mushrooms. We don't get the bright red ones with white dots here (the kind that you see in children's fairytale books), but we very occasionally come across a yellow or orange one if we are very lucky. I think I have only ever seen these three times - at West Bragg Creek, Rod Handfield's land at this very location, and I think Marsden Creek in Kananaskis. I was so longing to see one again and thought it was worth the drive just to check. Well, I found the field easily on 17 September, but had forgotten about the sign there that said No Trespassing, No shooting, Patrol Area. I wasn't sure what Patrol Area meant, but I could almost imagine several Dobermans being released to attack me! I never go anywhere that has a No Trespassing sign, anyway. So, I walked through the trees along the edge of the field and tried to peer into the field, being careful not to catch the barbed-wire fence. I caught sight of a cluster of three fungi that looked like they were Amanitas, though they were fully "opened" and I couldn't see any spots. Only managed to get one really poor photo. Since then, I learned that this location is actually part of Rod Handfield's land - I thought it belonged to someone else. Rod had always told our botany group that we were welcome to explore his land at any time.
When Sandy and I called in on 22 September, we were able to check for any Fly Agarics - not a single one to be found this time, not even the three I had found a few days earlier. Several years ago, there was quite a large patch of them right there. It's a bit late in the fungi season, unfortunately. We wandered through the forest just a little way - such a beautiful, rich forest floor. We have all reckoned that this forest is one of our favourites, with so many things to be found. However, for some reason, we haven't had any trips out there the last three or so years.
Many thanks for driving out there yesterday, Sandy - much appreciated!
"An annual or biennial (forming a rosette the first year) plant that reproduces by seed only. Black Henbane was introduced from the Mediterranean and has been used as a medicinal plant since the Middle Ages, and was also used in ancient religious rites because of its hallucinogenic properties. It was even used as a flavoring in beer until the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516. All parts of the plant are poisonous to humans and animals when ingested – tissues contain several toxic alkaloids. Symptoms of poisoning include impaired vision, convulsions, coma, and death from heart or respiratory failure.
It is a member of the nightshade family and also called ‘stinking nightshade’. A single plant can produce as much as half a million seeds in one season, which are viable for about 4 years."
www.invasiveplants.ab.ca/Downloads/FS-BlackHenbane.pdf -
On that morning, I was out with friends on a three hour birding walk. A beautiful sunny day, with the temperature between 8C and 13C, and 44 bird species were seen (not all by me, as usual). The American White Pelicans and the Cormorants are always favourites of mine.
After the walk, friend Sandy asked if I wanted to go back to the place SW of the city and SW of Millarville, where I had managed to spot (on 17 September) a group of three mature Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric) mushrooms. We don't get the bright red ones with white dots here (the kind that you see in children's fairytale books), but we very occasionally come across a yellow or orange one if we are very lucky. I think I have only ever seen these three times - at West Bragg Creek, Rod Handfield's land at this very location, and I think Marsden Creek in Kananaskis. I was so longing to see one again and thought it was worth the drive just to check. Well, I found the field easily on 17 September, but had forgotten about the sign there that said No Trespassing, No shooting, Patrol Area. I wasn't sure what Patrol Area meant, but I could almost imagine several Dobermans being released to attack me! I never go anywhere that has a No Trespassing sign, anyway. So, I walked through the trees along the edge of the field and tried to peer into the field, being careful not to catch the barbed-wire fence. I caught sight of a cluster of three fungi that looked like they were Amanitas, though they were fully "opened" and I couldn't see any spots. Only managed to get one really poor photo. Since then, I learned that this location is actually part of Rod Handfield's land - I thought it belonged to someone else. Rod had always told our botany group that we were welcome to explore his land at any time.
When Sandy and I called in on 22 September, we were able to check for any Fly Agarics - not a single one to be found this time, not even the three I had found a few days earlier. Several years ago, there was quite a large patch of them right there. It's a bit late in the fungi season, unfortunately. We wandered through the forest just a little way - such a beautiful, rich forest floor. We have all reckoned that this forest is one of our favourites, with so many things to be found. However, for some reason, we haven't had any trips out there the last three or so years.
Many thanks for driving out there yesterday, Sandy - much appreciated!
Pam J, yokopakumayoko Francesco have particularly liked this photo
- Keyboard shortcuts:
Jump to top
RSS feed- Latest comments - Subscribe to the comment feeds of this photo
- ipernity © 2007-2025
- Help & Contact
|
Club news
|
About ipernity
|
History |
ipernity Club & Prices |
Guide of good conduct
Donate | Group guidelines | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Statutes | In memoria -
Facebook
Twitter
www.ipernity.com/group/nous.-nature
Admired in ~ I ♥ Nature
Sign-in to write a comment.