Teacher of ecology until 1996 in Roberval and Saint-Félicien, Nicolas Chiricota, aged 84, has just published two volumes. One of them contains 200 photos of as many plants as he listed in Lac-Saint-Jean and which are found throughout the region. The other, which is aimed at a young audience, tells the legend of the pixie seeds.
He began his research in Saint-André-du-Lac-Saint-Jean in 1966.
“I have done thousands of outings, in the forest, everywhere, around Lac-Saint-Jean, up to Ascension,” he says.
“My objective, in creating this album of photos of plants found in our environment, was to make hikers of all ages aware of the names of the plants they discover in nature. By knowing the name, it is easier for them to deepen their knowledge later,” explains the author.
In several volumes we explain how to cook a large part of these 200 plants.
“For example, 40 have leaves, 27 have fruits, 15 have roots, 24 have flowers, 14 have young shoots and 8 have seeds which are edible. Additionally, 24 flowers are useful for honey. Not to mention that 34 of them have known medicinal virtues. On the other hand, 23 have toxic parts and 3 can cause severe burns,” he adds.
Difficult to find for some
Nicolas Chiricota worked hard to find and immortalize these 200 plants in photos. He cites as an example the Wild Carrot which he discovered on August 12, 1974, near Chambord and which he has seen only once since, in 2020, in a forest in Saint-Félicien.
“In short, wild plants in our beautiful nature hide many secrets that each generation discovers… and above all, it is within everyone’s reach. »
A story of history
In The legend of the pixie seedsa tale for the little ones, it explains the story of an elf who provides a service to a family.
“A story that took place a few hundred years ago in a very remote territory in northern Quebec…”
In the preamble, it is said that the Grémil plant which produces these seeds was a source of inspiration for the invention of all kinds of tales taken from people's imagination.
For his part, the Félicinois author chose to talk about the help provided by an elf to a family with two children who lived in a rustic house built of logs which had been built by their parents in the neighboring forest.
For people who would like to obtain a copy of the two works, they are on sale at Mégaburo in Saint-Félicien.
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