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Sunday, August 16, 2020

Watermelon Snow...Look, But Don’t Eat! ©

A video still from “Masterclass, On Eating Snow”, HERE, by Les Stroud. I would like to thank Mr. Stroud for his permission to use this picture in my article, the full video of “Colorado Rockies”, season 3, episode 2, can be found HERE.

I am a huge fan of the Survivorman! This article is in no way intended as criticism, implied or otherwise, of Mr. Stroud’s thoughts or opinions. I am and have always been, a great admirer of his work and his thoughts on survival and on his method of teaching of survival skills. In a very many ways, he has influenced my writing and my teaching – Author’s note.

Watermelon snow, from a picture titled “170828-FS-Inyo-PRW-MountRitter (36911026151)”, taken August 29, 2017, Wikimedia Commons, it can be found HERE.

An excerpt from “Masterclass, On Eating Snow”, by Les Stroud, found HERE.

This article started out as a conversation that I had with my oldest son, which went something like this, “Hey Dad, I just saw a great Survivorman video about red colored snow, the Survivorman said, that he wasn’t certain what caused the red color, but that you shouldn’t eat it. I bet you could find out why the snow was red”!

So, I did what I always do, I did some research and found the answers, so now let’s get to the questions.

Watermelon snow, a portion of a picture titled “Antarctica(js) 31”, July 26, 2009, Wikimedia Commons, it can be found HERE.

An excerpt from “Masterclass, On Eating Snow”, by Les Stroud, found HERE.

Watermelon snow is pretty, but just what makes the snow, pink or red?

Watermelon snow, which is also called “pink snow” or “blood snow” is something that you might see during the late spring or summer, in the Arctic or the Antarctica, in areas above 9,500 feet (2,900 m) or anywhere snow can be found even during the summer months. Watermelon snow isn’t caused by either a bacterium or a fungus, but by a type of cold-loving, fresh water green algae called Chlamydomonas nivalis¹, which produces a bright red carotenoid pigment, as well as chlorophyll for photosynthesis.

It produces the bright red pigment to protect itself from harmful UV rays, which because of the atmosphere above 9,500 feet (2,900 m) and in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the globe is thinner, are more damaging than the ultraviolet radiation at lower elevations or in the mid-latitudes of the globe.

Chlamydomonas nivalis, a Green algal cell responsible for red coloration of mountain snow-packs. This organism utilizes pollutants carried in snow as a food source and reduces the acidity of meltwater. Thin section observed using TEM. magnified 10,000X. A picture titled “Green algal”, May 19, 2008, Wikimedia Commons, it can be found HERE.

According to researchers, Chlamydomonas nivalis lies dormant as a cyst or spore under the snow during the winter, but as spring brings more sun and the snow begins to melt, the meltwater filled with nutrients reaches the dormant algae cells and causes them to germinate. When they germinate, the dormant cells release smaller, green, light sensitive swimming cells with two whip-like flagella that can swim the cell, upwards within the snowbank, until they have reached an area where light, moisture, temperature and UV rays are the best for growth. There they lose their flagella and develop into resting cells, called aplanospores, complete with the protective red carotenoid pigment and food reserves. The higher the concentration in snowbank of Chlamydomonas nivalis, the brighter red the snowbank will be².

Watermelon snow, a portion of a picture titled “Chlamydomonas nivalis”, July 26, 2009, Wikimedia Commons, it can be found HERE.

An excerpt from “Masterclass, On Eating Snow”, by Les Stroud, found HERE.

Watermelon snow is yummy red color and some people even say that it smells faintly of fresh watermelon, so is it bad for you, can you eat it?

Scott Gediman, the public affairs officer for Yosemite National Park, in an interview with TODAY said of watermelon snow, “Although it probably isn’t harmful to eat, we certainly don’t recommend it ...”³. The author, Redwic, wrote that he “... has even tasted very small doses of snow algae, for testing purposes, without feeling sick. However, it is possible that snow algae might be contaminated by bacteria and toxic algae that are harmful to humans. Eating large quantities of watermelon snow has been known to cause digestive ailments, although the tolerance level of each person's digestive system might be different”⁴.

Watermelon snow is thought to have a laxative effect on people who eat it⁵, And in a survival situation when you might already be low on water, loose stools or diarrhea can make dehydration worse, so watermelon snow should be avoided. However, having said that, it is time to echo the advice of Paul Kummerfeldt, who said “A doctor can fix giardia, but he can’t fix dead”⁶. If you don’t have any water and your choice is eat watermelon snow or die of dehydration, then eat the snow! Just be cautious and careful and follow the advice of Les Stroud as explained below.

Watermelon snow, a portion of a picture titled “Chlamydomonas nivalis”, August 8, 2006, Wikimedia Commons, it can be found HERE.

An excerpt from “Masterclass, On Eating Snow”, by Les Stroud, found HERE.

How deep do you have to dig in the snow to make sure that you are through the layer of Chlamydomonas nivalis?

During the late spring and summer, when Chlamydomonas nivalis is active and the snow is various shades of red and pink, some researchers have found that the penetration of sunlight through snow, and therefore the growth of algae, approaches zero at four inches (10 cm), however other sources say the concentrations or “blooms” may extend to a depth of ten inches (25 centimeters), so you will have to dig down at least four and possibly more than ten cinches to find snow that is free of color and Chlamydomonas nivalis⁷.

However, before you start eating that clear white snow, remember whenever possible you should disinfect your water before you drink it, either with a filter, with a chemical or by boiling it¹⁰. Mr. Gediman, the Yosemite National Park public affairs officer, when talking about eating snow said, “Like the water in the high country streams, it is probably safe to drink. However, we highly recommend treating all water before drinking since there is the possibility of giardia, a bacteria that can make you very sick. Therefore, all snow (watermelon or not) should be treated before consuming”⁸. In fact, Christopher Joyce⁹ writes that many snowflakes are in fact created when water vapor crystallizes around bacteria!

So, remember next time you are climbing a mountain, adventuring in the Arctic or in the Antarctic and you see a bright red, watermelon colored snowbank, look, take pictures, but don’t eat!

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site. I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Notes

¹ There are over 60 species of cold-loving (cryophilic) snow algae, but the species responsible for the red and pink snow is Chlamydomonas nivalis.

² W. P. Armstrong; “Watermelon Snow: A Strange Phenomenon Caused by Algal Cells of The Chlorophyta”

³ Drew Wiesholtz; “Red-colored 'watermelon snow' found at Yosemite National Park”

⁴ Redwic; “Exploring The Mystery Of Watermelon Snow”

⁵ Jennifer Frazer; “Wonderful Things: Don't Eat the Pink Snow”

⁶ “A doctor can fix giardia, but he can’t fix dead”, is a survival refrain that Peter Kummerfeldt teaches, and I have echoed since I first heard it in 2005. When worst comes to worst, and you are facing dehydration, drinking actually or potentially infected water is better than not drinking at all.

This might seem like common sense, however as my daughter says, “what is common sense to one person, isn’t common sense to another; common sense only exists in the context of your environment”. In the 1990’s two hikers in the Grand Canyon, ran out of water and didn’t want to refill their water bottles at a late season creek-bed pothole, teeming with tadpoles and other life: one of the hikers later died of dehydration and the other barely survived.

Peter Kummerfeldt, is a 71 year old survival expert who graduated from the Air Force Survival Instructor Training School and later was an instructor at the Basic Survival School, in Spokane, Washington, in the Arctic Survival School, in Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Jungle Survival School, in the Republic of the Philippines. Also, Peter was the Survival Training Director for the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, for twelve years (from Peter Kummerfeldt’s biography at “OutdoorSafe with Peter Kummerfeldt”, found HERE)

“Canyon Missteps, Lesson: Respect For Danger” Popular Mechanics, Volume 182, Number 8, August 2005, page 67,

⁷ W. P. Armstrong; “Watermelon Snow: A Strange Phenomenon Caused by Algal Cells of The Chlorophyta”

Marek Stibal, Josef Elster, Marie Šabacká, Klára Kaštovská, “Seasonal and diel changes in photosynthetic activity of the snow alga Chlamydomonas nivalis (Chlorophyceae) from Svalbard determined by pulse amplitude modulation fluorometry”

⁸ Drew Wiesholtz; “Red-colored 'watermelon snow' found at Yosemite National Park”

⁹ Christopher Joyce; “Snow Flurries, Bacteria Likely”

¹⁰ Just as, whenever possible, it is a good idea to disinfect snow and ice, which means that you first have to melt it, before using it as drinking water, it is also a good idea to melt ice and snow before putting it into your mouth, since by melting ice or snow inside your mouth you might reduce your core body temperature or hurt the inside of your mouth. Additionally, since snow is so porous, you won’t get enough liquid by eating snow. However, remember Mr. Kummerfeldt’s maxim, “doctors can cure a lot of things, but they can’t cure dead”, so if comes down to an eat ice and snow or die of dehydration situation, by all means eat the snow and ice, just be careful!

Also remember, since snow is such a good insulator, you first have to “prime” the pot with water before melting your snow or ice in it. Prime your pot with about a cup (8 ounces or 250 ml) of water, so that you don’t scorch or burn a hole in the pot.

Sources

Armstrong, W. P.; “Watermelon Snow: A Strange Phenomenon Caused by Algal Cells of The Chlorophyta”, August 1998, [© W.P. Armstrong], https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/plaug98.htm, accessed July 14, 2020

“Canyon Missteps, Lesson: Respect For Danger” Popular Mechanics, Volume 182, Number 8, August 2005, [Hearst Communications Inc, New York, NY] page 67, https://books.google.com/books?id=69IDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA67&dq=%22Canyon+Missteps%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_5ISPmPPqAhWej3IEHRlcDQ4Q6AEwAHoECAAQAg#v=onepage&q=%22Canyon%20Missteps%22&f=false, accessed April 3, 2019

Eveleth, Rose; “This Pink Snow Is Not What You Think it Is”, July 11, 2013, [© 2020 Smithsonian Magazine], https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-pink-snow-is-not-what-you-think-it-is-9651061/, accessed July 14, 2020

Frazer, Jennifer; “Wonderful Things: Don't Eat the Pink Snow”, July 9, 2013, [© 2020 Scientific American, A Division Of Nature America, Inc.], https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/artful-amoeba/wonderful-things-dont-eat-the-pink-snow/, accessed July 14, 2020

Marshall, Miri; “Watermelon snow: Sounds good, but you may not want to eat it. Here's why”, November 15, 2019, [© 2020 WUSA-TV], https://www.wusa9.com/article/weather/weather-blog/watermelon-snow-algae-pink/65-e35c036b-88ad-4593-97e9-97545e36b0af, accessed July 14, 2020

Stibal, Marek; Elster, Josef; Šabacká, Marie; Kaštovská, Klára; “Seasonal and diel changes in photosynthetic activity of the snow alga Chlamydomonas nivalis (Chlorophyceae) from Svalbard determined by pulse amplitude modulation fluorometry”, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Volume 59, Issue 2, February 1, 2007, Pages 265-273, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00264.x, accessed August 1, 2020

Stroud, Les; “Masterclass, On Eating Snow”, [originally from Colorado Rockies, Season Three, Episode Two, November 14, 2008], https://youtu.be/zsBFPB5LXL8, accessed July 11, 2020

Wiesholtz, Drew; “Red-colored 'watermelon snow' found at Yosemite National Park”, August 7, 2019, [© 2020 NBC Universal], https://www.today.com/news/red-colored-watermelon-snow-found-yosemite-national-park-t160240, accessed July 14, 2020

Wikimedia Commons, “Chlamydomonas nivalis”, July 26, 2009, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chlamydomonas_nivalis.jpg, accessed July 27, 2020

Wikimedia Commons, “170828-FS-Inyo-PRW-MountRitter (36911026151)”, August 29, 2017,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:170828-FS-Inyo-PRW-MountRitter_(36911026151).jpg, accessed July 27, 2020

Wikimedia Commons, “Antarctica(js) 31”, 2000, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antarctica(js)_31.jpg, accessed July 30, 2020

Wikipedia, “Chlamydomonas nivalis”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlamydomonas_nivalis, accessed August 1, 2020

Wikimedia Commons, “Green algal”, May 19, 2008, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Green_algal.jpg, accessed August 1, 2020

Wikimedia Commons, “Watermelon Snow, Observation and Echo Rock”, August 8, 2008, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Watermelon_Snow%2C_Observation_and_Echo_Rock.jpg, accessed July 30, 2020

Vili, A.; “Can You Eat It? What You Need To Know About the Pinkish Watermelon Snow”, July 18, 2016, [© 2020 Nature World News]’ https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/25434/20160718/can-you-eat-it-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-pinkish-watermelon-snow.htm, accessed July 14, 2020

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Wild Summer Flowers, Black-Eyed Susans and Queen Anne's Lace ©

The author’s front yard, photograph by the author.

Author’s Note – It’s Summer and the schools are closed, but the Plant Identification 101 class is still meeting. For my readers who are Boy Scouts in the United States, this article can help you with the plant identification requirements for your First Class rank. This is the fifth article in the Plant Identification 101 series, for other plant identification articles go HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE

I have always loved Black-eyed Susans, they are one of my favorite flowers. My yard is covered with them, along with daisies, echinacea¹ and other wildflowers. When I was little, I used to pick Queen Anne’s Lace and put it into glasses of water, into which a couple of drops of food coloring had been added, just to watch them turn colors.

An old brownfield, along the Buffalo, NY waterfront, photograph by the author.

Since these two types of flowers are commonly found in fields and along roads and train tracks blooming during the late summer months and into the fall, I thought we might take a moment to talk about them.

Wild black-eyed susans, growing in an old brownfield, along the Buffalo, NY waterfront, photograph by the author.

The range of Rudbeckia hirta, an excerpt from United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Rudbeckia hirta L., blackeyed Susan”.

There are many plants that share the name, black-eyed susan, and they are all part of the daisy family, with the genus rudbeckia containing over 23 species: all of which grow in North America. In Latin, the word “hirta” means hairy and in this case, it is used to describe the hairy stems and leaves of this type of black-eyed susan. There are four variants of Rudbeckia hirta, the Rudbeckia hirta variant floridiana, which is found in Florida; Rudbeckia hirta variant augustifolia, which is found in the southeastern United States north to North Carolina and west to Texas; Rudbeckia hirta variant hirta, which is found in the eastern Unites States; and Rudbeckia hirta variant pulcherrina, which is the most widespread and is found throughout the Unites States, except in Nevada and Arizona. Black-eyed susans are pioneer plants, which means that they are often the first thing to grow after a fire. They can be found in fields, pastures, prairies, ditches, along railroad tracks and roads, in open woodlands and in brownfields and other abandoned areas this time of the year.

A closeup of Rudbeckia hirta, note the hairy stems and the hairy lanceolate leaves, photograph by the author.

Rudbeckia hirta and other types of black-eyed susans are biennial and are from one to three feet (30 to 90 cm) in height. Sometimes a flower will appear in the first summer after gemination, however usually black-eyed susans do not produce flowers until their June to September of their second summer: after that they will regrow from a taproot. Rudbeckia hirta have hairy stems and the hairy lanceolate leaves, other types of black-eyed susans do not have hairy stems or leaves and have saw-toothed leaves, instead.

A picture of one of the black-eyed susans growing in the author’s front yard, note the saw-toothed leaf edge and the relatively hairless stem, photograph by the author.

Additionally, they are thought to have medicinal properties and the Native Americans have historically used the entire plant; with yellow and green dyes being made from the flowers, and the roots, stems, leaves and florets have been used to treat colds, earaches, sores, swellings due to worms, and heart problems². Originally these flowers were native to eastern and central North America but have now spread and are found throughout the western half of the North American continent, as well as in China.

Wild black-eyed susans, growing in an old brownfield, along the Buffalo, NY waterfront, photographs by the author.

Queen Anne's Lace, growing in an old brownfield, along the Buffalo, NY waterfront, photograph by the author.

The range of Daucus carota, an excerpt from United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Daucus carota L., Queen Anne's lace”.

Daucus carota which is its Latin name, is better known in North America as Queen Anne's Lace, it is also called wild carrot, bird’s nest, or bishop’s lace, is an invasive species, originally native to the temperate areas of Europe, southwestern Asia and North Africa: its current range now includes North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. It is believed that the wild carrot spread to North America, during the early 17^th century as a contaminant in grain imports and that it migrated to Australia with carrot seed that was shipped to the continent during the late 18^th century³. Just like black-eyed susans, it can be found growing in fields, pastures, prairies, ditches, along railroad tracks and roads, in open woodlands and brownfields and other abandoned areas at this time of the year. Queen Anne's Lace is the ancestor of todays cultivated carrot and it is a biennial plant that grows to as much as four to five feet (120 to 150 cm) tall, but it is commonly much shorter than that. The flowers are small, about 5/64 of an inch (about 2mm) and the white flowers are bisexual, while the few purple-red flowers, which are sometimes found in the center, are sterile.

A closeup of Queen Anne's Lace, growing in an old brownfield, along the Buffalo, NY waterfront, note the few purple-red flowers in the center surround by the white flowers, photograph by the author.

Queen anne’s lace is not poisonous, in fact it is edible, as you would suppose given that it is the ancestor of today’s carrot, however, in appearance it is like five other plants. Some are poisonous to touch, all are poisonous to eat: think Socrates and the cup of poison hemlock! They are giant hogweed, heracleum mantegazzianum; poison hemlock, conium maculatum; spotted water hemlock, cicuta maculate; cow parsnip, heracleum maximum; and wild parsnip, pastinaca sativa. All except the wild parsnip have clusters of small white flowers, the wild parsnip has yellow flowers, and all are very tall plants, with the giant hogweed reaching up to 18 feet (5.5 meters)⁴. So, before you pick that queen anne’s lace, make very certain that you know what it is!

Closeups of Queen Anne's Lace, growing in an old brownfield, along the Buffalo, NY waterfront, note the hairy stems and carrot like leaves, photographs by the author.

So enjoy the friendly yellow flowers of the black-eyed susan and if you are interested in picking some queen anne's lace to go with your summer bouquet, just make sure that the white flower that you are picking is in fact queen anne's lace and not one of its poisonous look-alikes.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Notes

¹ Echinacea purpurea, also known as eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, or hedgehog coneflower.

² United States Department of Agriculture, “Rudbeckia hirta L., blackeyed Susan”

³ Invasive Species Compendium, “Daucus carota, (carrot)”

⁴ For a good article on these look alike plants go to “Don’t touch these plants! Six lookalikes you want to avoid”, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, HERE.

Sources

Mitchell, Stacey; “PLANTS Database Provides Answers for Vegetative Questions”, February 21, 2017, [United States Department of Agriculture], https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/09/26/plants-database-provides-answers-vegetative-questions, accessed July 25, 2020

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Daucus carota L., Queen Anne's lace”, https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=DACA6, accessed July 25, 2020

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Rudbeckia hirta L., blackeyed Susan”, https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=RUHI2, accessed July 25, 2020

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Don’t touch these plants! Six lookalikes you want to avoid”, May 22, 2020, [Department of the Interior] https://www.fws.gov/midwest/news/PlantsToAvoid.html, Accessed August 5, 2020

About Me

I live near Buffalo, New York and have more than 25 years of experience in the outdoors. I enjoy being in the wilderness, paddling a canoe or exploring the woods, when I am not researching survival, woodcraft, camping skills or life on the Old Northwest Frontier of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I am a published author and I have been a guide for Birchbark Expeditions and an Outdoor Skills trainer for the Boy Scouts since 2014. I am also a martial artist, having studied several different combat arts over the past 30 years. Currently, I am the author of The Woodsman’s Journal Online and BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.