On the 4th day of the Norwegian Seed Savers weekend (6th May 2019), the traditional spring walk along the Homla river and canyon was on the programme with the hope to find ostrich ferns at the right stage to pick. In the cooler parts near the river, it was too early and too late away from the river. Nevertheless, everyone who wanted to picked a few fiddleheads!
It was as usual a magical walk which took some of us 8 hours to complete….as there was so much to see and enjoy!
Thanks to all the participants who also provided pictures: Berit Børte (third time participant), new steering commitee member Bernhard Askedalen, Elin Mar (from Røst), Inger Line Skurdal Ødegård, Meg Anderson and Tina Lambert!
Ostrich Fern Paradise:
New tractor road at the start of the trail!
New viewpoint and boardwalk replacing the slippery and eroded path down to the waterfall
Fern roots
Bernhard Askedalen tells us about the ecology of Symrebeger or Anemone cup (Dumontinia tuberosa), parasitic on wood anemone (hvitveis)
Symrebeger or Anemone cup (Dumontinia tuberosa) is parasitic on wood anemone (hvitveis)
Symrebeger or Anemone cup (Dumontinia tuberosa) is parasitic on wood anemone (hvitveis)
Alternative leaved golden saxifrage / maigull
Rumex spp.
Rumex spp.
Grynløpekule /Deer truffle or Common False Truffle….favourite food of wild boar! I spotted this in the middle of the eroded path!!
A red variant of Rumex acetosa…I must dig a bit and see if it retains its red colour in cultivation
Sitka (sitkagran) needles
Magical as usual ostrich fern paradise!
Magical as usual ostrich fern paradise!
There are many other edibles growing alongside the ostrich fern in this spot including Stachys sylvatica (hedge woundwort / skogsvinerot) edible rhizomes (but hardly worth the effort!
…and alternative leaved golden saxifrage / maigull
…and nettles / stornesle
…and meadowsweet / mjødurt
Elfin cup / skarlagen vårbeger
Found these lying abandoned in the undergrowth!
Pictures from Saturday’s 5 km (almost 4 hours with all the stops) walk along the Homla river canyon from Storfossen (this area’s second highest waterfall) to the sea at Hommelvik! As usual, a memorable trip!
We were joined for the weekend by Amandine Faury from France, a new student of Agroecology at Ås, on her way to a hiking holiday in Lofoten!
Kidney vetch (fjellsyre) is found along the river
Another mountain plant, not previously registered this low down in Malvik was found by the waterfall: Thalictrum alpinum
Very little water in the river!
Ostrich fern
Ostrich fern
Ostrich fern
Cicerbita alpina
Mountain queen (fjelldronning)
Campanula latifolia (eaten for lunch!)
Eirik Lillebøe Wiken and the giant ostrich fern!
Kidney vetch (fjellsyre)
Taraxacum eirikii (Eirik proclaimed this one to be a new species) ;)
Eirik Lillebøe Wiken poses at the famous permaveggies course ostrich fern patch!
A demonstration wood for growing quality alder wood for furniture!
Pictures from this week’s 5 hour (botanist pace) walk along the spectacular Homla canyon, the start about 14 km from home!
Storfossen
Storfossen
Ostrich fern (strutseving) had already come too far in most places, but in the cooler air next to the river and in places where the snow lies late, they were perfect for harvestingth the warm weather, the ostrich fern (strutseving) had already come too far to harvest, but other places on the banks of the river and where snow lies longer
Wood anemones (hvitveis)
Ostrich fern (strutseving) emerging from river spring flood silt deposits
Ostrich fern (strutseving) emerging from river spring flood silt deposits
Ostrich fern (strutseving) emerging from river spring flood silt deposits
A particularly luxuriant patch of ostrich fern
A particularly luxuriant patch of ostrich fern
Wild salad gathered for lunch on the Homla walk this week, including giant bellflower (storklokke), alpine bistort (harerug), Viola spp., red and green leaved sorrel (engsyre), Rumex longifolius, raspberry (bringebær) shoots, wood sorrel (gjøksyre), lady’s mantle (marikåpe), stinging nettle (brennesle), young leaves of Cirsium palustre, coltsfoot (hestehov, don’t use much as it contains alkaloids) and dandelion (løvetann)
Wild salad gathered for lunch on the Homla walk this week, including giant bellflower (storklokke), alpine bistort (harerug), Viola spp., red and green leaved sorrel (engsyre), Rumex longifolius, raspberry (bringebær) shoots, wood sorrel (gjøksyre), lady’s mantle (marikåpe), stinging nettle (brennesle), young leaves of Cirsium palustre, coltsfoot (hestehov, don’t use much as it contains alkaloids) and dandelion (løvetann)
Ostrich fern (strutseving)
Ostrich fern (strutseving)
Ostrich fern (strutseving)
Spring vetch (vårerteknapp)
Wood anemone (hvitveis)
This tiny hoverfly was on wood anemone flowers
This tiny hoverfly was on wood anemone flowers
Marsh marigold (soleihov) flowers amongst meadowsweet (mjødurt) leaves
Gyromitra esculenta (sandmorkel) is no longer recommended as food
Wood sorrel (gjøksyre) flowers with Hepatica leaves
Beetles in wood anemone (hvitveis)
Some dead tips of bilberry (blåbær) in a small area
Cicerbita alpina (turt), important food of the sami people, but very bitter at this stage…
Another magical walk along the Homla Canyon in Malvik in the company of wwoofer of the week :) First, a parade of Ostrich Ferns along the bank of the Homla river
A dipper (fossekall), Norway’s national bird flew past us singing as it flew and landed conveniently on some rocks 50m upstream:
A curly whirly dandelion
Although popular in the past, Gyromitra esculenta (sandmorkel) is no longer recommended as edible due to toxic compounds that may not even be neutralised by cooking…
Alternate leaved golden saxifrage /maigull in seed already
Fomitopsis pinicola (Red belt CONK or rødrandkjuke)
Bracken fern / einstape
Violets are blue….not only..here yellow-flowered Viola biflora
I’ve never before met a bear in the woods…well spotted by my companion wwoofer!
Lathyrus vernus (Spring pea / vårerteknapp) is a rare plant in Malvik
The path crosses the site of an old charcoal burning site
Charcoal in the path
Our goal was the ostrich fern site (strutseving) where I’d been with Berit Børte Ane Mari Aakernes and Marit By only two weeks ago (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=11108), the plants had grown a lot in the meantime and only a few young fiddleheads were to be found!
Ostrich fern with meadowsweet (mjødurt) and rosebay willowherb (geitrams)
Ostrich fern with an understory of nettles
Tasty Cardamine flexuosa, Wavy Bittercress / skogkarse in the path
We took a new path used by salmon fishermen down to the river and discovered new large stands of ostrich fern
Homla river
Large stands of ostrich fern also on the other bank!
…and then magic happened as I noticed the moon rising from the forest high up on the ridge on the other side of the river! WOW!
Caltha palustris
The first flowers of Cornus suecica
The first flowers of Cornus suecica
A song thrush (måltrost) was alarming as we passed near his nest sire, a shy forest bird here!
Spruce tree grasping the earth…
Alpine sow thistle (turt) hanging on in an area that had once upon a time been a luxuriant meadow..
Large leaved raspberry in deep shade
Masses of Campanula rapunculoides in alder wood on the edge of Hommelvik
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden