Alpine bistort harvest and the Idas Blue

More or less the only plant I forage these days from the wild are alpine bistort (harerug) bulbils (Polygonum viviparum / Persicaria vivipara) to dry for the winter. This is one of the 80 plants in my book and I grow various accessions of this plant also in my garden! See also my post on 25th June 2019: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=22680
The best places for this species are in the high mountains and this plant’s tubers saved many mountain folk in the past from dying of hunger. We were at about the tree line and here it’s only found on disturbed ground but in places there can be large numbers of plants as in the video. It was a little early still, so we didn’t pick a lot, but will return in a couple of weeks. As we worked, hundreds of Idas blue / Idasblåvinge butterflies flitted around us!

2 thoughts on “Alpine bistort harvest and the Idas Blue”

  1. Beautiful!
    I love the blues – in Western Oregon, we have one called Fender’s Blue, named for my entomologist father-in law, Kenny Fender!
    For many years it was thought to be extinct, and rediscovered in ’89! It’s host plant is a small Lupin, Kincaid’s, and for nectar it loves native Mallows – Sidalcia sp.

Leave a Reply to Nadya King Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *