Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: toxic

Our bitterly cold weather continues. Yesterday, 6 February 2017, the forecast for this morning was -28C (windchill -35C!). Forecast for tomorrow morning is -27C (windchill -36C). After that, things are supposed to warm up, thank goodness. I haven't been out anywhere the last few days - too much new snow and such cold, cold weather. Almost unheard of, birding walks for yesterday and today were cancelled. Normally, many people will go, no matter how bad the weather. I tend to be a fair-weather photographer : ) On 8 August 2015, I decided to drive SW of the city for a while. It was a Saturday, so I thought I would go and check if there were other people parked at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. I had more or less stopped going into the forest there by myself, especially the last couple of years, knowing that Cougar and Bears can be seen there. All I have seen - so far! - is a large Moose on a couple of occasions. The place gives me the creeps, so I usually just walk through the trees closest to the parking lot. Just a minute or two after entering the forest near the parking lot, I flushed a Grouse, which scared the life out of me. They tend to wait, hidden, and then when you are almost by them, they suddenly "explode" out of the bushes, making ones heart beat fast. The opposite side of the trail, where I usually find a few mushrooms, had pools of water after the two devastating rain and hail storms that we had had recently. With several cars in the small parking lot, I decided to go just a short way into the park, trying to forget that animals can "smell fear". I did come across a few quite nice mushrooms, but with such a dry, hot summer, this season has not been good for fungi. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is "The Sickener" / Russula emetica fungus, as it has a red cap and a white stalk. "Russula emetica, commonly known as the sickener, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Russula, one of many species with a predominantly red-coloured cap and white gills and stalk. It gets its common name from its inedibility, as it causes vomiting and diarrhea when consumed. It has an extremely peppery taste, which is said partly to disappear on cooking, along with its toxicity, though eating it is not recommended. Mixing one emetica with otherwise edible red Russula will ruin the whole meal, and it is a common reason some do not pick any red Russula-species." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russula_emetica The second time my heart started beating really fast was when I was trying to focus on a mushroom and I was aware of a deep, huffing kind of sound coming from right behind me. Turning around, dreading what I might see, I discovered it was just a small Red Squirrel, low down on his/her tree, just a couple of feet away from me. I've never ever heard a Squirrel make this kind of sound before! Sounded rather like what I imagine a bear might sound like, ha. Almost back at the edge of the forest, I was happy as can be to hear quite a commotion that I recognized as being American Three-toed Woodpeckers. There were three of them high up in a tree, with at least one of them being a noisy, hungry juvenile that was feeding itself but every now and then would want the adult to feed it. This species is uncommon in Alberta, year round, so it's always a treat to see one - and especially three.

This photograph was taken yesterday, while exploring Rod Handfield's wonderful forest. This was the only Russula emetica that I saw. Not the most perfect specimen, but I wanted a photo for my records. "Russula emetica, commonly known as the sickener, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Russula, one of many species with a predominantly red-coloured cap and white gills and stalk. It gets its common name from its inedibility, as it causes vomiting and diarrhea when consumed. It has an extremely peppery taste, which is said partly to disappear on cooking, along with its toxicity, though eating it is not recommended. Mixing one emetica with otherwise edible red Russula will ruin the whole meal, and it is a common reason some do not pick any red Russula-species." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russula_emetica It was a late start to my day this morning. Yesterday, 6 August 2016, was a physically and mentally exhausting day, and I'm still feeling the effects. A great day, too, thanks to friend, Sandy! She very kindly picked me up around 8:15 am and we drove SW of the city and SW of Millarville to Rod Handfield's acreage. For a number of years, this has been one of my favourite places to explore, as his forest tends to be full of all sorts of beautiful finds. It is one of the two best places that I know for mushrooms, the other being Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. This year has turned out to be great for fungi, thanks to all the endless, torrential rain we have been getting the last few weeks, apart from the scattering of sunny days. This year has so far had such weird weather - a very mild, dry winter, a spring that was as dry and hot as a summer, and now a wet, thundery summer. We met a group of other interested people, most of whom we didn't know, and we searched the land for fungi. Right at the start, I was telling Sandy that on the last visit there, maybe four years ago, we had seen a beautiful Amanita Muscaria mushroom growing just a few feet from the start of the walk. Sure enough, there were several growing in exactly the same spot, which was so exciting. Later in the walk, we saw two other patches of absolute beauties of this poisonous species. The rain was spitting during our walk, and the forest was so dark, but amazingly, some of my photos came out well enough. Thanks so much, Karel, for organizing and leading this trip and for sharing your knowledge with us! Sandy and I left the group around lunchtime, to go looking at vehicles at one of the dealerships. In the last year and a half, I have had to put far too much money into repairs for my poor old 17+ year old car and finally, I knew that I had no choice but to replace it. The muffler and a few other things died several days ago and instead of spending a fortune on repair, I decided I would rather put that money towards a new vehicle. I had been thinking about replacing it the last few years, but now, enough is enough! I'm down to deciding between two models and will have to make up my mind today. All being well, within the coming week, I will once again have a set of wheels, which will feel wonderful. Thanks so much, Sandy, for making it possible for me to go on the great morning at Rod's place and then, for giving up your whole afternoon, helping me look at cars and for also test-driving both. Appreciated beyond words! You are making this whole ordeal of replacing my car so much less traumatizing than it would have otherwise been!!

This spectacular plant was growing in a row with others at the Calgary Zoo, when I went for the day on Saturday with friends from England, Linda and Tony. I love the spiny, red fruits, which contain large, oval, shiny, bean-like, highly poisonous seeds with variable brownish mottling. The sunlight, unfortunately, was extremely harsh on everything. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil_plant

My camera focused on the grass itself rather than on the dark Ergot fungus growing on it, unfortunately. This macro shot still gives you an idea of what this strange fungus looks like. Photographed on 17 August 2012, when a group of us spent a great day botanizing the forest at Rod Handfield's, SW of Calgary and W of Millarville. Some of us have been to the Handfield's the last few years, so we always hope to find new things there that we can add to the long list of what exists on their land. "Ergotism is the name for sometimes severe pathological syndromes affecting humans or other animals that have ingested plant material containing ergot alkaloid, such as ergot-contaminated grains. The Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony (monks) specialized in treating ergotism victims with balms containing tranquilizing and circulation-stimulating plant extracts. The common name for ergotism is "St. Anthony's Fire", in reference to monks who cared for victims as well as symptoms, such as severe burning sensations in the limbs. These are caused by effects of ergot alkaloids on the vascular system due to vasoconstriction of blood vessels, sometimes leading to gangrene and loss of limbs due to severely restricted blood circulation. The neurotropic activities of the ergot alkaloids may also cause hallucinations and attendant irrational behaviour, convulsions, and even death. Other symptoms include strong uterine contractions, nausea, seizures, and unconsciousness. Since the Middle Ages, controlled doses of ergot were used to induce abortions and to stop maternal bleeding after childbirth.... Human poisoning due to the consumption of rye bread made from ergot-infected grain was common in Europe in the Middle Ages." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergot en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claviceps_purpurea

We came across several of these fairly large Russula emetica mushrooms when we were botanizing Rod Handfield's forested land on 17 August 2010. The Handfields live SW of Calgary and W of Millarville. Ha, I gave up trying to get a clear shot of this fungus - just too much growing around it - but posting it as a record of what we found. "Russula emetica, commonly known as the sickener, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Russula, one of many species with a predominantly red-coloured cap and white gills and stalk. It gets its common name from its inedibility, as it causes vomiting and diarrhea when consumed. It has an extremely peppery taste, which is said partly to disappear on cooking, along with its toxicity, though eating it is not recommended. Mixing one emetica with otherwise edible red Russula will ruin the whole meal, and it is a common reason some do not pick any red Russula-species." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russula_emetica

A photo of Monkshood, taken at the Reader Rock Garden on 17 August 2011. I'm not sure if all the kinds of Monkshood are poisonous, but it might be worth researching before planting this in your garden! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconitum#Natural_hybrids

Another shot of this beautiful red mushroom, taken on 6th August at the Bentz Lake Natural Area. This glorious mushroom came as a total surprise - and made my day! "Russula emetica, commonly known as The Sickener, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Russula, one of many species with a predominantly red-coloured cap and white gills and stalk. It gets its common name from its inedibility, as it causes vomiting and diarrhea when consumed. It has an extremely peppery taste, which is said partly to disappear on cooking, along with its toxicity, though eating it is not recommended. Mixing one emetica with otherwise edible red Russula will ruin the whole meal, and it is a common reason some do not pick any Russula-species." From Wikipedia. Not sure what happened to Flickr a bit earlier this evening - nothing but blank, white pages! I know I'm not the only one who had that.

Found this plant growing wild by a small area of wetland in Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, yesterday afternoon. It is an introduced plant, from Eurasia. It's status in Calgary is rare; casual escape from cultivation. "Achillea ptarmica (Sneezewort, Sneezeweed, Bastard Pellitory, European Pellitory, Fair-maid-of-France, Goose Tongue, Sneezewort Yarrow, Wild Pellitory, White Tansy) is a species in the genus Achillea. It has loose clusters of white, button-like flowers that bloom from June to August. Its dark green leaves have finely-toothed margins. This is a hardy, drought-tolerant plant that prefers full sun and moist but well-drained soil. The name ptarmica comes from the Greek word ptairo (=sneeze) and means 'causes sneezing'. The plant is poisonous to cattle, sheep, and horses. Symptoms are generally slow to develop, and include fever, rapid pulse, difficulty breathing, weight loss, drooling, spasms and loss of muscular control, and convulsions." From Wikipedia website.