Rainy Days and Beautiful Flowers

Rainy Days and Beautiful Flowers

By Barbara Gray

As Haudenosaunee, we are taught never to criticize the weather. Rainy days are not bad; the wet days have their purpose in the natural balance of the Great Circle of Life. Although, it is sometimes hard to see the positive, in all that dark wet weather there definitely is necessity and good.

The wet spring provided pools of water for the amphibians to breed. Those tiny little frogs that can be heard at sunset, the spring peepers, probably had a good breeding season. A healthy population of frogs means fewer mosquitoes for us and more food for the herons and other frog eating animals.

During walleye spawning the wet weather kept many fishermen away, and this enabled the fish to repopulate themselves. When the sun came out, so did the fishermen. For a short time the fish had a chance to live out their instructions to breed and provide for the next generation without being speared, netted or hooked before they could finish spawning.

The wet spring has brought beautiful flowers to Akwesasne and throughout our aboriginal territory. Driving towards Massena one can see large patches of blue along the side of the road. These flowers are called Larger Blue Flag or Larger Blue Flag (Iris versicolor).

Blue Flag is a native plant. The plant grows to be two to three feet tall. The leaves are sword-like and are anywhere from a half inch to an inch wide. The flower size is three to four inches wide and blooms from May to July.

Yellow Flag or Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus) can be found in the same environment as Blue Flag. However, Yellow Flag is an alien, invasive species. Yellow Flag is a garden escapee that originates from Europe and Asia. The plant grows to be about one to three feet tall. The flowers size is three to four inches across and blooms in May to July.

The flag part of both irises’ names come from the Old English word flagge, which means rush or reed. Interestingly, these flowers like to grow in wet and marshy plants in the same environment as cattails, which are also a type of reed.

There are cultural medicinal uses for Blue Flag, but novices should stay away from gathering this medicine. The rhizomes and roots of both Blue Flag and Yellow Flag contain poisons known as irisin, iridin, or irisine. These poisons can be fatal to humans or livestock if eaten. In addition, the plants juices caused by cutting or injuring the steam or leaves can cause dermatitis in some people. Therefore, livestock should not be allowed access to the plants and humans should be careful in handling the plant.

It is important when planting a garden to try and use native plants. Alien species, although quite beautiful, can cause harm to the natural balance of our ecosystem.

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