Plant Story--Sambucus, Elder or Elderberry, Widespread Tasty Berry

Species in the genus Sambucus are called elder. That somehow doesn't sound right to my eastern North American ear, so I always say elderberries. That name I prefer is clearly weird--the tree doesn't always have berries, or the berries are just the fruit of the elder--but I'm not alone in this speech pattern, you can see it in a lot of U.S. writing. Historically and properly, it was elder, but bear with me, I keep sticking -berry on the name.

Elderberry with berries

They are shrubs or small trees with richly green long divided leaves. They produce big clusters of small white flowers that turn into brightly-colored berries.

Flowers, Since its Midwinter

 It has been snowy and cold, icy and cold, windy and cold, and just cold the last week. So here are so plant photos to remind you of warmth. 

Ixora

Travel Story--Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

It was a rainy September day two years ago when I visited the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. We walked from our hotel, down old streets and past local markets. 

Edinburgh in September

Plant Story--Lovely Fernbush, Chamaebatiaria millefolium

The plant I call fernbush is an American shrub native to the U.S. west, from eastern Oregon and Idaho south to California and New Mexico. It grows to be about 10 feet tall, spreading to 10' wide. It has leaves with lots of divisions, hence the name fernbush, with a rich spicy scent. The flowers rise in spikes of white flowers with yellow centers. The USDA plants data base calls it desert sweet. An older plant book called it tansybush, because the leaves look like, and smell a little like, the garden plant tansy (Tanacetum vulgare). 

fernbush Chamaebataria millefolium

Botanical Garden Observations

Botanical gardens are zoos for plants; places where plants from around the world are conserved. Frequently they are public but they do not have to be. Frequently also the staff conduct research on topics relating to plant propagation and identification.

Singapore Botanic Garden

Plant Story--Beauty Bush, Linnaea amabilis or Kolkwitzia amabilis

Beauty bush is a pretty shrub native to central China. It is a member of the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliacae. It was introduced first to Great Britain about 1900 and then to the United States. It became a popular garden plant in the U.S., though it was never as popular in Europe or China. It is rare in the wild. In the United States, it has naturalized in at least seven states, from Massachusetts to Utah.

Beauty bush, Linnaea amabilis or Kolkwitzia amabilis

Books and Writing

In this holiday season, I am trying to bring my books to people's attention, hoping for interest that leads to being read.

I wrote the novel, I Have Seen Marvels, a Journey to Paraguay 1630, because, on a journey to northern Argentina in 1994, I saw that region for the first time and learned a bit of its history. Contact between Europeans and the native peoples of the Americas and European settlement was different and yet similar across the continents. Each set of colonization stories has uniquely interesting dilemmas, interactions, and heroes. Enchanted, I wanted to tell stories from early central South American settlement, since they were largely unknown to North American audiences. Hence the book. (link)