Sarsaparilla, Saxifrage and Sassafras; makes you wonder if you could be in the deep South instead of the 'South' of Ontario. All three are however, plants native to Ontario. On the edge of the forest, just before my favorite pond, is a patch of Wild Sarsaparilla. So far, I have only found it in one other spot and I identify it by the three round flower umbels (think umbrella, or dandelion), atop a single smooth stem.
Wild Sarsaparilla, or Aralia nudicaulis if you look in an herb book, belongs to the Ginseng family. Wild Ginseng is an endangered, and therefore protected species, but Panax ginseng has become a wide-spread root crop in Ontario. Wild Sarsaparilla's root is also versatile; it can be boiled and eaten like a potato, is an ingredient in traditional root beer, an aromatic tea, and several homeopathic remedies. Its tiny flowers turn into dark blue berries which alas, are not recommended as an afternoon snack.
I began to wonder if there are any other examples of threes in wildflowers. (My mind took off on a tangent and has not returned yet.) One that came to mind immediately because it is still in bloom, is the Trillium. Three petals (in this case, white), three sepals (green), and three leaves.
Then I saw the first Yellow Flag of the season blooming amongst the reeds.
The Yellow Flag or Iris, has three petals and three sepals. I read in my guide that there are also three stamen and three pistils which are its private parts, and I wasn't about to wade out into the pond to poke about in those.
While I was at the pond that evening, a pair of osprey visited,
and I saw the Muskrat Family's new babies.
It was such a lovely evening.
A little more research provided a notorious 'Three'. "Leaves of three, let it be. Berries white, take flight." Poison Ivy . In Southern Ontario, poison ivy is both a shrub and a climbing ivy, and it is in places that I didn't expect or recognize.
This is how it is growing beside a lot of paths right now; a low woody shrub with very pretty sets of three leaves which will turn completely green shortly. Now that I have taken notice, I see that they are more prevalent, and very close to the edges of paths that I walk on regularly.
This is the climbing ivy form with thick older stems showing tiny rootlets anchoring it to the tree trunk, and brand new finer stems making their way up the trunk.
The poison ivy also sends branches out from the tree trunk which you could easily mistake for foliage of a different and less dangerous sort, and brush up against.
These branches will exhibit poison ivy berries come the fall, revealing the actual identity of the vine. I don't know whether there is going to be a bumper crop of poison ivy this season, or maybe I am just more aware, but I will certainly have to be more careful.
Jack-in-the-pulpit's scientific name is Arisaema triphyllum meaning three-leaved. At the present the Jack-in-the-pulpit may still be blooming, but it will be much less visible as Mayapple leaves form a canopy over it, and as its own leaves grow taller and cover Jack and his pulpit.
Before long Broadleaf Arrowhead will be seen at pond edges. Its flowers often grow in whorls of three, and have three bright white petals.
When mature, these fruits will appear and they will be grazed by ducks, geese and swans. However, beneath the mud, it grows tubers which are edible, and particular favorites of muskrats and snapping turtles.
Virginia Spiderwort is native to Ontario and also 'native' to most garden centers. I have only come across it once in the wild and it is lovely with its three petals of bright blue. The flowers close in the afternoon and generally bloom for one day only.
Red Clover has a Latin name of Trifolium pratense which gives first importance to the fact that it is 3-leaved. Red Clover is a popular forage crop, while White Clover is a less popular lawn crop. My mother-in-law has an uncanny knack for finding White clover with 4 leaves and I have come across them pressed in books at her house.
There is a good chance that while you are hunting for four-leaf clovers on your lawn, you will come across Yellow Wood-sorrel with its flower of warm yellow and its heart shaped leaflets. Apparently the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture considers Wood-sorrels weeds not wildflowers; but not a noxious weed, I checked.
But speaking of noxious weeds, meet Great Ragweed, a misnomer for certain. The scientific name is worse; Ambrosia trifida referencing the leaves which are 3-parted. This is the culprit that sends us to the pharmacy to stock up on tissues and allergy medicine. 'Ambrosia' derives from the Greek for 'immortality' and has a more commonly used meaning of 'nectar of the gods' implying something wonderful and delicious. I have no idea how this even remotely applies to ragweed. There was however a 'three' reference in case you thought that I had wandered too far off the path this time.
3-lobed leaves on a Sassafras tree
I found other examples of threes in my guide books, most referring to the number or shape of leaves, and not the number of petals on a flower. None of the examples had particular religious or other significance that related to the 'three', except for clover, and the significance was in the absence of three. I found it interesting because 'three' has a large significance in everyday life. For many people of faith the Trinity is their cornerstone of belief. There is a kind of completeness to 'three'; a beginning, a middle and an end. I read that it is a marketing concept that 'three' is the optimum number of choices to offer. So many things are organized in threes; 3 Fates, 3 primary colours, Cerberus had 3 heads, 3 feet in a yard, 3 dimensions, 3 strikes, 3 R's etc. I don't know exactly why there were 3 Little Pigs or Kittens or ships or French Hens.
3 ducks in a row? (well ducklings)
At any rate is has been interesting to think about how religion and marketing, two very opposed concepts, affect the evolution of language, and if any of those concepts spill over into how we look at, or name things in nature. Things to ponder on the path.
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