Species Study - Solanum Dulcamara

HorseloverFat

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These Specific Species Study Threads will serve for the documentation and discussion of growing young plants, upwards, together, towards a common “TinyTree” presentation goal.

Up first, bittersweet nightshade.

The property of tasting first bitter and then sweet lent bittersweet a particular symbolic value. The reward for persistence is symbolized by the growing sweetness upon chewing giving rise to its use as a symbol of fidelity, particularly in the Christian Middle Ages (Kandeler, 2006). It was often depicted on panel paintings and tapestries (Behling, 1975). After the restoration of St Thomas's church in Leipzig in 2000, fine 15th century decorative frescos depicting bittersweet can easily be recognized (Fig. 2) on the vaulted ceiling of the side-aisle. Bittersweet was also used for bridal wreaths and in other contexts to symbolize fidelity and to repel evil (Kandeler, 2006).

I have a handful of younger specimens..B4EA30B4-6936-437F-A628-B8B71A69FA08.jpeg
Which you can come grab if you’d like... Out of the handful, I’ve chosen THIS one as my documentEE. 🤓49D7C361-E2B7-4024-BA5B-CBB1DC27D726.jpeg
I was inspired to further explore the unique growth patterns, habits and “timing” of this species by THIS lil one.. collected spring 2020A61EBFA5-11CA-4C9D-A181-6B73F442DF70.jpeg

@liquid_back_draft picked one of the “handful” up this afternoon.
 

HorseloverFat

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"High-Summer" Work...

Vine-training.

(2 of the lot I am documenting for these study purposes)

1 (before)55FBA616-40F6-43F0-B66F-BB3C9726A9E4.jpeg

1 (After)873CED2C-CEB4-42FB-9B7D-11406445CAE8.jpeg

2 (before)C765E332-1B44-4A07-AF64-12112D4A5E5B.jpeg

2 (after)D0AE458C-0A8B-4275-A289-C66668112DF9.jpeg

These have a MUCH different rhythm/schedule.. kind of like the Ribes. ;)

(I was speaking about these recently in a PM with a "cold-weather-folk" recently... but can't remember if it was @Frozentreehugger or @EverThorn)
 

Crawforde

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Cool.
glad to see this.
I though I was the only weirdo trying nightshade as bonsai.
I am new to the attempt, but happy with the results so far.
 

Crawforde

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Thanks.
there is a rock under the dead moss.
the roots should be wrapping it well by now.
eventually I’ll let the moss and soil fall away and expose the rock and roots.
I have a few Different species growing on rocks. I guess it’s nostalgia for the times when I lived Places with rocks and mountains and topography.
here, a 6” change in elevation over a mile is a really big deal.
 
Last edited:

HorseloverFat

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Thanks.
there is a rock under the dead moss.
the roots should be wrapping it well by now.
eventually I’ll let the moss and soil fall away and expose the rock and roots.
I have a few Different species growing on rocks. I guess it’s nostalgia for the times when I lived Places with rocks and mountains and topography.
here, a 6” change in elevation over a mile is a really big deal.
I used to talk crap about Wisconsin being too flat in MOST areas..

Then I drove across Rural Illinois at length... THAT'S flat.

I like driving the Appalachian Highway.. stopping in the trail towns, shootin' the poo with locals.

Hills are nice.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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If you want hills in Illinois you have to know where to look. We hide them from you guys from north of the "cheddar curtain". We got a little "drumlin action" and glacial moraine stuff going on in and near Glacial Park south of Richmond, north of McHenry. Apple River Canyon is a "mimi" Wisconsin Dells, if you consider a 20 foot limestone bluff something worth looking at. Rock Cut state park is a classic for "beginner underage drinking" state parks, kids from Chicago go there to get drunk and fall off of 50 foot cliffs. Head west to Galena IL, there are actual hills, and old lead mines. A little further west you have Mississippi Pallisades and south towards Saint Louis you have Pere Marquette state park. Both have real cliffs over 100 foot, big enough to say worth the visit. All along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers there are state parks with high cliffs and bluffs.

If you travel roughly 350 miles south of Chicago, to southern Illinois you get into the Shawnee Hills, which are remnants of the same mountain building episode (orogeny) that resulted in the Ozark Mountains. They are eroded, as they are over 250 million years old, so relief is mostly less than 1500 feet from peak to valley, but there are some cool cliffs. My youngest sister lives south of Murphysboro IL, so I wander the area regularly. Its well worth the visit. In the "hills" you have wonderful vistas, and cool cliffs. In the "hollers" you have classic lowland deciduous forests, and in the "bottoms" you have the northernmost extension of the bald cypress - tupelo swamp ecosystem. So don't be "dissin on" Illinois, we got game. We just hide it from you cheddarheads. It is a pain that the best scenery in Illinois is a 350 mile drive south, from my house about 410 miles. Takes me 7 hours. But there is a great BBQ place down there, 17th Street BBQ, a great reward for a horribly long drive.

Garden of the Gods, southern IL
2012-11-25_11-46-20_612 (2019_10_20 19_42_16 UTC).jpg

Garden of the Gods
2012-11-25_12-41-47_709 (2019_10_20 19_42_16 UTC).jpg

folded and cooked in deep sea, then uplifted and eroded metamorphic rock -maybe serpentine? Limestone? I forget.
2012-11-25_12-01-22_321 (2019_10_20 19_42_16 UTC).jpg

LaRue Hills - western side of southern Illinois, favorite area for watching sunsets, overlooking junction of Big Muddy and Mississippi Rivers.
IMG_20141127_121603_928 (2019_10_20 19_42_16 UTC).jpg

Larue Hills - ERC - Juniper virginiana believed to be about 800 years old. Notice all the foliage is mature, like a 'Kishu' or 'Itoigawa' shimpaku, no needle foliage. If you can get enough age on your ERC, something over a century, the foliage does settle down and stops being needle foliage.

That is a 2 lane wide gravel road on the levee about 350 feet below the juniper.

IMG_20141127_120513_051 (2019_10_20 19_42_16 UTC).jpg

Nephew for sense of scale and "danger"
IMG_20141127_120847_147 (2019_10_20 19_42_16 UTC).jpg

I "clench up" just looking at this photo. I was 100 pounds lighter when I climbed downed there. it is a sketchy, no guardrails, no trail, scramble. A fall would be certain death. Actually flat ground is not that far behind the camera, maybe a quarter mile back, but it was pretty rigorous hike for me at the time. I doubt I could do it now.

There is a parking lot with a vista overlook, but you are far away from the 800 year old juniper.

Every state in the USA and pretty much everywhere, there are interesting natural sights to see. You just have to take the time to investigate.
 

HorseloverFat

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If you want hills in Illinois you have to know where to look. We hide them from you guys from north of the "cheddar curtain". We got a little "drumlin action" and glacial moraine stuff going on in and near Glacial Park south of Richmond, north of McHenry. Apple River Canyon is a "mimi" Wisconsin Dells, if you consider a 20 foot limestone bluff something worth looking at. Rock Cut state park is a classic for "beginner underage drinking" state parks, kids from Chicago go there to get drunk and fall off of 50 foot cliffs. Head west to Galena IL, there are actual hills, and old lead mines. A little further west you have Mississippi Pallisades and south towards Saint Louis you have Pere Marquette state park. Both have real cliffs over 100 foot, big enough to say worth the visit. All along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers there are state parks with high cliffs and bluffs.

If you travel roughly 350 miles south of Chicago, to southern Illinois you get into the Shawnee Hills, which are remnants of the same mountain building episode (orogeny) that resulted in the Ozark Mountains. They are eroded, as they are over 250 million years old, so relief is mostly less than 1500 feet from peak to valley, but there are some cool cliffs. My youngest sister lives south of Murphysboro IL, so I wander the area regularly. Its well worth the visit. In the "hills" you have wonderful vistas, and cool cliffs. In the "hollers" you have classic lowland deciduous forests, and in the "bottoms" you have the northernmost extension of the bald cypress - tupelo swamp ecosystem. So don't be "dissin on" Illinois, we got game. We just hide it from you cheddarheads. It is a pain that the best scenery in Illinois is a 350 mile drive south, from my house about 410 miles. Takes me 7 hours. But there is a great BBQ place down there, 17th Street BBQ, a great reward for a horribly long drive.

Garden of the Gods, southern IL
View attachment 437521

Garden of the Gods
View attachment 437522

folded and cooked in deep sea, then uplifted and eroded metamorphic rock -maybe serpentine? Limestone? I forget.
View attachment 437523

LaRue Hills - western side of southern Illinois, favorite area for watching sunsets, overlooking junction of Big Muddy and Mississippi Rivers.
View attachment 437536

Larue Hills - ERC - Juniper virginiana believed to be about 800 years old. Notice all the foliage is mature, like a 'Kishu' or 'Itoigawa' shimpaku, no needle foliage. If you can get enough age on your ERC, something over a century, the foliage does settle down and stops being needle foliage.

That is a 2 lane wide gravel road on the levee about 350 feet below the juniper.

View attachment 437540

Nephew for sense of scale and "danger"
View attachment 437539

I "clench up" just looking at this photo. I was 100 pounds lighter when I climbed downed there. it is a sketchy, no guardrails, no trail, scramble. A fall would be certain death. Actually flat ground is not that far behind the camera, maybe a quarter mile back, but it was pretty rigorous hike for me at the time. I doubt I could do it now.

There is a parking lot with a vista overlook, but you are far away from the 800 year old juniper.

Every state in the USA and pretty much everywhere, there are interesting natural sights to see. You just have to take the time to investigate.
NICE!!

I found this to also be true of Ohio...

See, for me.. Illinois is always the "first stepping stone" in Long travel.. you're right, I never explore too much. It's just pedal to the metal, putting miles behind territory.

The furthest South of Chicago I NORMALLY get is Dwight. Then Lexington, then sleep.
 

HorseloverFat

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This autumn, for our trip, we are planning on camping at a state park in every state on the way to FL. Taking a day to "take in" what the parks/surrounding locations have to offer

:) Get a better feel for these areas individually.
 

HorseloverFat

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If you want hills in Illinois you have to know where to look. We hide them from you guys from north of the "cheddar curtain". We got a little "drumlin action" and glacial moraine stuff going on in and near Glacial Park south of Richmond, north of McHenry. Apple River Canyon is a "mimi" Wisconsin Dells, if you consider a 20 foot limestone bluff something worth looking at. Rock Cut state park is a classic for "beginner underage drinking" state parks, kids from Chicago go there to get drunk and fall off of 50 foot cliffs. Head west to Galena IL, there are actual hills, and old lead mines. A little further west you have Mississippi Pallisades and south towards Saint Louis you have Pere Marquette state park. Both have real cliffs over 100 foot, big enough to say worth the visit. All along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers there are state parks with high cliffs and bluffs.

If you travel roughly 350 miles south of Chicago, to southern Illinois you get into the Shawnee Hills, which are remnants of the same mountain building episode (orogeny) that resulted in the Ozark Mountains. They are eroded, as they are over 250 million years old, so relief is mostly less than 1500 feet from peak to valley, but there are some cool cliffs. My youngest sister lives south of Murphysboro IL, so I wander the area regularly. Its well worth the visit. In the "hills" you have wonderful vistas, and cool cliffs. In the "hollers" you have classic lowland deciduous forests, and in the "bottoms" you have the northernmost extension of the bald cypress - tupelo swamp ecosystem. So don't be "dissin on" Illinois, we got game. We just hide it from you cheddarheads. It is a pain that the best scenery in Illinois is a 350 mile drive south, from my house about 410 miles. Takes me 7 hours. But there is a great BBQ place down there, 17th Street BBQ, a great reward for a horribly long drive.

Garden of the Gods, southern IL
View attachment 437521

Garden of the Gods
View attachment 437522

folded and cooked in deep sea, then uplifted and eroded metamorphic rock -maybe serpentine? Limestone? I forget.
View attachment 437523

LaRue Hills - western side of southern Illinois, favorite area for watching sunsets, overlooking junction of Big Muddy and Mississippi Rivers.
View attachment 437536

Larue Hills - ERC - Juniper virginiana believed to be about 800 years old. Notice all the foliage is mature, like a 'Kishu' or 'Itoigawa' shimpaku, no needle foliage. If you can get enough age on your ERC, something over a century, the foliage does settle down and stops being needle foliage.

That is a 2 lane wide gravel road on the levee about 350 feet below the juniper.

View attachment 437540

Nephew for sense of scale and "danger"
View attachment 437539

I "clench up" just looking at this photo. I was 100 pounds lighter when I climbed downed there. it is a sketchy, no guardrails, no trail, scramble. A fall would be certain death. Actually flat ground is not that far behind the camera, maybe a quarter mile back, but it was pretty rigorous hike for me at the time. I doubt I could do it now.

There is a parking lot with a vista overlook, but you are far away from the 800 year old juniper.

Every state in the USA and pretty much everywhere, there are interesting natural sights to see. You just have to take the time to investigate.
I keep looking at that picture...

Gives me "butterflies" every time.

🤓
 

Crawforde

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This autumn, for our trip, we are planning on camping at a state park in every state on the way to FL. Taking a day to "take in" what the parks/surrounding locations have to offer

:) Get a better feel for these areas individually.
Enjoy! Take your time if you can.
I did something like that last year.
I drove from Fl to CA with my daughter. Our route looked like a twisted old juniper and I can’t say there were no trunk crossings. It took us three weeks. We camped every night, sometimes if a place was really cool we stayed in the area for a couple of days. It was the best road trip I’ve had since the 1980s. I was a field biologist for many years and always slept on site, four nights a week camping for about 6 months of the year. I’m too old for that now, but when I do get out, I realize how much I miss it.
 

Arnold

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If you want hills in Illinois you have to know where to look. We hide them from you guys from north of the "cheddar curtain". We got a little "drumlin action" and glacial moraine stuff going on in and near Glacial Park south of Richmond, north of McHenry. Apple River Canyon is a "mimi" Wisconsin Dells, if you consider a 20 foot limestone bluff something worth looking at. Rock Cut state park is a classic for "beginner underage drinking" state parks, kids from Chicago go there to get drunk and fall off of 50 foot cliffs. Head west to Galena IL, there are actual hills, and old lead mines. A little further west you have Mississippi Pallisades and south towards Saint Louis you have Pere Marquette state park. Both have real cliffs over 100 foot, big enough to say worth the visit. All along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers there are state parks with high cliffs and bluffs.

If you travel roughly 350 miles south of Chicago, to southern Illinois you get into the Shawnee Hills, which are remnants of the same mountain building episode (orogeny) that resulted in the Ozark Mountains. They are eroded, as they are over 250 million years old, so relief is mostly less than 1500 feet from peak to valley, but there are some cool cliffs. My youngest sister lives south of Murphysboro IL, so I wander the area regularly. Its well worth the visit. In the "hills" you have wonderful vistas, and cool cliffs. In the "hollers" you have classic lowland deciduous forests, and in the "bottoms" you have the northernmost extension of the bald cypress - tupelo swamp ecosystem. So don't be "dissin on" Illinois, we got game. We just hide it from you cheddarheads. It is a pain that the best scenery in Illinois is a 350 mile drive south, from my house about 410 miles. Takes me 7 hours. But there is a great BBQ place down there, 17th Street BBQ, a great reward for a horribly long drive.

Garden of the Gods, southern IL
View attachment 437521

Garden of the Gods
View attachment 437522

folded and cooked in deep sea, then uplifted and eroded metamorphic rock -maybe serpentine? Limestone? I forget.
View attachment 437523

LaRue Hills - western side of southern Illinois, favorite area for watching sunsets, overlooking junction of Big Muddy and Mississippi Rivers.
View attachment 437536

Larue Hills - ERC - Juniper virginiana believed to be about 800 years old. Notice all the foliage is mature, like a 'Kishu' or 'Itoigawa' shimpaku, no needle foliage. If you can get enough age on your ERC, something over a century, the foliage does settle down and stops being needle foliage.

That is a 2 lane wide gravel road on the levee about 350 feet below the juniper.

View attachment 437540

Nephew for sense of scale and "danger"
View attachment 437539

I "clench up" just looking at this photo. I was 100 pounds lighter when I climbed downed there. it is a sketchy, no guardrails, no trail, scramble. A fall would be certain death. Actually flat ground is not that far behind the camera, maybe a quarter mile back, but it was pretty rigorous hike for me at the time. I doubt I could do it now.

There is a parking lot with a vista overlook, but you are far away from the 800 year old juniper.

Every state in the USA and pretty much everywhere, there are interesting natural sights to see. You just have to take the time to investigate.
Love that Juniper thanks for sharing 👏 @Leo in N E Illinois
 

HorseloverFat

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Enjoy! Take your time if you can.
I did something like that last year.
I drove from Fl to CA with my daughter. Our route looked like a twisted old juniper and I can’t say there were no trunk crossings. It took us three weeks. We camped every night, sometimes if a place was really cool we stayed in the area for a couple of days. It was the best road trip I’ve had since the 1980s. I was a field biologist for many years and always slept on site, four nights a week camping for about 6 months of the year. I’m too old for that now, but when I do get out, I realize how much I miss it.
This is exactly the type of experience we are hoping for..

And I have TWO trusted caretakers, now.. who have EARNED their trust. Less anxiety about leaving my plants for longer than 12 hours!

🤓
 
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