Wildlife Folklore

[FungiJohn]

Have you got a tale to tell .... some wildlife folklore. There must be loads of interesting associated folklore to share.

I'll start with:

Fungi used by Native Americans - Puffballs

Many types of mushrooms were collected and used by Native Americans. The mushrooms would be used fresh or dried and shredded for later use. A popular species was the Giant Puffball (Langermannia gigantea).

Many North American Indian tribes had their wages paid in puffballs.

The Omaha Indians used to fry slices of puffballs in bear oil or deer tallow. They would also boil them in water with any meat remains, bones and grease to make a meaty mushroom soup. This soup was extra special if it included fungi such as Morels (Morchella esculenta), Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) and St Georges Mushroom (Calocybe gambosa).

Another popular soup was Acorn soup. Fresh mushrooms were added to give it a fuller flavour.

In hard times when insufficient puffballs were found they would often substitute Lichens, some of which were regarded as a delicacy!

Occasionally mistakes were made in identification, especially so when young amanitas were taken for Lycoperdon perlatum. After eating poisonous types, an antidote was prepared which consisted of boiled deer brains in water!

The Lakota tribe of Native Americans used clean dry puffballs in their medicine. They would smother large wounds with puffball spores to slow bleeding and aid in blood clotting (Medicinal Styptic). The Dakota, Ponca and other Plains tribes also realised the importance of this species.

The Cherokee's used to place small puffballs on the navel of a newborn child to dry the umbilical cord.

Menominee, Potawatomi and Rappahannoks tribes would use crushed powered puffballs as a talcum powder to prevent skin chafing.

The Blackfoot used Calvatia craniformis spores to treat eye infections and internal haemorrhaging.

..... and this is just the beginning

John

[Ian Gray]

My gran used to say" rain before seven, dry by eleven".
It's amazing how often this is true, but even a broken clock
is correct twice a day.

Ian.

[Jennywrenny]

Originally Posted by Ian Gray

My gran used to say" rain before seven, dry by eleven".
It's amazing how often this is true, but even a broken clock
is correct twice a day.

Ian.

Looks like your gran was right...

"Given the size of the British Isles and the average wind speed, weather systems usually take around four hours to pass through. So, if it's raining before seven, the low pressure system causing the rain will have passed over in the next four hours."

quoted from the following website:

http://www.geocities.com/traditions_uk/folklore.html

Also:-

"Red sky at night, sailors' delight
Red sky in the morning - sailors take warning.

YES - basically true. The red of the sunset and sunrise is caused by moisture particles in the atmosphere : British weather tends come in from the west on the prevailing winds, so the moisture in a sunset sky is already well on its way and will pass over in the night, to the relief of sailors (or shepherds, depending on how far from the sea you are!) Conversely, a red morning sky is caused by moist air already well past and, given the frequency of change in the British weather, a fine morning will give way to a wet and windy afternoon!"

Although the Duke of York likes this version:-

Red sky at night, shepherd's delight
Red sky in the morning - shepherd's warning
Minced beef and mashed potato - Shepherd's Pie

Jenny

[werdnal]

Whilst we are on the subject of the weather, what about:

Fog in March, frost in May.

A good berry harvest means a hard winter to come (to me it just suggests its been an excellent summer for fruit!).