Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: all parts of plant are POISONOUS

An overcast, dreary morning here today, 14 December 2015, Temperature is -5C (windchill -11C). There was s slight dusting of snow overnight. And Flickr is being a real pain this morning - one problem after another. Yet again, I'm having to dig into my archives. I've only been able to get out on two walks since the car accident I was involved in (but not at fault) on 28 November 2015, and barely got any new photos. My car has been repaired (damaged heat shield from the impact), my very last overseas Christmas letter was written last night - and now I'm good to go! Just in time for the start of the various Audubon Christmas Bird Counts, too, so hopefully I'll be able to get some new shots. Meanwhile, this is a macro of the beautiful, vibrant, red berries of the Baneberry plant, seen here at the Reader Rock Garden on 23 July 2014, but it also grows wild. Some Baneberry plants produce white berries, which are also attractive. "All parts of the plant are poisonous. However, accidental poisoning is not likely since the berries are extremely bitter. The berries are the most toxic part of the plant. A healthy adult will experience poisoning from as few as six berries. Ingestion of the berries causes nausea, dizziness, increased pulse and severe gastrointestinal discomfort. The toxins can also have an immediate sedative effect on the cardiac muscle tissue possibly leading to cardiac arrest if introduced into the bloodstream. As few as two berries may be fatal to a child. All parts of the plant contain an irritant oil that is most concentrated within the roots and berries." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actaea_rubra After a volunteer shift that day, I wasn't too far away from the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area, where I was finally going to go on a botany walk with a few friends. Having been to that location quite a few times before, I knew it was a short, easy, flat trail, and that I could go as far as I wanted and then turn back early, which is what I did. The main thing I wanted to see there were the Nodding / Musk Thistles, as these are my favourite species of Thistle. They are called a weed, but I love to see them. With a couple of hours to "kill" till the botany walk, I spent them at the Reader Rock Garden, which was just a few minutes' drive away from the evening botany walk location.

Looks like it is another day of poor air quality here, due to the smoke blowing from the forest fires in Washington State (US). A Poor Air Quality Alert is still in effect for Southern Alberta. Heavy rain is in the forecast for northwest US, so hopefully this will happen and will help with the severe fire problem before even more damage is done. Even from so far away, I am feeling the effects from the smoke-filled air. Three days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog and a Yellowjacket (wasp) and the bright red clusters of berries from the poisonous Red Baneberry plants. I also took a few photos of the plants in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Their garden is one beautiful sea of yellow at the moment. No scenery shots during the day, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke. "All parts of the plant are poisonous. However, accidental poisoning is not likely since the berries are extremely bitter. The berries are the most toxic part of the plant. A healthy adult will experience poisoning from as few as six berries. Ingestion of the berries causes nausea, dizziness, increased pulse and severe gastrointestinal discomfort. The toxins can also have an immediate sedative effect on the cardiac muscle tissue possibly leading to cardiac arrest if introduced into the bloodstream. As few as two berries may be fatal to a child. All parts of the plant contain an irritant oil that is most concentrated within the roots and berries." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actaea_rubra Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

Though I have much better photos of red Baneberry berries, I need to add one that was actually taken at the Dover's home, to add to their album. These berries may have been damaged by the torrential rain and hail that we experienced for two days very recently. Other clusters of berries I saw that day were in even worse shape. When the berries are green to start off with, you never know if they will turn bright red or white. We also saw white berries on some of the plants on this visit. "All parts of the plant are poisonous. However, accidental poisoning is not likely since the berries are extremely bitter. The berries are the most toxic part of the plant. A healthy adult will experience poisoning from as few as six berries. Ingestion of the berries causes nausea, dizziness, increased pulse and severe gastrointestinal discomfort. The toxins can also have an immediate sedative effect on the cardiac muscle tissue possibly leading to cardiac arrest if introduced into the bloodstream. As few as two berries may be fatal to a child. All parts of the plant contain an irritant oil that is most concentrated within the roots and berries." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actaea_rubra On 7 August 2015, four of us were extremely fortunate to have the chance to visit the home and highly varied topographic 62-acre property belonging to Frances and David Dover. We felt honoured and privileged to meet and spend time with Frances and David, and also their daughter Carolyn and her husband Clair. A delightful family who welcomed us so warmly into their home and land. This acreage of grassland, forest, rolling hills - and special gardens - is not far from Millarville, SW of Calgary. In fact, it's in an area that I often drive through when I only have time for, or only feel like doing, a short drive. Amazing what little gems exist out there. This is not just a beautiful property, but is very special for various reasons. For one thing, read any history of Alberta and you will find the Dover family, including David's mother, Mary Dover. Second, among the trees and open "lawns", there are Peony flower beds, containing 100-150 heritage Peonies, each one different, that have now multiplied to more than 300 plants. Unfortunately, they bloomed a couple of weeks early this year, and all the flowers had gone to seed. Another open area had a different kind of ground cover - Thyme, which smelled wonderful. If I remember correctly, this was the open space where the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra performed on one occasion! There are two large ponds on the property and another smaller area of water that they hope to turn into a Japanese Garden. There is a total of seven wetland basins, including these. It was while walking around the Japanese Garden that a large brown 'shape' could just be seen through the dense trees - a handsome Moose buck. I will look properly at the four or so photos I just managed to get and will slip one of them into my photostream sometime soon, just for the record, definitely not for the photo quality : ) This was also where a Great Horned Owl was seen flying through the trees by some of us (not me, ha!). There are grassy paths winding through the acreage, up and down hill, that take David seven hours to mow. They are not pristine, velvety paths, but instead, they seem to take nothing away from the wildness of the whole area. One of the animals that have passed through is the Cougar. In fact, several years ago, I saw a video taken on a nearby (or adjacent?) property, where a 'kill' and night-time camera had been set up and a total of six different Cougar individuals were seen! Even the Dover's home is unique and beautiful. It is completely built of concrete (and glass) - floors, walls, ceilings, roof, deck, and so on. A Hummingbird feeder and regular bird feeders, set up on the patio, attract a variety of birds. We sat on the patio after our walk to eat our packed lunches - and to enjoy a delicious Orange Pound Cake that Frances had made for us, along with refreshing Iced Tea - thank you so much for this, Frances! Yesterday, while I was waiting for one of three tiny Calliope Hummingbirds to come back, I was lucky enough to see a little Mountain Chickadee, along with many Pine Siskins. We could also hear a Red-tailed Hawk in the area. Saw a total of 22 bird species. There is just so much I could write about this visit and family. Instead, or for now, I will add several links to more information on the Internet. This was a memorable day for us. Thank you so much, Frances and David, Carolyn and Clair, for being so kind and welcoming us into your home and gardens. books.google.ca/books?id=Tr36Tq_gadcC&pg=PA290&lp... www.westernwheel.com/article/20110727/WHE06/307279983/-1/... David's mother, Mary Dover (her father was A. E. Cross), was "a dynamic and distinguished Calgarian, particularly known for her work with the military during World War II." As well as being an army officer, and an alderman, she was also a preservationist. See the following link. www.albertachampions.org/champions-mary_dover.htm#.VcY1KP... ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesMainResults.aspx?XC=/searc... glencoe.org/documents/10184/637479/The-History-of-Elbow-P... page 44-45