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Wild woodland beauties
Blooms abound throughout the Upper Delaware region lately, as summer progresses toward the season of berries and fruits. A lunchtime walk along River Road, beginning at the Pennsylvania end of the Narrowsburg bridge, revealed tumbling troves of purple-flowering raspberry and sprays of Herb Robert.
These pink and purple beauties prefer rocky woodlands, slopes and ravines, and were indeed discovered growing from rocky outcroppings in Milanville, PA, overlooking the Delaware River.
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| TRR photo by Sandy Long | |
| Herb Robert, a member of the geranium family, sports delicate fern-like leaves and half-inch pink flowers that bloom through early fall. Despite its visual appeal, when these leaves are crushed, the plant emits an offensive odor, earning it the common nickname, “Stinky Bob.” Ripe seedpods burst and distribute seeds in various directions. Herb Robert has antibacterial properties and was medicinally used in the past to relieve toothaches and nosebleeds, and to treat malaria and tuberculosis. In folklore, the plant was claimed to be named after Robin Goodfellow, another name for the fairy Puck of “Midsummer Night’s Dream” fame, whom some also connect with Robin Hood.
(Click for larger version) |
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| TRR photo by Sandy Long | |
| Purple-flowering raspberry sports maple-shaped leaves ranging in size from four to 10 inches. A member of the rose family, this rambling thornless shrub reaches heights of three to six feet and blooms from June into August. Its fruit is a dry reddish berry that resembles a flattened raspberry and ripens in August. Its purple flowers measure roughly one and a half inches across.
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