Search: sow thistle

Spiny Sow Thistle is up and ready for foraging. It’s better when young whereas its relative, the Common Sow Thistle, stays edible longer. Photo by Green Deane

Finding Mistletoe during the 13th annual Urban Crawl in Winter Park. Photo by Rick and Angel Luther.

Today, as I write, is the shortest day of the year but we are still foraging strong. Our 13th annual Christmas Urban Crawl is over and was a success. To the left is a photo of me pointing out some mistletoe but as usual it failed to generate any kisses (I am beginning to think that is a myth.) The prolific appearance of False Hawk’s Beard during that event prompted me to do another video on them yesterday and a new video on sow thistles is in the works as soon as I can find a lot of Sonchus Oleraceus to shoot. 

We have two species of sow thistle locally. Not a true thistle they are among the more milder seasonal greens with only perhaps Amaranth being more mild. Although Sow Thistles are commonly called “thistles” they are not in the genus Cirsium and do not draw blood like true thistles. True thistles are well-armed with needle-sharp spines. While the Sow Thistle above, Sonchus asper, can look intimidating it’s mostly just show in that most spines are soft until it gets older. The other species, Sonchus oleraceus, looks more friendly.  A few minutes of boiling takes away any bitterness completely (unlike wild lettuce which always stays slightly bitter.)  I have an old video on the sow thistles and to read more about them go here. 

Note the long stem on the middle leaf.

Saw Black Medic for the first time this season. It’s generally considered edible and like many weeds is from Europe. That kind of excludes it from being a significant Native American food (though some sources call it that… It’s a long story.) The headache is that from a distance of about five or six feet (where most people’s eyes are from the ground) Black Medic can look like Hop Clover. Here’s quick way to tell them apart: Hop Clover tends to have red stems, Black Medic has green stems covered with fine white hair and has a longer stem on the center leaf. After the two species go to seed they are easy to sort out: Black Medic has black seeds… hence the name. Hop Clover has brown seeds. You can read more about it here.

Orangre Jassamine has edible fruit. Photo by Green Deane

During the Urban Crawl Rose Ann pointed out a tree in Winter Park’s park I had not noticed before — not unusual. It was conveniently labeled: Orange Jassamine (it has dozens of other names including Murraya paniculata.) I’ve written an article about it for the website but it’s not published yet. Surprisingly the tree is used basicially for flavoring though the fruit are edible. That edibility is marginal. We tried a few. They have an intense citrus flavor that does not fade for a long time. Even munching on Society Garlic couldn’t abate the citrus taste. My speculation is it might make a good marmalade candidate though on the red side rather than orange. As the species is also a vector for the “greening disease” it no doubt is on the state’s hit lists of ornamentals to be eliminated. 

Inoculation maple with lion’s mane plugs. Photo by Green Deane

How is growing mushrooms like making wine? In terms of materials and process they are very different. However, what they do have in common is time and having to wait to see if one did it right or not. Like lacto-fermentation that turns cucumbers into pickles, making wine is a basic recipe with variations. So is mushroom cultivation. But even if you do it right it can take years to find out if you were successful. I have some homemade Malbec that is drinkable at a year old. But a Second-Hand Rosé needs another year a least. I think my Brazilian Pepper Mead will need five years. And so with that in mind I started several batches of edible mushrooms on maple logs. A couple of streets away a lawn maple was cut down and the trimmer is tardy removing it. The owner said I could have as much as I wanted. I have hauled home about a ton, small pieces for smoking food, and large pieces for mushroom farming. Anything left over will be sized and cured for campfiring. In a year or two I might have some Lion’s Mane, Velvet Foot Enoki, Black Popular Piopinnos, and Blue Oyster Mushrooms. What I have learned from all of this is if I ever have a tree cut down I will immediately inocuate the stump with spores. A large stump should produce mushrooms for many years. 

Sawdust and wheat bran might grow some Oyster Mushrooms.

For a more immediate mushroom experiment I collected the sawdust from sizing the maple for smoking. Then I steamed it for a couple of hours, added wheat brand (for the nitrogen) and some mycelium that came with the oyster mushroom plugs.  The bigger question was what to put it all in… I had some old clear oven bags. I had them for windshield reflector solar ovens demos about a decade ago: Big, tough, clear, on hand and already paid for…. If this works it should produce mushrooms within in a couple of months… the logs in a year or so.  

Classes are held rain or shine (but not during hurricanes.)

Foraging Classes are light during the holiday season. I have one locally the day after Christmas and a test one a week later beach side. Sunday’s class might start out a little chilly. The day after New Year’s weather is anyone’s guess. 

Sunday December 26th, Mead Garden: 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789.  9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the bathrooms. The park entrance is on South Denning. Some GPS directions get it wrong.

Sunday January 2nd, as Monty Python used to say, “and now for something different.” Let’s meet at 10 a.m. (at the bathrooms) and wander around Lori Wilson Park, Cocoa Beach, for a couple of  hours. No fee. I did a short private class there a couple of years ago. Not sure it is extensive enough for a regular class. If the weather’s pleasant it will be a nice way to start the new year. If cold dress warmly as it should be windy. 1500 N. Atlantic Avenue, Cocoa Beach Fl 32931.

For more information, to pre-pay or sign up go here.

Green Deane videos are now available on a USB.

My nine-DVD set of 135 videos has been phased out and replaced by a 150-video USB. The USB videos are the same videos I have on You Tube. Some people like to have their own copy.  The USB videos have to be copied to your computer to play. They’re a nice Christmas gift sent by First Class Mail. If you want to order the USB go to the DVD/USB order button on the top right of this page or click here. That will take you to an order form. I’d like to thank all of you who ordered the DVD set over the years which required me to burn over 5,000 DVDs individually. 

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant?  Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about, such as the one to the left. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. Recent topics include: California Wild Mushroom Parties, A Good Reason To Eat Wild Garlic, Black Walnuts and Amaranth, Sea Salt and Plastic, Wild Mustard? Heavy Metals. Oriental Persimmons. What is it? Pine Cough Drops and Needles, Skullcap, Malodorous Plant? Another NJ Tree, Maypop? Roadside Plant, Unknown in Sudan, Please Help Identify, and Preserving Prickly Pear Bounty. You can join the forum by clicking on the button on the upper right hand side of this page.

All smiles after digging up some D. alata roots. Photo by Green Deane

Foraging class Sunday saw us digging four Dioscorea alata roots. Chef Steven Karter likes to make shepherd’s Pie out of them, and mashed potatoes. Rumor has it they also kind of naturally taste like French Fries. I’m salt, pepper and real butter myself. This time of year the invasive D. bulbifera has usually died back but the altata can still be found rather easily. In the spring the trend is reversed, the bulbifera comes up first and a few weeks later the alata. We do not eat the air potato of either species. The alata root is the largest calorie payoff in Florida. But it can be tough to dig out as this one was growing among camphor roots. I need to remember to carry a shovel and an ax in the vehicle for such occasions. 

Sea Rocket is just starting its seasonal run. Photo by Green Deane

Near a beach? Sea Rocket is starting its season. We should see some in the January second class. We have two species of Cakile or Sea Rocket.  They show themselves in our winter and preferably on the beach above the rack line. You can also find them blossoming in coastal dunes. The leaves are a bit fleshy but as they are in a tough environment that helps them preserve water. While Sea Rocket can be found along most coasts of the United States, Maine to Washington State, Florida has its own variety, C. lancelolate. There is a video on them here and you can read more about them here.

The Glory Bower is not edible but has some relatives that might be.

The Harlequin Glorybower, Clerodendrum Trichotomum, has a very showy calyx. A native of Asia, Clerodendrum means fate tree, referencing questionable medical uses, and trichotomum which means three trunks, which it apparently has often. But it has edible relatives: C. serratum: Young leaves and tops eaten raw as a side dish or roasted briefly and served with a hot pepper sauce. C. paniculatum, the Pagoda Flower, is also listed by some as having edible parts and is a common ornamental locally. I’ve never investigate it.  It’s quite a shower now in Mead Garden (end of the board walk) and Bayshore Park, east end by the Brazilian Pepper. 

This is my weekly newsletter #487. If you want to subscribe to this free newsletter you can find the sign-up form in the menu at the top of the page.

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In Gainesville Saturday a colorful combination was worth a photograph: Pink American Beautyberries and blue Lantana berries. They were growing next to each other and the rain had stopped so it was a photo opportunity… didn’t cross my mind to eat them together as the blue ones are flavorful and the pink ones are not. Photo by Green Deane

Pellitory is starting to peek out of it’s shady spots for the season. Photo by Green Deane

Weather ahead or behind schedule, or whether ahead or behind schedule, the plant season is changing into our winter mode. Controversial Brazilian Pepper is ripening and Cucumber Weed (Pellitory) has definitely started its seasonal run. We also saw some young False Hawk’s Beard and Poor Man’s Pepper Grass this weekend. Ringless Honey Mushrooms are in and out depending where you live. They were deliquescing (melting) in Gainesville but still flushing in Greater Orlando. What’s waiting in the winter wonderland to come up? Start looking for wild mustards and radishes and a couple of species of sow thistles. 

Edible Sumac has red clusters of berries on the end of branches and grows in dry places. Photo by Green Deane.

Some of you might have noticed I have been posting new videos (on You tube.) They have been Persimmons Revisited, Lantana, Tropical Almond Revisited and Sumac Revisited. I think Sea Grape is next.  It’s been several years since I’ve posted videos regularly and some 13 years since the originals. Some of those species need to have a new video done. So that is on my agenda as I climb into my 70s. I’m aiming for a total of 200 videos… which means at least 45 more.  Writing a foraing book took a chunk out of my life (to be released in 2023) and I’m just getting back onto the swing of things (and remembering how the video editing program works.) And of course while I am able there are foraging classes every weekend. 

Classes are held rain or shine (but not during hurricanes.)

Foraging Classes: Some traveling this week, Ft. Pierce Saturday and close to home on Sunday in Winter Park. 

Saturday November 13th, George LeStrange Preserve, 4911 Ralls Road, Fort Pierce, FL, 34981. 9 a.m. to noon. The preserve is only about three miles from the junction of the Turnpike and I-95. It has no bathrooms or drinking water so take advantage of the various eateries and gas stations at the exit.

Sunday November 14th, Mead Garden: 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789.  Meet at the bathrooms. The park entrance is on South Denning. Some GPS directions get it wrong.

Saturday November 20th, Eagle Park Lake, 1800 Keene Road, Largo, FL 33771. 9 a.m to noon. Meet at the pavilion by the dog park. 

Sunday November 21st, Wickham Park: 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne, FL 32935-2335. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the “dog park” inside the park

Saturday December 4th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive. Port Charlotte. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the parking lot of Bayshore and Ganyard St.

Our native Plantago is small and hairy. Photo by green Deane

There are Plantains that look like tough bananas and there are Plantains that are low and leafy plants. No relation. Just two different groups with the same common name. Plantains can be native or non-native. The one pictured right is native, the Dwarf Plantain, one of the very few North American plants to become invasive in Asia.  As a genus the plants are well-known. The leaves are edible raw when young. As they age they become more bitter and stringy. Cooking makes them palatable up to a point. Then they move into the astringent medical realm. They are used on bites, stings and to help puncture wounds heal. Seeds are edible once produced and are the source of the commercial dietary fiber psyllium. When finely ground and flavoring added the seeds are sold under the brand name Metamucil. There are numerous species of Plantagos (Plantains) with at least four common locally, P. virginiana, P. major, P. lanceolata and P. rugelii the latter which strongly resembles P. major. except the bottom ends of the stem are pink.They are all used the same way. You can read about the Plantains here.

Skunk Vine lives up to its name. Photo by Green Deane

Perhaps as a last gasp — virtually — some Skunk Vine was blossoming this past week (along with some Black Cherries. Skunk Vine is aptly named though its aroma drifts more towards bathroom than skunk. However the tough vine is something of a nutritional powerhouse with some of the good chemicals one finds in the Brassica family. You can eat it raw but if you cook it outside is recommended. Oddly it was intentionally brought to Florida to make rope. This was done just before 1900 when a lot of ships were still carrying sails and five miles of rope. Ground zero was the USDA Brooksville Field Station in Hernando County Fl. Yes, this invasive vine  — like many other species — was imported by the United States Department of Agriculture.  Thirty-six years later it was all over Florida but it took until 1977 for it to be a recognized invasive (long after it had crawled into other southern states.) While the blossoms are attractive we eat only the leaves and young tips. You can read about Skunk Vine here.

Lion’s Mane is tasty and medicinal. Photo by Green Deane

We are shifting mushrooms seasons from terrestrial to trees or better said ground to wood. Instead of looking down we now look up. Milk caps and chanterelles are giving way to Oysters, Lion’s Mane and Chicken of the Woods. Edible fungi that like wood also often like cooler weather but not exclusively. There are oysters and chickens other times of the year but cool time is prime time. Lion’s Mane is one I see only after the season starts to turn cooler and only down to northern Florida. It’s a choice find. To my pallet raised on the coast of Maine it tastes like crab or lobster and I use it in similar ways. This particular specimen was found in a foraging class in Jacksonville. You can read more about it here. 

Green Deane videos are now available on a USB.

My nine-DVD set of 135 videos has been phased out and replaced by a 150-video USB. The USB videos are the same videos I have on You Tube. Some people like to have their own copy.  The USB videos have to be copied to your computer to play. If you want to order the USB go to the DVD/USB order button on the top right of this page or click here. That will take you to an order form. I’d like to thank all of you who ordered the DVD set over the years which required me to burn over 5,000 DVDs individually. 

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food.

The edible, cold hardy, Pink Banana. Photo by Green Deane

In a recent video on Tropical Almond I mentioned it is not that tropical being able to live in zones 10 and 11. There is a banana that will survive in zone 7b. It will die back there but come back every year: Musa velutina. 

Unlike most bananas M. veluntina can fruit in one year rather than the usual two years and can take a frost. It also lets you know when it’s ready to be eaten by peeling itself. The species does have a lot of hard seeds which are edible if rendered soft by cooking. Tall and showy with its neon fruit they were a favorite of my great grandmother, one May Eudora Dillingham (she had the bananas as a child and also claimed to have once heard President Lincoln give a speech.) Her family was into shipping and was related to the Dillinghams of commercial ventures Hawaii. In fact one Benjamin Franklin Dillingham from Cape Cod was stranded in Hawaii after trying to ship bananas to California.) Also called the Hairy Banana, Pink Banana and Pink Velvet Banana, the stubby fruit is covered with fine hair. They have a sweet and slightly tangy taste. Where can you find some, you might wonder? 

Pink Banana location

The West Orange Bike Trail west of Orlando wends its way through Winter Garden and Ocoee. The northbound trail crosses East Fuller Cross Road then descends northeast a few hundred feet to traverse a small unnamed brook (further up the hill is Ocoee High School.) For several hundred feet along the trail before and after the brook, if you look carefully, you’ll see dozens of M. veluntina growing and fruiting on both sides of the trail. I imagine some were tossed out with yard trash long ago and have kept reseeding. Enjoy.  

This is my weekly newsletter #481. If you want to subscribe to this free newsletter you can find the sign-up form in the menu at the top of the page.

 To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.

Persicaria maculosa, an edible plant with dozens of names most relating to the smudge on the leaf.

Rain, yellow jackets, Lady Thumbs, Honey Mushrooms, and Chickweed punctuated my foraging classes in South Carolina this past weekend. Before we get into the details many thanks to Lenard and Donna Putney for the use of Putney Farm for the classes and for the sponsor of Upstate Weedeaters Anonymous (of South Carolina) also on Facebook.  

Chair in tree from flooding. Photo by Green Deane

The rain was from a front passing that came through Friday and left about 10 inches. I did get stuck at the end of the farm’s driveway but skills from decades of getting unstuck from snow and frost-heave mud kicked in and all I got was wet.  Saturday it was not heavy slogging but things were a tad damp. A nearby creek flooded badly and the area we look for Ipomoea pandurata and Box Elder was too soggy to visit. How high was the water? Note the chair in the tree. A nearby fellow who built too close to the small creek also had his truck muck mired and his generator float away along with an inflatable child bounce-house. 

Sow thistle, in this case, Sonchus asper, is a cool weather pot herb. Photo by Green Deane

As for yellow jackets… on Saturday’s class I was fortunate enough to step directly on their ground entrance while talking about a sow thistle, Sonchus Asper. That — unknowingly — kept them at bay. We also covered Wild Geraniums as the same stop as well as Amaranth and Rumex hastatulus, a nice tart sorrel. Not one sting. Good thing as the class was a dozen or so people. By Sunday morning, however, the little stingers had dug out and I got too close though I did not know that until they strafed my leg. Fortunately I am not allergic to their stings. I did talk a little faster though…. 

As for the chickweed…. While scruffing some Carolina Bristle Mallow I saw a couple of one-inch high plants that looked familiar. Their raw corn taste confirmed them as chickweed (clearly starting its seasonal run in South Carolina. I don’t see them in Florida until perhaps late January or early February.) Knowing they were up we found more in select places. The Bristle Mallow, incidentally, is a semi-edible.

If it looks like a garlic and smells like a garlic it is edible.

Two other surprises of the weekend were a young garlic and honey mushrooms. As to which wild garlic my guess is Allium vineale, (ALL-ee-um VINE-ee-ul) also called Crow Garlic. It’s not native but rather came from Eurasia during the colonial period. The species is grass-like when young and later sends up a long seed spike with small cloves on top. If a plant looks like a garlic and smells like a garlic it is edible no matter where you are on earth. That’s also true with onions: If it looks like an onion and smells like an onion it is edible but you have to have both, looks and aroma. Here in Florida we have a toxic lily that looks like a garlic/onion but has no aroma.

Honey Mushrooms are cespitose, growing in a clump. Photo by Green Deane

I am extremely familiar with Ringless Honey Mushrooms but this was the first time I saw Honey Mushrooms (with a ring) Armillaria mellea.  Fortunately also with the class Saturday was Tom McGrath from Georgia who is familiar with the species. They are among the few mushrooms that are cespitose which means growing in a clump (think like a bouquet, large caps on top like blossoms with decreasing skinny stems down to a point that holds together.) Interestingly that area of South Carolina has both species — Honey and Ringless Honeys and are they first to respond to the cooling weather of fall. The ones in the picture came home with me. 

Classes are held rain or shine or cold. (Hurricanes are an exception.) Photo by Kelly Fagan.

Foraging Classes: Less traveling this weekend for foraging classes, at least for me. Sarasota on Saturday and Winter Park on Sunday. 

Saturday October 16th, Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL,. 9 a.m. to noon. 

Sunday October 17th, Mead Garden: 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789.  Meet at the bathrooms. 9 a.m. to noon. 

Saturday October 23rd, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405. 9 a.m. to noon, meet just north of the science center.

Sunday October 24th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive. Port Charlotte.  9 a.m. to noon, meet at the parking lot of Bayshore and Ganyard.

For more information, to pre-pay or sign up go here.

Lady Thumbs are distantly related to Japanese Knotweed.

Pretty easy to see during our classes but hard to sort out were the prolific Lady Thumbs, Persicaria maculosa. Botanists are of little help here. The plant (and relatives) have bounced between to genera — Polygonum and Persicaria — and have had multiple names, botanical and common. Fortunately there are no known toxic plants in the greater group if you don’t get the ID down to the species. They are usually mild when young and can be peppery when older. The plants are usually used in salads, more when mild, as a spice when peppery though they can be a pot herb as well. In a raw serving there is some B2, vitamin C and vitamin A. When cooked only B2 was detected.  Persicaria maculosa (as of this writing) is a native of Eurasia and is on the weed hit list of many states. There are a couple of native species that can resemble it: The Nodding Smartweed (Persicaria lapathifolia) and Pennyslvania Smartweed (P. pensylvania.)

Green Deane videos are now available on a USB.

My nine-DVD set of 135 videos has been phased out and replaced by a 150-video USB. The USB videos are the same videos I have on You Tube. Some people like to have their own copy.  The USB videos have to be copied to your computer to play. If you want to order the USB go to the DVD/USB order button on the top right of this page or click here. That will take you to an order form. I’d like to thank all of you who ordered the DVD set over the years which required me to burn over 5,000 DVDs individually. 

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food.

This is my weekly free newsletter #477. If you want to subscribe to this free newsletter you can find the sign-up form in the menu at the top of the page.

 To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.

Stinging Nettles are making their seasonal debut. Photo by Green Deane

The entire plant is covered with stingers. Photo by Green Deane

Our mighty stinging nettles are up. They’re one of the most popular wild edibles.The most powerful stinging nettle is in New Zealand (Urtica ferox) which kills animals and has claimed at least one human life. Our nettle, Urtica chamaedryoides, has a sting like a giant wasp and can burn for days or more. While its common name is a deceptive, “Heartleaf Nettle” its botanical gets to the point, “Stinging Dwarf.” Quite edible but you must handle it with care. If this particular species stings me it is not only extremely painful but a welt develops and the site is sensitive to temperature changes and any liquid for more than a week. The irritant compounds are histamines and acetocholines.  Apparently I am quite sensitive to them though I can eat the plant raw or cooked (crushing the needles disarms them.) Also don’t confuse this plant with another stinging plant called the Spurge Nettle, Cnidoscolus stimulosus (video here ).  That has an edible root but the leaves are usually not eaten. To learn more about the Heartleaf Nettle go here. For a video, here.

Common Sow Thistle. Photo by Green Deane

Another not unexpected seasonal green this weekend was the sighting of Sow Thistles in Port Orange. Like its relative the Dandelion it, too, prefers the cooler months locally. Not a true thistle it’s one of the more milder seasonal greens. Although Sow Thistles are commonly called “thistles” they are not in the genus and do not draw blood like true thistles. True thistles are well-armed with needle-sharp spines. While the Sow Thistle can look intimidating it’s mostly just show in that the spines are soft. There are two species locally, the Common Sow Thistle and the Spiny Sow Thistle. The latter is a bit rougher than the former but no where near as abusive as true thistles. Both are slightly bitter raw. A few minutes of boiling or steaming takes away the bitterness completely (unlike wild lettuce which always stays slightly bitter.)  I have a video on the sow thistles and to read more about them go here.

Classes are held rain or shine or cold. (Hurricanes are an exception.) Photo by Kelly Fagan.

Temperatures are moderating this week for warmer foraging classes this weekend. I’m mid-state Saturday, just east of Orlando, and then in Sarasota Sunday. 

Saturday, January 23th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. to noon, meet at the pavilion by the tennis courts. 

Sunday, January 24th, Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL, 34233. 9 a.m. to noon. 

Saturday January 30th, Wickham Park: 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne, FL, 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the dog park. 

Sunday January 31st, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive. Port Charlotte. 9 a.m. to noon, meet in the parking lot at Ganyard and Bayshore. 

Saturday February 6th, Boulware Springs Park, 3420 SE 15th St.,  Gainesville, FL 32641. 9 a.m. to noon, meet at the pavilion by the pump house. 

Sunday, February 7th, Mead Gardens, 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789. 9 a.m. to noon. The entrance is on the west side off Denning  not the east side off Pennsylvania. Some GPS maps are wrong. Meet near the bathrooms.  

For more information, to pre-pay or sign up go here. 

A reminder this is Chickweed season though perhaps it’s a bit late this year which is odd in that we have been unseasonably cold. Among the wild edibles Chickweed is fairly easy to identify with several distinct characteristics. Chickweed has a line of hair on the stem that switches sides at every node (where there are two leaves.) It also has a stretchy inner core and tastes like raw corn. Add the time of year here — our winter — and it’s an easy-to-identify foragable. To read more about chickweed go here. I have a video about it here.

Wild Geraniums are showing up on lawns.

Also found in lawns this time of year are wild geraniums, usually Cranesbill or Stork’s Bill. (Why one is one word and the other two-words possessive I do not know.)  Botanically they are Geranium carolinianum and Erodium circutarium.  Neither is great foraging. In fact both are more medicinal than edible but they seem to get mention in a variety of foraging books. The problem is they are extremely bitter. You might be able to toss a little bit of both in a salad but that’s about the extent of it. If you have what you think is a Cranesbill or a Stork’s Bill but it has more of a bottle brush blossom than five petals you might have the non-edible Fumaria. It comes up this time of year and from a distance the leaves can remind one of the wild geraniums. To read more about them go here. 

Silverthorn berries ripen in Feburary.

Another seasonal species to be looking for is Silverthorn one of the few fruits that sets in our winter and is usually ripe about Valentine’s Day. That’s handy because the jelly-bean sized fruit is red with a gold netting or spray on it. But, if you remember the red fruit is ready around Valentine’s Day you’ll be looking for it. The boxy blossoms help you identify which shrubs will be producing fruit this year. It’s a common landscape plant and also an escapee. New fruit likes to grow on new growth and with waxy leave the species is fairly easy to identify. Even though the fruit is small it has the distinction of having the highest amount of the antioxidant lycopene per weight of any fruit. You can read about Silverthorn here and watch a video here. 

Green Deane videos are now available on a USB.

150-video USB or 135 video DVD set would be a good winter present and either is now $99. My nine-DVD set of 135 videos has been selling for seven years and are still available. They are the same videos I have on You Tube. Some people like to have a separate copy.  A second option is a16-gig USB that has those 135 videos plus 15 more. While the videos can be run from the DVDs the videos on the USB have to be copied to your computer to play. They are MP4 files. The150-video USB is $99 and the 135-video DVD set is now $99. The DVDs will be sold until they run out then will be exclusively replaced by the USB. This is a change I’ve been trying to make for several years. So if you have been wanting the 135-video DVD set order it now as the price is reduced and the supply limited. Or you can order the USB. My headache is getting my WordPress Order page changed to reflect these changes. We’ve been working on it for several months. However, if you want to order now either the USB or the DVD set make a $99 “donation” using the link at the bottom of this page or here.  That order form provides me with your address, the amount — $99 — tells me it is not a donation and in the note say if you want the DVD set or the USB. 

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food.

This is weekly newsletter #441. If you want to subscribe to this free newsletter you can find the sign-up form in the menu at the top of the page.

To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.

Christmas Berries actually fruited before Christmas rather than the usual April. Photo by Green Deane.

Usually we see Christmas Berries about April. In fact that’s when I made my video below. It was good for a change to see them in the Yule season. These bushes are quite happy and were seen during our foraging class Sunday near New Smyrna Beach (we also got to see the communication satellite launch.) Christmas Berries are our local Goji Berry and yes they are edible. These were slightly on the sweet side. They like to grow in areas with brackish water. To read more about them go here. And I have a video here.  

Classes are held rain, shine or cold.

Foraging Classes: Teaching in some familiar places this week, Live Oak Park in Port Charlotte and Mead Gardens in Winter Park. 

Saturday, December 19th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Port Charlotte, 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bayshore and Ganyard Street. 

Sunday, December 20th, Mead Gardens, 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789. 9 a.m. to noon. The entrance is on the west side off Denning  not the east side off Pennsylvania. Some GPS maps are wrong. Meet near the bathrooms. 

Sunday, December 27th, Ft. Desoto Park, 3500 Pinellas Bayway S. St. Petersburg Fl 33715. 9 a.m. to noon. There is an entrance fee to the park. After you enter the park you arrive at a T-intersection. Turn right. Close to a mile later on your left is the fishing pier and parking lot. Meet near the bathrooms. There is considerable walking at this location. 

Sunday, January 3rd, Jervey Gantt Recreation Complex, 2390 SE 36th Ave., Ocala, FL, 34471. 9 a.m to noon. Meet at the entrance to the pool, aka Aquatic Fun Center. There is no fee for this class. However, if you want to make a donation afterwards that’s up to you. 

For more information, to prepay or to sign up go here. Don’t forget Dec.18th is my  10th annual Urban Crawl. It’s a free class in downtown Winter Park, starts at 10 a.m. in front of Panera’s.

When winter arrives in many places foraging slows down though I have an article on foraging up north in cooler months. Here our winter season is just starting with several plants one sees up north in spring or early summer.

Common Sow Thistle. Photo by Green Deane

Sunday we saw young Common Sow Thistles near Daytona Beach. A Dandelion relative it, too, prefers the cooler months locally. Not a true thistle it is one of the more milder seasonal greens with only perhaps Amaranth being more mild. Although Sow Thistles are commonly called “thistles” they are not in the genus and do now draw blood like true thistles. True thistles are well-armed with needle-sharp spines. While the Sow Thistle can look intimidating it’s mostly just show in that most spines are soft. There are two species locally, the Common Sow Thistle and the Spiny Sow Thistle. The latter is a bit rougher than the former but no where near as abusive as true thistles. Both are slightly bitter raw. A few minutes of boiling takes away the bitterness completely (unlike wild lettuce which always stays slightly bitter.)  I have a video on the sow thistles and to read more about them go here. My wild mustard video is here, and 106 videos later my Wild Radish video. 

Wild Radish and Mustard are in blossom now. Photo by Green Deane

Mustards like chilly weather, or at least locally they do. You can see Wild Mustards and Wild Radish not only along roadsides now but in various fields from farm land to ignored citrus groves. The two species are used interchangeably and look similar. However Wild Radishes tend to be serpentine rather than straight and tall like Wild Mustard. They also have lumpy seed pods, or, more lumpy than mustard seed pods. Usually you will find a stand of one or the other. I don’t recall finding both in the same patch. Blossom colors can range from yellow to white with streaks of purple. But the leaves always have the biggest lobe on the end farthest from the plant. Look for them in sunny areas with fertile soil. Not native they came from Eurasia in the 1700s. And note the seeds can remain viable in the soil for up to 60 years. To read more Wild Radish go here, and for Wild Mustard, here.   My wild mustard video is here, and 106 videos later my Wild Radish video. 

The blossom of the Black Calabash. Photo by Green Deane

We ran into a mystery during my Saturday class in West Palm Beach. It started with the blossom to the right. It was a large, dark-leafed tree with distinctive blossoms. After a few fits and starts Black Calabash seems a good fit, Amphitecna latifolia. Reports vary on edibility. Most agree the black seeds are edible. One book, A Field Guide to Plants of Costa Rica, says the spongy white pulp is edible but does not mention the seeds which makes me cautious (in that the authors might confuse edible seeds for edible pulp.)  Other reports say the tree does not fruit often unless the blossoms are intentionally pollenated. One last thing: The skin was dried and used like cups. 

Green Deane videos are now available on a USB.

A 150-video USB or 135 video DVD set would be a good winter present and either is now $99. My nine-DVD set of 135 videos has been selling for seven years and are still available. They are the same videos I have on You Tube. Some people like to have a separate copy.  A second option is a16-gig USB that has those 135 videos plus 15 more. While the videos can be run from the DVDs the videos on the USB have to be copied to your computer to play. They are MP4 files. The150-video USB is $99 and the 135-video DVD set is now $99. The DVDs will be sold until they run out then will be exclusively replaced by the USB. This is a change I’ve been trying to make for several years. So if you have been wanting the 135-video DVD set order it now as the price is reduced and the supply limited. Or you can order the USB. My headache is getting my WordPress Order page changed to reflect these changes. We’ve been working on it for several weeks. However, if you want to order now either the USB or the DVD set make a $99 “donation” using the link at the bottom of this page or here.  That order form provides me with your address, the amount — $99 — tells me it is not a donation and in the note say if you want the DVD set or the USB. 

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food.

This is weekly newsletter #436. If you want to subscribe to this free newsletter you can find the sign-up form in the menu at the top of the page.

 To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.

Chickweed is just staring its seasonal run. Photo by Green Deane

Our first sighting of one of our winter comestibles happened Saturday. Just an inch or so high Chickweed is coming up. A spring edible up north it’s just too warm most of the year here for Chickweed to sprout. It takes several cold nights to chill the top couple of inches of ground for it to start growing. Another winter annual, Pellitory, is well up and several inches high in many places. We haven’t seen our third winter Musketeer, Stinging Nettles but it will be soon. We’ve also spotted Swine Cress, too. Soon it will be Wild Mustard and Sow Thistle time. To read more about Chickweed go here.

These prime Ringless Honey Mushrooms are cespitose, all growing out of one spot. Photo by Green Deane

Despite being well past the season we are still finding Ringless Honey Mushrooms. The cespitose mushroom (grows like a bouquet) usually flushes in the first week or so of November. It was a couple of weeks early. Now a month past its common time and it’s still popping. We found some Sunday in New Port Richey. They can also have a minor flush in April or so dependent on the weather. We are often told a lot about the vitamin D content of mushrooms and  Ringless Honey Mushrooms have some, about 0.172 mg per gram. However it has far more vitamin C, 16 mg per gram. That means one mushroom could meet your daily need for vitamin C. Not a bad deal. You can read more about Ringless Honey Mushrooms here. 

Classes are held rain, shine or cold.

Foraging Classes this week are both on the east coast. The weather will be warming up so they should be enjoyable. Saturday’s class is in West Palm Beach. It rarely freezes there so we can see some tropical species. Sunday’s class is one I don’t do too often because we have to go inside a federal park and then change locations twice. We start at Turtle Mound then go south to visit the beach side and then end at Eldora, which was once a thriving community on the inland coastal waterway. 

Saturday, December 12th, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405. 9 a.m. to noon. Take exit 68 (Southern Boulevard) off Interstate 95 and go east. Entrance to the park is an immediate right at the bottom of the interstate bridge. Follow the convoluted signs to the science center (which is not where the GPS puts you.)  Park anywhere. We meet 300 feet northwest of the science museum near the banyan trees.

Sunday, December 13th, Turtle Mound: Canaveral National Seashore Park, New Smyrna Beach Fl. 9 a.m. to noon. A foraging class at this location requires some flexibility. There is a fee to get into the park. We start at Turtle Mound but there is limited parking. However, there is a ranger station visitor center just south of the mound with parking there, too. After the mound we will drive to the next beachside parking area to look around.  Then we move a second time to visit what is left of Eldora once a busy town on the inland waterway.

Saturday, December 19th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Port Charlotte, 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bayshore and Ganyard Street. 

Sunday, December 20th, Mead Gardens, 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789. 9 a.m. to noon. The entrance is on the west side off Denning  not the east side off Pennsylvania. Some GPS maps are wrong. Meet near the bathrooms. 

Sunday, December 27th, Ft. Desoto Park, 3500 Pinellas Bayway S. St. Petersburg Fl 33715. 9 a.m. to noon. There is an entrance fee to the park. After you enter the park you arrive at a T-intersection. Turn right. Close to a mile later on your left is the fishing pier and parking lot. Meet near the bathrooms. There is considerable walking at this location. 

For more information, to prepay or to sign up go here.  Don’t forget Dec.18th is my  10th annual Urban Crawl. It’s a free class in downtown Winter Park, starts at 10 a.m. in front of Panera’s

This time of year two wintertime foragables come up, one quite esteemed the other barely edible. They can at first glance look similar so I’ll mention them together.

Henbit likes cooler weather

The first is Henbit. It’s in the mint family but does not smell or taste minty. It does, however, have a square stem and the blossoms resembles mints. In northern climates it is one of the first green plants to pop up after the snow goes (it and chickweed.) Locally it likes our cooler months of the year. It was esteemed by the natives because among all the annual greens it is not spicy but rather mild if not on the sweet side. What can be confusing about it is that the leave shape and stem length is different from young to old leaves. But they all have a scalloped shape. It also has a similar looking relative that is also edible called Dead Nettle. You can read about Henbit here.

Cranesbill is barely edible

Also found in lawns this time of year are wild geraniums, usually Cranesbill or Stork’s Bill. (Why one is one word and the other two-words possessive I do not know.)  Botanically they are Geranium carolinianum and Erodium circutarium.  Neither is great foraging. In fact both are more medicinal than edible but they seem to get mention in a variety of foraging books. The problem is they are extremely bitter. You might be able to toss a little bit of both in a salad but that’s about the extent of it. If you have what you think is a Cranesbill or a Stork’s Bill but it has more of a bottle brush blossom than five petals you might have the non-edible Fumaria. It comes up this time of year and from a distance the leaves can remind one of the wild geraniums. To read more about them go here. 

Dollarweed has its stem in the middle.

Botany Builder #30:  Peltate, shield-like. When the ancient Greeks fought they did so in a line holding a spear-like pole in the right hand, and a round shield in the left held by a handle in the middle. In fact the Greek word  for “okay” means “in line.”  Usually a peltate leaf has the stem attached to middle on the underside, like the common dollar weed. Websites say peltate comes from the Dead Latin “Pelta” meaning a small light shield. No. It comes from the older Greek word Peltos, meaning shield. Greeks were defending themselves with peltos centuries before the Roman’s came along.

From The ETW’s Archives: Is this Plant Edible? That is surprisingly not an easy question to answer. Where, when and what is rather important. To read more about that go here. 

Green Deane videos are now available on a USB.

A 150-video USB or 135 video DVD set would be a good winter present and either is now $99. My nine-DVD set of 135 videos has been selling for seven years and are still available. They are the same videos I have on You Tube. Some people like to have a separate copy.  A second option is a16-gig USB that has those 135 videos plus 15 more. While the videos can be run from the DVDs the videos on the USB have to be copied to your computer to play. They are MP4 files. The150-video USB is $99 and the 135-video DVD set is now $99. The DVDs will be sold until they run out then will be exclusively replaced by the USB. This is a change I’ve been trying to make for several years. So if you have been wanting the 135-video DVD set order it now as the price is reduced and the supply limited. Or you can order the USB. My headache is getting my WordPress Order page changed to reflect these changes. We’ve been working on it for several weeks. However, if you want to order now either the USB or the DVD set make a $99 “donation” using the link at the bottom of this page or here.  That order form provides me with your address, the amount — $99 — tells me it is not a donation and in the note say if you want the DVD set or the USB. 

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food.

This is weekly newsletter #435. If you want to subscribe to this free newsletter you can find the sign-up form in the menu at the top of the page.

 To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.

Elderberries bloom all year locally but favor the spring. Photo by Green Deane

This week’s debatable question is “can you eat elderberries raw?” I also call it “arguable” because no matter whether I say yes or no someone will email me and tell me I’m wrong. My answer is yes, and no which means I will irritate both sides. There are a few variables but it’s fairly easy to sort out.

A handful of delicious? Photo by Green Deane

Elderberries contain two kinds of toxins, an alkaloid and cyanide-producing glucosides. The alkaloid is present in unripe berries. It is not a problem in ripe berries but ripe berries still have the cyanide-producing glucosides. If we are referring to dark purple elderberries, such as Sambucus canadensis or Sambucus Mexicana, the answer is yes, you can eat a few if you are an adult, very few if you are a child. If we are talking about red elderberries  (Sambucus pubens and Sambucus racemosa ) the answer is definitely no regardless of your size. You can only eat the cooked pulp of red elderberries and then no seeds. Red elderberries were a staple of some Indians but only after much processing. In shirt-sleeve language the cyanide-producing glucosides is usually sugar and cyanide bonded together which break apart on digestion producing a small amount of hydrocyanic acid aka prussic acid… cyanide.  Your body can tolerate some cyanide. Thus eating raw ripe berries becomes a function of how many of these molecules there are, how much you ate of them, how large are you and how much water there is in your digestive system which probably relates to how quickly you digest them which means how quickly is that cyanide release. A few raw ripe berries usually does not bother an adult any more than eating half-a-dozen apple seed. More than a few ripe purple elderberries can make a child ill usually with digestive upset and vomiting. Same with an adult. Raw elderberries are well-known to cause nausea. Cooking (or drying) ripe purple elderberries eliminates the problem completely. I’ve eaten a tablespoon of raw ripe purple elderberries at a time and not been bothered. But, I know of many adults who have eaten a handful and gotten sick, not at death-door’s-ill but sick nonetheless. The amount of toxicity is considered mild which means little when you’re feeling lousy.

Red Elderberries are mostly toxic.

Ripe Red Elderberries are different than purple ones. They have much more potential cyanide material in their seeds and cooking does not get rid of that problem completely. That is why Native Americans ate only cooked red elderberries with the seeds removed, a labor-intensive process. Said another way red elderberry seeds cannot be eaten raw or cooked but red elderberry pulp can be eaten after cooking, and even that is debatable. So the answer is yes you can eat some ripe, raw purple elderberries but no you should not eat a lot, if only to be safe. Personally I think ripe dark purple elderberries taste far better dried or cooked than raw.  Drying or cooking drives off a musty quality they tend to have and improves the flavor. Let me also give you an example using elderberries why on the Green Deane Forum, my Facebook pages and here Wikipedia is not allowed to be referenced (because it is so inaccurate about wild edibles.)  Supposedly referencing an article by the Center for Disease Control Wikipedia reports. “In 1984, a group of twenty-five people were sickened, apparently by elderberry juice pressed from fresh, uncooked Sambucus mexicana berries. All recovered quickly, however, including one individual who was hospitalized after drinking five glasses. Such reported incidents are rare.” What does the report really say?  The incident was in 1983 not 1984. Twenty-five people were at the event, not 25 taken ill. Eleven people were sickened, eight were flown to the hospital. One stayed overnight. The “juice” was not made from just elderberries but elderberries, elderberry stems, and elderberry leaves (as well as apple juice, sugar and water.)  The juice also sat for two days before being consumed. The report does not say the elderberries were “unripe.” This is exactly why you cannot trust Wikipedia for foraging information.

Our local muscadine blossoming. Photo by Green Deane

Not all of botany is settled. There are at least six species of grapes locally, Vitis aestivalis, V. cinera, V. palmata, V. rotundifolia, V. shuttleworthii and V. vulpina.  Their status has been the topic of debate but as of late all six are currently considered native. One, V. rotundifolia, might be moved out of the grape genus. It’s closely related to Peppervine and Virginia Creeper and has 38 genes instead of the usual 40 for grapes. It could be cleaved into two species — munsoniana and popenoei  — in a new genus of Muscadinia. This weekend we got a chance to see two species blossoming. We saw V. aestivalis, The Summer Grape. It has forked tendrils and will annually produce a bunch of sweet grapes about half the size of those sold in grocery stores.  The other was V. rotundifolia, simply called muscadine. It has a single tendril and fruits irregularly with clusters of grapes. They are often very acidic. The leaves and blossoms of the two species are different. The Summer Grape often has fuzzy leaves and a long spike of blossoms. The Muscadine leaves are hairless and the blossom is a cluster. While one usually finds grapes ripening around early September they can be found from late July to early October. You can read about grapes here.

Which of a dozen Pig Weeds is it? Photo by Green Deane

The common names of plants can cause problems. I recently saw some on-line posts in which one person insisted the plant was “Shiny Blueberry.” No doubt that is how they learned it and it stuck. The problem is common names are … well… common. There’s more than a dozen “pig weeds” in the United States, certainly half a dozen “hog plums” and many “Indian Potatoes” and “Indian” teas, berries, and roots. Worse does “Indian” refer to American Indians or India? “Indian Gooseberry” comes to mind. In some regards the name is pointless. What’s really important is that you know the plant, inside and out, you have no doubt what it is. At that point the name is trivial. A century or more ago your mother would have said “that plant is edible” and “that plant is not edible.” No names needed.  More to the point we got along nicely without botanists and nutritionists for a very long time. That said I will admit to preferring scientific names because — in theory — a plant has only one botanical name. Better said plants are supposed to have  only one official botanical name. As DNA analysis is employed more many plants and mushrooms are changing names and relatives. Historically they were first grouped by characteristics one could see with the unaided eye. Later the microscope changed things. And in the modern era DNA sequencing is upsetting a lot of pseudo-apple carts. As for the “Shiny Blueberry”  I was leaning towards Vaccinium darrowii more than V. myrsinites. Why? The blossoms and stems on the former are tinged redder. Both, however, are tasty, shiny crown berries. 

Redflower Ragweed is edible, don’t confuse it with toxic Florida Tassel Flower.

This leads me to my second naming issue. I saw a plant in February that was oddly familiar but new to me. Briefly said it looked like two different species forced into one. I couldn’t remember the common name which I vaguely recalled was misleading. It was also an edible species thus expanding the menu. We tried finding it on my website before class — WordPress is so difficult to upgrade and expand, more on that later — but couldn’t even though I was sure I wrote about it.  In short the plant is Redflower Ragweed but it isn’t really a “ragweed” as most North Americans know the word. The common ragweed that launches a million sneezes annually is Ambrosia artemisiifolia. Redflower Ragweed is not an Ambrosia.  It is Crassocephalum crepidioides (kras-oh-SEF-uh-lum krep-pid-dee-OY-deez.) Crassocephalum is from the Dead Latin “Crassus” meaning “thick” and “kephale” which is Greek for head. Crepidioides is more mangle Greek. “-oides” in Dead Latin is mispronounced borrowed Greek and means “resembles.” Crepidioides means “resembles Crepis.” Crepis is from an old Greek word for a frilly funeral veil. It works its way into English via French as “crepe” paper.  So “thick head resembles crepe paper” is one way to interpret the plant’s name.” And… even though it is called the Redflower Ragweed its leaves more resemble Fireweed/Burnweed, Erechtites hieraciifolius (which is an even more complicated, naughty story.) Redflower Rageweed’s blossoms, however, more resemble the toxic Florida Tassel Flower. 

Cornucopia II says of Crassocephalum crepidioides on page 37: “Ebolo, Okinawan Spinach, Young leaves and shoots are used as a potherb, fried, or mixed in Khao yam. The leaves are fleshy, tinged with purple and have a somewhat mucilaginous quality and nutty flavor. Has become quite popular on the island of Okinawa and in Hawaii In Thailand, the roots are eaten with chili sauce or cooked in fish curry. Tropical Africa. Cultivated.”

Eastern Gamagrass or Fakahatchi grass starting to blossom. Photo by Green Deane

Grass and ice cream are usually not considered at the same thought unless it is Eastern Gamagrass. Why? Because livestock like the clumping Tripsacinae so much cattlemen call in Ice Cream Grass. While it can be used like wheat it’s a distant relative of corn. Eastern Gamagrass, also called Fakahatchee Grass, is sod-forming and can reach up to eight-feet tall.  Though it is pollinating and seeding now the grass can seed from now to September.  The frilly male flowers occupy the top three-fourths of the seed spike and the stringy female flowers the bottom fourth. In this species the girls are brown, hair-like structures. Besides fodder Eastern Gamagrass is also a common ornamental found in parks and residential areas. A bunch can live to be 50-years old or more. Fakahatchee, by the way, means either Forked River or Muddy River. Opinions vary.   To read more about Eastern Gamagrass go here.

Groundnuts are 26% protein. Photo by Green Deane

Locally May is a transition month. Many of our winter foragables are ending their prime season — sow thistles are a good example — and others are just starting such as Groundnuts.  Both of these are found throughout most of North America thus can be in season someplace nearly all year. Here their seasons are about half-a-year off from what one would find in northern climates such as Canada. With classes last week in different parts of the state there was a lot of transitioning to be seen. The aforementioned Groundnuts will soon be blossoming which makes them a bit easier for novices to find. While they have leaflets of 3, 5, and 7 leaves — occasionally 9 — they are otherwise nondescript until they bloom. The deep magenta blossoms get about an inch across and have the classic “wings & keels” one would expect of a plant in the pea family. As pleasing as they are on the eye those blossoms are not pleasant on the nose. It’s an aroma only certain bugs can love. The flowers eventually turn into pea pods and the peas are edible cooked. However, most people don’t eat the seeds: They want the plant’s tasty and nutritious root.  The seeds or the roots can be used for propagation and although the Groundnut competes in damp spots it will adapt to your home garden. To read more about the Groundnut, go here.

Foraging classes are held rain, shine, hot or cold. Photo by Nermina Krenata

Foraging classes have resumed: Find your own food rather than be dependent on others. While the state has opened some counties are still restricting access to park. By next month those restrictions will hopefully be lessened. This Saturday I have another class close to home, Blanchard Park in east Orlando, and Sunday a long-delayed class in Port Charlotte, always a nice day trip and park. 

Saturday, May 9th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. to noon, meet at the tennis courts next to YMCA building.

Sunday, May 10th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive. Port Charlotte. 9 a.m to noon, meet at the park across from Ganyard Street.

Saturday, May 16th, Boulware Springs Park, 3420 SE 15th St.,  Gainesville, FL 32641. Meet at the picnic tables next to the pump house. 9 a.m. to noon. (This class date was originally at Spruce Creek in Port Orange but that had to be changed to Gainesville.)

Sunday, May 17th, Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL, 34233. 9 a.m. to noon. 

For more information, to sign up for a class, or to pre-pay go here. 

Green Deane videos are now available on a USB.

Changing foraging videos: My nine-DVD set of 135 videos has been selling for seven years. They are the same videos I have on You Tube. Some people like to have a separate copy. The DVD format, however, is becoming outdated. Those 135 videos plus 15 more are now available on a 16-gig USB drive. While the videos can be run from the DVDs the videos on the USB have to be copied to your computer to play. The are MP4 files. The150-video USB is $99 and the 135-video DVD set is now $99. The DVDs will be sold until they run out then will be exclusively replaced by the USB. This is a change I’ve been trying to make for several years (with thanks to Mike Smith.) So if you have been wanting the 135-video DVD set order it now as the price is reduced and the supply limited. Or you can order the USB. My headache is getting my WordPress Order page changed to reflect these changes. We’ve been working on it for over a week. However, if you want to order now either the USB or the DVD set make a $99 donation using the link at the bottom of this page or here.  That order form provides me with your address, the amount — $99 — tells me it is not a donation, and in the note say if you want the DVD set or the USB. 

Wild Coffee has no caffein.

When is Wild Coffee not wild coffee? When it is the Coralberry. Both plants look similar from a distance. But as the saying goes no two plants look alike if you get close enough. Wild Coffee, Psychotria nervosa, is extremely over-rated in foraging publications. Anyone who writes you can roast the seeds like coffee and drink it like coffee has never tried it… or coffee I think. Thus the seeds are out. That leaves the seed pulp which is mild but edible. Opinion on just what that flavor is varies greatly.  It’s a trail-side nibble when you are on the coast. See that emphasis. Unless intentionally planted  Wild Coffee is usually found on the coast (which includes a few miles inland.) It is usually not found in the middle of the state. That is where you find the Coralberry.

Coralberry is best avoided.

The Coralberry, Ardisia crenata, is an extremely invasive species. It greatly reminds one of the Wild Coffee but there are significant difference including that — currently — the Coralberry is found way inland, in the center part of the state. It also has less prominent leaf veins and blunt teeth around the leaf edge, which is what “crenate” means, a scalloped edge. The Wild Coffee leaf does not have any teeth. Is the pulp of the Coralberry edible? I will say no. The plant has been implicated in cattle poisoning, but they tend to eat leaves, steams and seeds. And there are some shrubs in Florida in the same genus — Ardisia — which have barely edible berries.  I will report I ate the pulp off one Ardisia crenata berry. It tasted like green peas and had no immediate or long-lasting effects that I know of. But I don’t recommend doing that. I did not eat the seed. 

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food.

This is weekly newsletter 404, If you want to subscribe to this free newsletter you can find the sign-up form in the menu at the top of the page.

 To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.

Burnweed/Fireweed in blossom in front of cattails in North Carolina. Photo by Green Deane

Fireweed/Burnweed has a flavor chefs love. With an impossible scientific name and strong aroma Fireweed is often over looked by the foraging community. Conversely the aroma is also a good identifying characteristic. As with several things in life tastes vary and many people enjoy the Fireweed raw or cooked. Closely related to the Dandelion, the Fireweed locally favors the late winter or early spring. Currently you can find Fireweed from a few inches high to a couple of feet. While they do not grow in colonies often several will grow near each other. Soon the older ones will put on yellow blossoms that barely open, another identifying characteristic. Of course in greens young and tender is usually preferable and this is particularly true with the Fireweed which grows rank as it ages. To read about fireweed go here.

Clover prefers low nitrogen soil.

Clover is one of those wild edibles that is both overstated and understated. The overstatement is from writers who offer it as a great human food full of this and that to keep us healthy. The understated part is that it can harbor a fungus that inhibits clotting and somewhere around a half-a-cup of raw leaves can make you throw up. Individual experience, of course, can vary and there are several different species of clover with different characteristics. Pictured here is a nice little White Clover which is blossoming now mostly in lawns and athletic fields. A few leaves can be eaten raw. They are high in protein for a leaf. The blossom fresh or quickly dried can be used for tea. There is also Crimson, Red, Sweet and even Tick Clover.

Foraging classes are held rain, shine, hot or cold. Photo by Nermina Krenata

Foraging classes: Avoid the viral crowds and be outside in great weather this weekend. I have a foraging class in Jacksonville Saturday and Ft. Desoto near St. Petersburg Sunday. 

Saturday, March 14th, Florida State College, south campus, 11901 Beach Blvd.,  Jacksonville, 32246.  We meet at Building “A” next to the administration parking lot. 9 a.m. to noon.

Sunday, March 15th, Ft. Desoto Park, 3500 Pinellas Bayway S. St. Petersburg Fl 33715. There is an entrance fee to the park as well. Meet at the bay fishing pier parking lot. It’s a large parking lot, meet near the bathrooms. We will walk a good bit.  9 a.m. to noon.

Saturday, March 21th, Ft. Meade Outdoor Recreation Area, 1639 Frostproof Highway, Fort Meade, FL 33841. (Frostproof Highway is also Route 98.) 9 a.m to noon. Meet at the second set of bathrooms (in the middle of the park) which is due south from the highway. (Don’t confuse this location with Mead Gardens below which is in Winter Park near Orlando.)

Sunday, March 22nd, Wickham Park, 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne, FL 32935-2335.  Meet at the “dog park” inside the park. 9 a.m. to noon. 

Saturday, March 28th, Haulover Canal, Merritt Island National Refuge, north of the Kennedy Space Center. . Read the instructions below. We meet the the northwest end of the canal area. 

Sunday, March 29th, Spruce Creek Park, 6250 Ridgewood Ave. Port Orange FL, meet at the pavilion. 9 a.m. to noon. 

Saturday, April 4th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Port Charlotte, FL, 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bayshore Road and Ganyard Street.

Sunday, April 5th, Mead Gardens, 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789.  9 a.m. to noon. Meet to the right (east) of the Bartram sign. (Don’t confuse this location with Ft. Mead [above] which is 80 miles further south.)

For more information. to sign up for a class or to pre-pay go here. 

Dandelions do not like Florida.

On the foraging wane now are Stinging Nettles (Urtica genus) and Chickweed (Stelaria genus.) Both are winter edibles along with Dandelions — which are always sparse locally — and Pellitory (Cucumber Weed.) The latter is definitely peaking. Warm weather in March should drop its production off significantly. By April one usually can find it only in deep shade. Also heading out of season is Goosegrass. Still in seasons are sow thistles and various mustards. 

Ganoderma curtisii, a local reishi msuhroom. Photo by Green Deane

When will we be seeing and reading about mushrooms again? The answer is probably after spring rains in April or so. One can find various edible and medicinal mushrooms all year here but April to November is prime time for ground-based fungi (November to April for wood-based fungi.) I harvested several pounds of chanterelles last year. The topic of mushroom came up in the foraging class this week as we saw some “Train Wreckers” and Ganodermas starting their seasonal growth. Several species are called “Train Wreckers” because they can destroy railroad ties. None of them are toxic but some are too tough to digest and are related to Shiitake mushrooms. We also have several species of Ganodermas locally (Reishi) which is a bit of contention. The debate is how many species are there, what are they called, and are they as good as the ones that are sold for medicinal use? As for the latter my herbalist friends say yes, they are as good as the commercial kinds. As for how many and what they are called that probably won’t be settled for decades. I see three, or five, regularly, it’s hard to tell. With certainty I see G. curtisii, G. sessile, and G. zonatum. G. curtisii grows like a short golf club and is the closest relative to G. lingzhi, which is the well-known Chinese Reishi.  G. sessile has no stem and grows horizontally (a smaller form is G. sessiliforme.)  G. zonatum, more yellow than the rest, is found exclusively on palms and will kill the palm. If your palm has G. zontaum on it there is no hope for it.  There is also a Ganoderma that grows on citrus G. tuberculosum. To my knowledge none of the Reishis are toxic — but stick to identified species — and local herbalists report good results with them. These mushrooms stimulate the immune system by providing various molecular “keys’ that unlock and turn on immune cells in the gut. By the way I moderated these pages on Facebook: Southeast U.S. Mushroom Identification, Florida Mushroom Identification Forum, Edible Mushrooms: Florida, Edible Wild Mushrooms and Orlando Mushroom Group (OMG, which also will start to have meetings and fungal forays as soon as the season turns. Last year late rains threw the season off.) Florida Mushroom Identification Forum has some 7,000 members.  

Creeping Cucumber. Photo by Green Deane

Had a foraging classes in Southeast Florida this past weekend at LeStrange Preserve, Ft. Pierce. The foraging find of the day was Creeping Cucumber (In an effort to coin a better common name for that plant some are calling it Mouse Cucumbers.) The Creeping Cucumber … Mouse Cucumber … demonstrates foraging in a 400-mile long state. You can find it fruit somewhere in the state all year.  Mentioned many times in recent newsletters the Creeping Cucumber makes a nice trail-side nibble and salad ingredient. Like their larger cousins they don’t pickle well unless you cut off the blossom end. To read more about the jelly-bean size cuke click here.

Bacopa monnieri can have four or five petals. Photo by Green Deane

Before I forget it’s time to write about Bacopa again. Actually there are six Bacopas locally, two common: Water Hyssop and Lemon Bacopa. They are quite different and perhaps it takes a trained botanical eye to appreciate their similarities which strike me as few. Perhaps their greatest difference is texture. Lemon Bacopa is soft, fuzzy, and crushes easily. It smells like limes not lemons. Water Hyssop is tough and shiny, resilient. Lemon Bacopa is aromatic and fruity in flavor, Water Hyssop is just pain bitter. Water Hyssop definitely can help with memory issues, Lemon Bacopa is more iffy on that score. One does not find Lemon Bacopa too often whereas Water Hyssop is nearly everywhere the soil is wet and sunny. (There are actually five Bacopas that look like the bitter one we want but four of them are rare. The one we want, Bacopa monnieri, by far the most common, has a single crease on the back of the leaf.) I have found Lemon Bacopa only three times; two of them in the wet ruts of woods roads. There is also a lake near me that has a little growing near a boat ramp when the water level is just right. As my article speaks more towards Lemon Bacopa I will adress Water Hyssop here. It basically stimulates the brain to make new neuronal connections, specifically in the hippocampus. It is anti-inflammatory and interacts with the dopamine and serotenergic systems. As you might expect growing new memory cells enough to notice takes time. So Bacopa has to be taken daily for at least three months. I have had several people tell me it has made significant difference in their lives. It does not work on all causes of memory problems but if it does work it does so dramatically. You can read about both Bacopas here. 

Florida Pennyroyal. Photo by Green Deane

If you are one to wander around any sandy scrub in Florida this time of year you will see the low blooms of the Florida Pennyroyal. It’s quite an unusual plant in that it is monotypic, meaning the only plant in its genus. It’s found along the Central Florida Ridge though I have seen it also on the east coast of the state. There are a few plants in the Bahamas and maybe one or two in southern Georgia. It has the unmistakable aroma of pennyroyal. A species that looks vaguely similar, Florida Rosemary, has no noticeable strong aroma. Florida Pennyroyal used to be the third most common nectar plant in the state but fell off for some unknown reason and was replaced by Bidens alba, aka Spanish Needles. Florida Pennyroyal was used extensively by the natives and has culinary uses. To read more about it go here.

The Nine DVD set includes 135 videos.

Though your foraging may drop off  during the winter it’s a great time to study wild edibles with my nine DVD set. Each  DVDs has 15 videos for 135 in all. They make a great gift. Order today. Some of these videos are of better quality than my free ones on the Internet. They are the same videos but many people like to have their own copy. I burn and compile the sets myself so if you have any issues I handle them personally. There are no middle foragers. And I’m working on adding a tenth DVD.  To learn more about the DVDs or to order them click here.

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. Several hard-to-find books are there page for page. Recent posts this week include Spring 2020 Plantings, Light Purple Flowers and Fuzzy Leaves, Red Blossoms Hanging Down, Edible Privacy Fence, Tendrilizing, Calculating COVID-19 Mortality Rate, Nettle Spanakopita, Pawpaws Starting Early? What are those White Blossoms, Brazilian Pepper Revisited, Palmer Amaranth, In The Loop, Tomatoes: A Fruit First, a Vegetable Second, and Butterweed: Annual Warning.  You can join the Forum by going to the upper right hand top of this page. 

Donations to upgrade EatTheWeeds.com 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. There’s always something and such things get more complex and expensive every year. 

This is weekly newsletter 396, If you want to subscribe to this free newsletter you can find the sign-up form in the menu at the top of the page.

 To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.

Reindeer Moss and British Soldiers. Photo by Green Deane

Cladonia is a large genus of edible but not tasty lichen. Two species are shown growing together (above photo.) It has kept many a creature alive in the winter time from moose to man. When I was a kid back in the BC era (before computers) there were acres of “British Soldiers” out in the woods behind our house in Maine. We’d clump through them making a crunching noise. Little did we know we were crushing centuries of growth. If you’ve taken any of my classes you known I’m positive about lichen. They don’t taste that good — most of them — and they need soaking to make them edible — most of them. But nearly all 17,000 of them are edible. They are a famine food and medicine available around the world and now out of this world. Lichen were among several organisms sent to the International Space Station and left outside for several months. The lichen survived and were the hardiest of the lot. You can read that story here. If you want to read more about the uses of lichen on earth here go here: Reindeer Moss, here and here.

Foraging classes are held rain or shine, heat or cold.

As I write it is 35 degrees Fahrenheit (1.6 Celsius) and a foraging class is the last thing on my evergreen mind. However, it will be warm by the weekend so the foraging will go on. I have a class in Port Charlotte (on a Saturday for a change) and in east Orlando Sunday. It might even warm up enough for shorts. See you there. 

Saturday, January 25th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive. Port Charlotte. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bayshore Road and Ganyard Street.  9 a.m. to noon. 

Sunday, January 26th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. Meet at the small pavilion next to the tennis courts near the YMCA building.

Saturday, February 1st, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet just north of the Science Center. 

Sunday, February 9th, Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL, 34233. 9 a.m. to noon.

Nicker Beans are, technically, a climbing shrub.

Botany Builder #28: Echinate, covered with spines or prickles. It is from the Dead Latin echinatus, covered with prickles. Sea urchins are in the class of Echinoidea. “Urchin” by the way is an old word for porcupines as is hedgehogs. Mischievous boys are some times called urchins. Locally one medicinal plant is echinate, and that is the Nickerbean.  Not a vine and not a tree, it is a “climbing shrub.” The Smilax is also not called a vine but a “climbing shrub.”  The Nickerbean is not edible, but does, according to herbalists, have many medicinal applications.  To read more about the Nickerbean go here.  

Prickly Lettuce has stiff hairs. Photo by Green Deane

Prickly not stingy: All four common wild lettuces* in Florida are coming into season including Prickly Lettuce. It isn’t seen too often in central Florida but I’ve found it on disturbed ground in the northern area of the state. Like most wild lettuce it is bitter but it has a distinct identification characteristic that makes it an easy forage-able. Like most lettuce it has a triangle-shaped leaf midrib and white sap. It also has on the back of the leaf midrib a single line of hair. However, on the Prickly Lettuce the line of hair is not wispy and fine but stiff and resistant, very easy to see and identify. Unlike rib hair on other lettuces this is a row of prickles and easily felt with by your fingers. The species grows rather rank and tall. Of course we want to pick it when it is young and tender adn even cooked it is bitter. To read a little more about the Prickly Lettuce, click here. *There are actually six wild lettuces reported in the state. The other three common ones are Florida Lettuce, Canadia Lettuce and Grass Leaf Lettuce. Two far more rare ones — and native to Tropical America — are L. mollis (rare in Franklin County) and L. intybacea (rare in the Miami-Dade and Monroe County area.) I do not know if those two are “edible.” 

ChinaberryTree’s fruit is toxic.

A friend had to remove two trees from his elderly mother-in-law’s yard. She had just bought the house and was moving thus there were a lot of tax-payer supported busy bodies running around. Both of the trees are on the state’s hit list as invasive species. They are illegal to possess or transport.  So, being a good citizen and dutiful son-in-law he cut them down and disposed of the trees. However after he cut them down the city told him he was subject to a $300 fine because he did not have a permit to cut the trees down. After the sawdust settled the city agreed to sell him an after-the-fact permit to cut down the banned trees but with a warning to get a permit in the future. While it was uncharacteristically reasonable of the city not be extreme about the issue it illustrates how fractured and irrational government can be. One entity insists action be taken (get rid of invasive species) and another  penalizes you for taking that action (getting rid of invasive species.) Why people always want to expand government and give it more power is beyond my comprehension. Code Enforcement Boards (and homeowner associations) can make your life quite miserable.

Dead Man’s Fingers

The endings of botanical names in Dead Latin can often give us a clue about the species especially -ifera and -oides (and variations such as -iferum.) Often the botanical name is virtually no help in identifying a plant, such as when the genus and the species honor two different people. A good example is Decaisnea fargesii,Dead Man’s Fingers. It’s named after Joseph Decaisne and Pere Farges. Bigelowia nuttallii is another example. No description there… seems like a lost opportunity to me… Sometimes the species name is misleading as the Longleaf Pine, Pinus palustris,which means a pine that likes to grow in swamps. Unfortunately Pinus palustris only grows on the top of dry sandy hills. That the descriptive name is very wrong is not enough to get it changed. The reason to change a name has to be botanical even if flimsy botanical. 

ifera and -oides however usually are helpful. -ifera means “producing” or “bearing.” Papyrifera means paper bearing, as in Betula papyrifera, the Paper Birch, left. Bulbifera means bulb bearing, such as the Dioscorea bulbifera, the Air Potato. Cerifera means wax bearing like the Southern Wax Myrtle, Myrica cerifera.  Myrica cerifera produces a green wax that was traditionally used to make Bayberry Candles.

Spanish Moss

-oides means “resembling” or ‘looks like.”Tillandsia usneoides (Spanish Moss) means looks like the lichen Usnea. Ranunculoides means looks like ranunculus. Centruroides means … like sharp (and is also the genus of scorpions in reference to their stingers.) While the -folia can mean leaves it is also used to mean looks like. Aquifolium means holly-like leaves. Tiliifolia — yes four “i’s” — means basswood-like leaves. Sonchifolia means leaves like a sow thistle. So if you have an -ifera in front of you it should be producing something. If you have an -oides it should look like something else you probably already know. -Folia is usually also descriptive.

Black Medic

There quite a few species which at a quick glance from afar can look alike. Pellitory and Chickweed are two. The lichens Usnea and Ramalina two more. A couple of common plants that can look similar even at a close glance is Black Medic and Hop Clover (Medicago lupulina and Trifolium campestre.)  Every season I have to remind myself which is which. Most often locally it is Black Medic. I am fond of saying there are no “look alikes” if you look closely enough. Black Medic and Hop Clover put that to the test. Hop Clover also looks like other clovers as well. It can be difficult to sort out.  When the plants are in blossom a close look at the blossom is one clue. Hop clover’s petals come out from the center, widen, then bend down at the outer end. Black Medic’s blossoms open and fold up. They are also of a slightly different color: Gold yellow for the Hop Clover, lemon yellow for the Black Medic. The latter is also more furry. When both species have gone to seed quickest way to tell them apart is Black Medic’s seeds are black, Hop Clover’s brown. Also the middle leaf on the Black Medic has a slightly longer stem. 

Hop Clover Blossom

To complicate issues there is also T. dubium, aka the Suckling Clover or the Lesser Trefoil. It looks similar to Hop Clover but has less petals and smaller blossoms. Its stems have a reddish tint. None of these species are on the top of the edible list but every little bit counts. Black Medic has also been called a Native American food which begs the definition some. Black Medic is from southern Europe or  Eurasia. It came with the Europeans to North America. The first written reference to it in the New World is in 1807.  There’s no ethnobotanical evidence the Europeans ate the seeds or any that the Native American’s ate the leaves.

Green Deane DVD set of 135 videos

Though your foraging may drop off  during the winter it’s a great time to study wild edibles with my nine DVD set. Each  DVDs has 15 videos for 135 in all. They make a great gift. Order today. Some of these videos are of better quality than my free ones on the Internet. They are the same videos but many people like to have their own copy. I burn and compile the sets myself so if you have any issues I handle them personally. There are no middle foragers. And I’m working on adding a tenth DVD.  To learn more about the DVDs or to order them click here.

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food.

This is weekly newsletter 389, If you want to subscribe to this free newsletter you can find the sign-up form in the menu at the top of the page.

 To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.