Door County Wildflowers

Watercress

Watercress © 2008 Bo Mackison

Watercress (nasturtium officinale) is an aquatic plant, this one found near the shores of Lake Michigan. It is edible – the leaves are high in Vitamins A and C and iron, and was a popular plant with the early settlers of North America as it was a successful treatment and preventative of scurvy. The ancient Greeks and Romans thought eating the plant increased mental functions. It is still widely used in cooking – added to salads and sandwiches for a spicy and tangy flavor and also made into watercress soup. The flowers are savory and used as edible garnishes.

Dwarf Lake Iris

Dwarf Lake Iris © 2008 Bo Mackison

This 3 to 4 inch high Dwarf Lake Iris (iris lacustris) is found near the northern shores of The Great Lakes where it grows in the limey soil and in the cool climate. It only grows in the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. I probably saw a thousand of these flowers on my recent visit to Door County in northern Wisconsin, but the flowers are actually rare and on the threatened list of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It has a very limited habitat and that is shrinking because of shoreline development and the use of off-road vehicle and chemical pesticides.

Wild Strawberry

Wild Strawberry © 2013 Bo Mackison

This is Wild or Common Strawberry (fragaria virginiana) a variety of the plant which produces the familiar bright red strawberry. The cultivated plant is a hybrid of this native plant and the South American variety. Native Americans used the juice of the strawberry for an eye remedy, and herbalists still use the roots to treat kidney stones and gonorrhea. It is a common plant in Door County, flowering in May and June in meadows, fields, woodlands and setting its berries in June.

Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush © 2008 Bo Mackison

I found large patches of Indian Paintbrush on the grassy fringes of the shores of Lake Michigan in northern Wisconsin last weekend. It grows throughout the temperate zones of North America from May through July, especially in the prairies or meadows and in sandy areas.

Native Americans from many tribes used the plant for medicinal purposes. Chippewa brewed its leaves for a tea for rheumatism, Hopi women used the entire plant in a tea as a contraceptive, Navajos made a tea from the blossoms to treat burns and insect bites.

And according to a Native American legend, a young man was painting a picture of a sunset, but was unable to capture the vibrant orange hues to his satisfaction. He asked the Great Spirit for aid and he was given many paintbrushes dripping with vivid orange and red paints. When the artist finished his painting he tossed the brushes on the ground, and wherever a brush touched the earth an Indian Paintbrush plant appeared.