Plant Story: Scarlet Runner Bean, So Handsome

My husband won't eat green beans. It is the one vegetable he totally rejects. But last summer I grew runner beans. Not as food, but because I think they're beautiful.

scarlet runner bean, Phaseolus coccineus

Runner beans, often called scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus), are closely related to common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Both are native to the Americas, but scarlet runner beans are from mountainous areas in Central America, and were domesticated about 2,000 years ago. They reached Europe in the 1500s and became both an important vegetable and an ornamental. They are much less often grown in the United States. I recommend them!

Botanical Tourism: Life Lists

Its a new year and we pause to look both forward and back. 

What if, in the new year, you made a plant Life List? Bird watchers keep Life Lists of all the bird species they've seen, with the goal of seeing a large number of the 11,000 species of birds. That's probably not attainable, but Europe has 540 species of birds and North America 2,059, so one could see a significant portion of those. 

How would that apply to plants? There's a similar problem of too many species worldwide: over 400,000. Even Europe is daunting with 9,875 plant species, while North America has over 20,000. 

But I met a couple that were trying to see each of the 19 penguin species in world. That was quite a challenge because some of them are confined to remote islands in the Southern Hemisphere, but a manageable number. 

So consider these Life List ideas for plant lovers:

Celebrating Oranges

There's a long tradition of putting oranges into Christmas stockings. Oranges are so readily available today that that seems a little odd. But the next time you encounter an orange, take a moment to notice it. The rich orange color. The scent, both of the whole fruit and of the brightly colored sections inside, is enticing. The wonderful sweet juice. 

orange sections

Plant Story--the Lovely, Spicy Nasturtium, Tropaeolum

 Nasturtiums are easily-recognized garden flowers. They have big orange (or red or yellow) flowers with a long spur and interesting round leaves with the stalk (petiole) in the center. They are also edible.

nasturtium, Tropaeolum 

Plant Story--Burdock, Arctium, Burs, Vegetable, and Velcro

Burdocks are plants you recognize for their seed pods or leaves. Oh, they have pretty enough pink-purple flowers, much like thistles flowers, but the seed pods have spines with hooks that stick tightly to clothes or fur, and the leaves are very large.

burdock, Arctium

Travel Story--U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, D.C.

 In October we visited Washington D.C. I remember my first visit in 1969. I was a college graduate form Ohio. I had seen New York City, a bit of Boston, and Cleveland. Wow, Washington! The nation's capital, built to be a showplace. I was very impressed. Since then I have been to Washington's museums many times. This was my first visit to the National Arboretum. It is about 3 miles from the Mall; we took Uber.

By main building, National Arboretum

Created in 1927, the Arboretum is managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture' Agricultural Research Service. Its mission is research improving ornamental and landscape plants and promotion through public gardens and exhibits. It has 450 acres and 9.5 miles of paths. It felt much like a very large city park; many of the visitors were strolling with babies in baby carriages or out for a run. 

Oleander, Nerium oleander, Beautiful and Poisonous

Oleander, Nerium oleander (dogbane family, Apocynaceae) has for years been, for me, an example of how comfortably we live with poisonous plants. Oleander is very poisonous. Adults are hospitalized after eating several leaves, die from a serving of leaves. The plants contain a series of very toxic alkaloids, oleandrin, oleandrigenin, oleandroside, neroside, and more. All parts of the plant, including the flower petals, sap, honey, twigs, and roots, contain these alkaloids. They are not destroyed by drying or heat, and the smoke from an oleander fire can be dangerous. However, the story that a boy scout troop died of cooking hot dogs on oleander sticks is an urban legend (see Snopes). 

oleander, Nerium oleander