Genus Bar Podcast

@genusbarpod

Friends who chat about genera of plants which enhance our lives and ecosystems, over beverages, in a basement bar. Plants first (botany) then associated wildlife, then indigenous uses, foraging, growing, and herbalism. Posts by Eli. My co-host is Niladri

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Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· 19d

The breakdown of land use efficiency for protein looks a lot like that for calories, and same goes for plots of carbon and water use. Least efficient foods are, far and away, meat and dairy.

A plot from One World in Data, showing land use per 100g of protein for different food sources. It is an exponential decay through isn't, beef, cheese, milk, pork, then nuts. Nuts use three times less land than milk, and use the land much more gently, I might add.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· 19d

I won't beg to differ. I will fight tooth and nail like the animal I was meant to be. My hat isn't red or blue. Metaphorically, it is green. But here's what it says:

A trucker cap with the words 'Public Lands Forever' over the brim, under an embroidered picture of an orange sunset over b&w sparse desert landscape with rock formations in the distance and a van by a big cactus in the foreground.

The hat is from Rustek, which I note because they donate to the cause when you buy one.

Please excuse the salt stain on the brim. I played tennis last weekend.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· 19d

That's gorgeous! What a shot. I love how the Joe Pye inflorescences mimic the shape of the centered White Pine (I presume). Joe Pye species (Eutrochium fistulosum and E. maculatum/dubium) here are warming up, some blooming. Northeastern Coastal Zone (near Boston). #ecoregion59

Joe Pye species (Eutrochium fistulosum and E. maculatum/dubium) growing densely in a meadow, producing buds. The ones up front are pale, with a cluster of a darker, more purple-flowering species in the back left, budding blooms highlighted against the dark backdrop of the tree line.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· 27d

My co-host and his wife worked very hard and turned their first delivery from ChipDrop (free woodchips!) into a lawn conversion and aging chip pile for the garden before it yellowed the grass. I helped, but this is where I left it. I'm very proud of their hard work. #gardening #woodchips #homestead

The woodchip pile, mostly Norway Maple apparently, with Niladri and his wife hard at work filling wheelbarrows from the pole on the lawn in front of their house.

Their first crops are in! The woodchips were used to surround the raised beds they build this spring to grow their veggies. I helped arrange the crops, since I know who gets along and who doesn't among garden vegetables, but they did the rest.

Green tomatoes, yellow squash and zucchini on the railing by their garage port, with their pup Maisy's butt making a surprise cameo.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· 27d

Staghorn Sumac is ripe here! That's Rhus typha, with the hairy stems like downy buck. It's ripe for sumacaid or the local version of Palestinian zataar: forage Sumac and Bee Balm from the hillsides like they harvest their Rhus and Zataar Thyme. #wildfood #nativeplants #ecoregion59 #foraging

Red spire of small hairy Staghorn Sumac berries over a spray of pinnately compound leaves

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jul 4

Ezra, our director, has been carefully considering which plant genus to have us discuss next. He has been tasting some Sedges, and seems inclined that way. Continue on the 'start big' path? Carex pennsylvanica for a dash of the charm of this forest. Celastrus orbiculatus for a taste of reality.

Ezra, the 50lb lanky black and grey, 'blue-merle' poodle/Australian Shepherd in his blue harness, looking around me with his head cocked to the R side of the image, standing in the edge of a pine/oak duff path through Pennsylvania Sedge and Poison Ivy.

Our three dogs, Ezra the youngest and the biggest is the 50lb blue-merle lanky poodle-looking dog pulling in the center, Ember is the black 40lb poodly dog lunging forward on the right. Elliot is the 15lb little grey dog of his own unique kind on the left, leash slack but blurred as he rushes to catch up with his head down.

The dogs are on a packed duff path through Virginia Creeper and Pennsylvania Sedge understory of a green and growing open forest.

A bed of Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pennsylvanica) growing at the edge of the trail, in white pine duff, when little White Woodland Asters coming in under the leaves of sedge.

Asiatic Bittersweet climbing a White Pine tree, in front of center with a lush, diverse, viny forest for background

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jul 2

Morning walk and plant survey, on the trails behind Albert J. Sargent Memorial Library, to a marsh off Guggins Brook, Boxborough, MA.

Pine/oak upland trail with a path of White Pine needles, lined by woodland sedges and blueberries in the foreground, ferns in the distance. Nearby trunks are massive White Pines. Young oaks are leafing out low, near a bright area around a fallen tree in the distance. The trunk is many-gold divided with parallel parts staying close as they rise/rose, leaning at 45° against a big White Pine.

Sunny cattail marsh, with tussocks of large wetland sedges and a few Skunk Cabbages nearby. Image is taken from the shade of the understory by the marsh, and a White Pine limb reaches out over pale blue sky to border the tip of the image. Silhouetted cattails make sure borders, in the morning shade on the edge of the marsh. The trees on the other side of the marsh make a lower border to the sky, separating the pale, bright, sunny green from the pale blue sky with a dark green strip.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jul 2

Lithobates sylvaticus, a Wood Frog, not a tree frog. Denizen of vernal pools in youth, this one was sprinting from the upland oak/pine/blueberry forest to the marsh when I startled them and they hid under an Canada Mayflower. Antifreeze frogs of the North. Worth a deeper dive. #ecoregion59

A Wood Frog, grey, with black behind the eyes and narrow pale yellow and black stripes running parallel from the black patches to the haunches. Some mottled black and pale yellow on the undersides of the legs. On oak/pine duff under a Canada Mayflower leaf, facing away and to the R.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jul 2

Hello American toad (Anaxyrus americanus), soaking up the heat on this humid night. It is warm and moist. The pavement on the walk outside our apartment is still about 90°F (32.2°C). I didn't know they liked it quite so warm. #Anaxyrus #toad #ecoregion59 How I know it's not A. fowler in alt text.

This is an American toad (Anaxyrus americanus). The parotoid glands behind the eyes are relatively smooth and rounded rather than elongated, which distinguishes it from Fowler's toad (A. fowleri). The glands point backward like a comma. They look distinct and separate from the rest of the back.

Our friend here has a smoother (than A. fowleri) back with large, raised wart-like bumps that are reddish-brown.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jul 1

Ooh, this is wonderful! I'm so excited to attend! I just got Rebecca Beyer's books for my herbalism reading. I loved her interview on Herbal Radio. I arrived at herbalism via botany, foraging and ethnobotany, and these are all the above.

Rebecca Beyer's books:

Mountain Magic on the left, with cover illustrations during botanical images sun, moon, and a potion.

The Complete Folk Herbal (An illustrated guide to natural remedies and everyday healing) on the right. Bottles and herbs adorning the cover.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 29

A walk in the woods this morning, under arching Witchhazel and upright Oak. I picked a Wild Sarsaparilla berry and saved 5 seeds. I'll plant them under the Strawberry Moon tonight. #MondayMorningNature #EarthFocus

My little dog on the trail through Oaks, with a Witchhazel and Blueberry understory.

Closer shot of little grey Elliot the tiny Wild Wolf (dog of mysterious origin) on a trail under arching Witchhazel and tall upright forest oaks (straight with no lower branching).

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 29

What if my problem is that I'm in the middle of too many books at once? I don't dust. I'm the cooking and dishes guy, and I got mad credit for the clean counter and fridge full of food for my wife's first weekend of summer break. She's off to yoga. Too busy living to sleep in. #booksky #druidsky

My stack of books.

A diary with a nighttime trail from Mushrooms, through White Pines, toward a Strawberry Moon,
Shifting Sands, with I'm almost done with, and I've been marking up with critiques, Being Mortal,
The Yamas & Niyamas,
Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza,
Mountain Magic,
The Complete Folk Herbal,
The Slightest Green

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 28

Virginia Rose (Rosa virginiana) in bloom. We had hedges of this lovely productive plant at our old place. It was nice to see this one in the ditch, and hear the tone of the bumblebees change as the grabbed on to shake them. #wildflowerhour #nativeplants #ecoregion59

A little clump of rose foliage emerging above shiny Poison Ivy leaves, surrounded behind by mostly native grasses. The rose has a few lovely pink 5-petalled blooms with yellow centers, and many growing rise hips from previous blooms.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 28

Silene latifolia, White Bladder Campion Native to Europe and western Asia, it was introduced to North America roughly 200 years ago, likely via ship ballast. It is a common sight along roadways and recent developments where it outcompetes native species of Silene. #wildflowerhour #invasiveplants

White, flowers with 5 split petals in front of a swollen calyx (fused outer sepals) that make up the 'bladder' of a Bladder Campion

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 27

Pretty speeches aren't enough. We should be trying to replace everyone who is complicit in stealing our taxes to fund a genocidal military in violation of international law. Even if they give pretty speeches. Even if they are witty and charismatic and do great resistance cosplay.

The track AIPAC page for Jon Ossoff, showing that he took $804,443 from AIPAC for his campaign: that's a particularly large sum.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 27

Can you tell Black Huckleberry (Gaylussaccia baccata) from Hillside Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum)? With red VS white flowers, it's easy. When the berries are forming, the flange at the bottom is a hint. #nativeplants #wildfood #ecoregion59 PS. Know the botanical name for that flange? Please LMK.

Huckleberries, small and green still, some with the remnants of the dried flower stick in the flange at the bottom of the berry. That's a Huckleberry trait: the flanges on blueberries open up and drop the remnants of the flowers.

Background is an open woodland. These are understory plants, by and large

Hillside Blueberries: berries with wide open flanges, growing in the shade of more foliage. Woody stems and leaves for background

Black Huckleberry on the left and hillside Blueberry on the right. Similar ovate elliptic leaves and similar stems. But the blueberry has darker green leaves and stems pair with bloom, and the huckleberry has a more yellow-green tint.

It's subtle. I can guess with foliage most of the time now but I still confirm with flowers, berries, and undersides of leaves.

Underside of a Black Huckleberry leaf. To center, right on the leaf a patch of the sticky resin glands that Huckleberries have and Blueberries don't are catching the sun. There isn't always this much resin. Sometimes they're sticky with it, sometimes it's very subtle

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 27

Hmm... Often I find that ticks are less abundant where there's a healthy ecosystem (i.e. fireflies). But a healthy moist meadow here in MA will host both. If you're following the deer trails, getting some ticks on you is likely. I found 3 ticks crawling on me today.

A dense meadow full of blooming Milkweeds with globular inflorescences of 1cm wide pale pink flowers. The meadow on a landfill earth pile hill is Milkweeds and ferns in the foreground fading to mostly Goldenrods in the background with a line of trees beginning behind the hill.

I followed a deer track to get here.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 24

Pyrola americana. Common names I like: Common Shinleaf, Turtle Island Shinleaf, North American Shinleaf. A sub-shrub with a few cm of woody stem, in the Blueberry (/Heath) family. #ecoregion59 #nativeplants #wintergreen #NOTwintergreen #understory #heath

Complex inflorescences of white flowers, somewhat bell shaped, facing away, over a few small round leaves with highly contrasting complex patterned behind in oak duff.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 21

Happy Solstice! I brought Yarrow and St. John's Wort for strength, healing and hope. We burned them on the sacred fire. The widest point in the cycle. Gaia is furthest from Sol and our hemisphere is the most pointed toward Sol. Summers blessings. I took no pictures. Here is Prunella vulgaris.

Prunella vulgaris, Heall-all. Tubular, hooded, purple, white-rimmed flowers extending at intervals from a cone like flowerhead.

This humble and healing lawn weed is what I'm grateful for tonight.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 18

Grey Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) is a shrub with white, flat-topped flowers that are often mistaken for Elderberry. The mounded shape, and smaller flowers are hints from afar. Once you get up close, it's easy to tell the difference -- see the alt-text. plantnative.org/native-plant... #nativeplants

The racemes of white flowers on Cornus racemosa are comprised of cm wide, white, 4-petalled flowers. One cluster is centered with others scattered around the dense, shiny green foliage with lanceolate, smooth-margined, simple leaves.

Elderberry has 5 petals per flower, and toothy margins on the pinnately compound leaves.

A 4+m tall Grey Dogwood shrub with an abundance of flowering racemes, bright white in the sun. The shadow of my hand shows on the bottom of this shrub, standing on the W side of the meadow in the morning sun.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 15

Good morning! This is our director Ezra, and his lovely assistant, Ember. She's the leader on outdoor outings but he comes first when called, (and directs the pod). Questions about why episode 4 is taking so long can be directed to our director. #BlueSkyMonday #Nature #Meadow

Two dogs on a deer track through a hillside meadow. There is a diverse set of herbs, with Bedstraw (Gallium) and grass flowers peeking over top, and scattered dogwood shrubs reaching a bit over a meter tall. It has been 2 or 3 years since this section was mowed.

Trees are scattered along a line in the distance at the meadow's edge and make up the sky line. The sky is a cloud-dominated grey-blue with a opening where the sun's rays are spreading down onto the distant hills.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 12

What is a flower? I prefer to use the botanical definition. When you call a plant a flower, I think of Angiosperms. Why do people call this a weed? I think it's because they don't take the time to look a little closer. Hemp Dogbane (Apocynum cannabidum) #nativeplants #bloomscrolling #ecoregion59

Close-up of many greenish white bell-shaped flowers in dense cymes. Some are budding, and some have their rounded star-shaped 5 petals open. Reddish stems and prominently veined lanceolate, entire leaves are partially visible in the background, out of focus.

Tough pinkish/reddish stems of Hemp Dog and on a meadows edge, showing heavy branching in the upper half of the meter+ tall plants. The stems are tough to support the many branches and thick lanceolate leaves along with many dense clusters of flowers.

Background is more Hemp Dogbane mixed in with Goldenrods and Asters, and a little invasive Mugwort that I will eventually get around to pulling before it turns this diverse meadow edge into monoculture.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 9

Here is my favorite place on Earth. This dock, this pond, on the hill behind my grandparents' house in the Helderberg Hilltowns W of Albany NY. It is being surrounded by invasive Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus). I have never tried to manage this species: taking tips.

A warped old dock extending into a round pond with the land dropping away behind and coming back in rolling green hills in the distance. The sky and a few trees downslope, on the far side, are reflected in the pond.

The edge of the pond is lined by invasive Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus) that I'll look into removing.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 9

One of my favorite species to forage is Rhus typha (Staghorn Sumac). It's just starting to flower, and I think the flowers are neat. Ripe red berries are used to make spice blends and sour drinks. Traditional Palestinian za'atar: palestineinadish.com/recipes/zaat... Start drying Thyme in prep.

Staghorn sumac (*Rhus typhina*) inflorescence with the pinnately compound leaves and toothed leaflets filling the rest of the image, except where some wild grapes suck in. Sumacs have a distinctive floral anatomy that's characteristic of the Anacardiaceae family. Here's a detailed breakdown:

## Flower Structure Overview

Staghorn sumac produces small, greenish-yellow flowers in dense, terminal panicles that can reach 8-12 inches in length. The flowers are unisexual, with plants being dioecious (separate male and female plants on different individuals).

### Stamens (Male Flowers)
- **Number**: 5
- **Arrangement**: Opposite the corolla lobes
- **Anthers**: Small, yellow, versatile (attached at middle)
- **Filaments**: Short, slender
- **Function**: Pollen production

### Pistil (Female Flowers)
- **Ovary**: Superior, 3-celled
- **Style**: Single, short
- **Stigma**: 3-lobed, slightly enlarged
- **Ovules**: One per cell, basal attachment

### Flower Density
- **Spacing**: Very close together, creating a fuzzy appearance
- **Color**: Greenish-yellow overall
- **Timing**: Flowers appear in early to mid-summer (June-July)

## Distinctive Features

### Velvet Texture
- **Cause**: Dense covering of fine hairs (trichomes) on stems and flower clusters
- **Function**: Reduces water loss, creates microclimate
- **Appearance**: Gives the "staghorn" appearance to the plant

### Sexual Dimorphism
- **Male flowers**: More numerous, slightly larger panicles
- **Female flowers**: Produce showier red drupes later in season

The floral anatomy of staghorn sumac is adapted for efficient wind pollination, with its dense, feathery panicles and abundant pollen production. This structure makes it particularly successful in colonizing disturbed areas and creating dense thickets through seed dispersal by birds that consume the tart red fruits.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 6

Dogbane flowering! I thought it was Milkweed. I've watched it sprout and grow as my dogs pulled me by this big patch. First Nations peoples across Turtle Island (N. Am.) have used dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) for thousands of years as both a medicinal plant and a vital fiber source. #nativeplants

A patch of branching, flowering Apocynum cannabinum. Stems are tougher and stiffer than those of Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed). Inflorescences and flowers are noticeably smaller, lacking in pink tones, inflorescences are less globular/full than those of A. syriaca, more upright and thin. Leaves are less succulent and tougher.

Branching is opposite and plants divide into many during stems, often with two side branches outstripping the central stem, which has more flowers and larger inflorescences. Leaves are lanceolate and entire with pronounced white veins in glossy medium-dark green leaves that are slightly lighter on the underside. There's the battery touch of pink to the stems

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 4

Gallium, G. aparine, Cleavers, Bedstraw. Call it what you will, but take a second look. They deserve recognition as a useful herb. A spring cleansing tonic and a gentle diuretic, anti-inflammatory, a mild pain reliever. #nativeplants #herbalism #ecoregion59 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Our producer Ezra ('blue merle' (grey and black) poodly dog in a blue harness) examining some Bedstraw growing in a field that is mostly a grasses (Timothy). Image is mostly lush green spring growth of grass and Gallium, with a dog on the path (not shown) adjacent, examining the green

Gallium aparine flowering in little clusters, reaching up over the grass and beginning to buckle. Eventually it will reach too far and the support will collapse: it will blanket the grass below.

There is also a spittle bug on one. These little bubble-nesting leafhopper larvae like Gallium.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· Jun 3

"If we would all work together and educate each other about these things, it would be abundant again." -Charlie "Red Hawk" Thom This after talking about all we are losing. The oaks succumbing to disease... Teach others to love their ecosystems. If we see and care, as a society, we can do better.

An American Cranberry Viburnum (Viburnum trilobum) that I planted at my Grandma's house in Berne NY. It is a 10' tall shrub now, covered in white inflorescences.

This species is a slow-grower that failed to return when this area was largely returned from farmland to forest by dint of fields being abandoned in the last century. The resulting woodland has a lot of diversity that swept back in from alcoves in these steep rocky hills, but the slower native species have their niches being rapidly filled by invasives. EG Honeysuckles and Multiflora Rose where the Viburnums trilobum would grow.

I hope we can teach people in this town to see and care about these things.

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· May 28

Want to learn from people with a generational knowledge of #resistance? How about a group that has had the feds labeling them as terrorists for activism and resistance for centuries, since long before AIM won back the rights to use their languages and practice their religions? www.REDMEDIA.PRESS

Schwag from being a patron of The Red Nation Podcast: Indigenous socialists of Turtle Island.

Left to Right there are a thank you letter saying what the contribution supports and postcards showing examples of the activism and outreach they discuss, stickers (Red Nation Podcast text with flowers, Red Power Hour text also with flowers), a postal card advertising for a book produced with funding for small donors like us (Bordertown Clashes, Resource Wars, Contested Territory), a letter and bookmark and pamphlet discussing the political platform -- find out more on red media.org

The letter and postcards closer up: "Because of your support, we have been able to report on movements across Turtle Island." Postcard-style photos of the movements.

www.REDMEDIA.PRESS written down the side of the letter

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· May 26

King Solomon's Seal, Solomon's Plume... many names. The genera here are Polygonatum (biflorum) and Maianthemum (racemosa). There are edible parts and poison in both traditional foods of Indigenous peoples. Choose these, not Hostas please #nativePlants #foraging #wildFood #ecoregion59 #cottageGarden

King Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) from the top. Green, alternate, elliptic, entire monocot leaves on arching stems, over dry oak leaves, in front of a granite boulder

Solomon's Plume (Maianthemum racemosa) begging the bloom, with a raceme of tiny white flowers beginning to open at the end of the stalk, above the alternating, elliptic, entire, ripples monocot leaves

Genus Bar Podcast@genusbarpod· May 24

Went to Elevenses in Freeport ME. The hash browns are the best latkes I've ever had. The decor was on point. The people were friendly and kind. Couldn't recommend it more. #FreeportME #LotR