Hemp Dogbane

Here's a Hemp Dogbane from last spring. I've talked about Hemp Dogbane before, but it was either to compare it with milkweed or to talk about its ecological benefits. But there's plenty of interesting things about them:

  • Though generally considered toxic to eat, it does have cardiac glycosides that could treat (with some dangers) heart problems. And just because it's poisonous, that hasn't stopped it from being used in tons of folk medicine.
  • The latex sap has been used with clay to make a chewing gum. (I'm not sure I'd personally be a big fan of latex-and-dirt gum, but apparently some folks feel differently.)
  • The Snowberry Clearwing caterpillars, 1 of my favorite moths [1], can use it as a host plant. (They can also use some of the honeysuckles as host plants.)
  • If you've got too much lead in your soil, Hemp Dogbane can help you remove it [2].
  • Despite some toxicity, livestock will sometimes eat it, which can make them ill. And of course dogs, who'll eat all sorts of strange stuff, can also get sick on them.
  • The stems have fiber that can be used to make textiles, including rope. My guess is that this would be a fairly tedious process, but if you really need a rope and there's a bunch of Hemp Dogbane around ...
June 3, 2023 at John Clyde Native Grassland Preserve
Photo 300859597, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] Snowberry Clearwings are great because they're decent sized, active during the day, and can be found relatively easily around other pollinators.

[2] I suppose there is then the question of how you dispose of the lead-saturated Hemp Dogbane. No solution is perfect, I suppose.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Northern Watersnake

Image
This April I went to Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge with the hope (among other hopes) of seeing the Northern Watersnakes during mating season. There were 2 problems with this: I think it was slightly late in the season for this. The boardwalk trail where I had seen them in the past was partially closed due to repairs. So although I didn't see any of the 2+ intertwined snakes that I'd seen in the past, but there were still Northern Watersnakes warming themselves in the sun: April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 272117862, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) And here's another one coming out of the water. April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 272119139, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

Female Brown-headed Cowbird

Image
Like quite a few birds, this bird is easier to identify when spotted with her significant other ; she's a Brown-headed Cowbird . Due to their tendency to be monogamous plus plain old birds-of-a-feather behavior, I usually see them with prominently brown-headed males around, greatly improving my confidence in IDing them. My understanding is that Brown-headed Cowbirds are the only obligate brood parasites in my area. Obligate brood parasites have essentially lost all their parenting skills, and thus if they were ever unable to fool other birds into raising their young, they would (almost certainly) go extinct [1]. There are, however, other brood parasites in New Jersey. These are called facultative brood parasites, and these birds will usually raise their own offspring, but will also engage in brood parasitism. (Exactly when birds perform facultative brood parasitism seems variable; one source said it occurred when resources were scarce while another said it occurred when resource
Read more

Rooftop Turkey Vultures

Image
I met these Turkey Vultures by just walking out of my apartment. (I theoretically could have gotten a picture without going outside, but that extra layer of glass can degrade picture quality a little.) Although they don't show up on these rooftops daily, they're not an uncommon visitor to my apartment complex. Similar to this spot of the woods , I wouldn't expect this to be a great place to find carcasses. I'm thinking they're here mostly because: They don't have to worry much about predators up there. They get a pretty good view of the area in case something should happen to succumb. (This apartment was near the top of a hill, providing a better view than most of the other apartments.) Since this picture was from February, it's probably a slightly warmer spot, especially near those furnace vent pipes. Although these are Turkey Vultures, it's also not unusual to see Black Vultures up there too. February 28, 2023 at Finderne Photo 264703396, (c) jpviole
Read more