Alaska Flowers
Wild Iris
Wild irises are perennials that grow in swamps, wet meadows and moist woods throughout North America. Like their cultivated relatives, they are easily identified by their flat, sword-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers. Each blossom consists of three erect petals and three larger outer petal-like sepals, usually the same color as the petals, which ordinarily curve downward from the base of the flower and are marked with crests of a contrasting color. The striking flowers bloom from spring through early summer in a very wide range of colors, often in combinations--and are aptly named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow.
Lupine:
The Lupine lives in open habitats like gravel bars, meadows, marshes, and slopes. Like most members of this family, lupins can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into ammonia, fertilizing the soil for other plants. Bears love to eat the roots. Some butterflies feed off the lupine and lay their eggs on its leaves. The flowers are produced in dense or open whorls on an erect spike, each flower 1-2 cm long, with a typical peaflower shape with an upper 'standard', two lateral 'wings' and two lower petals fused as a 'keel'. The fruit is a pod containing several seeds.
Monkshood:
The common monkshood is a high plant with slim stem and beautiful blue blossoms. It grows on wet grassland, stony or rocky slopes, and near forest streams. During the blooming season, the plant is very prominent against the background of other plants and attracts the eye. The common monkshood is one of the most poisonous plants of European flora. Since ancient times, people have known that it is poisonous and have used it as a weapon by coating their spears and arrowheads with its strong poison. The plant was used for killing panthers, wolves and other carnivores. The ancient Roman naturalist Plinius describes friar's cap under the name "plant arsenic". It was often used for criminal purposes.
Forget-me-not
The Alaska state flower. Forget me not flowers are very fragrant in the evening and night time, though there is little or no scent in the daytime. They can be annual or perennial plants. Their root systems are generally diffuse. Their seeds are found in small, tulip shaped pods along the stem to the flower. The pods attach to clothing when brushed against and eventually fall off, leaving the small seed within to germenate elsewhere. The seeds can be collected by putting a piece of paper under the stems and shaking them. The seed pods and some seeds will fall out.
Fireweed
This coarse, homely American weed is an annual and derives its name from its habit of growing freely in moist open woods and clearings, and in greatest luxuriance on newly-burnt fallows. It has composite flowers, blooming from July to September. Fireweed is a rank, slightly hairy plant, growing from 1 to 7 feet high. The thick, somewhat fleshy stem is virgate, sulcate, leafy to the top, branching above, the branches erect. The young shoots were often collected in the spring by Native American people and old timers and mixed with other greens. They are best when young and tender; as the plant matures the leaves become tough and somewhat bitter.
Bunchberry
Bunchberry grows in extensive low patches, with one bunch of leaves at top and just above that, a cluster of tiny greenish flowers surrounded by 4 ovate white or pinkish bracts. The flower cluster resembles a single large flower held on a short stalk above leaves. Bunchberry produces bright red, round berries in a tight cluster. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 10-15 cm tall, with leaves in opposite pairs, 2-4 cm long and 1-3 cm broad. The flowers are small, dark purple, produced in a tight umbel, and surrounded by four conspicuous white petal-like bracts 1-1.5 cm long. The fruit is a red berry.
Douglas Aster
Douglas aster is a patch-forming perennial aster with hairy stems and purple flowers.
This Northwest native grows in both fresh and saline situations. It is a handsome plant with pretty late summer flowers. It is often offered in native plant nurseries. Douglas' aster is a rhizomatous perennial wildflower with erect, usually unbranched stems to 130 cm high. It is highly variable in appearance and may resemble both leafy aster and Eaton's aster. The lower leaves are oblanceolate, tapering to a winged petiole. The leaves of mid-stem are lance-shaped and range from 7-13 cm long and 1-2 cm wide. The blades are smooth and hairless with toothed margins above mid-blade.
Salmonberry
Also known as the salmon raspberry, the salmonberry is an erect or sometimes leaning shrub with weakly armed stems, bright pink flowers, and yellow or salmon-red fruits that resemble a cultivated blackberry in all but color. The fruit is juicy and slightly sweet. Salmonberries are found in moist forests and stream margins especially in the coastal forests, where they are native. They often form large thickets, and thrive in the open spaces under stands of Red Alder. Books often call the fruits "insipid" but depending on ripeness and site, they can be considered quite good and are used for jams, candies, jellies and wines by locals. They were and continue to be an important food for native people.
Jewelweed
Branching annual with distinctive orange to red funnel-shaped flowers. Touch-me-not is found primarily along roadsides, along the edges of streams and marshes, and in other noncrop areas. Jewel Weed usually grows near water or in shallow ponds. It is often found in areas where Poison Ivy grows and is a very effective antidote for it.
Great Book about Alaska Flowers
Alaska's Wild Plants by Janice J. Schofield
An easy-to-use introduction to more than 70 of Alaska's most common edible wild plants. Tuck this guide into a backpack, glove compartment, or pocket and use its color photographs and habitat and plant descriptions to help you discover the bounty of the land around you: Gather bright green sea lettuce from rocks at low tide for tasty, nutritious spring salad. Use jewelweed seeds in place of poppy seeds on biscuits and cakes. Or rub the crushed plant on mosquito bites to lessen itching. Pick wild lingonberries after fall frost and create scrumptious nut breads, liqueurs, and jams. The authorative gathering instructions ensure a healthful harvest. Learn about each plants nutritional content, and medicinal and culinary uses, then turn to the recipies for fresh salads, unusual appetizers, delicious soups and breads, and much more.
Alaska's Wild Plants—A Guide to Alaska's Edible Harvest
softbound, 4 1/2" x 8" - 96 pages 80 color photos.
Buy Alaska's Wild Plants by Janice J. Schofield Here
More books about Alaska
All flower pictures by Dennis Zaki
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