Friends who chat about genera of plants which enhance our lives and ecosystems, over beverages, in a basement bar. Plants first (botany) then associated wildlife, then indigenous uses, foraging, growing, and herbalism. Posts by Eli. My co-host is Niladri
I have a special place in my heart for the whole Heath Family, from Rhododendrons to Ghost Pipes, but Vaccinium is my favorite genus. I feel guilty about lumping Vaccinium species together in my seed collection, but it's too much trouble to pick into 4 or 5 bags. #seedcollection #nativeplants
Eli's Native PlantsHighbush, New Jersey Highbush, Lowbush, and Hillside Blueberries at least. Latin in alt. My 2026 Vaccinium seed supply from powerline cuts, swamps, riversides, and forests. -Food processor w/ lemon juice -cheese cloth -dry -separate seeds #nativeplants #ecoregion59 #seedsaving #cropwildrelatives
Niladri suggested doing Acer (maples) in syrup season and I prepared. Learned more about the snakebark maples (section Macrantha), but I had posted about them last spring (link below). They're pretty neat. We missed that season. Now I'm thinking of starting smaller for our first tree genus. Ostrya?
Eli's Native PlantsRed Maple (Acer rubrum) and Striped Maple (Acer pennsylvanica) in Oak Hill Conservation Area. Red Maple is determined to be in the canopy. Striped Maple is an arching understory tree of moist hardwood forests. A last holdout from the early maple migration from Asia: section Macrantha. #ecoregion59