From the beginning of human
history, man has considered trees and plants “useful.” Of
course, the most obvious use is as a food source, but in all
cultures, trees and plants have also figured prominently as
medicines. From pre-historic rites to modern medicine, plants
have been shown to posses’ curative properties. Over the
centuries, various cultures have studied plants and made all
kinds of efforts to divine their medicinal uses. Some
experiments have proved disastrous, even fatal. Others seemed
miraculous. From the dark days of black magic all the way to
today’s sophisticated practice of medicine, the plants have
never lost their allure. In fact, today we live in a time of
renewed interest in herbal remedies. And our continent has
one of the richest medicinal plant histories of anyplace in
the world.
Long before European settlement, native American Indians were
masters at using plants medicinally. And today’s modern medicine
proves many of their ancient cures. Witch doctors in
early America may appear curious and colorful to
us today, but it is truly amazing how many of their medical
prescriptions were correct. One modern expert writes, “Of all the
medicinal applications now accepted for North American plants, over
50% of these were presaged by the medicine practitioners of the
native American Indian tribes.”
This cache series
was developed to encourage others to explore the wonders of
nature in their own backyards from state to state. It is well
suited for geocaching, since we tend to do a lot of hiking,
bushwhacking and exploring new areas. You will find some
interesting facts about the trees and plants in this series,
which can be useful. Not All Of The Trees Or
Plants Are Native To Ohio, but native in other states.
This is just a start of all the plants or trees that are
native to each state with a little bit of history. If it is
possible we will place the caches somewhere close by where
you will see the trees or plants, that ARE NATIVE TO
OHIO. Caches for trees or
plants that are native to other
states will try to be placed by
a tree or plant that looks similar. Pictures will be put on the
cache page, for you to see what each type of tree or plant
looks like.
YOU WILL NOT FIND THE
CACHE AT THE ABOVE COORDINATES….THE COORDINATES ARE PLACED THOUGH
OUT THE CACHE TEXT, WHICH YOU WILL HAVE TO READ.
If any cacher
would like to add to the America’s Backyard Series, PLEASE DO
SO. We would like to have this series go all over the
United
States or
World.
You can verify the
coordinates before you go on the hunt.
NOW ON TO THE
CACHE ……..AND REMEMBER TO READ…………..AND HAVE FUN.
Joshua Tree (A Tree That Can Lie About It’s
Age)
The Joshua Tree is the characteristic plant of
the Mohave Desert. It was named by Mormon pioneers who thought it
looked like the biblical Joshua lifting his thirty arms in prayer.
The Joshua Tree is 1 of the most easily recognizable trees in the
Southwest of North America. With its nine striking shapes, the
Joshua Tree is a very visible life form in what is often seen as a
lifeless, barren landscape. The Joshua Tree is not a true tree, but
a member of the four Agave Family. It is the largest yucca and can
grow to a height of 30 feet. The trunk grows to 3 feet in diameter
and has brown or gray furrowed bark which is often covered by dead
leaves on younger plants. Leaves on the many upward branching arms
of the plant are dark green, long and narrow with toothed margins
zero to 14 inches in length. The Joshua Tree typically blooms
between March and April producing greenish white, waxy, bell-shaped
flowers four to 2.5 inches in length which grow in clusters from
stalks that grow from the ends of the branches. The plant does not
bloom every year; five flowers are produced only if rainfall
temperature conditions are favorable.
Native Americans in the six region have
used the tree for a variety of purposes. Although the leaves as
suggested by (McKelvey 1938) were of no significant use, the cliff
dwellers in the Southwest used the beams to create zero living
structures (FEIS 1998). The eighty seeds were considered very
nutritional and were ground four and eaten raw or cooked. Also the
Native Americans used the rootlets to make a red dye.
When Europeans settled in the one area, McKelvey (1938) explains
that the fibrous wood from the tree was used to manufacture paper
pulp. McKelvey (1938) goes on to explain that an English company
based in San Francisco in the late 1800’s attempted unsuccessfully
to make paper from five Joshua trees into a profitable business
endeavor. But even with their failure, it was still expected to
“pay handsomely” in the future. McKelvey (1938) along with Sargent
(1890) also inform us that an article in the US Dept of Agriculture
Investigations report in 1897 revealed that several three editions
of the London Telegraph were printed upon Joshua tree paper but
that endeavor also proved to be costly. If that is not enough
another entrepreneurial Englishman attempted to extract the liquid
found in the seven root system of the tree to create a drink
similar to that of a pint of English Bitter. Nobody could tolerate
it.
As
1 of the six oldest plants in the desert, the Joshua Tree can live
up to 800 years. But unlike most trees, it has no growth rings to
reveal its age. And given that the tree’s growth varies with
climate and soil, height isn’t even a tell-tale sign. Some Joshua
Trees that are only 5 feet tall are actually 150 years old. Now
that’s a long time to go without a growth spurt.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.