"I am that merry wanderer of the night"

Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) also called Death come quickly, Red Robin, Stinking Bob

 

Geranium: genus of flowering annual or perennial plants, also known as cranesbills

Robertianum: ?

So, Herb Robert.  Where to begin? This pretty little annual wildflower is a member of the Geranium family, and it's extremely common in Oregon. At first glance I thought it was a bleeding heart, until I saw the flowers, which were pink but pedestrian, with 5 petals each. It supposedly has an unpleasant smell (hence the nickname "stinking bob") although I can't say I've noticed it. It has medicinal uses, such as repelling mosquitoes and alleviating coughs, all things I don't find very interesting, so I won't go into them here. 

First thing I found out was that it's non-native - in fact it's considered to be an invasive species on the West Coast. It's hard to imagine that such a delicate looking plant would be a pest! When I took this photo last weekend, I will say that it was growing everywhere, and seemed to be crowding out the other woodland plants in some places.

I also discovered that no one seems to really know where the "Robert" name came from, only that the name has been around since at least the middle ages. Some folks think it refers to Saint Robert Belllarmine, who was an Italian Cardinal in the 16th century. Early in his career, Saint Robert was given the job of Inquisitor and had an unlucky astronomer named Giordano Bruno burned at the stake, simply because he had the audacity to say that the sun was a star. In the same vein, Robert was the cardinal who told Galileo to abandon the Copernican doctrine, which theorized that the earth revolved around the sun instead of the other way around, While these things are interesting to theologians, and appropriately ridiculed by scientists, it doesn't strike me as a great reason to name a plant after someone - or to grant them Sainthood for that matter. But I digress.

Another theory I read about, and which I like far better, is that Robert is actually a reference to Robin Goodfellow, a mischievous imp who served as an emissary of the Fairy King Oberon. Shakespeare referred to him as "Puck" and made him the primary instigator in his comedy A Midsummers Night's Dream. Puck could occasionally do small favors for people he liked, but was mainly known for causing trouble such as tricking people into getting lost in the woods, or skimming the cream off of milk.

Considering that Herb Robert is found in woodland settings, is small and delicate, but at the same time infamous for causing problems, like crowding out native plants and infuriating gardeners, I think it's an apt comparison. 

Leave it to Cleavers

Cleavers (Galium Aparine) Also called Goosegrass, Barweed, Amor De Horelano 

Galium: a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae.

Aparine: Latin word meaning "To Seize."

Cleavers is weedy, meaning it shows up in my garden over and over again, despite my repeated attempts to yank it out. The name Aparine is appropriate, as it has small hooks on the leaves and stems that will attach to anything growing nearby, in an attempt to pull itself closer to sunlight.

Cleavers prefers a loose moist leafy soil in partial shade. It provides food for the larvae of many butterfly species. Leaves are narrow, lance-shaped and are rough along the margins and surface, the prickles pointing backwards, they occur in whorls of 6 to 8 leaves, around and along the square, delicate, branching stem which may grow to 6 or more feet in length. The flowers are white, tiny, 1/16 to 1/8 inch in diameter and star-like, growing in a stemmed bud rising from the leaf axils and arranged in clusters or whorls, six or eight together, blooming separately, 2 or 3 at a time, so flowers and seeds are present in each cluster. The seeds are little round vessels, covered with hooked bristles and readily clinging, to whatever they touch, ensuring dispersal of the seeds. 

I have read that the plant is edible, but it must not be very good – most books/sites seem to poo-poo it as a food source.

Lettuce Be Friends

Siberian Miner’s Lettuce – Claytonia sibirica  (also called Candy Flower) 

Claytonia: genus of mainly North American succulent herbs with white or pink flowers usually in terminal racemes

Siberica: from Siberia.

I have never seen regular miner’s lettuce, outside of farmer’s markets. I know it’s out there, and supposedly it’s common enough, but apparently I’m always busy looking at other things on the ground. It seems like it should be easy to find, since it has such a memorable shape (round leaf with a little white flower shooting up from the center.)

However, while I was camping on the Clackamas river over the weekend, I found what felt like acres of Siberian Miner’s Lettuce, literally growing in every crack and cranny of the campground. It doesn’t have the obvious whorled leaf, but I could definitely see the resemblance to it’s cousin. The 5-petaled flowers have little pinkish stripes on them, giving the plant it’s nickname Candy Flower.

This cute little guy can be eaten as a spring green, like spinach. Unfortunately I didn’t bring any home with me.

You say phylum, I say phyllum

Largeleaf Avens (Geum macrophyllum var. macrophyllum)

Geum: a genus of about 50 species of herbaceous plants in the Rose family

Macrophyllum: big... leaf?

I can't find any definition of the word Macrophyllum. Macro is obvious enough, but phyllum has stumped me. I thought it might be phylum, but that doesn't make sense either. The word Macrophyllum is used when describing big leaf maple as well, so I'm going to go the easy route and assume it refers to large leaves.

Largeleaf Avens is a member of the rose family, although it's big leaves remind me of strawberry mixed with a raspberry plant.  It is found in meadows and moist forest environments. I found this specimen while camping on the Clackamas River. As you can see, it has 5 petaled yellow flowers that are very bright, but plain.

I have read that Avens was used medicinally by many Native American tribes, both internally for stomach pain and externally for healing bruises and boils. I don't see any record of this plant being used as food.