Figwort

I managed to identify another plant. It first attracted my attention in Escondido where it grew sporadically. Well, it turns out it is spread all over, including redwood forests. I found several plants in the nearest forest. The plant is called figwort.

Figwort is the plant that reminds me of epazote, especially the leaves (after all, my blog is called Leaves of Plants). See my first entry for this blog The Mystery of Epazote. Took me awhile to identify it but here it is. I give you... figwort.

Figwort (Scrophularia nodosa) in Escondido, CA

Apparently there are several varieties of figwort. The peculiar characteristic is symmetrical leaves alternating on stem. The leaves are serrated, though the degree of serration varies among the species. It produces tiny red flowers. Here is another picture:

 Figwort

Figwort is a medicinal plant. It belongs to figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). One feature that allows you to easily identify this plant is its rather unpleasant odor. That is why, one of the names it is known by is Stinking Christopher.

And here is the picture of figwort in the redwood forest:

Figwort plants among redwood sorrel

Another picture of figwort flowers

Figwort flowers

Notice that figwort is also looks similar to nettle.

Wood nettle

Nettle will sting you but figwort won't. Nettle has kind of a square stem. These plants have very different flowers.The flowers of nettle are tiny and hang in clusters or tassels. They are wind pollinated. Figwort is pollinated by bees.

The Indigo Bush

A while ago we went to Anza-Borrego desert, which is one of the biggest deserts in the country or to be more exact is the biggest National Park that covers this particular desert.

Well, desert is deceptively empty. True, the habitat is not as rich as, say, wetland or forest, however the life forms in the desert are numerous and their adaptations to the cruel heat climate are amazing. For example, some spend lots of time underground hiding from the unbearable heat of the day and going out at cool night. Others developed ability to suck the little moisture they find in plants so they don't need water. Yet others change their anatomy to adapt to living in extreme heat. Fascinating stuff.

We visited a museum that is located in the Visitors Center in Borrego Springs, little town right in the middle of this desert. The mountains around look desolate but the chaparral around the country is full of life.

Anyway, I was very impressed with this museum. It was small but full of interesting information and numerous exhibits, mainly kids-oriented but what's the heck! Information is information. For example, here is a riddle for you: which is the oldest plant on the planet? If you answered bristlecone pine, WRONG! At leat that was what I thought. Turns out the oldest plant on the planet  is a creosote bush, which is more than 9 thousand years old! They did not, however, reveal the location of this marvellous plant or even mentioned whether it was still living.

The Visitors Center also had a nice garden with typical desert plants. I am a sucker for botanical gardens so I took some pictures. For today's exhibit I chose the Indigo Bush, because it's not a famous plant yet it is quite numerous in that garden. So meet out friend:

Indigo bush (Anza-Borrego National Park, Borrego Springs)

This is the best looking bush I found, most of them do not look that luscious. I wonder if this is the plant from which the famous indigo paint comes.