Tuesday, April 14, 2009

An exported native species


Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) was exported to Europe a short time after the first settlers arrived in North America. It was easy to grow and did not require a great deal of care and before too many years was common in English gardens.
The name margaritacea is derived from the Greek margarites, “pearl” and referes to the pearly flower heads. The flower heads can be dried and will remain in perfect condition for many years.
Pearly Everlasting is not much more than green foliage for much of the summer but it is valuable in many gardens of Europe and North America for its late summer display of white flowers. The flower heads are pearly white, about half an inch across with papery petal-like bracts around a cluster of yellow or brownish florets. There may be several florets in dense, flat-topped clusters.
The plants form a bushy mound of silvery-grey leaves, bearing upright, with the clusters of florets on top. They make excellent cut flowers either fresh or dried and present a colourful display for several weeks. In the wild they tolerate a variety of soils and can be found in wet or dry, open or often disturbed sites. Once they are established at a site they are tolerant of drought and will return to flowering when conditions permit.
The blooms are attractive to butterflies and are a favourite haunt for late or second hatching fritillaries in August or September. The plants propagate very quickly and are inclined to spread seed over a wide area. In some locals the plants are so thick that they crowd one another out of a place to grow.
In Canada the plants were added to smoking mixtures both as medicine and as a tobacco substitute. As it turned out the substitute was not a good one and smokers became ill from the so-called medicine. Native Canadians used pearly everlasting tea to treat coughs, colds and digestive upsets.
The fuzzy leaves were used as poultices for sores, burns, bruises, swellings and rheumatism. The leaves, stems and flowers were crushed mixed with animal fat and used as a balm to rub on muscles to increase strength and reduced the effects of injuries. It was sometimes chewed for protection from danger.
Pearly everlasting is a member of a plant family that represents one of the three plant communities and their progression from wet to dry, from dense shade to full sun and from north to south. Forests are not only trees. They are a total of hundreds of competing, dependent and cooperative organisms—herbs, grasses, trees, shrubs, vines and fungi each perfectly adapted for survival of its own species in its own part of the forest.
When we walk through the forest or along any trail or road we may pass several different types of habitat and in each of them we find different species. We should be careful not to disturb the habitat or remove any of its members. They grow in that area because that is where their needs are met.

Speaking of Nature
Jim Ferguson, 5313 River Road, R.R.5, Renfrew, Ontario K7V 3Z8 Phone 613-432-2738 email jamesh@nrtco.net blog address with the Canadian Forestry Association www.canadanaturally.blogspot.com

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