100 Species Challenge #76

Specimen #76 Turkeytail
Trametes versicolor or 
Coriolus versicolor 

photo by me at a county park on a warm autumn day, 2010

This fungus does not have gills. Instead, it is a polypore, which is evident if you look at the underside. In my photo, you cannot really see the side-to-side growth habit. Blogger turns everything the wrong way on me. The thin brackets usually overlap each other, and the coloring is striped. I've seen the brackets wavy and unwavy (do I call that straight?).

I've seen this mushroom everywhere. This webpage is very helpful in determining whether you've found a real turkeytail -- click here.

Could I possibly reach 100 by the end of 2010?

100 Species Challenge #75

Notice the purple stems

Specimen #75 Pokeweed
Phytolacca americana L. 


AKA any of the following (I'm sure there are other aliases)

• American pokeweed
• common pokeweed
• inkberry
• pigeonberry
• pokeberry
• pokeweed

photo by me at a delightful county park

Note the berries on racemes

I thought I wrote about this plant in the past years, but upon searching the archives, I find that I have no posts about pokeweed. So here it is!


Pokeweed might be better called pokeberry, because each berry has a dent in it, as if someone poked it. (Wildman Steve Brill words it better at this webpage.) 

The naturalist who led our nature hike (that's her in the yellow shirt) rated this plant as "OK." As in, she didn't feel strongly enough against its presence to pull it out, but didn't feel quite right about it in a wooded area. As a native plant, it can be invasive, weedy, or welcome.


When I read the following, (source: Alternative Nature Online Herbal): " A beautiful red ink and a dye are obtained from the fruit. The rootstock is rich in saponins and can be used as a soap substitute[.]," I remember seeing photos of kids painting and writing with pokeberry juice.


I am very conservative when it comes to toxic plants. Just take a look at this webpage -- it's enough to scare me away from taking any part of it home. 


I found this plant last week with our HSAP. The weather has been great, and the kids LOVED playing in the creek. I call this area of fallen trees "nature's playground."

100 Species Challenge #74

Specimen # 74
White Snakeroot
Ageratina altissima

Photo by me, Browns Woods
Part of the aster family.

This plant is poisonous. It has a round stem.

From the Illinois Wildflower webpage for the flower:

The common name of this species derives from the erroneous belief among early settlers [and natives] that the bitter rhizomes were beneficial in the treatment of snakebites. In fact, the foliage and rhizomes are highly toxic, causing fatalities from 'Milk Sickness' because the toxins can pass through the milk of dairy cattle to humans. .... White Snakeroot usually occurs in and around shady woodlands, while many of these other species are found in prairies and sunny wetlands.

Maybe you've read about this milk sickness in places like this Iowa blog or perhaps while visiting the Lincoln Boyhood Memorial.  

White snakeroot's native to North America. I've read that it is one of the last flowers to bloom in the fall.

Other than the flowers, I notice the heavily veined leaves.