I hope you’ve had another lovely week! Is the weather starting to feel like fall where you live? Even though the weather doesn’t change that much through the year, Berkeley is definitely starting to feel more….brisk. Welcome to another installment of Floral Friday – today’s beautiful plant is Bistorta bistortoides, which is distributed throughout the northwest of North America from the southern parts of Alaska through to California. The plants grow in moist, open areas of montane, alpine, and subalpine slopes. The inflorescence (cluster of flowers) are packed with white flowers, each just a few millimeters wide and with protruding stamens (as can be seen in the picture below). Those are some itsy flowers and I think they are wonderful!
Apparently, Native Americans once utilized these plants for food since the roots are edible (tastes like chestnuts!) and the seeds can be ground into flour to make bread. The leaves are also edible and can be eaten raw. So interesting! Discovering edible plants in our own backyards is incredibly fascinating to me!
References:
1. Tilford, G. L. Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West.
Traci L. Grzymala 