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American Mountain Ash in Banner Elk, N.C, at 3,739 feet. Note the red stems.

Long before Henry Potter Rowanwood wands were popular  ancients carried talismans of the tree to ward off evil and ate the fruit.  Well… sort of.

European Mountain Ash, note the yellow stems.

Rowan is another name for the European Mountain Ash. Mountain ashes around the world tend to fall into two groups. One group has berries that are usually processed into jelly or jams and are barely edible off the tree after frost if not after freezing a few times or a long stint in your freezer. Raw their quality is not great. The other group has been bred to be eaten raw and can also be made into various sweet products. So the fruit is edible but… You will read in some places that the seeds contain compounds which upon digestion release small amounts of cyanide. This is probably true.  The seeds of some 1,000 plants in the greater group (Rose) do have some cyanidic compounds. Processing (the breaking down of cell structures and letting enzymes go to work) and or cooking usually take care of that issue. Small amounts of raw fruit are considered tolerable and to my knowledge there are no bad cyanide-related reports about Mountain Ash fruit. Man probably discovered these fruit — and their necessary vitamin C — were edible in the winter time because they persist on the tree and taste better the older they get (which additionally might reduce the potential cyanide amount.) The berries also contain malic acid and parasorbic acid. Malic acid is what makes apples tart. Parasorbic acid can upset the tummy raw but cooking changes it to sorbic acid which is not a problem.

While traipsing around the Blue Ridge Mountains in August I saw two mountain ashes, the American and the European. They look very similar and live to around 25 or 30. The American has red stems near the end of branches, the European yellowish stems. However they are used the same way. In fact, there are at least 10  to 18 edible members in the genus depending on the definition and who’s counting.

The American Montain Ash is usually a small tree.

The American Mountain Ash, Sorbus americana,  (SOR-bus ah-mare-ree-KAY-nah) is found in the wilds of eastern North America: Newfoundland and Nova Scotia south to New Jersey and Pennsylvania and in the mountains to South Carolina and Georgia, west to Minnesota and eastern North and South Dakota. Elevation is the key. In New England most American Mountain Ash are found in the White Mountains from 2,310 to 4,290 feet.) In the Adirondack Mountains of New York it rarely occurs below 3,135 feet. In the Blue Ridge Mountains I saw them between 3,000 and 4,000 feet. They like cool, humid climates.  Not a true ash they are called that because while closely related to the apple their leaves resemble those of ashes (Fraxinus spp.) Unlike the true ash, however, the American Mountain Ash’s leaves are alternate, not opposite.

Sorbus latifolia, the French Hales with yellow fruit

Native American made much use of the related Mountain Ashes for food. The Algonquin, Quebec, Montagnais and Ojibwa ate Sorbus americana berries, the Thompson, Sorbus sitchensis and the Heiltzuk, Sorbus sitchensis var. grayi. Usually the berries were dried then ground and added to four or soups and the like. To that North American list Lee Peterson also adds Sorbus decora, called the Northern Mountain Ash; Cornucopia II adds the Western Mountain Ash, Sorbus scopulina. Across the Atlantic the European Mountain Ash, Sorbus aucuparia, was used for food as well as the Sorbus latifolia which oddly has yellow fruit with black dots. In Eurasia there’s Sorbus domestica, Sorbus aria, which has brown berries with red spots, and Scorbus torminalis which looks similar to S. aria. There are also several cultivars of the various species: Rabina, Rosina, Edulis, Moravica, Rossica, Apple, Pear, and Devoneinsis. These tend to have larger, better tasting fruit.

Rowanberry Wine

The berries of the wild versions are often made into jellies or cooked with meat. When young and raw their flavor is sharp and not pleasant. This moderates on aging. Cultivated versions are often eaten raw. The berries are full of pectin. Nutritionally they’re about 5.5 percent protein, 8 percent fiber, and high in iron and vitamin C. There’s also a good amount of vitamin A. Per pound there are some 388,000 seeds. They need to be chilled at 33 to 41 degrees F. for 60 or more days to germinate.

The tart berries have been used for home remedies including a gargle for sore throats and to treat scurvy and malaria. Efficacy of the latter, however, is doubtful as it was used only because the leaves resembled the Quinine tree which was used for fevers.

Rowanwood Wand

The Harry Potter series borrowed ancient Celtic views towards the European Mountain Ash also called the Rowan Tree. The Celts and other people of early British Isles thought the tree had magical properties. Its powers were to protect you from witchcraft, one of two reasons why it is also called Witchwood. The other reason is a pucker at the end of the fruit reminds some of a pentagram which is associated with witchery.

Black Bear Cub eating Mountain Ash Berries, photo by Ed Book.

As one might think, animals also know the mountain ashes as food. It is a favored browse of moose and white-tailed deer. Bears, fishers and martens like it as well as snowshoe hares, squirrels, small woodland rodents, the ruffed grouse, ptarmigans, sharp-tailed grouse, blue grouse, American robins, thrushes, waxwings, and jays. It’s also the preferred food for the (despised) gypsy moth larvae.

Sorbus (SORE-bus) is Dead Latin for “service tree” which was actually a dogwood.  Americana means of North America. The European Mountain Ash’s name is a bit more interesting, “aucuparia” ow-kew-PAH-ree-ah. It means “to catch a bird.” Fowl like the fruit and were caught at the tree. “Rowan” means “becoming red” and is from the Germanic word raudnian.

European Mountain Ash Wine, courtesy of John Wright and The Guardian

2kg rowanberries, snipped off with scissors, picked over and washed
1.2kg sugar
500ml white grape juice concentrate
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp of wine tannin
1 tsp pectolase
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Sachet of white wine yeast
About 4 litres of boiling water

Put the berries in a food grade plastic bucket and mash them coarsely. Boil the water then stir in the sugar until dissolved, bring to the boil again and immediately pour over the berries. Cover and allow to cool. Add the grape concentrate, pectolase, lemon juice and tannin. Cover and leave for 24 hours then stir in the yeast nutrient and yeast (activated if necessary).

Cover and leave for a week, stirring every day for the first five days. If your brew has separated nicely into three layers – sludge / liquid / sludge – carefully place the end of a siphon at a strategic height and siphon off the liquid into a clean demi-john – though a bit of sludge won’t hurt. Otherwise strain through clean muslin using a funnel. Top up to the bottom of the neck with boiled and cooled water if necessary. Fit the fermentation lock and leave to ferment for a couple of months.

Rack off into a fresh demi-john and leave until all fermentation has stopped for a week, then bottle. Rowanberry wine benefits from a long maturation period in the bottle – at least a year

Green Deane’s Itemized Plant Profile: American Mountain Ash

IDENTIFICATION: Sorbus americana: A small tree to 40 feet, usually shorter. Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, 6 to 10 inches long, 11 to 17 lance-shaped, serrated leaflets, 2 to 2 1/2 inches long, dark green on top, paler on bottom. In the top photograph the leaflets are opposite but the leaves alternate. Showy clusters of small white flowers, clusters 3 to 5 inches across. Fruit: Clusters of showy, red, small (1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter) pomes. The bark yields a gray dye.

TIME OF YEAR: Flowers late spring to early summer, fruit late summer to fall, persist through the winter.

ENVIRONMENT: Cool, moist habitats, borders of swamps, rocky hillsides, in openings or in woods, upland roadsides or under semi-open stands of birches, fir and spruce. Prefers full sun.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Berries of the wild varieties made into jams, jelly, syrups, conserves, wine, vinegar, eaten raw after frost or a freeze. Berries of cultivated versions eaten when ripe. Often cooked with meat. Can be used to thicken other jellies. Jelly goes well with sharp cheese. Dried ground berries can be added to flour to make bread. Use can vary significantly from species to species. For example, the leaves and flowers of the American Mountain Ash are not used but the leaves and flowers of the European Mountain Ash (also planted in North America) can be used for tea.

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Poor Man's Pepper Grass is quite common now. If the leaves were larger and the seeds heart-shaped it could be Shepherd's purse, also edible. Photo by Green Deane

Poor Man’s Pepper Grass is quite common now. If the leaves were larger and the seeds heart-shaped it could be Shepherd’s purse, also edible. Photo by Green Deane

Wild Geraniums are barely edible and are usually medicinal. Photo by Green Deane

Wild Geraniums are barely edible and are usually employed medicinal. Photo by Green Deane

Near my dentist’s office there is a dry drainage ditch. As it is on a hill it’s there to collect and hold rainwater to slow down erosion. Shaped like a right angle, it is perhaps 400 feet long in total. As I was early yesterday for my scheduled torture I went wandering down the ditch.  Food is where the water is and where the rain carries seeds. There was Wild Geraniums — barely edible — lots Sheep’s Sorrel, numerous Common Sow Thistle, a mother load of Western Tansy Mustard — there isn’t an Eastern Tansy Mustard — Spanish Needles, Plantains, a young Paper Mulberry — no adult in sight — pods from the wrong kind of ear tree, Poor Man’s Pepper Grass — pictured above — and Pellitory. While it is the right time of year and it was the right place it does demonstrate you don’t have to travel to a distant state park to find forgable food.

pix-adam-and-eve-funny-picturesIt’s that strange time of year in Florida. Will it be 38 tomorrow or 83? And if we’re going from one temperature to the other — the direction is not too relevant — it will probably rain. Now days we can look at the forecast and stay inside. We have food in the pantry. In the past, though, if you didn’t forage you didn’t eat. Only weather that was worse than your hunger kept you from foraging. We have the luxuries of extra food and not having to go out in bad weather… which reminds me of Eastport, Maine, not far from where I grew up.  In the last 20 days it’s had 99 inches of snow. Might as well get one more dusting and call it 100. Once when I was in school we had a storm that snowed us in for three days. That was the year you could jump off the roof into the snow and not bottom out. Another time an ice storm covered the snow so thick that you could skate for miles across the fields on the snow and not break through. Once it was so cold the schools had to shut down for the week. They couldn’t keep them warm.  That is weather you don’t forage in. But here in Florida my foraging classes are only called off because of accident, injury or hurricanes. My upcoming schedule:

Foraging Classes: Sunday, February 22nd, Mead Garden, 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789. 9 a.m.  March 7th, Wekiva State Park, 1800 Wekiwa Circle, Apopka, Florida 32712.   9 a.m., March 8th, John Chestnut State Park: 2200 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor, FL 34685, 9 a.m. March 21st Wickham Park: 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne, FL 32935-2335., 9.a.m.  March 22nd, Dreher Park 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405.  9 a.m. April 5th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, 23000 Bayshore Rd., Port Charlotte, FL 33980, 9 a.m. For more information or to sign up for a class go here.

The following guest article is by Mike Conroy.

Of Bees, Butterflies, and Moths

Honey bee about to land on a Date Palm blossom. Photo by Green Deane

Honey bee about to land on a Date Palm blossom. Photo by Green Deane

What, you might ask, do bees, butterflies, and moths have to do with foraging? Well, nothing, and everything. You see, many plants require pollinators in order to reproduce, and reproduction is everything to foraging. Without reproduction, we would have anything to forage.  Bees, butterflies, and moths (and wind, rain, and bats) are all pollinators. This includes both the honey bee, which was imported from the “Old World” European countries, as well as native bees, such as the bumble bee. And, since these insects pollinate our edibles, they deserve a mention in our newsletter.

Fritalaries ae a common southern butterfly. Photo by Green Deane

Fritalaries are a common southern Passionflower vines.

We are all keenly aware and welcoming of the varied and colorful butterfly in our communities, our yards, and our gardens. They don’t bite and they don’t sting. They are pleasantly colorful and, in our hurried lives, lend a thought to a slower life drifting on the currents of time. And while they do pollinate, they are not as efficient as bees. Moths are often considered a nocturnal (night time) traveler, seldom seen during the day. But did you know that some moths are day fliers? And they, too, are pollinators, regardless of their time to be up. While butterflies typically, but not always, seek out brightly colored red, yellow, orange, purple, and etc. flowers with mild sweet smells, moths tend toward less colorful flowers with stronger, sweet, odors. And, like butterflies, are not good pollinators of our favorite plants.

Moths are often smaller than butterflies and like the night. Photo by Green Deane

Moths are often smaller than butterflies and like the night. Photo by Green Deane

Bees are defined as being insects with, shall we say, fuzzy hairs on their bodies. They have been around for some 65 to 120 million years. And they have been a major pollinator for most, if not all, of their existence. During this time, some plants have come to rely on bees as their only source for pollination, and thus for their existence. One of our favorite nuts, the almond (though for you who are in the know, the almond is not really a nut), comes to mind. We rely, whether we know it or not, on bees to provide our food. It is estimated that 4 out of every 5 foods we eat, at some point, require pollination by bees.

A bat pollenating a banana. They also visit kapok trees. Photo by Merlin Tuttle.

A bat pollinating a banana. They also visit kapok trees. Photo by Merlin Tuttle.

So why do people kill bees? Well, they sting, of course. And who, besides the beekeeper, ignores a stinging insect? But, did you know that less than 1 of every 4 “bee stings” is really a bee sting? A study in a California emergency room found that over 3/4 of all bee stings are really wasp and hornet stings. Further, bees, and especially honey bees, do not like to sting. It is their last – literally last – resort. With the exception of the queen bee, a bee dies shortly after stinging because it rips its stinger out of its body when it pulls away, leaving the stinger in you. Queen bees are the only bee that can sting multiple times, and they are seldom found outside the beehive. By the way, bee drones – the male bee – do not even have a stinger. And there are a few stingless bees to boot. So why do bees sting if they are going to die anyway? The most common reason is they are protecting their home, the beehive. But, they will sting if you step on them or otherwise threaten their life, as in swatting at them. Other triggers for stings are certain perfumes and scents. While many question why these perfumes cause the sting response, personally, I suspect that some of the “flavors” of the perfumes mimic certain chemicals in the scent of a skunk – a raider of beehives.

Bumble bee landing on a Spiderwort. Phot by Green Deane

Bumble bee landing on a Spiderwort. Photo by Green Deane

Foraging bees, those you see in your yard or on flowers, are usually too busy collecting nectar and pollen to think about stinging. So next time you see a bee, even if it is crawling on you, it is probably better to say hi and calmly let it alone. It will soon leave without even saying goodbye. Oh, and one other interesting thing about bees; while they won’t remember you later, they have great facial recognition. In other words, they can tell one person from another, just on their facial features.

Now, back to foraging. Honey has been foraged for thousands of years by humans. But, unless you are willing to suffer a multitude of stings, this is best left to the experts. Still, no conversation about bees would be complete without a bit on honey.

Many people like to chew the waxy comb once the raw honey is extracted.

Many people like to chew the waxy comb once the raw honey is extracted.

Honey, as you buy it from the grocer, is usually not in its natural, raw state. It is often heated, sometimes pasteurized, and on a rare occasion, is adulterated with products like high fructose corn syrup. Usually, with the exception of adulteration, this is done to present the honey in a marketable fashion, meaning in its liquid form – people don’t like to buy crystallized honey; or in the case of pasteurization, to make it safe for human consumption. By heating honey, it limits the crystallization of the honey, something that is a normal process in honey. Heating also alters some of the sugars found in honey, and additionally destroys some of the enzymes contained in honey. Many of these enzymes aid in the digestive process of honey, but are not required to be present as your body produces these enzymes. So, if you want honey as it is found in the beehive, you must either find honey labeled “raw”, or purchase it from a known source.

One thing is certain though, without bees, butterflies, and moths, our world of greens would be vastly different. When you see them, give pause in wonderment to the intricate ways the world around us works.

Florida Herbal Conference 2015

Florida Herbal Conference 2015

The Florida Herbal Conference is our next big event, February 27th to March 1st. I’ve taught edible plants there for the last three years and will be there again this year. It’s a must for all southern herbalists and well as those northern ones who want to escape freezing cold and study their craft in the dead of winter. It always has interesting speakers and great classes. While there is some cross over between Earthskills and Herbalism the conferences are sufficiently different to justify attending both. For more information and to register go here.

Green Deane Forum

Green Deane Forum

In nearly every class and daily on-line I am asked if I can identify a plant if a picture is sent to me. I say I will try and also suggest the sender join the Green Deane Forum.  There’s  a UFO page there, Unidentified Flowering Objects. On the forum we chat about foraging — and other topics — every day along with techniques to harvest and use the bounty you have found. And it’s not just about Florida or the southeast. There are members from all around North America and the world. The link to join is on this page just to the right of this article. You do have to pick a screen name and the forum let members private message each other. There are only three rules: Keep it civil, keep it clean, and try to avoid mentioning Wikipedia (which Green Deane has a significant dislike for.) Recent topics include Golden Rod’s Edible? Fire Roll, Wahoo Bark, Eating Bitter Foods, Witches Butter, Braiding Natural Cordage, Smilax-Asparagus alternative, Loquats Pie and Grappa, Wild Possum Grape Jelly, Young People Want Healthier Food, Leather Root? Horsemint,  and Gnarly Mushroom.

Can you identify these winter tree/shrub buds. Photo courtesy of Kew The Botanist.

18 Tree and Shrub Buds for you to identify

18 Tree and Shrub Buds for you to identify. To enlarge click on the picture. If still too small click on the link above. Here’s the key: 1. Ash 2. Maple. 3 Birch. 4. Alder 5. Elderberry 6. Hazel 7. Beech 8 Horse Chestnut 9. Rowan 10. Oak 11. Basswood 12. Lilac 13. Hawthorn. 14. Blackthorn 15. Larch 16. Sycamore 17 Dog Rose. 18 Elm

If you would like to donate to Eat The Weeds please click here.

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A frozen cranberry ready for winter eating.

A frozen cranberry, blueberry’s wet cousin, is still tart and tasty.

The thermometer was near zero one day when I was on ice skates collecting frozen cranberries.

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Bonfires and hot beverage make skating fun

The cranberries were conveniently above the ice just waiting to be harvested. I was on the north end of “Gowen’s Pond” in Pownal, Maine. It was at that end where water seeped into the pond to make the couple of acres we skated on every winter. It was also there where I once went skating at 52 below zero… the things you do when you’re a kid and there’s a huge bonfire going. I got chilblained hands and feet that night. More than forty years later air conditioning still makes my hands and feet itch.  (Yes, I now live in Florida and no, I do not have air conditioning.)

The water on that end of the pond wasn’t deep but it was moving so the ice could be shallow. Locals told a story about the farm next door that lost a cow through that ice one winter. I never did ask why the cow was out on the ice to start with. Maybe hungry and looking for cranberries.

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Many turtles stay active under the ice.

The pond had one little island. Very little. One person couldn’t stand on it… more like a stump. But it was always above the ice and had a bush on it. As I skated past it I saw a movement. It was a turtle swimming under the ice eating a little greenery from around the island. ‘Cranberries and turtle,’ I thought. Actually that turtle was spared but it did make me realize early on that one can forage in winter if you know where to look.

Of course, the real issue is what kind of winter? That can range from deep snow and rock-hard frozen ground to only occasional cool days. Finding wild food where there is no snow and little or no freezing is not difficult. It’s finding food in gawd-awful winters that is a challenge.

I am fond of saying food is where the water is. Whether you are referring to your yard, your county, state, region or country, the farther away from water you are the farther away from food you are. While that is true all year perhaps it is most critical in winter. Plants and creatures can be found near water in the winter.

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Ice huts are portable man caves.

Everyone is familiar with or knows about ice fishing. In some northern areas it is not only a passion but a rite of passage. It can certainly put food on the table (as can hunting and trapping.)  But not everyone has an ice hut or other equipment to harvest food that can move. In that case look for shallow, open streams or with ice than can be easily broken They have fresh water clams in the shallows. They don’t move too fast. As a young man I fished the Royal River in southern Maine and was always bringing home the clams I found. They are a bit tougher than those from the bay and occasionally one would yield a black pearl. I usually had a well-deserving lass to give it to.

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Freshwater clams are tougher than saltwater clams

Freshwater clams have to be handle carefully and cooked thoroughly but they are a good basis for a winter chowder. (The clams pick up parasites from land animal droppings requiring careful handling and cooking. Some clams are also federally protected so I’m sure you’ll check with local laws first.) Depending upon your stream or shallow pond you can also find crayfish and frogs (and turtles.) I should add that one of the advantage of aquatic turtles is that they do not eat toxic mushrooms. There is one instance where a person was sickened from eating a land turtle that had eaten mushrooms not toxic to it but toxic to humans.

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Cattail shoots are edible raw or cooked.

Open streams  or those with little ice can also produce cattail shoots and roots in winter. The shoots look like large dog’s teeth coming off the main root (actually horizontal rhizomes.) You can snap them off  — and the end shoot — eating them raw or toss them into the clam chowder. The roots are also full of starch. Getting it out is labor intensive and I think overrated as a flour. However a more calorie positive way is just toss the roots on a fire. That burns off the covering and the muck they’re usually in. That also cooks the starch in the fibrous middle. Then you open up the root and pull the fibers through your teeth to get the cooked starch off. It tastes like chestnuts, and there are no pots to clean.

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Groundnuts grow in a string in damp areas.

Also available stream side in winter are duck potatoes and groundnuts, the latter a good source of starch and protein. Duck potatoes grow deeper than groundnuts so they probably won’t be in any frozen banks but you do have to fish through cold water. Groundnuts are closer to the surface but still should be below the frost line or protected by water.  That’s a toss up. The good thing about groundnuts is they are unmistakable. Nothing else looks like them. While stream side also look for watercress, a plant that likes cold water. It’s a peppery member of the mustard family. Often found in winter streams, it can be a flavoring and/or a green to put into that clam chowder.

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Mussels were prime kid food when foraging 50 years ago.

If you live near the ocean there’s a lot of food available in winter. The natives used to say that when the tide was out dinner was on. Not only are there a wide variety of creatures to be had but sea weed as well. Most seaweed in northern climates is edible except for one variety in the pacific northwest that has sulfuric acid. If you mistakenly bite into Desmarestia ligulata you will know it. The problem with seaweed is most of it is not tasty but semi-drying and frying can help. If the weather is not too cold edibles can also be found hiding in the seaweed or on the rocks, such as crabs. One of the more odd things is that 50 years ago mussel at low tide were ignored except by us hungry latchkey kids. Now they are gourmet fare.

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Chickweed thrives in cold weather.

Depending on how cold and how much snow there are quite a few other edibles possible in winter.  Sorrel can often last through a mild winter. Some radishes and wild mustards can take quite a freeze and stay alive and green as can any cabbage left over in your garden. Oyster mushrooms can be found anytime of the year even after warm weather has past. They don’t take freezing, however. Dandelions can survive the winter in snow but they undergo some chemical changes that make them more a famine food than a tasty find. Hardy little chickweed can germinate under snow so when the spring melt comes it is among the first green plants. Wild garlic and garlic mustard can can also be found in winter especially on south facing hills with little or no snow (so can some of the little mustards.)  If there been no snow plantagos (plantains) can also be found in winter along with clover.  But you have to be careful with clover. It can be a blood thinner. In some areas  Stork’s Bill, (Alfilaria) is edible in winter. Just as a matter of routine south facing hills are always worth investigating for edibles particularly in the winter. Don’t forget to (carefully) roll over logs to find wintering lizards and or snakes. Colorful salamanders usually are NOT on the menu.

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Cheery red and green makes Wintergreen easy to spot.

Just as I collected frozen cranberries don’t forget to look for rose hips, dried grapes and frozen wild apples (which are often better after freezing and cooking.) Hawthorn berries can persist into the winter as can persimmonsmountain ash, wild plums (sloes) various edible Viburnum berries and Rumex seeds still on the stalk.  Partridgeberries are a common winter find as is wintergreen, which has edible berries and leaves for tea.  Where I grew up I always found wintergreen with berries in the spring snow. It was years before I learned the berries over wintered. The little plant is also medicinal. Most persistent grass seeds are also edible. There are no toxic native North American grasses.

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Birches offer several edibles.

You can also eat the inner bark (cambium) of true pines (best fried in oil. Boiling is the least preferred means of preparation.) Pine needles can also be used for tea. Also edible is the cambium of the Sweet Birch (Betula lenta). It can be eaten raw or dried or cooked. It also preserves well. Most lichen — such as Reindeer Moss — is also edible. But it is a survival food that needs to have its acid leached out first and even then it’s a food of desperation. Lichen such as is better used as an antiseptic.

Finding Burdock in Winter is Easy

Finding Burdock in Winter is Easy

There are more winter edibles but much depends upon the conditions. Acorns can be food but if they are covered with snow that doesn’t help much, and they will be frozen, and they need to be shelled, and they need to be leached and… well, you get the idea: Labor intensive in the best of times. The long skinny  Burdock Root is edible but if the ground is frozen it can be a challenge to dig up as are Jerusalem Artichokes. Thistles, the kind that produces a large basal rosette with thorns that prick you like needles, also have an edible root raw or cooked. But the issue is whether the edible is buried in snow, and or is the ground granite hard?

In northern climates juniper berries can be used for flavoring… but not in the clam chowder. Juniper berries are used for bigger, gamey game… Elk and Moose come to mind…

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Nephrolepis cordifolia is one of two sword ferns with edible water storage organs.

Sword ferns are always a surprise: Will they have little water nodules, will they be sweet or astringent? The answer depends on how much rain has fallen locally. The more rain you’ve had the more likely you will find the water storage organs and the sweeter they will be. Technically they are swollen stolons.

Locally sword ferns with “fuzzy brown marbles” of water are easy to find: They are the only sword fern that has them (out of the five species found in the state.) They are also the most prolific, non-native and on the state’s obnoxious weed hit list. They have a potato-water chestnut flavor that is obvious or masked depending upon how much astringency is also present. After rubbing off the fuzz you can eat the entire nodule or chew it, get the water from it and spit out the fiber. Roasting them, however, does eliminate the astringency and make them chewy and sweet. They can be grown in other areas and are commonly called Boston Ferns. To read about sword ferns click here.

Maypop’s pulp and seeds are more edible than the rind.

If you’re not collecting Maypops now you’re not looking for them. They’re related to the passion fruit in Hawaiian Punch and have a nice sour-sweet taste when ripe. In the Ocala foraging class this past weekend it was one of several plants we sampled along with Sword Ferns above, Creeping Cucumbers, Sheep’s Sorrel and Peppergrass.

Locally the Maypop is one of only two vines with edibles that smells like an old sneaker. It also fruits continuously. The best ones for a trailside nibble are taut with a yellow skin. However, as the woods is a grocery store for its denizens the yellow ones are often eaten before you find them. Not to worry: older green fruit that have not yet turned yellow can also have sweet-and-sour pulp and seeds. You have to taste around. The green Maypop can also be fried like green tomatoes. To read more about the Maypops click here.

What if the pharmacy closes?

Food and Medicine: Most of my students in the past were people who had an interest in plants. Kind of like gardeners, they were plant people first, the use was secondary or incidental. For some it was growing vegetables but for others it was landscaping, a living painting. But there has been a shift towards food and medicine. More specifically most of my students now are looking for sources of food and medicine other than the grocery story and pharmacy. The “whys” can be many. This shift was emphasized recently at a McDonald’s restaurant. I don’t eat there but I like their brand of decaffeinated coffee, and they’re a good source of ice tea before a long motorcycle ride home. I was having just such a tea Saturday in Ocala when an older gentleman (I am already an old man) asked me about my motorcycle. That led to to “what do you do?” which is, of course, teach about edible wild plants. In the past that got a “what-kind-of-an-eccentric-are-you” look. Now days the inquirer pauses then immediately asks about how much food is out there. Then comes the medicine question. If my own little corner of conversation is any measure, folks are scared: Scared about their next meal and getting their prescriptions filled. Top of the list, what plants can be used for high blood pressure followed by diabetes. Fortunately there are plants though mentioning them can get doctors complaining about muscling in on their turf. I usually give the inquiring minds the names of the plants and suggest they contact a local herbalist. I’m more a cook than a chemist. They can get far better instruction from an herbalist. But, in the last three or four years the level of uncertainty has certainly risen. It is perhaps the tenor of the times.

Recently added articles: Mountain ash, Yew, Sourwood.

Just a few hundred feet from where I live there are about a dozen Chinese elms, which have edible parts. Every description I’ve read say the leaves have little hairs on the underside. My elms don’t have that.  I was reminded of their hairlessness after I wrote about sumacs last week. I mentioned the berries (actually drupes) have little hairs on them covered with malic acid (the same acid that makes apples tart.)  An out-of-state foraging instructor whose opinion I trust wrote to tell me his Winged Sumac do not have little hairs on the berries. So I took a microscope-look at my local Winged Sumac. The seeds were covered with tiny hairs. How do we explain that? There could be variations, or seasonal or regional influences. Rain, lack of rain, or some other weather might be the issue, perhaps a virus. Sometimes species can vary from locale to locale. We both know our local sumac is usable so the question is a bit moot and academic. But, you will run into such issues when you study plants. This is why a local teacher is important. His Winged Sumacs do not have tiny hairs, mine do. My Chinese elms don’t have tiny hairs, but they do elsewhere. That could confuse a student when the real issue is learning your local plant and whether it is edible. Local insight can help a lot as well as save time and a lot of second guessing. Botanical descriptions are good but they are not perfect.

Roosting Vultures or Roasting Vultures?

AHHHHH YES THE INTERNET:  In my mail box was a ping back. What that means is that someone linked to one of my articles somewhere on the Internet. The article they linked to was about edible snails and slugs on a page that boasted “10 ugly things that are good to eat.” Among the 10, besides my slugs and snails, were vultures. In theory all birds are edible but at least two in New Guinea are not because they eat toxic insects making them toxic. And vultures… well …they clear up carrion. Since the 10-Ugly article included sources I clicked on the “vulture” source. And this is why the Internet is not trustworthy: The 10-Ugly story got its information from a blog.

The blog talked about two men in Nigeria who had been selling vulture meat in a local market as roasted chicken. The blog said one man had been doing that for five years. The blog went into some delicious detail about roasting the vultures and how that is a local taboo et cetra. That blog gave two sources. But before I get to them you should know the writer is a self-styled conservationist whose ecoblog added there are 23 species of vultures and they are all in decline. And if you want to help save the vulture she listed some other sites to visit including an International Vulture Appreciation day… have you hugged your vulture today? … back to vulture vandals.

One of her vulture-ala-chicken story sources dead ends at a domain parking place. The other, the daily paper of Nigeria, told a very different story. The paper reported two men were caught poisoning vultures because the birds were roosting in a tree in an ancestral shrine. Villagers noticed what they were doing and formed a lynch mob as they thought killing the vultures was a desecration to the shrine.  Only police intervention kept the men from swinging.  Cooking the vultures was never an element of the original event.

Why the blogger added roasting the sorrowful scavengers is known only to her. But the subsequent 10-Ugly article writer should have done more research to confirm the blog’s assertion of vulture vermicelli (vermin-celli?) which no doubt will become a fast-food rumor.  As it is vultures are technically edible so the basic premise of the 10-Ugly article is still correct but the details and the reasons why in the blog are totally wrong.

Vultures, by the way, have acids in their digestive system that destroy anthrax, botulism, and cholera. Old and New World vultures are not closely related. Old World vultures tend to have no sense of smell. New World Vultures tend to have an excellent sense of smell. And they also… ah… go to bathroom on their legs to cool themselves off.  I thought of a good pun on air conditioning… butt I’ll leave it unsaid. And although I live in Florida I am not going to try that. For you trivia fans, a group of circling vultures is called a “venue” and a bunch munching on the ground is called a “kettle.”

To read about the two birds which are toxic because of diet click here. The article is about eggs but the birds are mentioned in some depth.

Toxic Atropa belladonna

AND LASTLY YET another reason to correctly identify plants. A hiker in  Germany was surprised recently (Sept. 6th) to find a naked man stumbling around the forest. He tried to help the disoriented man but before the hiker could the man disappeared back into the woods. Sounds rather Grimm.

A police search — perhaps one of the more unusual ones in the area — yielded one cold, scraped up, naked Franciscan Monk. The frigid friar* from the nearby town of Unterwossen, about 30 miles west of Salzburg, Austria, was apparently on a solo camping trip when he ate some berries that caused hallucinations and partial paralysis. That kept the frolicking Franciscan from finding his way back to his tent.  Doctors at the hospital think he ate berries of the Deadly Nightshade, Atropa belladonna. The berries can cause the reported symptoms and in higher amounts death. Active ingredients in the fruit are atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine. They can also cause a fever which might account for the monk’s … habitlessness…. or is it … defrocking?

In the United States, Atropa belladonna is naturalized in California, Oregon, Washington state, Michigan, New York and New Jersey. Closely related is the Jimsonweed,  Datura stramonium, which is toxic for all the same reasons but does not have berries.

*Yes, I know there is a difference between a monk and a friar so please don’t write and tell me so. Monks are cloistered, friars get out and about. But I couldn’t resist the assonance. But I did resist using “what the frock is this” and “Into The Hoods” because a monk’s covering is called a cowl…

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It’s rare to find a Gopher Apple uneaten, ever more rare to find several.

Above is a picture you won’t see too often: Uneaten Gopher Apples.

Woodland creatures relish these fragile, sweet fruit.  So efficient are the denizens of the forest — particularly Gopher turtles — I rummaged around Florida about a decade or so before I actually saw a Gopher Apple plant with fruit on it. My track record since then is a bit better but not much. You have to know where they grow and watch for them almost daily as they come into season. Gopher Apples do not travel well. They are weak on the vine and mash up in a pocket easily. Opinions on their texture and flavor vary greatly. They are definitely fruiting now. To read more about them click here.

Getting High: When it comes to plants, elevation makes a difference. I spent a good part of August traipsing around the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee, a busman’s holiday as it were and why its been a fortnight since a newsletter. My base elevation was around 3,700 feet and on one hike got up to about 6,200 feet. Amazing plant things happen when you get high.

Steve Tatum of Grandfather Mountain Winery

Fresh from the airport I was invited to some live music and wine at Grandfather Mountain Winery. Steve Tatum, the owner, wanted to show me some weeds that were bothering him in his vineyard. The first weed I spotted was chickweed. It was perky, fresh, perfectly right for picking. At lower elevations it is a short-lived spring time plant. Here in Florida it flourishes between Christmas and St. Patrick’s day. At 3,700 feet it was happily in season. The second weed, one that gave Steve a lot of problems he said, was purslane, which some call the most nutritious green on earth. And he did have a lot of it and which could take goodness away from the grapes he grows. Of course the solution is simple, eat the weeds. In fact it was healthy enough and the grapes above it so well-cared for Steve might open a purslane market. I also noticed the owner had a good crop of of Japanese Knotweed in fall flower ( a good source of resveratrol.) Nearby was a walnut tree and an inedible Buckeye (though some old timers– of which I am fast becoming — say the natives processed the nuts and made them edible. I have no idea how.) By the way, the winery’s zinfandel was wonderful.

Kousa Dogwood in fruit

Unlike in Florida there were sassafras trees everywhere. Locally they are sporadic, spindly and hard to find. Various species of hickory were also fruiting (though it should be said Hickories, Pecans, and Walnuts are all in the same genus.)  I also managed to see a planted Beech Tree  and a fruiting Kousa Dogwood. As you might guess by this week’s new front pages Sourwood was in blossom, the dangerous Yew was fruiting, and Mountain Ash, the Rowan Tree of Henry Potter fame, was brilliant. On top of Roan Mountain at some 6,108 feet Sheeps’ Sorrel was just getting going. It’s usually a late spring or early summer plant except here in Flatland Florida where it shows up in the winter time. Curdy dock was seeding as were Plantago majors or Plantains, perhaps the only two species I saw right on schedule other than apples. Many wild (or neglected) apple trees — red and green — were ready for picking and I ate many on the trail, along with blackberries though I am not sure which exact species of blackberry they were. On the mountain tops blueberries had just gone out of season as had the strawberries. Partridgeberry was underfoot, interesting, edible, but not full of flavor.

Japanese Barberry, may or may not be edible.

A few mysteries were encountered along the way including mountain mushrooms. Saw a delightful yellow Ornate Stalk Bolete — too bad it is too bitter to eat. Ever present were the deadly Amanitas. Some shrubs that caught my attention need to be identified. On one pastured part of the Appalachian Trail — where we encountered a curious young bull — there were more than enough thistles to keep one alive for a long time and a curious low-growing fruiting bush. I think I have managed to identify it, Berberis thunbergii, or the Japanese Barberry.  Oddly it is listed as only growing in that particular county in that area. It was fruiting heavily. Other species of barberry are edible but this one is a mystery. Even an expert on this plant that I contacted couldn’t say if it was edible or not. That raises the question of how can one be an expert on a particular species and not know if it is edible or not? The answer might be is that for most PhD’s in botany edibility simply is not an element of their profession. I’ve been meaning to write about barberries for some time but I would like to sort out this species first.

Dioscorea polystachya, the invasive Chinese Yam

Here in Florida we are under siege by yams, specifically the Dioscorea bulbifera, a famine food if that. Less abundant but can be found is Dioscorea alata, very esteemed, probably our best caloric staple. There are also, if my memory is working, eight native yams. But, they do not produce air-storage organs (air potatoes) and generally are not considered edible (they have a lot of powerful steroids and hormones in them. It is from one of them the original birth control pills were made.)  A yam one doesn’t see here except under cultivation is the Chinese Yam, Dioscorea polystachya, a yam of a thousand names and one that tolerates cold weather. On a hike to Laurel Falls in eastern Tennessee it caught my eye. It is a little unusual in that not only does it grow where winters are cool the “air potatoes” are as choice a food as are its roots. Each vine will produce about 20 bulbils a season so it would take quite a few to provide food if you only ate the bulbils but as mentioned the large root is edible as well.It’s become invasive from western Carolina into Tennessee, Kentucky and as far north as southern Ohio. That also means it is a good source of wild food and a caloric staple. To read more about the Chinese Yam click here.

Identify the Blackberry Species

And now a bit of a challenge for my readers. In Avery County, North Carolina, we came upon several patches of blackberries which are closely related to Dewberries. Along one part of the trail however a new species was in fruit. Small, very sweet, low growing, almost feathery leaves. Can you figure out which species it is?

Pedalless Bike

I DIDN’T KNOW THAT: A bicycle with no pedals, intentionally. Invented in Germany. Says the designer, “The prior aim of developing FLIZ was to bring a completely new driving experience to everyone. Based on the very first bike – the ‘Laufrad’ — we created a velocipede concept of healthy, ecological mobility in overcrowded urban space. Its laminated, innovative frame with 5-point belt system provides a comfortable, ergonomic ride between running and biking. The frame integrates the rider and due to its construction it works both like a suspension and like a top carrier whereas the belt replaces the saddle and adjusts your position.” Brings new meaning to the phrase “hanging around.”  Here’s their website: FLIZ

Oliver Whitecat, my supervisor and quality control expert

TOMORROW’S NEWS TODAY: Expect to see research on humans catching feline disease.  It’s a newly minted epidemic in England and sure to spread as it’s also a new way for researchers to get grants. Researchers tend to find what they are looking for — even if they don’t find it — because that pays for more research. Expect more warnings about cats for pets perhaps even a ban on the pets in any house with children, the sick or elderly. The culprit is the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in the food chain. It’s a parasite that gets on grass grazing meat animals eat and onto vegetables through the soil. It is wise not to collect any wild food near carnivore bathrooms. A 2001 study showed direct contact with pets was not the most common means of contracting the disease. Infected meat was. While no where near as dire as Mad Cow Disease it is the next thing medicos will be wringing their hands about and asking for budget increases to combat. In humans Toxoplasmosis can cause no symptoms to, in rare cases schizophrenia. Some day you may be able to say in court “my cat made me do it.”

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Articles

Delicious and deadly, that’s ackee

  • Acorn Grubs: Bait, Trailside Nibble  (2)

    Yes, this is about eating grubs. Deal with it.

    Without the expertise of Charles E. Williams and the Michigan Entomological Society, Department of entomology,…

  • Acorns, or Oak Nuts?  (1)

    It seem like a little thing that grew into a big problem, just like the edible I was writing about.

    I had several requests to do something about acorns.…

  • Acorns: The Inside Story  (27)

    Acorn: More than a survival food
    The first time you eat an acorn it makes you wonder what the squirrels are going nuts about. As the bitterness twists…

  • Agave, Century Plant

    Century Plant: Edible Agave Americana

    If you like tequila, thank a bat. If that’s not possible, thank a humming bird or a moth. Those three pollinate the…

  • Alligator a la Carte  (5)
    I caught a small alligator once. I was fishing for bass in a golf course water trap behind an apartment complex in Titusville, Florida (that’s west across…
  • Alligator Weed

    Alternanthera philoxeroides: Exotic Munch

    If you have alligators you have alligator weed. That’s a little odd because alligator weed is a native of…

  • Alternate Pepper of Brazilian Pest?  Brazilian Pepper is a personal unknown
  • Amapola, Sea Hibiscus, Rope Mangrove

    Hibiscus pernambucensis: Walking Lunch

    The Amapola is on the go, but unlike the “walking” mangrove, the Amapola crawls.

    There is something of a…

  • Amaranth: Grain, Vegetable, Icon  (3)

    Amaranth, the forgotten food

    A book could be written about amaranth, and probably has, if not several.

    A grain, a green, a cultural icon, a religious…

  • Amaranth Identification:

    Sorting out some amaranths

  • A Matter of Attitude

    “Yuck.”

    That word has been in my mailbox lately, sprinkled through like spice on an entree. It reminds me of what a great language English is.

    English…

  • American Lotus: Worth Getting Wet For  (1)

    More American than apple pie
    Nature fights back.

    Much of Florida is giving way to housing. For several years I passed a large abandoned pasture with a dry…

  • American Nightshade: A Much Maligned Edible  (5)

    Solanum americanum: Food or Poison?

    Anyone who’s done some foraging has seen the “Black Nightshade” also called the “Common Nightshade” and (DRUM ROLLLLLLLL…

  • Annona Quartet

    The Annonas Four: Sugar, Sour, Custard, Pond
    Many species and a few family of plants sit on the cusp of edible, non-edible, among them the Annonas, tropicals…

  • Antikythera Mechanism
    The Antikythera Mechanism is unique, kind of like a monotypic genus plant. In fact, this short article was originally written as the introduction for the…
  • A Pitch For Spruce Gum: Real spruce gum is not easy to chew. It is not soft or sweet. Hard and crumbly is more accurate along with pieces of bark and bits of insects.
  • Apples, Wild Crabapples

    Malus sieversii, Hard-Core Apples
    Wild Apples are one of the most common over-looked foraging foods. People take one taste, spit it out, and go on their…

  • Are Raw Vegetables Healthy for Humans?  (4)

    The quick answer by most would be yes, the presumption being man ate raw vegetables for a long time and is better suited to them, and them to him. But, whether…

  • Are You A Cook Or A Baker?

    I am often asked about herbal medicine. My answer to the inquirer is often a question: Are you a cook or a baker? Their answer is instructive.

    While one…

  • Armadillo: Possum on the Half Shell  (2)

    Armadillo Cuisine: Cooking a Hoover Hog
    Armadillos are an overlooked food animal, not protected by law, available throughout the year, and good tasting. And…

  • Attitude Makes The Difference

    Facts don’t disappear in life, but in the end attitude is their equal. Water hyacinths can demonstrate that.

    If you know much about the state of Florida…

  • Australian Pine  (1)

    Casuarina equisetifolia: Dreaded Edible
    It is truly fitting that the Australian Pine ends up on a site dedicated to edible plants because where it has been…

  • What do you do when the description of a plant doesn’t fit? The answer depends on how far off the description is: You might have the wrong plant.

    If it is…

  • Balloon Vine, Heart Vine, Heart Seed

    Cardiospermum halicacabum: Edible Leaves

    For a tropical plant, the Balloon Vine can take cold weather, growing from west Texas north to Montana, Florida…

  • Bamboo Doesn’t Bamboozle You

    Bambusa
    Do not tell me you don’t live near bamboo. I grew up in 50-below zero Maine and we had bamboo in front of the house for decades. In fact, the…

  • Bananas: More Than A Yellow Frou Frou Fruit  (5)

    Bananas Trees: Survival Food
    Yes, everyone knows bananas are edible, as are their starchy cousins, the plantains. One doesn’t think of banana or plantain…

  • Barnyard Grass  (8)
    The first time I saw Barnyard Grass was decades ago in a real barnyard near a drain spout. I was with forager Dick Deuerling who identified it for me.…
  • Basswood Tree, Linden, Lime Tree

    Tilia americana: Forest Fast Food
    My first recollection of basswood was not on the supper table but rather helping my father make pipes.

    First we’d…

  • Bauhinia: Pretty Eats

    Bauhinias’ Beauty

    It’s called the Camel Foot Tree, the Cow Foot Tree, the Mountain Ebony Tree, the Orchid Tree, and the Hong Kong Orchid Tree. I ignored it…

  • Birches: One could easily write a book about Birches because they are so valuable to foragers.
  • Beach Bean, Bay Bean  (2)

    Canavalia maritima, Rosea, Beach Bean
    It’s the tank of beans: Three inches long, an inch wide and very thick. And with good reason, it lives near the…

  • Beach Orach, Crested Salt Bush

    Atriplex cristata: Pigweed by the Sea

    Anyone familiar with the Goosefoot family will see the Beach Orach and presume it is probably edible, and it is.

    A…

  • Beautyberry: Jelly on a Roll  (23)

    Beautyberry: Callicarpa Americana
    The Beautyberry is squirrel’s version of take out.

    Squirrels will often break off a branch a foot or two long and…

  • Beech, American

    Fagus grandifolia: The All-American Beech

    Tree trivia: Beechnut chewing gum had nothing to do with the Beech tree or the seeds it produces. It was, however,…

  • Bees In Litigation

    The last time I visited relatives in Greece, September 2006, I had “tea” with one of two then-living first cousins of my grandmother, both in their 90s,…

  • Before There Were Baked Beans

    Baked beans is about as traditional a New England meal as one can get… That and boiled dinners. Every Sunday for decades we had boiled dinner. Potatoes,…

  • Begonia Bonanza

    Waxing about Edible Begonias
    It was on Rock Springs Run, some 20 years ago here in Florida, when I first saw them, just above the variable water line. I…

  • Betony: Rich Root, Poor Root  (5)

    Stachys Floridana, Culinary Pretender
    I have read from a good source that all Stachys are edible. I politely doubt that for three reasons. First there are 300…

  • Big Caltrop: If you’re an adult with aging eyesight Kallstroemia maxima when first spied can look like purslane. A closer examination shows it is not.
  • Binomial Nomenclature

    Most of us go by two names. So do plants. That’s Binomial Nomenclature. That is both good and bad. It’s good in that two people on different sides of the…

  • Birches: One could easily write a book about Birches because they are so valuable to foragers.
  • Bird Peppers

    Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum: Hot Eats

    Did y0u know hot peppers grow in the wild? From Central American north to Arizona east to Florida then up the…

  •  Bitter Melon (6)

    Bitter Melon, Bitter Gourd, Balsam Pear: Momordica Charantia
    If the Balsam Pear did not exist a pharmaceutical company would invent it. In fact, there…

  • Bitter Lettuce

    Launea intybacea: Edible Bitter Lettuce

    The plant came first, and it’s anybody’s guess to what its scientific name is.

    Every botanical wonderkin thinks…

  • Bittercress and Kissing Crucifer Cousins

    Cardamine pensylvanica: Petite Pot Herb
    The first time I saw Bittercress I knew it had to be an edible. I just didn’t know which one.

    How did I know? Plants…

  • Black Calabash: It started with spotting a blossom while teaching a foraging class. 
  • Black Cherry: Chokecherry’s Better Cousin  (3)

    Prunus serotina: Better Late than Never Cherry

    Think of the Black Cherry as a chokecherry with some of the choke removed.

    Not a 100 feet from the…

  • Black Ironwood, Leadwood
    Krugiodendron ferreum: Ironwood M&MsGreen twigs of Black Ironwood will sink in salt water. It’s that dense.The Black Ironwood was…
  • Black Medic  (2)

    Medicago Lupulina: Grain and Potherb
    I debated a long time whether to include Black Medic as an edible. There are several plants in that category and over…

  • Black Walnuts and Butternut

    Juglans nigra and butternut, too!

    I didn’t see my first Black Walnut tree until about 16 years ago. It so happened that the two places I lived the longest,…

  • Blackberries, A Forager’s Companion  (1)

    Blackberries: Robust Rubus, Food & Weed
    Anyone who forages will eventually collect a few blackberries, and thorns. Blackberries are among the best known…

  • Bladderwrack

    Fucus vesiculosus: Edible Bladderwrack
    Bladderwrack can wrack your brain.

    Why? Because in some places it has bladders and is textbook perfect. And in others…

  • Blolly, Beeftree

    Guapira discolor: A Blolly by Golly
    The Blolly confounded me when I first saw the tree for it was growing by itself in a park. The fruit is quite distinct, a…

  • Blue Porterweed, Bottom Up!

    Stachytarpheta jamaicensis: Near Beer
    Should the civilized world come to an end and you have a hankering for a stout beer you’re in luck: You can make one…

  • Blueberries, or Huckleberry’s Kin

    Vacciniums: Am I Blue?

    Blueberrying was a family tradition. The only debate was did you pick them clean, or did you pick leaves, bugs and all then clean…

  • Botanical Bachelor

    As a seasoned life-long bachelor I had my pickup line all crafted and rehearsed, so I could say it naturally at the right moment when my Dream Lady came near.…

  • Bottlebrush Tree:
  • Bougainvilleas:     Bougainvilleas are often referred to as a toxic plant. 

I’m often asked during my classes why I mention many plants that can be used to make tea. There are two answers:

  • Brookweed: Brookweed is an edible plant few know a lot about these days. Even Professor Daniel Austin, who managed to write 909 pages about ethnobotany, could only scrape up one paragraph.
  • Brown Anoles  (3)

    “Did you clean them” I asked a friend who might want to remain anonymous.

    “No” he said.

    “You cooked them whole?”

    “Yes.”

    “You ate them head, tail and…

  • Browne’s Savory: Clinopodium Browneii

    The Mighty Minty Micromeria Browneii

    Sometimes in central Florida you will drive past a car accident on the interstate, or another road, and smell…

  • Budget Cut Benefits

    Two effects of the economic times are influencing foraging. First is an increase in the number of people who are putting food on the table by foraging. The…

  • Bug-a-Boo’s or Grubs Up  (5)
    On this site are several articles about edible insects (among other creatures.) Below is an expanding collection of more than 50 edible insects. I plan to…
  • Bulrush Bonanza  (3)

    Cattail’s Maligned Companion: The bulrush has a public relations problem. It found in the same environment as the cattail, can be used the same way, and tastes…

  • Bunchberry Brunch

    Munching Cornus canadensis/unalaschkensis
    Discussing things little ears shouldn’t hear, they barely interrupt their conversations to pick a low Bunchberry from…

  • Bunya Pine: The Australian Aboriginals knew a good thing when they tasted it. So did the immigrants. It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t like the taste of Bunya Pine nuts. But you will find people who don’t like to clean up after it because the ancient species sheds sharp leaves and heavy cones.
  • Burdock Banquet

    Arctium minus: Burdock’s Plus Side
    I have a confession to make: When I was a kid I had a miniature corn cob pipe. And in it I smoked dried burdock leaf… I…

  • Buttercups:  Buttercups are usually considered not edible.
  • Cabbage Palm, Sabal Palmetto  (4)

    Heart of Palm and Controversy
    The state tree of Florida isn’t a tree, but it is a weed of many edible parts.

    The Sabal palmetto, actually an overgrown…

  • Cactus: Don’t Be Spineless  (3)

    Nopalea Cochenillifera: Cactus Cuisine
    Be brave when you collect cactus.

    Of course, good gloves and tongs help. With those tools you can have a very…

  • Caesar Weed Sampler  (5)

    Urena Lobata: Cash crop to noxious weed
    Once it was an invited money-maker, now it is a hunted money spender: Caesar weed, cash crop to noxious weed.

    We have…

  • Camphor Tree: Cinnamon’s Smelly Cousin

    Campy Camphor: Not Just For Grandma

    One would never guess Camphor trees are not native to Florida, or the South. One also probably wouldn’t guess they…

  • Candlestick Tree: If you are meandering through a botanical garden in a warm climate and you see a tree growing four-foot-long candles it might be Parmentiera cereifera.
  • Candyroot
    I will be the first to admit my experience with Candyroot is very limited. In a flower book I carried with me on field trips some 20 years ago with Florida…
  • Canna Confusion  (1)
    How many species of Canna are there? Used to be perhaps 100 but now there are 20 or so, plus one Scottish island with a …ah.. population problem. And…
  • Cannibalism
    There is no way to approach the topic of cannibalism without offending someone. Apologies offered. Cannibalism, the last great social taboo, is committed…
  • Can We Eat Grass?  That simple question has a complex answer: Yes, no, and maybe.  It’s a topic I explored in a recent Green Deane Newsletter and the basis for this article.
  • Carolina Bristle Mallow  (1)

    Modiola caroliniana: A Bristly Drink
    No one knows how many species of edible plants there are in the world, or in North America. In the former the guess is…

  • Carpetweed  (3)
    When it comes to Carpetweed you need to know only two things: It grows nearly everywhere, or will. And the plant above ground is edible. To quote Cornucopia…
  • Cassia Clan aka Senna

    Cassia occidentalis: Faux Coffee & Greens
    You either cook the Cassia Clan right or they make you sick. Any questions?

    Now that I have your attention,…

  • Cast Iron Cookery, Buying and Restoring  (3)

    Cast Iron Pans: Yesterday is tomorrow
    Many books have been written about cast iron cookware. I will try to say a few things here perhaps not said elsewhere.

    B…

  • Cast Net Junkie

    I will admit to being a cast net junkie.

    Some people collect coins or stamps. I collect cast nets. I started throwing nets some 30 years ago and have been…

  • Cast Nets: Throwing Your Weights Around

    Throwing Your Trouble Away
    I love cast netting. I own five of them and rarely come home empty handed. I also never throw for bait: I go for the…

  • Cattails – A Survival Dinner  (3)

    Cattails: Swamp Supermarket
    The United States almost won WWII with cattails.

    No green plant produces more edible starch per acre than the Cat O’ Nine…

  • Caulerpa

    Caulerpa: Warm-Water Salad and Pest
    Caulerpa ssp.would seem to be a paradox. Eaten around the world by thousands for thousands of years but called a killer…

  • Cereus Today Not Tomorrow

    Getting Down To Cereus Business

    There are three things irritating about Cereus other than their spines: 1) several botanical names for the same plant; 2)…

  • Ceriman, Delicious Monster

    Monstera deliciosa: Hmm Hmm Good!
    Large Delight. That’s what Monstera deliciosa means…. It was an edible I did not know about until pointed out to me by my…

  • Chain of Contamination

    In police work there is the chain of possession. When evidence is collected, who has it, and where it’s kept is recorded constantly. With food we might call it…

  • Chaya: The Spinach Tree  (7)

    Cnidoscolus aconitifolius: Tree Pot Herb
    I knew about Chaya long before I ever saw one.

    It’s in the Cnidoscolus genus and has two relatives in the…

  • Che: Che is not the tree it used to be.
  • Checkerberry cum Wintergreen

    The Teaberry Shuffle
    I saw Gary Vickerson eat an earthworm I found near a checkerberry plant. Personally I preferred the Checkerberry.

    Before I go any…

  • Chestnuts: Chestnuts have done more than just disappear from the landscape: They have dropped out of our lives save for a token appearance at Christmas.
  • Chewstick, White Root

    Gouania lupuloides: How to Get Chewed Out

    The modern toothbrush was unknown in Europe until 1498, the year it came from China. Before that people…

  • Chickasaw Plum: Yum  (5)

    Chickasaw Plum: First Springtime Blossom

    Every spring, three wild plums put on a show locally: The Chickasaw, the Flatwood, and the American. They…

  • Chickweed Chic  (11)

    Chickweed Connoisseurs
    My being green really paid off this spring: For the first time (2009) I have chickweed in my lawn. I don’t know how it got there but it…

  • Chicory History

    Cichorium intybus: Burned to a Crisp
    Chicory was not a common plant where I grew up or where I live. But I remember the first time I saw it, in 1990, in a…

  • Chinese Box-Orange, Tsau Ping Lak

    Atalantia buxifolia: Wine-Cake Thorn
    The Chinese Box-Orange is one of my botanical mysteries. I know it is edible but I don’t know how… But I may still…

  • Chinese Elm Take out

    Chinese Elm: A tree that doesn’t go Dutch
    Sometimes a wild edible can be under your feet and you never notice, or in this case, over your head.

    Anyone with…

  • Chinese Tallow Tree  (1)

    Popcorn Tree, Florida Aspen, Tallow Tree

    There is a lot of debate whether the white waxy aril of the Chinese Tallow Tree is edible or not…

  • Chocolate Vine, Abeki: Any plant with “chocolate” in the name is sure to get attention. And when it’s also called an invasive species then even more so.
  • Christmas & Maiden berries

    Crossopetalums: Edible Berries & Medicine

    When I was an undergrad in music it was a revelation to learn that by studying music you also studied history:…

  • Christmasberry, Wolfberry, Goji  (1)

    Christmas, Wolf, Goji, They’re All Berries
    It’s called the Christmasberry even though it fruits in April, and while it is one of several “Christmas Berries”…

  • Chufa For Two  (1)

    Cyperus esculentus, C. rotundus: Serious Sedges
    There are two edible Cyperus locally: One that tastes like hazelnuts and one that smells and tastes to me…

  • Cider Barrel Rules  (2)
    My mother was a horrible cook.I used to joke she thought I was a Greek god: Every meal was either a burnt offering or a sacrifice.I learned to cook…
  • Cider Hard, But Quick and Easy  (22)

    How To Make Hard Cider
    You can make hard apple cider the difficult way, or the quick and easy way. I prefer the easy quick way. I’ve made a lot of beer and…

  • Citron Melon, Tsamma  (6)

    Citron Melons: Abandoned Preserves
    Are they edible?

    Even people who do not forage want to know if the little watermelons they see in citrus groves are…

  • Civilized Food

    While making my purslane video I was thinking back to a family friend who refused to eat purslane because it was a “weed.”

    It had taken over about one third…

  • Climbing Fig, Creeping Fig  (3)
    If there is one thing about the Internet that irritates the sap out of me it is how mistakes proliferate rather than get corrected. I have ranted about…
  • Clover, Available Around The World  (7)

    Clover, Available Around The World
    Hay may be for horses, but clover is for people…well…. almost.

    I was forever nibbling on clover blossoms when I…

  • Coco-Plums

    Chrysobalanus icaco: Multi-Colored Fruit
    Coco-plums are three quarters patriotic: They can be red, white, or blue ( and yellow.)

    Actually, the “blue” is deep…

  • Coconuts: It’s A Matter of Degrees

    Coconut, An Equatorial Palm
    Popular media and commercial production have made the coconut a common cultural item, even if you live thousands of miles away…

  • Codium Compendium

    Codiums: Edible around the world
    Oceanographers like to call Codium a minor seaweed because it is not commercially exploitable. Yet where it is found around…

  • Common Reed  (1)
    Some 20 years ago I pondered upon the identity of what appeared to be a very tall grass in a former marlpit in Port Orange, a few miles south of Daytona…
    • Cooking Like A Caveman

      The Mesolithic Era is not a sexy topic that will win friends and influence people at parties. But, it is something foragers should think about. If you are a…

    • Cooking without Pots or Pans  (2)

      Mesolithic Cooking: It’s the Pitshttps://www.eattheweeds.com
      How do you cook without pots or pans?

      It’s a question our distant ancestors never asked because pots and pans didn’t…

www.eattheweeds.com

  • Coontie Courage

    Zamia Floridana: Making Toxins Edible
    This plant is included here in case 1) society falls apart; 2) You live in Georgia or Florida and need starch…

  • Coquina: Tasty Tiny Clam
    Coquina: Donax: Good Eats
    Ounce for ounce there is probably no more delicious seafood than Coquina. The problem is getting an ounce of it, so we usually…
  • Coral Bean: Humming Bird Fast Food
    Erythrina herbacea: Part Edible, Part NotThe (eastern) Coral Bean is one of those damned if you do, and damned if you don’t kind of things. Parts of…
  • Coral Vine

    Antigonon leptopus: Creeping Cuisine
    The Antigonon leptopus ( an-TIG-oh-non LEP-toh-puss) inspires local names everywhere it grows: Tallahassee Vine, Honolulu…

  • Corn Poppy
    Several plants have relatives whose reputations are difficult to live down. The Natal Plum is one. Related to the oleander the delicious plum suffers from…
  • Corn Smut:   Mexican Truffles. Corn Smut. Raven Scat.  Ustilago maydis gets more unappetizing the further one goes down its list of names. The Aztecs called it huitlacoche.  The Mexicans call it a delicacy.
  •  Crabgrass Was King  (3)

    Forage, Grain, Flour, Manna, Pest
    Americans did two interesting things when they moved from the farm to suburbia: They surrounded their homes with toxic…

  • Cranberries, Lingonberries

    Get Your Annual Vaccinium Every Year
    Frozen cranberries are just as sour as fresh ones.

    I know that because when I was a kid skating on frozen ponds in Maine…

  • Creeping Cucumber: Melothria Pendula  (2)

    Cute Cuke! Melothria Pendula

    The Melothria pendula is a little cucumber with a big reputation.

    That said, when it comes to the “creeping cucumber”…

  • Crowfoot Grass, True Grits

    Dactyloctenium aegyptium: Staple Grain
    Grasses can be a pain in the …ah… grass…

    First, books about grasses are few and incredibly expensive. Next,…

  • Dad’s Applewood Pipes  (3)
    Time edits your memories. It sands off the rough edges that were once painfully sharp. It makes some moments clearer by evaporating the fog of being…
  • Dahlia Pinnata
    Here’s the good news: At least one species of Dalhia has edible roots. Here’s the bad news, there are some 20,000 cultivars, maybe even thousands more. A…
  • Dandelions: Hear Them Roar  (3)
    Dandelion Wine and Coffee and SaladDandelions and I go back a long ways, more than half a century.When I was very young in Maine my mother…
  • Dayflowers, Often One Petal Shy  (4)

    Commelina diffusa: What a day for a dayflower
    Common names can be a headache when one is trying to index a plant. The plant to the lower right is commonly…

  • Daylily Dilemma  (3)

    Daylily: Just Cloning Around
    The daylily, a standard plant in foraging for a century or more, has become too much of a good thing and now presents a significan…

  • Dead Man’s Fingers
    Decaisnea fargesii: True Ghoul Blue
    There are three Dead Man’s Fingers: A seaweed, a mushroom, and a shrub, all so-called because of the way they…
  • Does Anyone Know What Time It Is?  (2)
    It is time for my semi-annual rant and wish that G.V. Hudson had a different hobby. Hudson, a New Zealander, collected insects and was a shift worker. In…
  • Does The Nose Know?

    What Does a Word Smell Like?

    During nearly every class I have students smell three or four plants — depending upon the season — and I ask them what common…

  • Dog and Cat  (1)
    Most Westerners would starve than eat their pet, and understandably so. There is a tacit agreement between pets and their owners. In exchange for putting…
  • Doveweed

    Murdannia nudiflora: Tiny Dayflower Kin
    In India the Doveweed is a famine food. That should give you some idea of how it lines up in the culinary kingdom. The…

  • Drymaria Cordata, Tropical Chickweed  (3)

    Drymaria cordata: Kissing cousin chickweed
    Drymaria cordata is one of those plants that confounds the mind. You know what it resembles: Chickweed. It has one…

  • Duckweed

A Weed Most Fowl. Do ducks eat duckweed? Yes and no. Do humans eat duckweed? Yes and no. Domestic ducks tend to eat duckweed, wild ones don’t.…

Foragers tend to ignore seaweed.

  • Ear Tree, Sound Food

    Lend Me An Ear Tree

    Just about anyone who has spent anytime in a warm climate will some day find on a sidewalk a black seed pod that looks like a human…

  • Earthworms  (7)

    Cooking with Earthworms
    The cartoon strip BC once had its peg-leg poet write: “The bravest man I ever saw was the first one to eat an oyster raw.”

  • Eastern Gamma Grass:   Someone who supposedly knew their grasses wrote there are no toxic native North American grasses.
  • Eastern Red Bud: Pea Pods Tree  (5)
    Cercis canadensis: In The Bud of TimeIt’s one of those trees that if you don’t see it at the right time you’re not looking for it the rest of the year.…
  • Eating In Season  (1)
    There is little doubt that eating certain fiddlehead greens can significantly increase ones chances of cancer. In fact, science says they cause cancer. On…
  • Edible Flowers: Part One  (1)Nasturtium, Calendula, Spanish Needles, Arugula, Squash, Cilanto, Bee Balm, Carnation, Dandelion, Lilac
    Which blossom will be your favorite edible…
  • Edible Flowers: Part Two  (9)Tulips, Yucca, Begonias, Blue Porterweed, Queen Ann’s Lace, Dill, Gladiolas, Wapato, Impatiens, CitrusTulips are one of those wonderful flowers you…
  • Edible Flowers: Part Three  (2)Mayflower, Chrysanthemum, Cornflower, Rose, Daylily, Elderberry, Chicory, Johnny-Jump-Ups, Linden, BananaA rite of spring in the frozen north, or at…

Spiderwort, Marigolds, Rosemary, Smartweed, Pineapple Weed, Chamomile, False Roselle, Lavender, Forsythia, Borage

Apple, Fuchsia, Sweet Goldenrod, Basil, Gorse, Bauhinia, Eastern Redbud, Angelica, Honeysuckle, Eastern Coral Bean
Apple Blossom
Every seed in every apple…

  • Edible Flowers: Part Six  (1)Burnet, Magnolia, Fennel, Garden Sorrel, Tansy, Pink Wood Sorrel, Sunflower, Pineapple Guava, Prickly Pear, PansiesBurnet (Sanguisorba minor) is…
  • Edible Flowers: Part Seven  (1)Scarlet Runner Bean, Peony, Hyacinth Bean, Clover, Jasmine, Chervil, Water Hyacinth, Plantain Lily, Meadowsweet, Perennial PhloxScarlet Runner Bean is…
  • Edible Flowers: Part Eight

    Society Garlic, Anise Hyssop, Black Locust, Gardenia, Fragrant Water Lily, Strawberry, Marsh Mallow, Maypops, Milkweed, Hollyhocks

    It’s clearly not…

  • Edible Flowers: Part Nine  (1)Mahoe, Moringa, Pineapple Sage, Plum, Hawthorn, Cattail, Papaya, Purslane, Tuberose, Wisteria
    Mahoe’s Blossoms Change Color
    One of the more fascinating…

Alliums, Oregano, Pinks, Peas, Okra, Galium, Ginger, Scented Geraniums, Primrose, Mustard/RadishThe author of “Florida’s Incredible Wild Edibles” Dick…

Coral Vine, Citron Melon, Milkweed Vine, Dayflower, Evening Primrose, Kudzu, Stock, Dame’s Rocket, Freesia, Dendrobium phalaenopsisThe Coral Vine has…

  • Edible Flowers: Part Twelve  (2)Forget-Me-Nots, Calamint, Mimosa Silk Tree, Clary Sage, Petunia x hybrid, Balloon Flower, Yarrow, Corn Poppy, Daisy, Sweet AlyssumThe story I heard…
  • Edible Flowers: Part Thirteen  (1)Sesbania Grandifolia, Lemon Verbena, Szechaun Buttons, Horseradish, Tea Olive, Tiger Lily, Currants, Honewort, Thyme, Indian Paint BrushSesbania…
  • Edible Flowers: Part Fourteen  (2)
    Manzanita, Rose of Sharon, Tea, Campanula, Artichoke, Saffron, Samphire, Sage, Parsley, Common MallowWestern states often seem to get short-changed in…

Mango, Catnip, Pignut, Lovage, Salsify, Hairy Cowpea, Fritillary, Mint, Cow Slip, BirchDid you know mangoes and poison ivy are botanical kissing…

Oregon Holly Grape, Snapdragon, Caesar’s Weed, Golden Alexanders, Loroco, Safflower, White Sagebrush, Puget Balsam Root, Yellow Commelina, Bitter Gourd

Black Salsify, Coltsfoot, Yellow Pond Lily, Mexican Hyssop, Carambola, Baobob, Kapok, Durian, Italian Bugloss, BlueweedEdible plants collect a lot of…

Chinese Perfume Plant, Queensland Silver Wattle, Cloves, Chinese Lotus, Blue Lotus, Screwpine, Turpentine Tree, Sweet Autum Clematis, St. Anthony’s Turnip, Quince

All 20 articles in one article

  • Eels
    Eels: Lunch, Slip Sliding Away…
    I can remember the first time I caught an eel. It was in the Royal River in Pownal Maine, using an earthworm on the…

Eggs for Survival and Food
Eggs would seem like a simple foraging topic and it is, and it is not. My copy of the U.S Department of the Army…

  • Elaeagnus Et Cetera

    Edible Elaeagnus
    First it was “poisonous.” Then it was “not edible.” Later it was edible but “not worth eating.” Actually, it’s not toxic but tasty, and easy…

  • Elderberries: Red, White and Blue  (10)

    Sambuca’s Fine For Elderberry Wine
    Start your New Year off right with a glass of elderberry wine or elderberry blossom champagne. Don’t have any?…

  • Epazote: Smelly Food of the Gods
    Mexican Tea, Dewormer: EpazoteHere is my dedication to being comprehensive: I am going to write about a plant I do not like.Why don’t I like…
  • Eryngo, Tough Sweetie

    Eryngiums: Elizabethan Eryngo Candy

    While the edible versions are not widely distributed in North America, Eryngo (ERR-in-go) was too pretty a name to be…

  • Evening Primrose  (5)

    Oenothera biennis: Foraging Standby

    The Common Evening Primrose has long been a foraging standby and for a century or so was a common vegetable found in…

  • Experience and Judgment

    Sometimes a toxic plant can give even an experienced forager reason to pause.

    When I was making a video last week I saw a beautiful growth of watercress,…

  • False Dandelions For Lunch  (2)

    Pyrrhopappus, Hypochoeris: Dandelion Impostors
    Most people don’t notice False Dandelions because they have the real thing. But here in the South where…

  • False Hawksbeard

    Crepis Japonica: Seasonal Potherb
    If the Crepis fits….wear….ah…eat it

    Crepis japonica gets no respect. You won’t find it in field guides on edible…

  • False Roselle  (1)I can’t do a stir-fry without visiting a tree. Actually, the False Roselle is a shrub not a tree but the point is made. Its leaves have just the…
  • Fiddlehead Ferns, Signs of Spring

    Fiddlehead Fanatics
    If poke weed tests your foraging bravery, fiddleheads test your foraging philosophy.

    Pokeweed can kill you within hours if you make a…

  • Fiddlewood  (1)

    Citharexylum fruticosum: Edible Guitar
    The Fiddlewood tree is not high on the list of edibles. As some authors state, only kids eat the fruit, lots of seed,…

  • Field Testing Plants for Edibility  (7)

    I am dead set against it because it can kill you. I will make a large argument against it, and a small argument for it.

    “Field testing” is running through a…

  • Figs, Strangler, Banyan and Strangler  (4)

    Wild Ficus: Who Gives An Edible Fig?
    It’s only 90 miles to the east, and 117 to the west, but the Strangler Fig and Banyan trees will grow farther south and…

  • Finding Caloric Staples  (8)
    An Australian study tells us that modern day hunter gatherers get  two thirds of their food from animals, one third form plants.
  • Firebush:
    The Firebush is probably one of the most commonly planted unknown edibles. They are usually arranged in the landscape…
  • Fireweed Sale  (1)

    Erechtites hieraciifolia: Edible Pile Driver

    When I go to Greece I always stay a few days in Athens to get used to the time change and visit in-town…

  • Fish Sauce and Rotten MeatFish Sauce, Rotten Meat, and Other Garbage
    There was a great scene from an episode of Barney Miller, a popular sitcom in the 70’s based in a…
  • Fishtail Palms  (3)

    Caryota: Fishy Toxic Palms

    Often the botanical name of a species tells you nothing about the plant. Magnolia comes to mind. It’s a person’s name. However…

  • Five Mile Walk

    Can you live off the land? Can anyone these days? I suppose the answer depends on what land, what you know, and whose else is also trying to live off it.

    Whe…

  • Flamboyant FuchsiaMention “fuchsia” and most folks who recognize the word will think of a bright color. Personally I think of Fuchsia’s edible fruit and flowers.…
  • Flowering Rush

    In one area of its native range — Israel — it’s endangered becauses of dwindling habitat. In another part of the world it is an invasive weed, and you can…

  • Foraging After Dark

    I took a residential walk this evening to identify trees after dark. Yes, after dark. Now why do a silly thing like that?

    I know someone who has his foraging…

  • Foraging Before There Was Botany

    Foraging before there was botany had to be a lot easier than after botany. Someone showed you what was edible and that was that. Of course somewhere back along…

  • Foraging for Beginners

    I was asked to write a short piece for a survivalist blog on getting started in foraging:
    How are a Musician and a Botanist Alike?
    As a professional musician I…

  • Foraging in Florida  (1)

    Of all the “survival” skills foraging is probably the most difficult to learn, or certainly the one that takes the most time and personal fortitude. It is one…

  • Foraging Myth Busting  (3)

    As many of you already know I am highly critical of the Internet as a source of information on foraging. This is not to say there isn’t quality information…

  • Forsythia Foraging For Forsythia
    If you study the eating habits of North American Indians you learn one thing quite quickly. They weren’t mono-green eaters.…
  • Garlic Mustard: Gather Garlic Mustard now for pesto or it may disappear presto… well… maybe not immediately but if one university succeeds Garlic Mustard will become hard to find or extinct in North America.
  • Galinsoga’s Gallant Soldiers
    Galinsoga ciliata: Quickweed is fast foodQuickweed does not look edible or gallant. In fact, it looks like a daisy that lost a fight. But it, and a…
  • Gar: Treasured Trash Fish  (1)

    Eating Gar, a Taste of the Primitive
    There are two things you need to know about the Gar. The first is that it is very edible, really. The second is that…

  • Geiger Tree, Scarlet Cordia
    Cordia sebestena: Foraging Geiger Counter
    Foragers eat the mild fruit of the Geiger Tree and care not about the particulars. Botanists care about particular…
  • Getting To The Leaf Of The Problem

    Why sudy with someone? Because student foragers see what they want to see rather than what’s in front of them. Let me give you consistent example.

    There are…

  • Giant Taro
    One can ignore large leaves for only so long, and the Alocasia macrorrhiza has big leaves, up to four feet long. As one might suspect, it also has a large…
  • Ginkgo: Putrid Perfection

    Going Nuts Over Ginkgo Biloba Nuts

    Though the Army sent me to Japan I didn’t see my first Ginkgo biloba (GINK-go bye-LOW-buh) tree until I attended the…

  • Glasswort Galore  (3)

    Salicornia bigelovii, Brackish Nibble
    Glasswort does not sound like breaking glass at all, though it does crunch a bit.

    Salicornia bigelovii (sa-li-KOR-nee-a…

  • Golden Dead Nettle  (1)
    Lamiastrum is in the eye of the beholder.If you want a ground cover that will grow in dry, shady places, Lamiastrum is exactly what you’re looking for.…
  • Golden Rain Tree

    Showers of Golden Rain Tree

    The scallions didn’t have a chance.

    My Taiwanese friend liked to grow scallions in a postage stamp garden in her back…

  • Goldenrod Glorified  (1)

    Solidago Odora: Liberty Tea

    After the Boston Tea Party of 1773 the colonists had only one good alternative: Goldenrod tea, and not just any Goldenrod,…

  • Gooseberries

A century can make a lot of difference.

 

Galium aparine: Goosegrass on the Loose

You don’t find Goosegrass. It finds you.

Covered with a multitude of small hooks, Goosegrass, Galium…

  • Gorse, of Course

    Ulex europaeus: Edible Gorse or Furze Pas
    Gorse has edible flowers. It also has thorns… Really bad thorns.

    In August 2005 an Englishman, Dean Bowen,…

  • Gout Weed  (6)
    Gout Weed does not sound too appetizing. Nor do some of its other names: Ground Ash, Ashweed, Pot Ash, White Ash, Ground Elder, Dog Elder, Dwarf Elder,…
  • Gracilaria, Graceful Redweed

    Gracilaria: The pot thickens
    People eat a lot of seaweed. They just don’t know it. In the industry it is called covert consumption vs overt consumption. What…

  • Grapes of Path  (3)

    Vitis: Wild Grapes
    Who ever first wrote the phrase “grapes of wrath” certainly must have been trying to identify a particular grape vine.

    Grapes are at the…

  • Grass and Tree War  (1)
    Point of view, thinking differently… Consider:What if plants are more goal-orientated than we think them to be? After all, we put ourselves on the…
  • Great Grandmother Cat  (1)

    One of the reasons why Eat The Weeds exists is to advocate eating the wild foods around you but also to be another voice in the growing chorus that is…

  • Green Deane’s Bio, and Oliver, Too  (1)

    If you have any comments or suggestions please send them to GreenDeane@gmail.com. The B&W picture is from a Christmas long ago. That’s Tinkerbell on my…

  • Green Deane’s Videos On You Tube
    While these videos are still on You Tube and will soon be on DVDs, these links below do not work. In creating the page one character was dropped from every…
  • Ground Cherry, Wild Husk Tomatoes, Almost  (2)

    Physalis: Tomato’s Wild Cousin
    I discovered ground cherries quite by accident.

    It was back in the last century. I raided a particular field…

  • Ground Ivy  (2)
    Most of the time when someone mentions Ground Ivy the comment usually is something like “How do I get rid of the damned stuff?” Here at ETW we have have…
  • Groundnuts and Bridge Diving

    For the second time recently I was reminded of development. My favorite field of lamb’s quarters is now an upscale gated community. And where I used to forage…

  • Groundnuts: Anti-Cancer Treat  (3)

    Groundnuts: Dig ’em
    I will never forget the first time I dug up Apios americana, groundnuts. I got poison ivy. Oddly it showed up in the crook of one elbow,…

  • Grub-A-Dub-Dub
    It had to happen. If you forage for wild foods at some point you run in to grubs and related insects and you wonder… edible? And once you’re past…
  • Guinea Grass Panic Attack

    Panicum maximum and then some
    I eat grass. Actually we all do — rice, wheat — but my local trail nibble is Guinea grass, a relative to millet. I’d like to…

  • Guinea Pigs, Cavy, Cuy
    Peruvians eat more than 65 million guinea pigs every year. That should answer any question about edibility.Sixty-five million guinea pigs (a 2005…
  • Hairy Cowpea  (4)
    It’s called a Cowpea but it’s not THAT cowpea, and it has a famous relative that no one calls by its botanical name.So which Cowpea is it? Vigna…
  • Halloween Editorial  (2)

    Halloween today is the most debatable of non-holiday holidays. With a past that perhaps goes back to Roman times it became in the Christian era All Hallows…

  • Hardy Orange: Is the Hardy Orange edible? That depends on how hungry you are, or which century you live in.
  • Have Dewberry, Will Travel

    Dewberries: Rubus Trivialis

    Dewberries go far in the world, for a lowly vine. They can reach up to 15 feet long, one node root at a time.

    Essentially a…

  • Hawthorne Harvest

    The Crataegus Clan: Food & Poison
    The very first Hawthorn I ever saw — and the only one I knew for quite a while — grew on the other side of the dirt…

  • Henbit: Top of the pecking order  (2)

    Henbit: Springtime Salad Green and More

    It was a zig and a zag for me. I heard the name as an edible for many years and saw the plant often but never…

  • Hercules’ Club: Speak Softly But…

    Hercules’ Club: Zanthoxylum Clava-Herculis

    I sometimes feel sorry for my neighbors, who have lawns of decapitated grass. I’m sure my wild-looking…

  • Hickory Harvest  (2)

    Cayra coffee, or Hickory Java
    Hickories are not a migraine, but when you’re learning trees hickories can be a headache.

    Just as plums and cherries are bothin…

  • High Bush Cranberry  (1)
    I miss High Bush Cranberries. They don’t grow within a thousand miles of here, and they aren’t really cranberries. But they are hearty and familiar fare in…
  • Hit With A Plank  (1)

    There’s an old joke. A man had a mule sit down under a load. Mules can be very stubborn. And despite all his efforts the man couldn’t get the mule to get up. I…

  • Hollies: Caffein & Antioxidants  (4)

    Holly Tea With Vitamins A & C

    This time of year in the South — late fall, early winter —some of the hollies are so scarlet with berries that even…

  • Honeysuckle Heaven

    Lonicera japonica: Sweet Treat
    The honeysuckle family is iffy for foragers. It has edible members and toxic members, edible parts, toxic parts, and they mix…

  • Hornbeam, Ironwood, Blue Beech

    Carpinus caroliniana: Musclewood
    British author Ray Mears must have been thinking of the Hornbeam when he said a forager mustn’t pass up food no matter how…

  • Horse Meat
    “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”We’ve all heard the phrase, and it comes from when horse was on the menu. It was rather significant phrase to me as…
  • Horsemint, Spotted Beebalm

    Monarda Punctata: Bergamot’s Bud
    First the good news: Horsemint makes a nice, intentionally weak tea. Stronger brews are used in herbal medicine. The…

  • Horseweed, Mare’s Tail  (1)

    Conyza canadensis: Herb, Fire, Food
    Conyza will light your fire!

    If you’ve ever made fire with a bow and drill — you know, the Boy Scout way — you also know…

  • How Do Things Pan Out?
    When Europeans began to migrate into tracts of North America what was the one thing they had the native Americans wanted more than anything else? Rifles?…
  • How Ungreen Of Us  (29)
    I’m reaching retirement age. I’m also reaching the point of being tired of being told how green we are today and how ungreen we were in the past. Oh? When…
  • Hyacinth Bean

    Hyacinth Bean: Purple Protein, and More
    I’ve never understood the brouhaha over the Hyacinth Bean. Is it edible or is it not?

  • Hydrilla:     There is only one species of Hydrilla, verticillata.
  • Ignite of the Iguana  (6)

    The cookbook’s title says it all. South Florida, parts of Texas and Hawaii have iguana issues. While teaching a class in West Palm Beach last fall I could not…

  • Indian Pipes, Gold, and Emily Dickinson  (8)
    Monotropa is almost a monotypic genus. Instead of having one species in the genus there are two: Monotropa uniflora and Monotropa hypopithys.Most…
  • Indian Strawberry  (5)

    Potentilla indica: Mistaken Identity
    One of the first things my uncle’s second wife said to me when I moved from Maine to Florida was “they have strawberri…

  • Ipomoea: Water, Land & See in Gardens

    Glorifying Morning Glories
    Three of the pictures below are are not of the same Ipomoea. It’s three different species, but that should tell you something.…

  • Is This Plant Edible?
    For a surprisingly simple question there is often a complicated answer. If it’s sea kale, then the answer is yes, top to bottom. It is edible. It is…
  • Is wild taro in Florida edible?  (10)

    IS WILD TARO IN FLORIDA EDIBLE?
    “Wild Taro.” My research to date (fall, 2011)

    Is the wild taro in Florida edible? In one word, no. In two… may……

  • It’s About Time  (1)

    I spend a lot of times in the woods, and also afloat. Three things you should always know in such environments are the cardinal directions, time of day, and…

  • Ivy Gourd, Scarlet Gourd, Tindora  (2)

    Coccinia grandis: Cucumber’s Versatile Kin
    I was riding my motorcycle one day when I rumbled over a raised railroad track in an industrial area and to my…

  • Jabuticaba: In it’s native Brazil the Jabuticaba is by far the most popular fruit.
  • Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and Jill

    Arisaema triphyllum: Jack and Jill and No Hill
    For a little plant there’s a lot to write about with the Jack-In-The-Pulpit. Where does one start? What does…

  • Jambul  (1)Syzygium: A Jumble of Jambul
    The Jambul tree makes you wonder what people were thinking.For a half a century or so the United States Department of…
  • Japanese Knotweed: Dreadable Edible  (9)Japanese Knotweed gets no respect. Nearly everywhere it grows it’s listed as a prolific, noxious, invasive, dangerous bad-for-the-world,…

Stomolophus meleagris: Edible Jellyfish
“Music to the teeth” is what the Malaysians call them.Americans may not eat jellyfish, but the…

  • Jerusalem Artichoke: Root Them Out  (5)
    There used to be a huge patch of Jerusalem Artichokes here in Central Florida beside the Interstate. Now they’re under a new exit ramp, and that was the…
  • Jerusalem Thorn, Paloverde

    Parkensonia aculeata’s Thorny Past
    As foragers we are indebted to past writers and at the same time constrained by them.

    People who chronicled how Native…

  • Jujube TreeZiziphus zizyphys: The Misspelled Jujube
    If you don’t find the Jujube tree, it will find you. The Jujube is covered with long, sharp thorns. They…
  • Jumbie Bean, White Lead Tree  (2)

    Leucaena leucocephala: Food and Fodder
    Professor Julia Morton, the grand dame of toxic and edible plants in Florida, had this to say about the Jumbie…

  • Juneberry

    Amelanchier arborea: Busting Out All Over
    Juneberries are as American as apple pie. In fact, they are more American than apples.

  • Junipers:  In the cobweb recesses of my mind I have two memories of junipers
  • Katuk Kontroversy  (2)

    Edible Katuk: Sauropus androgynus

    Katuk grows reluctantly in my yard. It likes truly tropical climes and I am on the subtropical/temperate line. But it’s…

  • Kochia
    Immigration brought weeds from around the old world to the new world. Quite a few of them came from southern Russia — the grassy steppes — to the…

The Kousa Dogwood is one of those plants that makes you ask: What is it?Its large, bumpy, red fruit looks like a…

  • Kudzu Quickie  (4)Kudzu: Pueraria montana var. lobataThe government tells me that what grows up the street isn’t there.It’s kudzu, you know, the plant that…
  • Landmarks

    Landmarks — accomplishments — are like a melody. Regardless of your taste in music, music is more than organized sound. Music firmly places you in time. When…

  • Language of Flowers: A flower is a flower is a flower. But in Victorian England, one of the most self-repressed societies in modern times, the practice of using flowers to communicate was developed.
  • Lantana  (3)

    Lantana camara: Much Maligned Nibble

    Ask anyone who has heard of the Lantana camara and they will tell you it is poisonous. And they are right. Unripe…

  • Lawn Garden

    Can you have a “garden” that you ignore?

    I don’t see why not.
    Is That A Garden?
    Indeed, some might argue that is what my front lawn currently is. I really…

  • Lemon Bacopa: Let’s Call It Lime Instead
    Lemon Bacopa, a misnamed edible nativeCall me cranky, but I think Lemon Bacopa has the wrong name.And, since it is wrongly named and no one comments on…
  • Lemon Grass

    Cymbopogon citratus: A Real Lemon
    Technically Lemon Grass is naturalized in only one county in Florida, but you can find it in many yards and landscaping, and…

  • Less Was Far More  (4)
    West of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, I stopped today and collected some thistle and took a few pictures. More than 50 years ago I marveled at the same plant…
  • Lettuce Labyrinth  (9)

    Sorting Out Species
    Sorting out wild lettuce is one of the more difficult foraging tasks and may require you to watch a plant all season.

  • Lion’s Mane

          I see Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) on the same oak log every fall at the same time to the day.

Foraging is a treasure hunt because with perhaps 6,000 edible species in North America there is always a surprise now and then such as the Litchi Tomato.

  • Living off the Foraged Land

    I am not a survivalist per se, though every day I do break my personal best record of consecutive days alive.

    That said, I know many survivalists. They tend…

  • Locusberry

    Byrsonima lucida: Food and Medicine

    The Locusberry rises to the occasion. When the soil is poor it is a foot-high tree. When the soil is good, it can be…

  • Looking for Lettuce
    I like my 14,000 subscribers, and the email I get. Many of the questions I can answer or I can refer the writer to where the answer can be found. But….…
  • Loquat: Getting A Grip on Grappa  (2)
    Lovin’ Loquats: Eriobotryae Japonicae
    Long before there were couch potatoes there were couch Loquats.Loquats are homebodies. Most people who live beyond…
  • Madeira Vine, Lamb’s Tail, Mignonette Vine  (1)

    Anredera cordifolia: Pest or Food Crop?
    The Madeira Vine is a love/hate relationship. You will either hate it — as many land owners and governments do — or…

  • Mahoe, Sea Hibiscus

    Hibiscus tiliaceus: Edible Chameleon
    It’s difficult to find a hibiscus you don’t like, including the Mahoe.

    In fact, to this writer’s knowledge all…

  • Mahonia Malange: When I first heard of the Mahonias it was a bit irritating. They’re widespread shrubs in the western United States and here I was in Florida. But as time revealed, we have a Mahonia here, just not a native.
  • Make My Day
    It was one of those moments. I was biking along a rails to trails, stopping and taking pictures of this and that plant for past and future blogs. Better…
  • Mallow Madness  (2)
    Lunch Landscaping: HibiscusMy mother’s favorite flower is the Rose of Sharon, which of course didn’t even go in one of my ears and out the…
  • Mangrove Mystery  (1)

    Mangroves: Marvelous Muck Masters

    I did an unknown favor years ago that may stump some stuffy botanist in the near or distant future, and a mangrove…

  • Maple Manna  (1)

    Maples: How Sweet It Is
    Maple Walnut Ice Cream. It’s amazing what you can do with two trees and a cow. It was the prime ice cream of choice when I was young.…

  • Marijuana Machinations: You can’t rummage around the woods as a forager without running into someone’s marijuana patch.
  • Marlberries and Ardisias kin

    Ardisias: Berries on the cusp of edible
    The Ardisias are a confusing family in Florida.

    There is the native Marlberry (Ardisia escallonioides) that has…

  • Mayapple, Mandrake  (2)

    Podophyllum peltatum: Forgotten Fruit
    The first time I saw a mayapple I was certain something that strange had to be toxic, and it is, unless totally…

  • Mayflowers, Trailing Arbutus

    Epigaea repens: Spring Sentinel and Nibble
    It was an annual family ritual. Every spring when the snow had finally melted we’d go through the low Maine…

  • Maypops Mania  (6)

    Maypops: Food, Fun, Medicine
    As popular as they are, Maypops get stepped on a lot, but that doesn’t keep them down.

    They are one of five hundred kin in…

  • Media Interviews With Green Deane

    This is Green Deane being interview for the local PBS station for Thanksgiving, 2009. This show was voted their best episode of the year. http://www.wmfe.org/au…

  • Melaleuca, Tea Tree, Sweetener, Pharmacy
    The Melaleuca tree is the most invasive “weed” in the state of Florida, quite a feat when you consider there are…

  • Mesquite  (1)

    Mesquite’s More Than Flavoring: It’s Food
    If Euell Gibbons was still around he might ask, “have you ever eaten a Mesquite tree?” rather than his famous…

  • Milkweed Vine, Latexplant, Strangler Vine  (13)

    Morrenia odorata: Menace or Manna?
    One spring I was looking for poke weed when I spied a liana I had not seen before. It had a large fruit that looked…

  • Milkweed, Common  (3)

    Asclepias: Some like it hot, some like it cold
    The question is to boil or not to boil.

    Actually that’s not quite accurate. There is general agreement…

  • Milo, Portia Tree, Seaside Mahoe  (2)

    Thespesia populnea: Coastal Cuisine
    One of my uncles had the type of personality that where ever he hung his hat, that was home. The Milo is much the same…

  • Mimosa Silk Tree  (7)

    Albizia julibrissin: Tripinnated Lunch
    I was drinking “Mimosas” — orange juice and champagne — about 20 years before I discovered the Mimosa tree was…

  • Mole Crabs  (8)

    Emerita: Mole Crab Munchy Crunchies
    Mole crabs are probably the most common ugly food there is, though most people don’t know they’re edible.

    Fishermen…

  • Mole Crickets and Lawns

    The name of my website is “Eat The Weeds (and other things too.)” If you wander around the long index — or click on the category “critter cuisine” — you…

  • Mole Crickets, Kamaro  (1)

    Mole Crickets: Digging Your Lunch
    Nearly everyone knows crickets are edible — cooked — but few ever mention the ugliest of them all, the mole cricket.

  • Monkey’s Apple: Monkey’s Apple is proof kids will eat anything.
  • Monkey Puzzle Tree

    Lunch Drops In

    My good friend Saul is a luthier. He repairs premium wooden instruments. It is not unusual for him to be working on a Stradivarius or a…

  • Monkeys and Weeds
    Put five monkeys in a large cage. Then put a step ladder in the cage with a banana on top. Soon the monkeys learn to go up the step ladder and get the…
  • Moringa, More Than You Can Handle  (6)

    Moringa oleifera ….Monster…. Almost
    If you have a warm back yard, think twice before you plant a Moringa tree.

  • Morels are perhaps the most foraged and prized fungi in North America.
  • Motorcyclists and Mushroomists. I used to have a friend named Randy Armentrout. He died about 20 years ago of a brain tumor. We knew each other well and attended many a social function…
  • Mountain Ash, Rowan: Long before Henry Potter Rowanwood wands were popular  ancients carried talismans of the tree to ward off evil and ate the fruit.
  • Mugwort  (3)
    Like some other plants with famous relatives Mugwort gets lost in the negative publicity.Mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, is completely over shadowed…
  • Mulberry Express

    Mulberries: Glucose-controlling hallucinogen

    I used to get a lot of dates using mulberries.

    Not to sound sexist, but women like sweet food. And when…

  • Musseling In:  His name was Hap Davis, gardener, woodsman, hunter, fisherman, teller of tall tales.
  • Mustard, Wild, Tender And Tough  (2)

    Cutting the Wild Mustard: Brassica & Sinapis
    Lorenzo’s Oil and Canola, Too
    If you can’t find a wild mustard growing near you, you must be living in…

  • Mustards, The Little
    Coronopus, Descurainia, Cardamine, Erucastrum & Sibara
    There are numerous “little mustards” that show up seasonally, to populate lawns and local…
  • Nagi Tree, Japan’s Calm Tree

    Nageia nagi: Forgotten Landscape Edible

    I discovered the Nagi tree quite by accident, and added another edible to the list. I was in Mead Gardens in Winter…

  • Nandina Not Bamboo

    Not So Heavenly Bamboo: Nandina
    It’s not heavenly nor is it a bamboo, but Heavenly Bamboo is an edible, barely.

    Naturalized in many part of the world…

  • Nasturtiums: Nature’s Nose Nabber
    Peppery Nasturtiums Natives of Peru. Do the peppery nasturtiums make your nose twitch? Then you know how they got their common name. “Nasturtium” means…
  • Natal Plums Num Num  (4)

    Natal Plum: Incredible Edible Landscaping

    A good reputation is hard to maintain when your closest relative has a reputation for killing people. That’s…

  • New Jersey Tea

    Ceanothus americanus: Revolutionary Tea
    New Jersey Tea wasn’t always called that. It was Red Root Tea until the Boston Tea Party. With no tea from China…

  • Non-Green Environmentalism  (1)
    Early on I developed two interests. One was foraging for wild plants. It assured me food where ever I went. The other was watching clouds, one of the few…
  • Nostoc Num Nums

    Nostoc: Nasal Nostalgia and Edible, Too
    My website is “Eat The Weeds and other things, too.” Well this one of those other things. While I have put seaweed…

  • Nutria, Coypu  (1)
  • I have a close friend who’s Cajun. He said his family was so poor growing up in the bayou that if it moved they cooked it and threw it on rice. That…
  • Nutrition or Food?

    The 20th century was a hundred years of significant changes in what we eat. In 1900 food was … well… food, and real. No food pretended to be something it…

  • Oaxaca lemon verbena

    Lippia alba: Oaxaca lemon verbena
    It all started with a little tour of his back yard.

    He’s an aging Greek professor and doesn’t like lawn, so his back yard…

  • Only Plant In Its Genus  (16)
    Call it an occupational hazard but I began to wonder one day how many genera were unique, that is, they had just one edible species in them, the so called…
  • Osage Orange  (13)

    Maclura pomifera: The Edible Inedible
    Sometimes everybody is almost wrong.

    If you google “Osage Orange” or “Maclura pomifera” (mak-LOOR-uh pom-EE-fer-uh…

  • Oxalis: How To Drown Your Sorrels  (2)
    Sorrels are like McDonald’s restaurants: No matter where you are on earth there’s one nearby.That’s because the sorrels, properly…
  • Palmer Amaranth  (1)
    A farmer’s headache is not necessarily a forager’s delight.Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus Palmeri) has been a foraged food for a long time. It was used…
  • Palmetto Weevil Grub: Grugru

    Rhynchophorus cruentatus: Raw or Fried?
    Here’s what you’re looking for: A palm or plametto that is dying. The growing tip is dead, bent or otherwise…

  • Pandanus: During several visits over the course of a year it looked like a large berm of tall grass, about the size and height of a one-story house.
  • Papaya Proliferation

    Carica papaya: Survivalist plant

    Papaya comes from the grocery store, unless you live where it seldom freezes. Then it is another wild edible, naturalized in…

  • Paper Mulberry  (2)

    Broussonetia papyrifera: Paper Chase
    If you are a forager, you will be told two things constantly: One is that the plant of your admiration is “poisonous.”…

  • Partridgeberry: Split personality  (1)
    Mitchella repens: Madder BerryThe Partridgeberry will not save you from starving but it can make your salad prettier and might keep you alive or ease…
  • Pawpaw picking up is rare  (8)

    Pawpaw Panache

    Finding your first pawpaw is a thrilling moment.

    I can remember exactly where it happened and when. It was the summer of 1987 in…

  • Pellitory, Up Against The Wall Weed

    Pellitory: Parietaria is a Whiz
    Finding greens locally in the cooler months isn’t much of a challenge unless you’re looking for Pellitory . It likes to hid…

  • Pennyroyal Florida Style  (2)

    Florida Pennyroyal: Piloblephis Rigida
    You will thoroughly enjoy tea made by Florida’s native pennyroyal, or maybe even a Mint Julep Floridana.

    An…

  • Pennyworts Making Sense  (12)

    A Pennywort For Your Thoughts
    It’s one of those practices of civilization that plants with little flavor or calories — lettuce for example — are…

  • Peperomia:  I went to college in Maine where winter lasts from about November 1st to October 31st.
  • Peppergrass: Potent Pipsqueak  (3)

    Lepidium Virginicum: Bottlebrush Peppergrass

    There are two ways of thinking about peppergrass, either as a real neat wild treat, or an obnoxious, noxious…

  • Perilla, Shiso   (2)
    The first Perilla I ever had came from a can, just like the kind sardines snuggle in. The leaves were very spicy and were used that way, as a spice. Later…
  • Persimmon Provisions  (3)

    Persimmons: Pure Pucker Power
    About the only bad thing you can say about a persimmon tree is that it has pucker power, if you pick it at the wrong time.

  • Pick Of The Littering

    If flowers could think they would view man as an errand boy. That floral perspective would also explain one of man’s more annoying habits.

    Scientist who…

  • Pickerel Weed

    Pontederia cordata: In a PR Pickerel
    Pickerel Weed Primer
    If the Pickerelweed could commiserate, it would find a friend with the Natal Plum. The Natal…

  • Pigeon Plums, Dove Plums, Pigeon Seagrape, Tie-TongueCoccoloba diversifolia: Seagrape Sibling
    The first time you see a Pigeon Plum it will look familiar. In the same genus as the Seagrape it shares a…
  • Pigweed Potpourri  (7)

    Chenopodium album: Getting Goosed!
    My first recollection of Chenopodium album, pigweed, came around 1960 via a neighbor named Bill Gowan.

    Mr. Gowan was…

  • Pillbugs, Woodlice, Roly Pollies  (4)
    Armadillidium vulgare: Land Shrimp
    What shall we call them? Roly Pollies? Pill Bugs? Woodlice? Sowbugs, or a half a dozen other names?They are…
  • Pineapple Weed

    Matricaria matricarioides for Your Tea & Salad
    A hard-packed gravel driveway is the last place you would expect to find a delicate plant that makes an…

  • Pining for You  (5)

    Pines: Not just for breakfast anymore
    Euell Gibbons became famous for asking, “have you ever eaten a pine tree?”

    A lot of folks had a laugh over…

  • Plant An Alarm Clock

    I don’t need an alarm clock. I have a cardinal.

    I don’t know exactly which cardinal it is, and if I did I might be tempted to shoot him. Cardinals are early…

  • Plants Can’t Run  (1)

    Plants can’t run. That’s why the vast majority of them are unpalatable or lethal. Guesstimates range from 5 to 10 percent of plants are edible. Let’s split the…

  • Podocarpus macrophyllus  (4)Podocarpus: Your Own Hedge Fund
    One can’t learn everything at once, and so I came to know the Podocarpus macrophyllus late in my foraging…
  • Poison Ivy Ponderings  (28)
    I did something this past week I have not done in some twenty years. I got poison ivy.Given what I do for a living, running around the wild all the…
  • Poisonous and Irritating Plants of Florida  (4)

    Below is a circular published by the state of Florida in 1978. I think it is no longer in print though I have a hard copy. It is reproduced below. Visual…

  • Pokeweed: Prime Potherb  (11)

    Can Be Deadly But Oh So Delicious: Pokeweed
    Poke weed will challenge your commitment to foraging.

    It is not the most commonly eaten food from a poisonous…

  • Pony Foot: Are they edible? That is often asked about a little lawn plant called Pony Foot, or Dichondra carolinensis.
  • Poplars and Aspens

    Populus deltoides: Popular Poplars and Aspens

    I know where there is one (1) Eastern Conttonwood. For a popular Poplar it is not common locally. Fortunately…

  • Practicing Homelessness

    There are less Christmas parties this year than in the past, with economic conditions reducing the usual yuletide cheer. Still, there are some traditions.…

  • Prepared for Life  (2)

    We met by accident in the woods. I had hiked for a few miles already and he had just entered the trail.

    When ever I go into the woods, or on water, I am…

  • Prickly Apple, Apple Cactus, Fragrant Apple Cactus

    Harrisia Trio: Endangered Edibles All

    Just as it is important to know what to eat, it’s as important to know what not to eat, or if you do, how to do it…

  • Puffballs, Small and Gigantic  (2)

    Lycoperdon perlatum: Edible Puffballs
    I avoided mushrooms for a long time, and with good reasons. Some of them are on par with cyanide and arsenic and…

  • Purslane: Omega 3 Fatty Weed  (8)

    Purslane: Any Portulaca In A Storm

    Her name was Zona. She was a grand friend-in-law

    She had been a friend of the family for about a century. To be…

  • Pyracantha Jelly and Santa’s Belly

    Firethorn: Pyracantha Coccinea
    I don’t think it is a coincidence that “ho ho ho bellies and Pyracantha jelly jiggle into the season just before…

  • Pyrrolizidine on my Mind  (4)
    How much pyrrolizidine is too much? Or perhaps the better question is how little is too much?First, what is pyrrolizindine? Pyrrolizidine (pie-row-L…
  • Quack Grass  (4)
    Plants of little use often have only one common name, or not even that. Plants that are valued or are a pest usually have too many names such Quack…
  • QueenPalm: The Queen Palm and I got off on the wrong frond. Before I met one I had read it was toxic. There are a few toxic palms but the Queen Palm is not one of them.
  • Radish, Mustard’s Wild Rough Cousin  (7)   Raphanus Raphanistrum: Radical Radis. The Wild Radish has an identity problem. It looks similar to it’s equally peppery cousin, the wild mustard. In…
  • Ragweed: Some 18 generations ago — 600 years ago give or take a few centuries — some Natives Americans stopped cultivating a particular crop and may have moved on to maize. About 150 years ago — five generations — American farmers were raising crabgrass for grain when they, too, moved on to corn, the descendant of maize. So what crop did the Indians stop growing? Ragweed, the most hay-fever causing plant in the world.
  • Raspberry Razz  (3)

    Rubus ideaus: Delicate Raspberry. Raspberries were the first wild fruit I noticed on my own and ate as a kid.

  • Ravishing Radish Greens  (2)

    I didn’t cut the mustard this morning. I cut the radish… radish greens to be specific, Raphanus raphanistrum, said RA-fa-nus raf-an-ISS-trum.

    The only bad…

  • Real Food Rules!  (3)

    This blog all started with hot dog relish.

    I happen to like sardines on whole wheat toast with onions and mustard. (Regardless of what you think of…

  • Red Bay for all seasonings
    Persea borbonia, palustris, humilis, and americana, too

    Having a famous relative can make one grow in the shadows, as three Perseas know too well.There…
  • Redflower Ragweed: The first time I saw Redflower Ragweed I thought I was seeing two species at once some weird combination of Tassel Flower and Fireweed. It’s way too big and has the wrong leaves to be a Tassel Flower but the blossoms remind one of a Tassel Flower but the rests of the plant looks life Fireweed/Burnweed.
  • Reindeer Moss  (1)

    Edible Cladonia: What’s not to Lichen?
    Lichen can be harder to tell apart than twins in the dark. My guess my picture above is of Cladonia Evanii…

  • Resources
    The quickest and safest way to learn foraging is with a local expert. You not only learn what there is to know but do not spend time learning things you…
  • Ringless Honey Mushrooms: The first time I thought I saw the Ringless Honey Mushroom was on my neighbor’s lawn.
  • Root Beer Rat Killer  (1)

    It’s not smart or nice to lie about plants. It can get someone hurt. But the truth can sometimes be elusive, even with plants.

  • Rose Apple: The apple is in the Rose family but the Rose Apple is not though it can sometime taste like rose water… and watermelon… but not apples.
  • Roses
    I’m not sure I found wild roses or they found me.I grew up in Maine. The local soil was usually either ground-up glacial sand, clay, which is decomposed…
  • Rumex Ruminations  (1)
    Mainer Merritt Fernald, who was the Harvard wunderkind of botany from around 1900 to 1950, said all of the 17 native Rumex species in North America…
  • Russian Thistle, Tumbleweed

    Salsola kali: Noxious Weed, Nibble & Green
    When you first encounter a Russian Thistle it is the very last plant you would consider edible. Wiry, tough,…

  • Saffron Plum

    Sideroxylon: Chewy Ironwood
    The Saffron Plum is not yellow or a plum, that is, it is not a Prunus. And it is called a Buckthorn but it isn’t one of those…

  • Saltwort, Turtle Weed and Reef Banana

    Batis Maritima: Salt of the Earth
    It has a dozen or more names, but no one is quite sure about its scientific name, Batis maritima, (BAT-is mar-IT-i-ma.)

    Fora…

  • Sandspurs: Sandlot Sadists  (2)

    Sandspurs: Cenchrus’ Secret

    If I were ever to invent a torture it would be dragging someone naked through a field of sandspurs.

  •  Sargassum Sea Vegetable  (1)

Sargassum: Not Just for Breakfast Any More
Sargassum — Gulf weed — comprises a huge number of seaweeds in all oceans, both bottom dwelling and free…

  • Sassafras: Root Beer Rat Killer  (7)

    Sassafras Albidum: Beaux Gumbo

    Bet your sweet sassafras: If you’re on the young side ask anyone not on the young side: Root beer used to taste a lot…

  • Satinleaf, Olive Plum

    Chrysophyllum oliviforme: “Chewy Olives”

    “Turn left at the Satinleaf.”

    That’s not an unusual direction in an area where Satinleafs grow, they are that…

  • Saw Palmetto Saga  (4)

    Serenoa Repens: Weed to Wonder Drug
    Rotten cheese steeped in tobacco juice
    That’s how starving shipwrecked Quakers described the flavor of the saw palmetto…

  • Sawgrass, A Cut Below The Rest  (1)

    Cladium jamaicense: Water finder

    In Wekiva Springs state park in Florida there is a high and dry stretch of scrub pine and palmetto bushes, and oddly,…

  • Scarlet Runner Bean

    Two beans are grown for beauty, the Hyacinth Bean, edible with precautions, and the Scarlet Runner Bean, also edible.
    Humming Bird at “Emperor” Blossom
    It’s…

  • Scorpions  (1)

    Southern Fried Scorpions
    If I were going to rely on scorpions in Florida for sustenance, I would starve to death.

    In over 30 years of rummaging…

  • Sea Blite, Seepweed

    Suaeda linearis, maritima: Edible Blite

    While most people find Sea Blite next to the sea, I find Sea Blite on the other side of the barrier…

  • Sea Buckthorn, SallowberrySea Buckthorn: Sour Source of Vitamin C
    If you are collecting Sea Buckthorn you’re probably cold.Just as some edibles are found only in tropical…
  • Sea Club Rush  (2)

    Scirpus maritimus: a Tough Root to Crack
    If you mention Sea Club Rush among foragers they give you a very blank stare. Understandably so. It was a fall-back…

  • Sea Kale
    Sea kale is nearly the perfect primitive food. It’s difficult to imagine it not being on primitive man’s menu.We know from middens that seafood was…
  • Sea Lettuce, UlvaUlva: Sea Soup & Salad
    Ulva is the greenest seaweed you will ever see from shore, or in the sea for that matter.Ten species, all edible, are…
  • Sea Oats

    Uniola paniculata: Feeling your sea oats
    Opinions vary on Sea Oats. Not on flavor. They taste good. The questions are, are they endangered or not, and which…

  • Sea Oxeye: There are edible plants, and there are inedible plants. Then there are those that sit on the cusp of edibility: Edible but not tasty, edible in small quantities, edible but with a horrible texture, edible but strong-flavored.
  • Sea Purslane, Salty Nibble, Potherb

    Sesuvium portulacastrum: Maritime Munch

    It looks like garden purslane on steriods growing in sand. And it grows all over the local beach, and other beaches…

  • Sea Rocket Siblings

    The Cakile Clan: Seaside Edibles

    Food is where the water is, be it fresh or salt, and one of the waterway foods of North America is Sea Rocket. There are at…

  • Sea-Grapes: Maritime Marvels  (4)

    Sea-Grapes: Costal Caterer

    A lifetime ago I spent many a night on a dark Florida beach near the Space Center sleeping out under Sea-Grapes.…

  • Seminole Pumpkin

Cucurbita muschata: Seminole Edible
Unlike watermelons which are from Africa, pumpkins and their kin are North American. When Panfilo de Narvaez was…

  • Seminole Wekiva Trail

    Seven-Mile Appetizer
    The squirrels are in hog heaven, if you’ll pardon the menagerie metaphor.

    It’s Thanksgiving, 2007, in central Florida and I…

  • Sesbania Grandiflora  (1)
    Any plant called the Vegetable Hummingbird has to be written about.Sesbania grandiflora, has managed to work its way into warmer areas of the world…
  • Seven Year Apple

    Genipa clusiifolia: An Acquired Taste

    Like a Suriname Cherry, you’ll either find the Seven Year Apple edible or disgusting. In fact, a lot of folks can’t…

  • Sida, Wireweed  (5)
    Sida is barely edible. A member of the Mallow mob it’s an object de interest because it is also a significant herbal medication, of which I am totally…
  • Silverhead, Beach Carpet  (1)

    Blutaparon vermiculare: Beach Potherb
    My first thought on seeing Silverweed “was what is clover doing growing on the beach.” Well, Silverweed isn’t a clover…

  • Simpson Stopper

    Myricanthes fragrans: Nakedwood Twinberry
    I took me about a year to know the Simpson Stopper.

    While most people think of Florida as flat there’s actually…

  • Skunk Vine

    Paederia foetida: Much Maligned Skunk Vine
    Sometimes botanists go a little too far, or at least Carl Linnaeus did when he named a particular vine Paederia…

  • Slugs, Snails and Fresh Water Mollusks  (1)

    Are Slugs edible? What about Snails?
    There is only one rule you have to remember: When it comes to land snails, land slugs, and fresh water mollusks you must…

  •   Smartweed 
    Polygonum punctatum: Smartweed. I can remember my first taste of a smartweed leaf… kind of like trying a piece of burning paper. Indeed,…
  • Smilax: A Brier And That’s No Bull  (40)

    For The Edible Love of Krokus and Smilax

    No, that is not a “Walking stick” insect. It is the growing end of a Smilax, a choice wild…

  • Snakewood, Nakedwood, Mauby  (1)

    Colubrina elliptica: Mauby has Moxie
    First there was Moxie, then Mauby… actually it was historically the other way around though few until now would know…

  • Society Garlic  (3)
    Because I am asked about it all the time I decided to do an article on it: Yes, you can eat Society Garlic… well… most of it, maybe all of it.The…
  • Solar Cooking

    Solar cooking. Something new under the sun
    Once you cook your first solar meal, you’re hooked.
    Does it cost less than conventional methods? It can, but…

  • Sorrel: Not A Sheepish Rumex
    Of all the Rumex that grow in the South, Rumex hastatulus is probably the most pleasing. The tart-tasting intensely green leaves are hard…
  • Sourwood:  Sourwood honey is considered by some to be the best-flavored honey in North America, perhaps the world.
  • Sow Thistle, Prickly, Common, Field  (4)

    Sonchus: Sow Thistle, In A Pig’s Eye
    As I write it is in mid-January in Florida two of three local species of sow thistles are invading my lawn in great…

  • Spanish Moss  (3)
    Spanish Moss is not edible. Well, barely an edible. The bottom of the growing tips (pictured above) provide about one eight of an inch of almost tasteless…
  • Spanish Needles, Pitchfork Weed  (13)
    Bidens Alba: Medical Beggar Ticks
    Some plants just don’t get any respect. If there were a contest for under appreciated plants, Bidens alba , above…
  • Spinach Vine  (1)
    I like to think of myself as biclimatic, living part of my life (thus far) in a cold climate and  part in a warm climate.
  • Spring Beauty  (2)The Spring Beauty is aptly named.Actually there are several “Spring Beauties” and most of them are edible in similar ways. We’ll focus on…
  • Stinging Nettles

    Urtica chamaedryoides: Nettle Knowledge
    Stinging Nettles Know How
    I was hiking one day when I saw what I thought was a mint I had not seen before. I…

  • Stork’s Bill, Cranesbill

    Erodium circutarium, Geranium carolinianum: Two Bills You Want to Get

    Stork’s Bill is one of those little plants that’s not supposed to grow locally…

  • Strawberries of Spring  (1)

    Fragaria virginiana: Be A Strawberry Sleuth
    Fragaria don’t like Florida. Only one northern county in the state reports having wild strawberries. But that’s…

  • Strawberry GuavaPsidium littorale var. cattleianum: Strawberry Guava
    One man’s fruit tree is another man’s weed. My one Strawberry Guava tree is a fruiting…
  • Strawberry Tree Curse

    Strawberry Tree, Koumaria, Koumara, Pacific Madrone, Madrona
    Any plant called “strawberry” other than a strawberry is doomed. Strawberries pack a lot of…

  • Strongback  Not strong bark Bourreria succulenta: Soapy Fruit and Viagra
    Botanists are feisty in their own way. The Strongback is a good example. Is it B. succulenta or B. ovata? One…

  • Sugar Cane on The Run  (4)

    Saccharum officinarum: Sweet Wild Weed
    Among the edible wild plants on this site are a few escaped fruit trees and ornamentals that have become naturalized.…

  • Sugarberries & Hackberries  (3)

    Sugarberries are Hackberries with a Southern Accent
    Sugarberries like to be near water and that’s why it caught my eye as I coasted by: It was growing on top…

  • Sumac: More Than Just Native Lemonade  (4)

    Sumac, Rhus Juice, Quallah: Good Drink
    Sumacs look edible and toxic at the same time, and with good reason: They’re in a family that has plants we eat and…

  • Sunflowers: Seeds and More

    Sunflowers: Sun Sentinels

    His name was Bob Davis and he grew sunflowers some 15-feet high. I dated his niece, Edie May. I remember her and the…

  • Sunny Savage

    I had the pleasure this past week of having the well-know forager Sunny Savage visit two of my classes here in Florida (If you think she is attractive on TV…

  • Surinam Cherry: Only Ripe Need Apply  (18)

    Surinam Cherries: You’ll love ‘em or hate ‘em

    The Surinam cherry is not a cherry nor is it exclusively from Surinam. It’s also not from…

  • Swamp Lilly Wrap

    Thalia geniculata: Swamp Wrap
    You won’t find the “swamp lilly” in many foraging books. For a big plant it receives little attention.

    Thalia geniculata…

  • Sweet Clover

    Melitotus: Condiment to Tea to Blood Thinner
    When I was growing up we owned horses. Lots of horses. And they eat a lot of hay in the winter. Lots of hay.…

  • Sweet Gum Tree  (4)
    The Sweet Gum tree is the sand spur of the forest. You painfully find them with your feet. The vicious seed pods have impaled many a forager and has done…
  • Sweetbay MagnoliaMagnolia viginiana: How Sweet It Is
    Let’s say you want or need to trap a beaver. First you need a trap, but then you need to bait the trap. And…
  • Sword Fern’s Secret

    Nephrolepis cordifolia: Edible Watery Tubers
    Edibles are often right under your feet, or my feet as it were.

    I had a yard of non-edible ferns. If you like…

  • Sycamores Get No RespectSycamores: Not Just Another Plane Tree
    Sycamore trees are not high on the edible list, unless you’re in need.Actually, sycamores, Platanus occidental…
  • Take Things Lying Down
    Early in life I settled on a hobby I can do on a summer’s day, in a hammock, on my back….. No, it’s not napping. I watch clouds. Call it reclining…
  • Tallow Plum

    Ximenia americana: Known by Many Names
    If I listed this edible under its botanical name few would find it. On the other hand it has some three dozen commons…

  • Tamarind: I drove past a dozen Tamarind trees for a decade or so until I looked up one day. The lumpy brown pods on pretty trees had finally caught my attention.
  • Tansy Mustard, Western

Descurainia pinnata: Abandoned Seed
What shall we call this little member of the Brassica family? Western Tansy Mustard or Tansy Mustard? We could always…

  • Tape Seagrass  (3)
    It is said that all seaweed is edible but that’s not true. There’s at least one species that is not, Desmarestia ligulata. Why? Because it is laced…
  • Tar Vine, Red SpiderlingBoerhavia diffusa: Catchy Edible
    Some times you just can’t identify a plant. Some times you’re frustrated for a few days, other times for a few…
  • Tassel, Musk and Grape Hyacinths  (2)
    There are dozens of edible species that are wild in Europe and cultivated or escaped in North America. Three related species with a multitude of names are…

Thistle: Touch me not, but add butter. Thistles, you’re either going to love ’em or hate em. Of course, I think eating them is the sensible…

  • Ti, Good Luck Plant

    Cordyline fruticosa: Food, Foliage, Booze
    Simply called Ti (tee) Cordyline fruticosa spent most of its history with humans as a food, a source of alcohol, or…

  • Tick Clover  (2)
    Tick Clover barely makes it into our foraging realm.I have found only one reference to its edibility. In the 47th volume of the Journal…
  • Tiger Lily
    The word “lily” causes more confusion than four letters ought to be able to make. There are true lilies, usually not edible, some of them quite toxic, a…
  • Tomato Tobacco Hornworms  (4)

    Manduca Cuisine: Eating Green Gluttons
    You’re picking tomatoes and suddenly there it is: Big, ugly and green, a tomato hornworm. To which I say, get or the…

  • Tools of the Trail

    Over the years I have added a few items to my back pack that can make foraging more easier. You might want to add one or two of these items.

    The handiest…

  • Topi Tambo, Leren, Guinea Arrowroot  (2)
    A lifetime ago off the Maine coast at low tide there were many mussel shoals. The vertical tidal change near the rock-bound coast can be measured in…
  • Torchwood
    One reason to write about the Torchwood is very few people know about it these days yet it was once an esteemed wood and produces an edible, citrusy…
  • Toxic tomatoes: I rarely write  about toxic plants because this site is about edibles. However there are enough prickly nightshades around to justify an article about them and how to identify them even if they aren’t edible.
  • Traveler’s Palm Travails

    Ravenala madagascariensis: Palm, NOT!
    The Traveler’s Palm is reportedly known for providing wayfarers water, but it also has some food to offer as well.

  • Trilliam Trifecta: Every May Day — the first of May — we kids would hang a May Basket on our teacher Arlene Tryon and disappear off the school grounds.
  • Tropical Almond: I went to Ft. Myers one Friday to look at plants on an 11-acre monastery. On the property there was a large tree they didn’t know nor did I. The following Sunday while teaching a class across the state in West Palm Beach two students knew a tree there that I didn’t know. It was the same tree at the Monastery. Small botanical world. The tree was a Tropical Almond.
  • Tropical Chestnuts: Pachira aquatica  (1)
    My foraging existence is slightly schizophrenic. I grew up in a northern climate, and I write about many northern plants, or it is accurate to say that…
  • Tuberous Pea: Anyone who has mowed fields for hay hates vetch… wild pea.  It binds up the machinery and a lot of livestock won’t eat it. That’s a lose lose all around unless the vetch is Lathyrus tuberosus.
  • Tuckahoe, Arrow Arum  (2)Peltandra virginica: Starch Storer
    You wouldn’t think there would be a connection between the United States’ Capital and a toxic bog plant, but…
  • Tulip Tree  (9)
    Not every edible plant has to be a nutritional powerhouse. Some are “edible” by the barest of means. A good example is the Tulip Tree, Liriodendron…
  • Tulips  (2)

    Tulips: Famine Food, Appetizer Assistant
    Many years ago a social acquaintance upon learning I ate weeds said she and her mother had eaten tulip bulbs. If I…

  • Tupelos: Black, Swamp, Bear, Water, OgeecheeNyssus: Tart Botanical Tangles
    The Black Tupelo is an old friend from around ponds where I grew up in Maine to around ponds (called lakes) here in…
  • TurtlesThe Shell Game: Eating Turtles
    The evidence is clear: Man has been eating turtle for a long time. But which turtles and how?While land turtles…
  • Unresolved Botanical Ponderings  (2)Cnidoscolus stimulosis: Can the leaves be boiled and eaten like other species in the genus? I personally know of two account of…
  • Usnea: Likable LichenUSNEA is not an international committee. It’s a likable lichen. In fact all but two of the 20,000 lichen are forager…
  • Valuable Viburnums: The only significant problem with Viburnums is choosing which one to use, and which ones to write about.
  • Velvet Leaf: Velvet Leaf is a commercial failure but a successful foreign invader.
  • Vinegar: Your own unique strain  (5)
    The vinegar mother above —three inches across and a half in thick — was collected from the wild in Lake Mary, Florida, in 1996 and has been making…
  • Violets’ Virtues

    Viola affinis: Florida’s Sweet Violet
    My introduction to violets was seeing my mother eat “Piss-a-beds” in the spring (Viola rafinesquii. VYE-oh-lah…

  • Wapato: All It’s Quacked Up To Be  (2)

    Sagittaria Lancifolia: Duck Potatoes, Wapato
    Artificial grass is not grass. Non-dairy creamer contains a dairy product. And ducks don’t eat duck potatoes.…

  • Water Arum, Water Dragon, Wild Calla: 

    Calla palustris: Missen…Famine Bread. Like so many in the same family the starchy rhizome of the Calla palustris is laced with calcium oxalate crystals…

  • Water Chestnut: The Water Chestnut is a plant of contradictions.
  • Water Hyacinth Woes
    Water Hyacinth Stir Fry: The state of Florida minces no words about the water hyacinth: “Eichhornia crassipes is one of the worst weeds in the…
  • Water Lettuce  (5)
    No one knows if Water Lettuce is native to North America or not. Botanists disagree with some saying it’s from Africa, a few South America. Explorer and…
  • Water Shield Salad

    Brasenia schreberi: Palatable Pond Weed
    The Water Shield is edible. The problem is getting it sometimes. It likes water … up to six feet deep. On the good…

  • Watercress: Ancient Flavor

    Florida is the Winter Watercress Capital of the U.S.

    Nasturtium officinale (nas-STUR-shum oh-fis-in-AY-lee ) is one of the oldest leaf vegetables…

  • Wax Myrtle Jewels  (1)

    Myrica cerifera: A Tree That Makes Scents
    Wax Myrtle was the Indians’ minimart of the forest.

    Need some spice? Drop by the Wax Myrtle tree. How about a…

  • Weeds and Wolves  (2)

    I am often invited to see someone’s vegetable garden, and it’s usually growing well. Then I’m asked if I see any edible weeds, and usually there are some. I…

  • Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses
    The link to the university’s site to buy the book — I do not get a cut — is here.The list of known edibles in the book is below. Many of…
  • Welcome to EatTheWeeds.com  (28)

    No description found for this item.

  • What’s Green and What’s Not?

    An arctic express of frigid air recently sped down and across the United States. Here in Florida it snowed for the second time in 33 years, delivering a week…

  • When Is A Lawn A Lake?  (2)

    It sounds like a trick question, when is a lake a lawn, but there is a non-tricky answer: When it is in Florida.

    Regular followers of this writer know I am…

  • When Scholarship Isn’t Enough

    I saw a religion-themed movie once that actually holds an instructive point for us foragers.

    In it a Catholic priest is facing a moral decision that could…

  • Where Do You Forage?

    It’s a simple question with a complex answer. When I was younger the 1000 acres behind the house and the 2000 across the road answered that question. Today it…

  • Where the Weeds Are

    There is little doubt that man has been foraging for food for a long time. As one might guess, in different places he foraged for different plants. He also…

  • White Indigo Berry Has A Dark Side

    Randia aculeata
    The White Indigo Berry is not high on the food list. Dr. Daniel Austin, author of Florida Ethnobotany, has this to say on page 562:

  • White man’s Little Foot: Dwarf PlantainWhite man’s Little Foot: Dwarf Plantain
    Plantain, Plantagos To Go
    When I was about 10 a bee stung my hand while I was being a pest in the…
  • Who’s Manipulating Whom?
    I don’t care for Salvia coccinea. It’s not edible and it likes to crowd out my herbs. I’m forever removing it from flower pots. The other day I was about…
  • Why Forage?  (1)

    Often I am asked “why forage for wild food?” Why that question is asked is probably worthy of an article unto itself. But here let’s focus on one answer (out…

  • Wild Carrots and Queen Ann’s LaceDaucus Carota & Pusillus: Edible Wild Carrots
    I’ve never understood the confusion over identifying the Wild Carrot also called Queen Ann’s…
  • Wild Citrus, Footloose Plants

    Feral Citrus: Snack, Seasoning and Soap
    Citrus, like apples when left unattended by man, tend to revert to their natural state of being sour and acidic. A lot…

  • Wild Coffee But Not Kentucky  (5)

    Psychotria nervosa Florida Style
    Because I am constantly asked about it: Yes, you can eat the pulp off the seeds of the wild coffee, and yes, you can make a…

  • Wild Dilly, Wild Sapodilla

    Wild Dilly: Almost Chique
    If the Natal Plum and the Wild Dilly could sit down and have a conversation they would probably agree that having a famous…

  • Wild Fennel: One of the outstanding sensory experiences of hiking in Greece is smelling in the wild herbs one usually buys in little plastic containers.
  • Wild Flours  (8)
    A wild flour is different than a starchy root. The Spurge Nettle has a starchy root that tastes like pasta but it does not lend itself to being processed…
  • Wild Ginger: Wild Ginger is cantharophilic, sometimes myophilic or sapromyophilic.
  • Wild Lettuce, Woodland Lettuce

    Lactuca floridana: Let Us Eat Wild Lettuce

    Wild lettuce is not as tame as garden lettuce.

    Garden lettuce is one of those nearly flavorless nearly…

  • Wild Onion, Wild Garlic  (2)

    Allium canadense: The Stinking Rose
    Garlic and onions don’t like to set underground bulbs here in hot Florida. I got around it by growing wild onions,…

  • Wild Pineapple  (2)

    Bromelia pinguin: Wild Pineapple
    I took the picture directly above while out bicycling on a Christmas Day, 2008. But, didn’t identified the object de green…

  • Wild Rice  (4)
    Love and marriage, horse and carriage, Zizania and canoe… not exactly lyrical but you get the idea. If you want Wild Rice you have to go where the Wild…
  • Will Bisin Make GMOs Look Good?

    I have long criticized what I call chemists in the kitchen. They brought us such things as cancer-causing additives, artery-damaging trans-fats, insulin-skewing…

  • Willow Weep For Me  (1)

    Salix caroliniana: Nothing Would Be Finer
    The willow is not prime eats. It’s not even secondary eats. In fact, it is famine food, but, willow can also cure…

  • Winter Foraging:   The thermometer was near zero one day when I was on ice skates collecting frozen cranberries.
  • Winter Soul-stice

    On the shortest day of the year one should take a long look around. It’s the inventory time of year, a bit of soul searching. That requires a little looking…

  • Wisteria Criteria  (3)Wisteria, Wistaria
    There is a duality to Wisteria, starting with those who think it is an invasive weed and those who like to eat its sweet, fragrant…
  • Wood Oats

    Chasmanthium latifolium: Edible Wood Oats
    Most people discover Wood Oats by mistake. They’re traipsing through the forest, come across a plant, and wonder…

  • Yacon  (1)
    Is it a Polymnia or a Smallanthus? Botanists took some 70 years to make up their minds. Let’s call it Yacon like the natives.In publications before…
  • Yam A: The Alata  (6)

    The Dioscorea Dilemma: Which ones are edible, and what parts?

    One wouldn’t think wild yams would be hard to sort out. It only took me about a dozen…

  • Yam B: The Bulbifera  (9)

    The “Cheeky Yam, or Yam on the Lamb
    Yam B, Dioscorea bulbifera, is definitely second best to Yam A, Dioscorea alata. Why is Yam B, the D. bulbifera second…

  • Yam C: The Chinese

    Dioscorea Polystachya: Yam C
    Just like Rambo movies, there is Yam A, Yam B and, yes, a Yam C, the Chinese Wild Yam or the Cinnamon Vine yam, either way we…

  • Yaupon Holly, Ilex vomitoria  (10)
    History has many layers and shades. It’s not a straight timeline of great clarity but more like a meandering muddy river with much confluence, influence…
  • Yellow Pond Lilly: Raising A Wokas

    Picking Pond Lillies: Nuphar Luteum subsp. advena

    Once upon a time there was just one Nuphar luteum… and it was good.

    The yellow pond lilly…

  • Yew:  The Yew can kill you.
  • You Can Learn To Forage For Wild Edibles

    There is such a thing as a free lunch, or almost free: The edible wild plants around you.

    With a little specialized knowledge and a “guidance” system…

  • Your Choice for a New Vegetable  (2)

    If you could choose one wild plant to become a commercial product, what would it be?

    Many people have tried to make poke weed (Phytolacca americana) a green…

  • Yucca’s Not Yucky  (5)Yucca, Yuca: Which is Edible?
    When isn’t a yucca a yucca? When it is spelt with one “C” as in yuca.What’s the difference? A belly ache, maybe…
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