Jewels of Opar

Note from the Author: I have never covered this plant before…

 

 

A good look at the ovate foliage and it's color. There are variegated versions of this plant.

Note the orange seed pod on the right.

A close up of the flowers and new seed pods.

The entire plant as seen in the test garden. It has overtaken the intended Zataar plant that is supposed to be there

 

Common Name: Jewels of Opar

 

Other Common Names: Flame Flower

 

Botanical Family: Talinaceae (The Talinum Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Talinum paniculatum

 

Description & Habitat: In the urban environment this plant may be found growing under the cover of shrub hedgerows and along roadsides or appearing in lawns or old garden beds. The leaves of Jewels of Opar are roughly ovate in shape and are borne in alternate arrangement on the plant. The foliage is also widely considered to be succulent or semi-succulent and has a rich medium green color with a pronounced central midrib. The flowers are tiny pink and bear five petals. The seed capsules of this plant can be orange, red, gold, brown or gray in color. This plant has a long bright orange colored taproot that can reach several feet across a hard surface to find soil. Plants may be up to five feet tall and have a three-foot spread and this plant is a hardy perennial in zone 8b.

 

Special Toxicity Note:  According to at least one credible source this plant may contain a small amount of Oxalic Acid in its foliage. This source goes on to state it gives a sour or tangy taste however most other sources indicate the flavor of this plants foliage is mild. It is unknown if this is just a trait of a specific population of plants or a normal thing.

 

When & What to Harvest: The foliage can be harvested as a leaf green and the flower stalks cut for fresh floral arrangements or dried in dried arrangements due to the brightly colored seed pods.

 

Related Plants: None are of note.

 

Recipe:  Since the foliage of this plant is used like spinach it can be concluded that it can be substituted in any spinach recipe.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talinum_paniculatum

 

 

Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:

https://www.southernexposure.com/products/jewels-of-opar-fame-flower/

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

 

Fresh Produce:

Blueberries, Rabbiteye

Figs, Magnolia

Peppers, Banana Drop Hybrid

 

Summer Vegetables:

Nightshade Greens, Gbognome

Nightshade Greens, West African Njama

Okra, Baby Bubba

Okra, Iraqi Bamia

Pepper, Ghost

Pepper, Serrano

Pepper, Hungarian Wax Banana

Pepper, Bull’s Horn

Pepper, Mad Hatter

Pepper, Purple Bell

Potato, Adirondack (Purple skin with blue-purple flesh)

Spinach, Egyptian

 

Herbs:

Basil, Holy

Basil, Sweet Genovese

Chives

Yarrow, Parker’s Gold

 

 

Flowers:

Flowering Tobacco

Hibiscus, Luna Red

Marigolds

 

Plants Coming Soon:

Green-Fruit Nightshade Greens

Rainbow Quinoa

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Milk Thistle

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is July 12^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Bitter Sneezeweed II

Note from the Author: I previously covered this plant on February 18^th 2022.

This one has to be the prettiest specimen I've ever seen.

Coming out of a crack in the cement curb, Bitter Sneezeweed is a serious annual plant.

Mixed in with the weeds and tall grass of an overgrown field is where you might find these annuals. No other plant has a flower quite like Bitter Sneezeweed.

 

 

 

Common Name: Bitter Sneezeweed

 

Other Common Names: Yellow sneezeweed, Fiveleaf sneezeweed and Yellowdicks.

 

Botanical Family: Asteraceae (The Aster Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Helenium amarum

 

Description & Habitat: Typically you will find this plant along the roadside or in fields, by the edge of pastures and it pops up a lot in areas with very sandy soil. Bitter Sneezeweed has an upright habit and forms a sort of canopy as it takes on an overall ‘V’ shape when seen from the side. The bright golden yellow flowers are roughly shaped like a shuttlecock from badminton. The petals tend to arch downwards towards the ground while the florets in the center of the flower form a cone. The foliage of this perennial and native plant has a camphor-chamomile kind of scent.

 

Special Toxicity Note: This plant contains Helenalin which is a Sesquiterpene lactone and is the primary toxic compound in the plant which serves as its defense against grazing animals which also makes it squirrel and deer resistant. It also contains Dugaldin and phenol which makes it toxic to cats too so definitely not for use as a house plant but it thankfully is a bitter tasting which can discourage animal and small child consumption.

 

When & What to Harvest: Generally for medicinal use you can harvest the mature flowers, stems and foliage. The leaves when used in an infusion are said to be a laxative. Infusions using only the stems are supposedly used in a wash to help treat fevers. The mature flower heads when dried were used to treat Colds and headaches while if made into a tea they were said to treat worms in the intestine. Lastly and perhaps most promising is that the plant contains Helenalin a compound that has shown great promise in anti-tumor use.

 

Related Plants: Common Sneezeweed (H. autumnale), Purple-headed Sneezeweed (H. flexuosum).

 

Recipe:  (None, this plant is not for culinary use)

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/helenium-autumnale/

 

Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:

https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/products/bitter-sneezeweed

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

 

Fresh Produce:

Blueberries, Rabbiteye

Figs, Magnolia

Peppers, Banana Drop Hybrid

 

Summer Vegetables:

Nightshade Greens, Gbognome

Nightshade Greens, West African Njama

Okra, Baby Bubba

Okra, Iraqi Bamia

Pepper, Ghost

Pepper, Serrano

Pepper, Hungarian Wax Banana

Pepper, Bull’s Horn

Pepper, Mad Hatter

Pepper, Purple Bell

Potato, Adirondak (Purple skin with blue-purple flesh)

Spinach, Egyptian

 

Herbs:

Basil, Holy

Basil, Sweet Genovese

Chives

Yarrow, Parker’s Gold

 

 

Flowers:

Flowering Tobacco

Hibiscus, Luna Red

Marigolds

 

Plants Coming Soon:

Green-Fruit Nightshade Greens

Rainbow Quinoa

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Stevia

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is June 28^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

 

Carolina Horsenettle II

Note from the Author: I previously covered this plant on February 16^th 2024.

 

 

It does not take much for these pesky plants to emerge from the earth.

This one was a few feet away from the above one, they probably have rhizomes running for quite a distance under the cement.

This one came up within a fence a few more feet away from the other two.

 

Common Name: Carolina Horsenettle

 

Other Common Names: Radical Weed, Sand Breier, Sand Briar, Bull Nettle, Tread-Softly, Devil’s Tomato, Wild Tomato, Apple of Sodom, Devil’s Potato, Horsenettle, Poisonous Potato and, Thorn Apple.

 

Botanical Family: Solanaceae (The Nightshade Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Solanum carolinense

 

Description & Habitat: You can always Identify Carolina Horsenettle by a few traits that it always seems to have. The leaves of Carolina Horsenettle are typically dull green in color and may have coarsely lobed margins. Additionally, Carolina Horsenettle will have star-shaped hairs on the margins of the foliage. In addition, the stems and undersides of the leaves will have spines that may be troublesome enough to require protective clothing. The flowers are in clusters that can have five to twenty individual star shaped flowers that will be light violent or white in color. The fruit starts as a smooth green berry that turns yellow and becomes wrinkly as it reaches maturity. The berries of this plant may stay attached to the plant through some or all of the winter even though the foliage has died off.  In the urban landscape you will find this plant popping out of random places right about now. As is seen with the included photographs cracks in cement are perfectly applicable places to find this plant. They are not too picky about soil type and can survive our heat and periodic drought just fine

 

Special Toxicity Note: All parts of this plant are poisonous to livestock, people, dogs and cats. This plant produces a toxin in all parts that is known as Solanine and this compound is most concentrated in the fall. The berries, which are bright yellow when ripe are tempting as trail forage but unfortunately they are the most toxic when ripe and have no safe period in which to eat them. The foliage is noted to be less toxic than the rest but still dangerous.

 

When & What to Harvest: This plant is not safe to eat even in desperation.

 

Edible Related Plants: White Potato (Solanum tuberosum), Tomato (S. lycopersicon), Peppers (Capsicum sp.), Eggplant (S. meongena), Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum), Bed of Nails (S. quitoense), Nightshade Greens (S. macrocarpon) and, Njama Greens (S. scabrum).

 

Similar Dangerous Species:  Deadly Nightshade (Atropa bella-donna), Tropical Soda-Apple (S. viarum) Black Nightshade (S. nigrum), American Black Nightshade (S. americanum).

 

Recipe:  (None, this plant is inedible)

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/solanum-carolinense/

 

Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:

-You really do not want to grow this.

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

 

Fresh Produce:

Blueberries, Rabbiteye

Figs, Magnolia

Peppers, Banana Drop Hybrid

 

Summer Vegetables:

Nightshade Greens, Gbognome

Nightshade Greens, West African Njama

Okra, Baby Bubba

Okra, Iraqi Bamia

Pepper, Ghost

Pepper, Serrano

Pepper, Hungarian Wax Banana

Pepper, Bull’s Horn

Pepper, Mad Hatter

Pepper, Purple Bell

Potato, Adirondak (Purple skin with blue-purple flesh)

Spinach, Egyptian

Tomato, Chocolate Cherry

Tomato, Brown Sugar

 

 

Herbs:

Basil, Holy

Basil, Sweet Genovese

Chives

Yarrow, Parker’s Gold

 

 

Flowers:

Flowering Tobacco

Hibiscus, Luna Red

Marigolds

 

Plants Coming Soon:

Green-Fruit Nightshade Greens

Rainbow Quinoa

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Sago Palm

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is June 21^st at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

 

Daylily II

 Note from the Author: I previously covered Daylilies on March 17^th 2023

 

Tawny Daylily

'Gentle Shepherd' Daylilies in the afternoon sun.

An unknown Hybrid Daylily created by Rodger Mercer.

'Gentle Shepherd' Daylilies in morning light.

 

 

Common Name: Daylily

 

Other Common Names: Day lily.

 

Botanical Family: Asphodelaceae (The Day Lily Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Hemerocallis species

 

Description & Habitat: Dayliles are generally found in one of their hybrid forms in the urban landscape. Typically they will be a clump-forming herbaceous perennial which can produce flower stalks that are up to 2.5 feet tall in some species. Daylilies are native to Asia and parts of Europe and have become naturalized in North America. Daylilies are not a true lily and their genus name comes from the Greek words Hemera meaning day and Kallos meaning beauty. Speaking strictly in terms of Hybrid varieties Daylilies have leaves that clasp the central stem and are roughly lanceolate in shape with no discernable petiole. The foliage on hybrid Daylilies is almost always plain green and the leaves will be long enough to bend in the middle forming an arch. Flowers are borne on stalks above the foliage and depending on the specific hybrid’s traits there will a variable number of flowers per stalk but in general the individual flowers only last a day. Daylilies can be found in the urban landscape most plentifully along the roadside of the Interstate where they have been planted by the hundreds to help with erosion and for beautification purposes.

 

Special Toxicity Note: Unfortunately the entirety of the Daylily is toxic to Cats. This means the stem, leaves, flowers, pollen, and even the water in a vase full of Daylilies poses a threat. A small amount can cause fatal kidney failure in Cats and this will manifest in less than three days. The toxin itself has not been specifically isolated but if you see the known signs of lily poisoning in your Cat get them to a veterinarian immediately. Symptoms include drooling, vomiting and loss of appetite in the first 12 hours or so. After this your Cat will display signs of kidney damage and will urinate more frequently and will suffer dehydration as a result. Kidney Failure follows within a day or three. Only early treatment at the first sign of illness can prevent permanent damage to your pet.

 

When & What to Harvest: Young leaves and shoots, unopened flower buds and Opened flowers and the tubers.

 

Edible Related Plants: Tawny Daylily (H. fulva).

 

Similar Dangerous Species:  There are a lot of plants called ‘lily’ such as Canna Lilies (Canna), Toad Lilies (Tricyrtis), Water lilies (Nymphaea) and Calla Lilies (Zantedeschia).

 

Recipe:  Sautéed Daylily

 

Ingredients:

    2 Cups of unopened Daylily buds

    1 Tablespoon salted butter

    2 Tablespoons olive oil

    Half of a red onion

    Harlem Garlic Pepper to taste

 

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry daylily buds.

2. Heat butter and olive oil in skillet and sauté onion until lightly caramelized.

3. Add daylily buds and sauté until softened.

4. Season with Harlem Garlic Pepper and serve with rice.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hemerocallis/

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=282203

 

Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:

-Numerous garden centers, nurseries, botanical gardens and order-by-mail/internet vendors sell daylilies of all shapes sizes and colors.

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the Plant Sale at Smith Recreation Center on Slater.

 

Summer Vegetables:

Okra, Baby Bubba

Okra, Iraqi Bamia

Pepper, Ghost

Pepper, Serrano

Pepper, Hungarian Wax Banana

Pepper, Bull’s Horn

Pepper, Mad Hatter

Pepper, Purple Bell

Potato, Adirondak (Purple skin with blue-purple flesh)

Spinach, Egyptian

Tomato, Cherokee Purple

Tomato, Chocolate Cherry

Tomato, Brown Sugar

West African Njama Nightshade Greens

 

Herbs:

Basil, Holy

Chives

 

Flowers:

Balsam Impatiens

Batchelor’s Button ‘Blue Boy’

Batchelor’s Button ‘Black Boy’

 

Plants Coming Soon:

Green-Fruit Nightshade Greens

Gbognome Nightshade Greens

Rainbow Quinoa

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Perennial Ground Cherry

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is June 14^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.