saska plants

Atlin and I just got back from a great road trip this weekend. Driving around Saskatchewan is lovely.


what a beautiful province it is.


I especially love the native prairie lands, of which there is not really a huge amount, sadly.
I am very interested in the plants of saskatchewan and they are very hard to study because of all the farming, most of it is taken over by crops. i kind of just recently realized this!

here's some plants i saw a while ago at Batoche, in the river valley.





not sure who this beauty is yet...
but i will find out.












this is how juniper grows in saskatchewan, flat!
some things about juniper from "Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies":

"... juniper branches were often burned in smudges to repel insects. Smoke from the berries or branches was used in religious ceremonies or to bring good luck (especially for hunters)...

...if a horse was sick, it was made to inhale smoke from the needles 3 times for a cure...
...oil of juniper berries was mixed with fat to make salves for protecting wounds from black flies (wish i had known this in the yukon)...
...berries stimulate urination by irritating the kidneys and give urine a violet like fragrance (your pee could smell like flowers!)...
...strong juniper tea was used to sterilize needles and bandages during the black death in the 14th century Europe...
... tea was given to women in labour to speed delivery and after the birth it was used as a cleansing, healing agent...
and the neatest thing, in my opinion:
... some tribes scattered berries (to be used as beads in necklaces)on anthills. the ants would eat out the sweet center, leaving a convenient hole for stringing.

it is also a key ingredient in gin! yumm. gin and tonic on a hot day...

more plants later...