Chinese Elm (and Siberian Elm) has edible leaves, seeds and inner bark. Photo by Green Deane
Both the Chinese and Siberian elms have several edible parts. When they start to fruit they make what is called a “samara” (SAM-ah-rah) which is a round paper-like envelop, slightly smaller than a dime. That is edible raw or cooked and the trees are loaded with them. Over time a seed develops in that samara which is about the size of a lentil and can be used the same way. Young leaves are also edible year round as is the cambium. Locally Chinese Elms — also called Lace Bark Elms, the Siberians are more saggy — are numerous, used in landscaping with some naturalization. The Siberian Elm was planted by the millions as part of the Work Project Administration during the depression and are common in the mid-west. To read more about them click here.
2004: Walt Cook, a Wyoming state veterinarian, takes care of one 300 stricken elk, all of which quickly died after eating a lichen, Parmelia molliuscula.
I am constantly meeting people who want to reduce the entire realm of foraging down to one sentence: “If the animals can eat it you can eat it.” That advice can kill you and or make you very ill. Birds can eat arsenic, squirrels strychnine, poison ivy is high-protein deer food. Conversely day lilies kill cats and avocados crash canaries. Three hundred elk were killed in Wyoming eating native lichen. There’a quite a list of false advice. Then you hear “all black berries are edible.” Wrong. “Most red berries are edible,” Wrong. The best you can do with berries is that almost all white berries are toxic. Not all but almost all, or enough of them to leave white berries alone. In the satirical novella Animal Farm, by George Orwell, the final rule is “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.” That might be said about eating plants. Goats can eat almost anything. They are the garbage scows of the world, putting pigs to shame. However avocados will kill goats, but not us. In fact Avocados are toxic to most creatures. That said, as humans go we are fairly limited compared to animals, tolerance-wise. That’s another reason to know your plants and use the I.T.E.M. system, Identification, Time of Year, Environment, Method of Preparation. I had a fellow email me from a Mediterranean country. He said his foraging method was if it tasted good he ate it, if it tasted bad he didn’t eat it. He asked me what I thought of that. I replied I hoped he had good life insurance.
West Indian Chickweed is here all year.
From the Mail Bag: This weed has totally invaded my lawn and I am desperate to get rid of it. Do you have any suggestions? Yes, it was a serious question about an edible, Drymaria cordata. It’s not as edible as regular chickweed and has some medicinal uses, but it is an edible. Thus my advice was: Eat The Weeds! I receive a lot of emails like that. Maybe I should change the website’s name to “Kill The Weeds.” You know a nation is fed when people complain about edible plants in their lawn. I’ve also noticed an odd trend, the most visited pages recently were not about weeds but critter cuisine, you know, eating slugs and lizards and the like. Maybe it’s seasonal or some biology class logged on. I had over 400 inquiries about the Osage Orange, a very obscure edible that was lucky to see four visit a year. Analytics can be strange.
Foraging classes are held rain, shine, hot or cold. Photo by Nermina Krenata
Foraging classes: Below is my foraging class schedule for most of December this year. Locally classes usually happen even with a few people. Check for most distance classes to make sure they will be held. Holidays and weather can influence peoples’ commitment to attend a class.
Saturday, December 8th, Florida State College, south campus, 11901 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville, 32246. 9 a.m. to noon. We will meet at building “D” next to the administration parking lot.
Saturday, December 15th, Seminole Wekiva Trail, Sanlando Park, 401 West Highland St. Altamonte Springs, Florida 32714. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet in the parking lot, first right after entering the park.
Sunday, December 16, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive. Port Charlotte. 9 a.m to noon, meet at the park across from Ganyard Street.
Saturday, December 22nd, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405. Nine a.m. to noon. Meet just north of the science center.
Sunday, December 23rd, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. to noon, meet at the tennis courts next to YMCA building.
Saturday, December 29th, Jervey Gantt Recreation Complex, 2390 SE 36th Ave., Ocala, FL, 34471. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet in the parking lot north of the water complex.
For more information on classes go here.
An edible but not a too tasty native Passiflora.
During a class this week we saw a fruiting Passiflora lutea, not that common in my experience. It is an edible though the flavor is neither here nor there. One usually finds in in damp or well-watered areas. Some of the student’s sharp eyes also noticed Pepper Grass just starting its winter run, as are other little mustards and the native Plantagos and Pellitory. Our winter species will be showing up between now and Christmas and are usually around for a few months, varying with the species. Chickweed shows up around Christmas and is gone by Valentines Day, the mustards are around longer as is the False Hawksbeard. To learn more about the Passifloras click here.
Do you know what edible wild mushroom this is? You would if you read the Green Deane Forum.
Suffering from foraging withdrawal during the colder months? There is a cure and it’s free: The Green Deane Forum. There may be snow on the ground but the conversations are warm and there’s something for every level of forager. We talk about harvesting wild food every day of the year, swapping everything from harvesting tips to recipes to places to find wildedibles. The forum is also a great place to post photos you took of plants you can’t identify. They might be edible or medicinal. Instead of struggling with the internet let our experienced members help you nail down those elusive identifications. You can also read up on food preservation techniques that don’t require you to go out in the cold. Recent post include Maybe Ringless Honey Mushrooms? Orange Helicopter with Red Dangling Lobes, Yellow Orange Round Fruits Near River, and Five-Minute English Muffin This Time With Beautyberries. To visit or join the Green Deane Forum click on the button above “categories” on the right hand side of this page.
Donations to upgrade EatTheWeeds.com and fund a book have gone well. Thank you to all who have contributed to either via the Go Fund Me link, the PayPal donation link or by writing to Green Deane POB 941793 Maitland FL, 32794. There are many needs left such as expanding the foraging teacher page and the page on monotypic edibles. Several functions were also lost when we transitioned to the new website. I’m still having a hard time finding articles I wrote! There’s always something and such things get more complex and expensive every year.
Green Deane DVD set of 135 videos
All of Green Deane’s videos are available for free on You Tube, and more are on the way. I am schedule to start this week. They do have ads on them so every time you watch a Green Deane video I get a quarter of one cent. Four views, one cent. Not exactly a large money-maker but it helps pays for this newsletter. If you want to see the videos without ads and some in slightly better quality you can order the DVD set. It is nine DVDs with 15 videos on each for a total of 135 videos. Many people want their own copy of the videos or they have a slow service and its easier to order then to watch them on-line. The DVDs make a good gift for that forager you know especially on long, cold winter months. Individual DVDs can also be ordered or you can pick and choose. You can order them by clicking on the button on the top right hand side of this page (if your window is open wide enough.) Or you can go here.
And… the oaks are masting. Here is my short article on oaks and acorns.
This is weekly issue 333, something of a mathematical accomplishment. And as a reader of the newsletter mark Dec. 21 for my annual Urban Crawl (my 7th I think.)
If you would like to donate to Eat The Weeds please click here. Or you can use my Go Fund Me link, or by writing to Green Deane POB 941793 Maitland FL, 32794
“You know a nation is fed when people complain about edible plants in their lawn.” That’s one of the most profound statements I’ve read in a long time. We are very lucky people.