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recent
One of the things I wanted to do this summer was to take a survival training course. The point of this was less about learning how to survive in an emergency situation, and more about learning how to make use of the resources available around me. Much of the resources around me (at least here in Sweden) are plants, meaning that a big part of such training would include learning what plants I can eat or put to some other use.
Being the driven, self-motivated, get-up-and-get-go type of guy that I am, I couldn't just sit around and wait for the survival class to start in order to learn about the plants, so I have been asking everyone I meet who seems to know about plants, and cracking open the plant book (in Swedish) to start identifying the plants I see around me. The more I read, the more I have found that basically everything is OK to eat. This is quite boring from a "survival" standpoint, but very exciting from a "use what is available" standpoint. It's also great fun tasting all the different plants without fear. Thus, what started as an attempt to learn which plants are edible, has blossomed into a brand-new geek fascination.
Since learning if it is edible is no longer fun, I have turned to learning to identify them, which is fun. It's almost like learning a new language... seeing a plant I now "know" is like hearing someone use a word or grammatical structure I have just learned in Swedish. It's so much more interesting to walk through a field now that I can recognize many of the plants... I notice so much more, see things I would never have seen before when they were all just weeds and flowers.
While there is little chance that I will ever remember the actual names of any of the plants, it is easier to remember what other plants are in the same family, what environment it would be found in, how it tastes, etc... On way I have been "teaching" myself, is by drawing (maybe one day painting) the plant, looking it up in the Swedish language plant book, and translating whatever it says about it. It takes a long time, but it's fun.
I was searching around on the web to learn the English or Japanese names of the plants and found that there are really no good web-sites out there with appealing photos of these plants. My niche! And so I present to you the first entry in my "i can recognize this plant" catalogue.
Please sit back and enjoy this visual tour of Geranium robertianum, or "Herb-Robert geranium". (The Swedish name, Stinknava, is much more interesting -alluding to the oder which the plant gives off). Since I really have no way to write about these plants as an authority, I will just rip off some text from various plant sites. As I don't even fully understand what they are talking about half the time, I am, for now, more interested in simply providing appealing photos.
from: Oregon State University: Weed Management In Nursery Crops Herb-Robert geranium prefers shady, moist areas. It grows in a small clump about 12 inches high and wide.Foliage and stems are very pubescent. Foliage is deeply dissected, though the leaves are not typical of other geraniums (dovefoot and Carolina geranium) in this family.
Both stems and foliage have a strong and nauseating smell (in my opinion). The smell is not disgusting like rotten eggs, but it is more of a strong chemical smell. It's difficult to describe the scent, but I despise it and try to avoid it.
Flowers usually occur in pairs.
Flower sepals are very pubescent with long hairs, similar to leaves and stems.
Flowers have 5 petals, 10 stamens, and 1 style (thus the flowers are perfect). Petals are pink to magenta, with white streaks.
As far as other uses for this plant, besides whatever role it plays in the ecosystem (which I really wish I could find some information on), it doesn't seem to have many. Maybe the scent is a warning, and if that's not enough, Jo sampled some from the weed buffet I presented at a recent dinner party and she says it felt like a razor-blade sliced across her tongue. I did not have the same experience, but it does not taste good at all.
If you enjoy Geranium robertianum, check back later this month for Geranium columbinum L (longstalk cranesbill) which I stumbled across today!
Hej Kevin!
What lovely photos these are! Really!
I'm glad to see that you are ever on to new and exciting endeavors. Who would have thought you would become a budding photo-botanist? Not surprising though.
What's the latest on the Japan vs. Sweden conundrum? The evidence seems to point toward your current setting.
Kev,
you've made even the common WEED look beautiful. And thanks for the introduction to weed salad last week, I'm going to try it on my family when I'm home next month!!
Hej
I love your pictures been returning to your blog ever since sombody told me to look it up some year ago.. I myself wanted to take images like that of flowers and herbs when I was home in sverige last time but i dont have a good enough camera what camera are u using what lenses? i didnt see any technical info on your site?
I would love to use your pictures in some of my own work I do animation and always need inspiration.. so i hope u dont mind?
thank u for making beautiful pictures with a foreigners fresh eyes on my beautiful home country
Hello from Tokyo,
I am a great fan of your photos (and birds :)) and always wanted to post a comment and write that there are some people who are "trying" in Tokyo, too. Oume is the place, and yes, there are some who have keen interest in edible wild plants here, too! It is a Japanese website of my friend, but I hope you find it interesting. http://caretaker.blog.ocn.ne.jp/weblog/2005/04/post_eba1.html
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