farming

Putty root orchid budding at SAFF

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Aplectrum hyemale, Putty root orchid, budding up at the bottom of North Trail at the waterway. The corm produces a single green and white striped leaf in the Fall that we watched all winter until it sent up the flower stalk. Native Americans used the sticky substance from the corms to mend pottery.
This morning at SAFF we counted about 10 fruits set on various trees down in the old clonal colony pawpaw patch. We are delighted and grateful they’ve stayed on this long and continue to hope for the best.
We were pleased to find a rooted agaric mushroom, Hymenopellis incognito, in the main clearing up top near the shed. It was in the sun on the grass yet growing from an underground stump or root. It has a long tapering taproot that extends into the ground to eat dead wood.
Photo by Cecily Franklin showing the long taproot of the Hymenopellis incognita.
Diospyros virginiana, American persimmon, up top near the female tree. They’re crowded by pines and we’d like to give them more room.

We met the electrical cooperative representative at Saint Andrews Forest Farm to talk about the logistics of hooking up to the local grid. We are undecided still. We went on a walk and saw our Tallahatchie Asimina triloba cultivar rebounding from the freeze with a new leaf on the top which was happifying. It was a cool morning and warmed up throughout the day. SAFF got about .1 of an inch of rain. We are forecasted to get more on Saturday.

Smilax glauca, sawbrier or the cat greenbriar found up top near the driveway. A thorny woody vine native to North America. Young shoots are edible with an asparagus-like flavor. It produces dark berries in winter providing food for birds. Its extensive root structure helps it to regrow quickly after a disturbance. Can be a nuisance.

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  1. Pingback: Putty root orchid budding at SAFF | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

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