Search: sumac

Lambsquarters often has a mealy look. Photo by Green Deane

While driving through the middle of the peninsula this week I noticed Lambsquarters in their most common seasonal place: Citrus groves. Look for them in not only well-tended groves but poorly maintained ones as well. They like the disturbed soil that annual harrowing creates. In Eagle Lake an old grove had been cleared for housing. Lambs Quarters were taking advantage of turned soil.

Seablite is related to Lambsquarters. Photo by Green Deane

Lambsquarters, also known as Pigweed, Fat Hen, and Chenopodium album, was a common weed in rural Maine where I grew up. It was one of the first edible wild plants I learned as a kid and rather unintentionally. We didn’t have a lawn so my father sprinkled several wheel barrows of chaff from the haybarn on the the designated soil. The first crop that spring was wild mustards which I knew were edible. The second crop was Lambsquarters. I didn’t know they were edible until a neighbor one day asked if he could take several five-foot tall plants home for supper. I added them to my “edibles” list. Other comestibles around the house were wild raspberries, apples, grapes, choke cherries, strawberries, blueberries, dandelions, sand roses and violets called “Johnny Jump Us.” They grew near the septic drank drain. My mother enjoyed eating them despite the aromatic surroundings.  You can read about the Lambsquarters here. 

Lambsquarters is also in the Goosefoot family and related to a “grain” you might have eaten — Quinoa — which is a Chenopodium quinoa.  It’s a relative of several weeds most of us have growing in our neighborhood. And the answer to the next question is yes, our local Goosefoots/Chenopodiums have edible seeds (including Chenopodium ambrosioides, also called Epazote.) The only precaution is like Quinoa all Chenopodiums seeds must be soaked before consuming to remove bitter saponins (a natural, bitter soap.) 

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

It might be a little rainy this weekend but fairly warm for foraging classes in West Palm Beach and Largo Fl. Weather the showers are Friday night or Saturday morning is still in contention but we will have class rain or not. In real life you’re also hungry when it rains. 

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

Sunday, February 2nd, Eagle Park Lake, 1800 Keene Road, Largo, FL 33771. Meet at the pavilion near the dog park. 9 a.m to noon. (This class will go on as scheduled.) 

Saturday, February 8th, Mead Garden: 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789. Meet at the parking lot. 9 a.m. to noon. 

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

Saturday, February 15th, 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. 

Saturday, March 7th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the pavilion near the YMCA building and tennis courts.  

Sunday, March 8th, George LeStrange Preserve, 4911 Ralls Road, Fort Pierce, FL, 34981. 9 a.m. to noon. (There are no official bathrooms at this location. And don’t forget the time change. Leap forward.)

Saturday, March 28th, Haulover Canal, Merritt Island National Refuge, north of the Kennedy Space Center. 9 a.m. to noon. 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. 

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

Some passion fruit are edible, some just tastes bad, and others are not edible if not deadly. Photo by Green Deane.

There are several “edible” Passiflora locally but only a couple worth eating in my tender-tummy opinion: P. incarnata and P. foetida. They both have a tart-sweet flavor and the entire fruit is edible, seeds, pulp and skin. I have eaten both but not in huge quantities, usually one or two at a time. A couple that are marginal are P. lutea and P. suberosa. I see P. lutea often but not P. suberosa which tends to grow further north. During a foraging class this week we saw P. lutea and it was fruiting. I’m a bit concerned in that I have seen some websites say P. lutea leaves can be used medicinally like P. incarnata. I would question that though I am not an herbalist nor a chemist (they would not let me take chemistry in school.)  But, I seem to remember a study that tested numerous Passifloras which reported they all had some cyanide in their leaves except the P. incarnata which has GABA instead (gamma amino-butryc acid.) P. incarnata was the only one, in the study at least, that did not have cyanide in its leaves and was specifically singled out. I would be careful about using any Passiflora leaves other than wild P. incarnata without thorough research first. Also avoid unripe fruit. One species, Passiflora adenopoda, from China,  is definitely fatal. You can read about Passifloras  here. 

Doveweed is a little local edible.

There are many tiny edibles that don’t get much coverage probably because they’re minute or not a great flavor, read a famine food. One of them is the Doveweed, Murdannia nudiflora. Considered one of the world’s worst weed it is often found with its relatives the Asiatic Day Flower and Spiderworts. According to the Invasive Species Compendium “its special ability to root easily at the nodes, propagating clonally through cut stems and dispersal during tillage and land preparation make this weed difficult to control. This trait coupled with its ability to adapt and survive a wide ecological window of soil types, pH, moisture availability and soil drainage makes M. nudiflora a weed to watch for potential spread into new areas in near future, and a species under the ‘alert list’ by the Invasive Species Specialist Group.” It’s a big pest for such a tiny plant, one not usually seen while you’re standing up. When you are on your knees looking for something else is when you will find Doveweed. Locally I locate it in slightly damp locations and in semi- shade. As one might guess it’s similar to Commelinas and was once in that genus. To read more about the Doveweed go here.

Brazilian Pepper fruit grows from axils. Photo by Green Deane

Botany Builder #10: Axil is a word you’ll read often in plant descriptions. It is the upper point where a leaf petiole (see previous Botany Builder #2) meets the stem or where a branch meets the stem. They should have called it a juncture rather than an axil. We wouldn’t be too interested in that rather unremarkable location except plants often sprout branches, blossoms and fruit from that spot. The Brazilian Pepper it puts on fruit where a larger stem and a leaf meet. Where that larger stem and — in this case — the leaf meet is the axil. Another member of this family — Poison Sumac — grows toxic white/light green berries out of the axil. A third member, however, does not. The edible sumac grows berries at the very end of a branch rather than at the axil. When the berries are in a bunch at the end of a branch it is called a terminal cluster. Thus berries growing out of an axil are in a far different location than a terminal cluster. Brazilian Pepper berries have been used as spice if you are not allergic to them as they are closely related to poison ivy. Using them is not recommendation. I have a video on the species here.  

Stomolophus meleagris, one of our edible jellyfish. Photo by Deep Sea Waters.

While foraging along the Peace River this past Saturday I noticed jelly fish in the wrack line. Many jellyfish are edible including some that are found in local waters. How did I come to eat Jelly Fish? I had a friend from Taiwan who never ordered from the menu at Chinese restaurants. It was always off-the-menu and then after much discussion with the waiter and sometimes the chef. One of those chats produced a dish of jellyfish. I was hooked. It was very tasty and jellyfish can be caught while casting for other fish. (I like castnetting and am a castnet junkie.) While a substantial food in many parts of the world I’m not sure jellyfish locally would qualify as a staple because catching them by hand is by chance (which does increase however when in season.) Despite their name Jelly Fish are also mostly water and need to be desiccated immediately, not a small process. It all depends on how hungry you are and how many of them you have. You should get them live out of the water not dead on the beach. To read about jellyfish 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, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food.

This is weekly newsletter 390, 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.

lf you were wondering, Cinnamon trees do grow in Florida. Photo by Green Deane

As is often the case one can walk past edible species many times and not notice them. What can bring them to your attention is that they change in some way, often fruiting. This was the case with a Spanish Cherry in Dreher Park in West Palm Beach. I walked past it for years until it was fruiting one day. This was also the situation with a Cinnamon Tree we saw in Sarasota last Sunday during a foraging class: It was fruiting. In fact, the back yard it was growing in also has a Loquat and some tropical yellow-blossomed tree. I was walking over to look at those when I saw this third tree crowded in. Large and fruiting, it had slightly aromatic leaves. Someone suggest Cinnamon and I had to admit I had no idea what it was though the fruit reminded of elongated Camphor fruit which is in the same genus as Cinnamon. The leaves were slightly aromatic. It’s the inner bark of the Cinnamon Tree that is used for flavoring and do know two species are used for spice purposes. You might want to make a distinction regarding which one you consume. There is the Chinese Cinnamon, and the Ceylon Cinnamon.

Chinese Cinnamon is the most common, sold in bulk, and the one used in commercial recipes such as cinnamon buns. When you buy “cinnamon” powder or “quills” (bark rolls) in the grocery story it is usually the Chinese Cinnamon, botanically Cinnamomum aromaticum which is also called Cinnamomum cassia. Its quills, which are really rolls of cambium, are dark brown-red in color and have a rough texture.  Ceylon Cinnamon is from India and Sri Lanka. Botanically it is Cinnamomum verum and is also called Cinnamomum zeylanicum. Its quills are tan-brown and have a soft texture. Ceylon Cinnamon is, as one might suspect, significantly more expensive than Chinese Cinnamon. (A quick way to tell them apart before bark processings is the Chinese Cinnamon has longitudinal striations on young branches, below left. )

Young Chinese Cinnamon bark has longitudinal lines. Photo by Green Deane

The key essential oil in both species is cinnamaldehyde. It gives cinnamon its flavor and aroma. However the Ceylon Cinnamon has less of that oil than the Chinese cinnamon so it has a less intense flavor. It is also very low in a chemical call courmarin. Chinese Cinnamon is significantly higher in coumarin.  Courmarin reduces clotting like the drug Coumadin does (and how the medication got it name. See my article on Sweet Clover.) Chinese Cinnamon is 1% coumarin and can amplify the effects of other blood thinners. Ceylon Cinnamon at 0.004% has 250 times less coumarin (if I have my zeros in the right place.) If you eat a lot of cinnamon you might want to switch to the Ceylon variety (sold at Whole Foods et cetera.) One or two teaspoons of Chinese Cinnamon can put you over the daily limit for coumarin. In some European countries commercial bakeries are prevented by law from using the Chinese Cinnamon because of the high coumarin content. On the other hand if you eat a huge amounts of leafy greens that might provide enough Vitamin K1 to off set the reduction of clotting caused by the coumarin. It could be a nutritional balancing act. Just know there are two kinds of cinnamon, they vary in price, availability, intensity of flavor, in their coumarin content, and in their ability to reduce blood clotting… and they will grow in Florida. 

An easy to find and eat wild edible. Photo by Green Deane

One of the easiest wild fruits to identify, especially this time of year, is non-commercial “Dragon Fruit.” They look like small pink footballs on candlestick cactus (species Cereus.) What’s unusual about these pink pods is they are spineless and the seeds are soft thus you can cut them off the cactus and eat them out of hand. Or, you can chill them in the refrigerator. The white inside has the texture of an overripe watermelon and the black seeds are soft. Definitely a treat. While you can cut them off with a knife a pair of nippers works best. Which exact species you have can be elusive though the pink fruit is edible on all of them. The “genus” has many false, wrong and/or archaic names. It does not help that retailers a century ago often just made up names. Often found in landscaping and old lawn-waste piles, they are tall and ribbed with clusters of long thorns on the ribs. The blossoms are cream-green in color, large, and open at night. You can read more about the cactus here. 

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

Foraging Classes: It’s the time of year to begin visiting places a bit too warm in the summer such as Haul Over Canal. Also this weekend there will be a class in Gainesville. As the weather has changed perhaps we’ll see some Ringless Honey Mushrooms. 

Saturday October 19th, Boulware Springs Park, 3420 SE 15th St.,  Gainesville, FL 32641. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the picnic tables next to the pump house.

Sunday, October 20th, Haulover Canal, Merritt Island National Refuge, north of the Kennedy Space Center. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the west end of the northwest canal road.  This class meets about twice a year because federal authorities can close the area without notice. This location requires the most walking, about four miles total. 

Saturday October 26th, Wickham Park: 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne, FL 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the dog park. 

Sunday October 27th, Colby-Alderman Park: 1099 Massachusetts Street, Cassadaga, Fl., 9 a.m. to noon. Meet near the bathrooms. 

Saturday Nov. 2nd, John Chestnut County Park: 2200 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor, FL 34685. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the beginning of the Peggy Park Trail inside the park. 

Sunday, November 3rd, Mead Garden: 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet in the parking lot near the rest rooms.

Saturday November 9th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet next to the tennis courts by the YMCA building.

Sunday, November 10th, Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, 2045 Mud Lake Road, DeLeon Springs, FL. 9 a.m. to noon. This class is rare because the federal property can be closed without notice. Meet at the first parking lot west of the railroad tracks.

Saturday, November 16th, 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.

Sunday, November 17th, Eagle Park Lake, 1800 Keene Road, Largo, FL 33771. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the pavilion by the dog park. 

Saturday, November 23rd, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet in the parking lot just north of the science center.

Sunday, November 24th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive. Port Charlotte. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bayshore Road and Ganyard Street. 9 a.m. to noon.

For more information about the classes, to sign up or to pre-pay for one go here.

Winged Sumac, berries are tart like an apple. Photo by Green Deane

Our Sumacs are happy. Everywhere you go now they are sporting terminal clusters of garnet-colored berries. It’s time to harvest Sumacs for use today or next year. There’s a wide variety of Sumacs.  Locally it’s the “Winged Sumac” Rhus copallina which means “sticky red.”  In other areas of the country it can be the Staghorn Sumac. Shapes and quality vary but they always have terminal clusters of garnet-colored berries, give or take a hue. The berries have hair on them. And on the hair is malic acid, the acid that makes apples tart. You can rinse the acid off and make a vitamin-C rich “lemonade.” The berries can then be dried, ground, and used as a spice. And in the springs the shoots can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked. If you are worried about Poison Sumac it grows only in wet spots, has a much different leaf, and when in fruit has white berries positioned farther down the stem, not terminal clusters. Also Poison Sumac leaves have bright red stems.

The best persimmons are the ones you have to fight the ants for. Photo by Green Deane

Besides the aforementioned Sumac what you should also be finding now are Persimmons and Saw Palmetto berries, just about the opposite on the flavor scale, sublime to you-gotta-be-kidding-me. Saw Palmetto berries ripen about mid-September but stay around for a month or more. They are strong flavored so try only a little. Their flavor reminds one of vomit. I also had a ripe persimmon a month ago but they are more an mid-October fruit. They are just coming into season locally where I look for them every year. Sometimes you can find them as lated as January locally. As for other seasonal forageables Creeping Cucumbers are still producing as are Cocoplums and Simpson Stoppers featured in last week’s newsletter. 

Yellow Pond Lily seeds resemble corn kernels. Photo by Green Deane

This might be a good time to write about Yellow Pond Lilys. While they fruit rather continuously the pond residents are putting forth a fall crop now. Plants may not have a brain they can have a strategy, or at least so it seems. Many of them protect their seeds in various ways until they are ready to germinate. The Persimmon Tree above comes to mind. The fruit is astringent until the seeds are mature enough to germinate. Then the fruit turns sweet attracting various animals to eat it — those that can taste sweet — to spread the seeds around. The Yellow Pond Lily works in a similar fashion. Seeds that are not ready to germinate are bitter. As the plant dies the floating seed pod rots over a three week period. When the seeds are ready to germinate the protective bitterness is removed by enzymatic action. This makes the seeds also edible. Of course we humans can take advantage of the system by collecting the seed pods ourselves and controlling the rotting process (by putting them in water for three weeks.) Then we get the seeds and dry them for use in various ways. You can read more about the Yellow Pond Lily here. 

Donations: I had a large donation last week. Thank you very much. It was timely as WordPress went down for several days. If anyone would like to donate to this website and newsletter they can use this Go Fund Me link, this PayPal donation link or by writing to Green Deane POB 941793 Maitland FL, 32794.  Again, thank you. 

Foraging DVDs make a good gift to watch during the lifeless months of winter.

Foraging DVDs make a good gift to watch during the lifeless months of winter. All My Videos are available for free on You Tube. 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 as spring is … springing. 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.

Do you recognize the edible species on the left? Both of them? If you read the Green Deane Forum you would. 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 some 8,000 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. 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 376. 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.

Labor Day used to mean more than hurricanes threatening the east coast from Florida to Maine. In the olden BC days… before computers… Labor Day also meant you went back to school the next day. School also let out sometime in June. Your release date was never exact because several “snow days” were built into the calendar every year. If they weren’t used up we got out in early June. If it was a bad winter then we got out mid-June. We also were not too far removed from harvest time on both ends of the school year. 

I walked to school daily, five miles round trip, and that was my preference. The wander took me past blueberry fields, Concord grape hedgerows, apple orchards and a great view of New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington some 60 miles away. In the fall I was scrumping every morning and afternoon for six weeks or so. This daily Too & Fro also included crossing the Royal River which was really more of a serf stream except during the spring floods. (Fished and fell into the Royal a lot. Found my first black pearl there and caught my first eel there.) All that wild fall fruit always ruined my supper but then again my mother was a horrible cook so it worked out well.

In September and October you also sized up last year’s now dry wood. We had two wood stoves. And once there was snow that meant “pulping” which is cutting next year’s firewood so it can “season” that is dry for a year. Plants were also part of school letting out in spring. I noticed way back in sixth grade that when the (edible) Lilacs blossomed school was nearly out for the summer… and summer vacations were wrongly named: For most kids where I grew up it meant farm work until school started in September. For me it was three full months of working in the hay fields, a hot, dusty, wasp-punctuated job. My mother collected horses (and other farm animals) and they had to be fed so into the fields I went, indentured labor. There was also summer gardening, 70 days of it. I only escaped all that by volunteering for the Army in 1969 when Vietnam was hot…  young men can make stupid decisions… but I never hayed again.  

Many years ago I was coaxed into getting a beer at a small eatery in Tampa’s Ybor City. The beer was not memorable but the brick wall on one side of the outdoor patio was. It had a vine I had never noticed. It took awhile but I identified it as a Creeping Fig (and many other names.) It is also something of a chameleon: The young vine on first glance does not look much like the old vine so one can indeed find it and not know you have found it. Also given the right support — such as a strong fence — the vine can cover the entire fence to the extent the vine looks like a long line of shrubs. But then it produces green fig-like fruit. Only the sap of them makes it barely into the edible realm. To read more about the Creeping Fig go here.

Enjoy what you can of this Labor Day dodging Hurricane Dorian. The tempest should be past by this coming weekend. I have a class in downtown Winter Park Saturday — foraging in an urban setting — and a class at Ft. Desoto south of St. Petersburg Sunday (which should avoid most of Dorian’s wrath.) Note the hurricane-cancelled class in Ft. Pierce has been rescheduled for September 15th. I am also presuming that by the fourteenth Wickham Park will be reopened.

Saturday September 7th, 329 N. Park Avenue, Winter Park. 9 a.m. to noon.  Parking is free in the parking garage behind Panera’s.  This is a class specializing in finding wild edibles in an urban setting.

Sunday September 8th, Ft. Desoto Park, 3500 Pinellas Bayway S. St. Petersburg Fl 33715. Meet by the bathrooms at the parking lot of the “bay” fishing pier (not the “gulf” fishing pier.) 9 a.m. to noon. There is a fee to get into the park. The fishing pier is about halfway along the SW/NE road along the southern end of the park.

Saturday, September 14th, Wickham Park: 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne, FL 32935-2335. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the “dog park” inside the park.

Sunday September 15th, George LeStrange Preserve, 4911 Ralls Road, Fort Pierce, FL, 34981. 9 a.m. to noon. The preserve has no official bathroom or drinking water so take advantage of the various eateries and gas stations before arrival. 

To read more about the foraging classes or to sign up for a class and or pay for a class go here.

October 11-12-13, foraging classes at Putney Farm, Honea Path, South Carolina.

Still on my list of things to do: A regional book, Edible Plants of the Gulf South, says the Liatris species are edible. I’ve been looking at them for 39 years. At the moment however, the only spot I know where they grow is in a non-pick state park. If I can find a good patch elsewhere it will be time to experiment. There are a couple of reasons to be excited about the Liatris. First, they are fairly easy to identify, and where they do grow there’s usually a lot of them. But what’s more interesting is that some experts think they can live for a century or more waiting for just the right conditions to flower, usually right after a forest fire. It seems the corm is dependent on fire to tell it when to send up a sprout.

Many years ago I remember Dick Deuerling talking about the Liatris but I don’t remember him mentioning it was edible. Dick was the professor emertitus of foraging here in Florida leaving us in his 90’s six years ago. Uncooperative knees kept him from foraging as much as he would have liked in his latter years. As for Edible Plants of the Gulf South, I would be careful. I have found a few discrepancies that makes me add a note of caution. The book mentions Pyracantha fruit are edible but fails to mention the seed should not be eaten. In discussing Sumac no mention is made of edible shoots and branch tips. And the book repeats the old advice that Nuphar lutea root is edible. I have tried for some 30 years to figure out a way to make that root edible, all ending in bitter failure. I do not know of any professional forager anywhere in the world who recommends it.  I have even raised it myself in good water and harvested it young to see if that made any difference.  It didn’t.

There is one reference in the 1600’s by naturalist John Josselyn who said of the Nuphar, “The Indians eat the roots, which are long a boiling they taste like the liver of sheep.” Frankly, tasting like the liver of sheep would be a grand improvement.  A Dr. Edward Palmer, presumably the one who traveled to Indian reservations in the 1800s, said squaws dove into ponds for the roots but preferred to raid muskrat dens for them. However, he made that observation in California and identified the plant as  N. advena.

If I can get pseduo scientific for a moment. Technically, Nuphar lutea does not grow in North America. For a long time many botanists thought there was just one Nuphar, the lutea. Other botanists disagreed and said there were different species because, gasp, they don’t all look alike.  The One-Species School ruled until 1997 when modern research showed there are some 15 different Nuphar. Thus the point has to be made that if there are several species of Nuphar in North America some might be edible some not. I know the ones here in Florida, Nuphar Lutea subsp advena,  are not, or at least I have not made them so. That said, Dick Deuerling did tell me once that he did harvest a local Nuphar root and found it edible after boiling. .. Maybe it was a mutant. He is the only person alive that I know of that can make the claim he at Nuphar root and that it was good.

To read the Nuphar confusion in its entirety click here:

Poke weed (Phytolacca americana) is a rite of passage for many new foragers. Common, toxic, and tasty when prepared properly, no one forgets the first serving of poke weed they collected on their own and consumed. Once past that comes the common question, “can you eat the berries?” The answer is no. However, Professor Julia Morton said the cooked berry juice was edible, though drinkable would be more accurate. Now we know poke weed berry juice has another use. Researchers have found that the red coloring of the berries when painted on fiber-based solar cells creates greater conversion of light into electrical energy.

Fiber-based solar cells are very efficient having the ability to generate twice as much power than “traditional” solar cells. Usually plastic fibers are stamped onto plastic sheets, using the same technology used for attaching tops of soft-drink cans.  After that, an absorber (in this case, dye from the pokeberries) is sprayed on the cells.  The results is a lightweight, adaptable electrical source that can be shipped anywhere in the world at a low cost. Not bad for a toxic plant some would make illegal.

And you thought it was you: Mosquitoes prefer to bite beer drinkers over non-beer drinkers. French researchers used 25 volunteer beer drinkers and 2500 mosquitos (and as a control 18 volunteers drinking water, and 1800 mosquitos.) Before you start feeling sorry for the volunteers know the mosquito activity was not biting but rather taking off and flying up wind towards the volunteers. Now, one might ask, why research such an issue? Apparently in malaria-infested areas 20% of the population account for 80% of the cases of malaria. The researchers were looking for a correlation between increased alcohol consumption and malaria cases. Their conclusion is that getting malaria is not always just a random event.  As alcohol consumption increases, or moves into an area, so to does malaria. Incidentally, body temperature and amount of carbon dioxide exhaled did not influence mosquito behavior.

Someone once said that coincidences is just God’s way of letting you know he exists. If that’s so it has to apply to innocent coincidences, I think, like getting a random seat at a concert in a foreign country and ending up sitting next to the mother of one of your student (that happen to me in Scotland.) Then there are other coincidences such as every time I get a home owner’s meeting notice left at my door (rather than mailed) I get a notice within two weeks from the county that my front yard is “over grown” and in violation of code… a not-so-innocent coincidence. It is the tenor of the times and I think it will happen to more people as we come to realize laws just aren’t “green.”   I repurposed this audio from a decade ago that I did about that for  National Dutch Radio into a recent video here. 

While I would like to broadside home owner associations one has to recognize what they are doing, which is representing property owners who expect and want a certain kind of physical look and use to their property (and that does not include growing vegetables in the front yard.) What is ignored is that I, too, want a certain physical look and use to my property. They want decapitated grass putting greens for lawns. I want nature and food. We have opposing use in mind and right now they inherited the legal clout. Thus three things have to happen.

The grass fanatics, and Lawn Enforcement Officers, have to learn that au natural is good and that lawn is not good for the environment or the economy.  In short we have to get away from the idea that one is allowable in suburbia and one is not. At the same time we have to be aware of everyone’s property rights (at the moment if you want something other than lawn your property rights are being excluded from the legitimate column.)

It is rather odd when one thinks about it. My neighbor dumps herbicides on her lawn, and pesticides and fertilizer. She plants toxic ornamentals and drains off precious water to keep the entire artificial concoction alive. If you ate any part of it it would make you sick or kill you (indeed, such lawns are the source of nearly all children poisonings.)  There are no living creatures about her lawn, no bugs or birds et cetera. Her toxic, sterile front yard is legal.  My front yard is not pesticided, herbicided, fertilized nor draws off water. It is full of life and provides food as well.  It is illegal. As they say, what’s wrong with this picture? The problem is people, in and out of  authority, think grass is good, non-grass is bad. That has to change.

Americans grow only one crop more than lawn grass, and that is corn. We grow more lawn grass than wheat. We spill some 17 million gallons of gas and oil annually taking care of that lawn grass. Homeowners use 10 times more fertilizer and pesticides than they need to, and lawns take up to 60% of the fresh drinking water in urban areas. And while all of that may be illegal, it is irresponsible.

At some point not only does my kind of front yard has to become legally acceptable but my neighbor’s yard should become taxable for the burden it causes. In other words, if she wants to keep an environmentally harmful stretch of chemicalized decapitated grass and child-sickening ornamentals, she should be taxed and that money used to help undo the effects of her pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer, water use and buffet of poisonous plants.  She is harming the environment, presenting a threat to children, and getting a free ride.  The near century-old notion that lawns are better and the suburban standard must give way to new permaculture views.

The law, the home owners associations and the code enforcers should respect the property rights of BOTH groups of homewoners, not just one. That way I can eat the weeds and she can have putting green. But instead of fining me for my environmentally friendly front yard tax her for maintaining a toxic dump. Not only will the environment be better off for it but governments will have a new source of revenue, a lawn tax, by the square foot.

Donations to upgrade: If you’d lie to donate to this website and newsletter you can use this Go Fund Me link, this PayPal donation link or by writing to Green Deane POB 941793 Maitland FL, 32794.  And I am in the process of writing to folks who are interested in exchanging some webmastering for foraging classes. As they used to say when we had television with antennas, stay tuned.

This is weekly newsletter 371. 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.

Article and photographs by Green Deane

Brazilian Pepper is a personal unknown: You might like it but it might not like you. This is because many people are allergic to it on par with poison ivy. Others have used Brazilian Pepper for decades as a spice without incident.

Native to Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, this invasive species was imported to the United States in the 1800’s though when is a debate. Governmental records definitely say it was here just before the the 1900’s but the plant was listed in at least one seed catalogue as early as 1832.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture got packages of seeds in 1898, 1899, and 1901 (one of them from Algeria.) Those seeds, or subsequent seedlings, were forwarded to the Plant Introduction Station in Miami where the species was studied. But it was Dr. George Stone of Punta Gorda, Florida, who championed the species in the 1920s changing the tree from a personal passion to a public menace. An amateur botanist Stone raised and gave away hundreds of plants. They were called “Florida Holly” and planted along the streets in Punta Gorda and elsewhere. In 1937 one company advertised the Brazilian Pepper as “one of our most worthwhile plants for general landscape purposes, as it makes a fine subject for mass planting and succeeds well along the beach, standing quite a lot of salt spray.”  An article in the 1944 edition of the magazine “My Garden in Florida” said of the Brazilian Pepper “it ought to be in every garden in Florida.” Just six years later folks began to noticed it was becoming a serious problem. Brazilian Pepper is so invasive that today it’s in 20 counties of the state limited only by cold weather. Nearly everywhere it’s been imported it’s on the noxious weed hit list. Besides Florida and Texas it’s a serious weed in South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, and on Pacific, Caribbean and Indian Ocean islands. In its native range it is not invasive.

The species itself is in the Anacardiaceae (Cashew) family which also includes poison ivy, poison sumac, poison wood, and mangoes, all known allergens along with cashews and pistachios. Toxicity in that family is usually caused by a resin. People can get contact dermatitis from Brazilian Pepper, welts from it like poison ivy, or rashes as from mangoes. Some people can get sick just being in the same room with the crushed berries. It has sickened researchers working with the fruit. The sap can cause lesions resembling second-degree burns. Brazilian Pepper can cause edema, and eye and facial swelling.  When pollenating — usually September to October — it can be a severe allergen even though the pollen is sticky and heavy. Brazilian Pepper can intoxicate birds, injure livestock and can cause fatal colic in horses… Are you sure you want to try it as a spice?

I’m not allergic to the berries but I don’t care for the flavor. I have met six people, however, who use it; two couples and two individuals. In fact both couples have been using it as a spice for decades and one couple likes it so much they put it on pop corn. I know a man who, again for decades, uses Brazilian Pepper as a spice but only on fish and no other time. He grinds up a few berries in a mortar and pesetle as needed. I know a young man who eats the ripe berries off the tree. He doesn’t eat a huge amount of them at a time but he does eat them and I’ve seen him do it. I also know of a young woman who liked the flavor of the berries so much she used them extensively as a spice for a week — even on ice cream — and then got very sick from them. She couldn’t use them after that. So it’s across the board varying from individual to individual from some who consume it as a spice with no problems to others with a wide variety of sickening symptoms.

Despite its dubious nature Brazilian Pepper has several uses other than a spice. Bee keepers champion the species. Opinions on its honey vary: Some call it “esteemed” other say it is below “table grade.” It’s popular enough however to sell between six to eight million pounds annually. The taste is sweet with a mix of spicy aftertaste flavors. Honey becomes “Brazilian Pepper honey” when about 70% of the blossom visited by the bees are that species. The tree has also been used to make toothpicks, stakes, posts, railway ties and research shows it might make a good pulp wood. A resinous extract is used to protect fishing line and nets. It has been used to tan leather. The species also has many herbal applications. A 2017 study said in Brazilian herbal medicine it was used for: “…its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory qualities in the treatment of wounds and ulcers as well as for urinary and respiratory infections.”  The study reported it might have some use against MRSA. It seems to interrupt the bacteria’s signaling capacity keeping it from releasing toxins thus giving the person’s immune system time to mount a counterattack.

As for the botanical name it is — as is so often the case — Greek mangled through Latin tongue-tied into English. The Latin Schinus comes from the Greek word Σχίνος (SKI-nos) which means “lentisk” which is the Mastic Tree. The genus name was chosen because Brazilian Pepper has similar foliage as the Mastic Tree which also exudes a sap. The English the genus is said SHY-ness or SKY-ness. Take your pick. The latter is closer to the original Greek. Terebinthifolius is also Greek but slightly less distorted: τερέβινθος (ter-REH-been-thos.)  In English terebinthifolius is said terra-been-tha-FOE-lee-us  which means “turpentine leaves.”  The species’ name from the Terebinth Tree, Pistacia terebinthus,  which is the turpentine tree in the Mediterranean area.  With Brazilian Pepper you don’t have to crush them to smell them. Just bring them into a room. And for night time fun if you lignite the dry leaves their oil content is so high they can pop and sparkle. 

Note it is illegal in Florida and Texas to sell, transport or plant Brazilian Pepper in any form. A relative, S. molle, is also found in Florida and Texas. Both are also in Hawaii, southern California and Puerto Rico. Brazilian Pepper seeds are popular with mocking birds, cedar wax wings, migrating robins and the Red Wiskered Bulbul. Raccoons and possums eat the seeds. Planted seeds have a high germination rate and sprout within three weeks.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile

IDENTIFICATION: It is an evergreen tree to 40 feet, low-branching, bushy, and spreading to equal width; the foliage is dense. Glossy leaves are aromatic with a red midrib, they’re about three inches long, compound, five to nine leaflets to a leaf. Flowers are tiny, white, compact, male and female blossoms on separate trees. Fruit is the size of a BB, 3/16 of an inch round, red, juicy, with an aromatic oil and a peppery flavor. The seed is yellow and kidney shaped.  Sometimes it is mistakingly called “pink pepper corns” which is actually the fruit of a different species mentioned earlier, Schinus molle. 

If you want to get technical there are actually four recognized varieties of Brazilian Pepper: var. acutifolius (lance-shaped leaves, tips pointed,) var. pohlianus (stems winged, stems and leaves velvety-hairy) var. raddianus (leaf edges toothed to toothless, tips rounded) and var. rhoifolius oval to obovate leaves, tips rounded.)  They can be difficult to tell apart. 

TIME OF YEAR:  September to October or November is the main flowering season, fruits mature in December. However the tree can flower and fruit anytime of year and the fruit is persistent. 

 ENVIRONMENT: Dry or wet conditions. You’ll find it in waste ground, at waterfront, in right-of-ways, lawns, pastures, groves, dry lakes or even invading stands of larger trees. 

METHOD OF PREPARATION: The ripe berries are dried then ground to a desired state and used as a spice. Some people eat a few ripe berries at a time. 

Winged Sumac. The berries are tart like an apple. Photo by Green Deane

Poison Sumac. Note the red stems. Photo by Green Deane

Our Sumacs are happy. Everywhere you go now they are sporting terminal clusters of garnet-colored berries. It is time to harvest Sumacs for use today or later. There’s a wide variety of Sumacs.  Locally it’s the “Wing Sumac.” In other areas of the country it can be the Staghorn Sumac. Shapes and quality vary but they always have terminal clusters of garnet-colored berries, give or take a hue. The berries have hair on them. And on the hair is malic acid, the acid that makes apples tart. You can rinse off the acid and make a vitamin-C rich “lemonade.” The berries can then be dried, ground, and used as a spice. And in the springs the shoots can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked. If you are worried about Poison Sumac, to the upper right, it grows only in wet spots, has a much different leaf, and when in fruit has white berries positioned farther down the stem, not terminal clusters. Also Poison Sumac leaves have bright red stems.

Besides the aforementioned Sumac what you should also be finding now — depending on where you live — are Persimmons and Saw Palmetto berries, just about the opposite on the flavor scale, sublime to you-gotta-be-kidding-me. Saw Palmetto berries ripen about mid-September but stay around for a month or more. They are stong flavored, try only a little. I had a ripe persimmon a month ago in Orlando but they are more an early October fruit locally. I saw some in Jacksonville this past weekend that were almost ripe. As for other seasonal forageables in Melbourne we found several vines with ripe Creeping Cucumbers.

Lyre-Leaf Sage. Photo by Green Deane

In his book Edible Plants of North America, Francois Couplan writes on page 384: “the leaves of the S. lyrata, Eastern North America, contain an acrid principle and should not be ingested. They have been used to remove warts.” That said I know an herbalist who makes a tea from the leaves and a foraging instructor who cooks the young leaves and eats them. I’ve heard other reports of them being eaten. That can leave a person in a tough spot as to what to do with the plant. To eat or not to eat, that is the question.

Tropical Sage. Photo by Green Deane

Another example is also a sage, Salvia coccinea, also known as Tropical Sage. A small piece of the blossom of this species — a very tiny piece, 1/8 inch square — made me horribly sick for several weeks. It attacked my stomach with viciousness and I was go-to-the-emergency room miserable. Coca-cola syrup and Pepto-Bismol combined were my salvation from doubled-over pain.  I was actually “field testing” this plant for edibility at the time, one reason why I am very opposed to field testing. Yet, I know of two people who have eaten the young leaves with no problem. Perhaps it was a personal allergy on my part. I don’t know. But I do know I will never eat any part of that plant again. Ever. Lesson painfully learned. Yet it might be edible, or maybe some folks really do have cast iron stomachs. I know I don’t. Eating this sage is one of those “you’re on your own” kind of things.

Richardia is generally not edible.

A third plant that falls into the crack between edible and not edible is Richardia scabra, aka Florida Pusley. It is in a genus that has species used to make you throw up. In fact one is called Richardia emetica. That is not encouraging. Some people mistake R. scabra for chickweed, which is a Stellaria, a totally different genus.  The plants vaguely resemble each other if one ignores several details and that fact that real chickweed only grows here in the winter time. R. scabra is a species for which I have never found any ethnobotanical references to regarding edibility. In fact it is one of three common plants that seems to have either not been used by the natives or somehow were not reported. The other two are Amaranthus australis and Hibiscus moscheutos. I know from modern reports that A. australis is edible but as for the H. moscheutos I have no idea though it comes from a very edible genus. Thus R. scabra is not on my site as an edible because I can’t find any historical reference to its use. Yet I know two people who mistook it for chickweed and ate it for quite a while. And I know two people who did not mistake it; they know it is a Richardia and they eat it from time to time. That might be a key element. Without any ethnobotanical reference perhaps a little now and then is okay but a steady diet of it is not. It is one of those unknown things.

Oakleaf Flea Bane, good for pets’ beds.

Sometimes eating little bits of this or that do not rise to the level of making you ill. Other times it can make you quite sick like me and the Tropical Sage above.  I know a person who mistook Oak Leaf Fleabane (Erigeron quercifolius) for for Plantago major and ate some for quite a while without an apparent problem. That tells us that perhaps there is not acute toxicity (read quick) but who knows what harm it might do long term. I have personally seen someone eat a leaf of Oak Leaf Fleabane against my advice. She was still standing at the end of class. So there are definitely edible plants, and there are definitely non-edible plants. But there can be some fog in between. I have also seen an herbalism teacher eat one Mistletoe leaf and white berry. 

Classes are held rain or shine or cold.

Foraging Classes: A bit of travel this weekend. One foraging class in Sarasota and one in Orlando. 

Saturday, October 20th, Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota. 9 a.m. to noon. THIS CLASS IS CANCELLED AND WILL BE RESCHEDULED. 

Sunday, October 21st, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando. 9 a.m. to noon. 

Saturday, October 27th, George LeStrange Preserve, 4911 Ralls Road, Fort Pierce, FL, 34981. 9 a.m. to noon. 

Sunday, October 28th, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet just north of the science center, north section of the park.

Sunday, November 3rd, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive. Port Charlotte, 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the parking lot  of Ganyard Street and Bayshore Road. 

November 4th Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando. 9 a.m. to noon. Don’t forget the clock turned back an hour last night. 

November 10th, Boulware Springs Park, 3420 SE 15th St.,  Gainesville, FL 32641. 9 a.m. to noon. 

To read more about the foraging classes or to sign up go here. 

Perennial Peanut. The blossoms are edible.

I learned of this edible blossom from a chef who told me she ate them. That got my attention. Arachis glabrata, which botanists call by the spiffy name of  Rhizoma Peanut, is also called Rhizomal Perennial Peanut, Perennial Forage Peanut, Golden Glory, and Ornamental Peanut Grass… none of them really catchy. It’s related closely to the peanut we eat, Arachis hypogaea (which by the way has edible stems and leaves, raw or cooked.) My first reference of choice, Cornucopia II, had nothing on the “Perennial Peanut” nor did my trusty standby, the Journal of Economic Botany. On-line, where I am loathe to do research unless absolutely necessary, I turned up little. It is grazing fodder native to Brazil. No mentions in English of humans eating it. But I did find a study in which researchers fed leaf powder to hens to see if it increased the intensity of yoke color. That can go both ways. It would seem reasonable they would not feed something toxic to hens for a product humans eat but they do exactly that with arsenic. That chemical is a disease preventative in chickens. So feeding hens Perennial Peanut leaf powder was no sign it was edible by humans. Finding no good sources I did what I have done many times in the compilation of this site: I wrote to one of the foraging study researchers, Benjamin Anderson, asking if he knew if humans could eat the plant. He wrote back.

“Yes, I know that a lot of people eat the blossoms and they actually taste like peanuts.  I have even heard of them being used in salads.  Just be careful eating anything where there may have been chemicals sprayed, though.”  I would add yellow blossoms eaten in quantities also tend to be a laxative.  

In and almost out of season depending where you are now is Sea-grapes. In south Florida there were still a few left on the trees (and quite a few if you don’t mind battling the ants on the ground.) Like persimmons, which are also in season, grounded Sea-grapes can be sweet, if not slightly fermented. And what a difference 200 miles can make. In the center of the state Sea-grapes make a shrub barely taller than six or seven feet. In south Florida they are tall trees. Also on the seasonal wane are coco-plums. All we found were a few white ones, the other color varieties were fruitless. But we did manage to see some late season (who knows now, maybe early season) Simpson Stopper berries. On the marmalade side they might be an acquired taste. And to top out the seasonal dance some Poor Man’s Peppergrass was sprouting anew. While it technically grows all year here it heavily favors the winter and spring. Again, two months ahead of time. It might be an unusual winter, and spring.

Donations to upgrade EatTheWeeds.com and fund a book have gone well and made it past the half way mark. 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.  There’s always something and such things get more complex and expensive every year. 

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Need to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Maybe you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane — 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. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. Recent topics include: I Finally Found Wapato, Looks like Corn, Weed With Pod At Top, A Mile Walk In The Woods, Chicken of the Woods?, Elderberry Fungus, Spurge Nettle 2018, Does Anybody Know This Berry, and Five-Minute “English” Muffin with Beautyberries.  You can join the forum by clicking on the button in the menu line.

Green Deane DVD set of 135 videos

All of Green Deane’s videos are available for free on You Tube. 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.

This is weekly issue 326. 

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

Wild Chanterelles and wild rice waiting to be cooked. Photo by Green Deane

Edible Black Trumpet Mushroom. Photo by Green Deane

There’s an old phrase: “Sometimes you have to bow to the absurd” meaning you can’t ignore the bizarre even if you’d like to. We should change the phrase slightly to “sometimes you have to bow to the obvious.” Last Sunday during our foraging class in Gainesville we could not ignore the chanterelles. And although the focus of the foraging class is not mushrooms per se it would have been wrong to ignore these tasty fungi. There were enough for everyone wanted some to go home with many. More so, the students also developed a quick eye for finding them. You can be sure chanterelles will be foraged for again. I also had a personal best. I found a Black Trumpet mushroom. I have been with others when they found the edible chanterelle relatives and I have seen them on hiking trails in the Appalachian Mountains. But, this was the first one I found in Florida. Incidentally, during Saturday’s class in Orlando we saw Ringless Honey Mushroom (unusual this time of year) the so-called White Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus persicinus (more on that edible next week) and Ganoderma curtisii, a medicinal Reishi mushroom some try to eat. 

Sumacs are in blossom. Photo by Green Deane

What is that? It’s a common question locally now that sumacs are in bloom. Their creamy terminal blossoms stand out looking somewhat exotic among the dark green foliage. The most common species here is Winged Sumac which is also one of the most widely-distributed sumac in North America. It’s found nearly everywhere though in different locales other species may dominate.  Where I grew up in Maine Staghorn Sumac was the common species and grew quite tall. I see them often when I visit North Carolina. The key to making sure you have an edible sumac and not toxic Poison Sumac or Brazilian Pepper is location of the blossom and subsequent fruit. Edible sumacs have terminal clusters of medium to dark red berries covered with fine hair. In this case “terminal” means they are on the very end of  the branch, like the blossom on the left. Brazilian Pepper has pink berries that are further down the branch. Poison Sumac, which only grows only in wet places, has dull cream to green-cream berries also further down on the stem. To read more about sumacs go here. 

Foraging classes are held rain or shine.

Foraging Classes are about three hours long and cover edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms we find that day. It’s all hands on. Sampling is allowed.

The Saturday class Aug 11 will be rescheduled for September.

Sunday, August 12, Wickham Park, 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne, FL 32935-2335. Meet at the “dog park” inside the park, 9 a.m.

Saturday, August 18th, Wekiva State Park, 1800 Wekiwa Circle, Apopka, Florida 32712. There is a park admission Fee: $6 per vehicle.  $4 for a single occupant vehicle, $2 pedestrians or bicyclists. Meet at the Sand Lake parking lot (after you pay pass the parking lot on your left then turn left at the Y. Go to the end. This is a rustic walk; No water, no official bathrooms, and a hot time of year. The class is three hours or less.) I recommend you arrive early as the park fills with bathers. 

Sunday August 19th, Eagle Park Lake, 1800 Keene Road, Largo, FL33771. 9 a.m. Meet at the pavilion near the dog park.

Monday, August 27th, 1624 Taylor Road, Honea Path, South Carolina. Ever want to meet Green Deane but he never seems to come to your neck of the woods? Then mark Monday, August 27th, on your calendar. Green Deane will have a free foraging class in Honea Path, South Carolina, at the Putney Farm, 1624 Taylor Road. Several folks have signed up. The foraging begins at 10 a.m., rain or shine (except hurricanes.) All of Green Deane’s classes are hands on, walking outside. Wild edible plants, medicinals and perhaps a mushroom or two will be on the agenda (as Green Deane is in the Carolinas that week studying local mushrooms.) Donations to Putney Farm are appreciated as they are hosting the event. For more information you can contact Putney Farm on Facebook or Green Deane at GreenDeane@gmail.com. 

Saturday, September 1st, TBA

Sunday, September 2nd, Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL, 34233. 9 a.m.

Saturday, September 8th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. Meet at the pavilion east of the tennis courts near the YMCA.

To learn more about the classes go here. 

Monarda punctata, Horsemint, Beebalm. Photo by Green Deane

Wild mints are prima donnas. Once on stage they hate to get off.  Locally I would expect to see Horsemint, Monarda punctata, in full bloom in a few weeks but it has pushed the season and can be found now. Horsemint can flower for several months. This Sunday we located some exactly where one would expect to find it: On a dry bank up from a trail. You can also find it in the same area near roads especially roads that cut through a sand hill. Look for the showy pink bracts. If you’re in the Carolinas you’ll be seeing the bright red Monarda didyma. In my native state of Maine it was called Oswego Tea. No doubt there is a showy mint near you. If you want to read about Horsemint you go here.

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Need to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Maybe you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane — 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. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. Topics have included: Tea, Salt and Amla, Small Bush and Flower, Ragweed? Pine Cough Drops and Needles, Odd Vine? Hunting and Trapping Ethics. Knife Accidents. Some Kind of Lespendeza and Survival Garden. You can join the forum by clicking on the button in the menu line.

Green Deane DVD Set

All of Green Deane’s videos available for free on You Tube. 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.  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. They make a good gift for that forager you know. Individual DVDs can also be ordered. You can order them by clicking on the button on the top right of this page or you can go here.

Donations to upgrade EatTheWeeds.com and fund a book have gone well and made it past the half way mark. 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.  The Forum needs work and several function problems need to be fixed specifically the search and categories ( a partial solution is that when you do a search other finds are directly below the main one shown. Scroll down.)  A continuing problem is finding  an indexing program or function for a real book. Writing programs used to do it automatically if you designated a term for indexing. Now that most books are ebooks most writing programs do not provide and indexing function. The hunt continues. 

This is weekly issue 316. There will be no newsletter August 28, 2018. I will be in the Carolinas studying mushrooms. 

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.

Paper Mulberries are related to bread fruit. Photo by Green Deane

On the coast of Maine about seven miles south of Portland is the Town of Scarbrough. There you will find Pine Point and Black Point. They are separated by the Nonesuch River which empties into Casco Bay. These points are less than a thousand feet apart as the seagull flies. Pines predominant on southern Pine Point and the darker-colored spruce on the northern Black Point. Why? Soil? Human intervention? No. A significant ocean current turns at those points making Black Point slightly cooler annually — attractive to spruces — and Pine Point slightly warmer making it more attractive to pines.

The large “mitten” leaves of the Paper Mulberry.

Distance and or elevation can significantly affect plant selection and growth. Here in flat-iron Florida a 76-mile separation decides whether our Paper Mulberries pictured above and right, will have fruit or not. In the northern areas of the state the tree puts on fruit. In the central part of the state it rarely fruits because the winters are too warm. However after our record-cold winter this year they are fruiting. The Paper Mulberry is from a temperate climate and prefers cooler temperatures. This past weekend in Jacksonville — 136 miles to the north — the trees were full of orange pom-pom like fruit. The orange part is edible but not the lump in the middle. Paper Mulberries can also sneakily reproduce vegetatively, something the importers had not planned on. 

Environmental preferences can also be seen in elevation changes such as when hiking the Appalachian Trail. Finding wild edibles on the trail is a function of time of year, elevation and direction of travel. In fact going up 1,000 feet can move one north or south several hundred miles or even a season in regard to flora and fauna. It is not unusual to find blueberries out of season at the bottom of a mountain, in fruit at 3,000 feet and not yet fruiting at 6,000 feet. There is one other advantage to elevation: When hiking the Appalachian Trail in the Carolinas I never saw Poison Ivy above 4,000 feet.  If you want to read more about the Paper Mulberry you can go here. 

It’s a native little mint with a variety of names. Photo by Green Deane

One little plant that is everywhere and no where is St. John’s Mint aka Brown’s Savory and to the Internet aquarium trade “Creeping Charlie.” It is difficult to find a wet spot in the Deep South without finding Micromeria Brownei. So why isn’t this ubitqutious little mint in Professor Austin’s 900-page tome “Florida Ethnobotany?” There’s no good evidence it’s a native to Florida. It might be a Caribbean native being found in Cuba and Jamaica. That said the Florida Native Plant Society includes it on its pages. Native or not it is a mint and if it looks like a mint and smells like a mint it can be used like a mint. The low-growning herb is found most often with your feet first, crushing leaves which sends up a strong mint odor that the nose detects easily. Use it if you use mint, avoid it if you avoid mint. To read about the mighty mint go here. 

Black Gum Fruit is extremely bitter.

Do you know why the Sweet Gum tree is called that? Because while it tastes mighty bad it is not as bad as the other “gum” trees, one of which is not in season yet but is fruiting, the Black Gum. You have to like sour and bitter to like the Black Gum tree.  If you don’t the fruit is offensive and elicits comments that cannot be printed in wholesome publications. This did not stop settlers from adding a lot of sugar to the fruit and making jelly out of it. The seed itself is easy to identify in that under the pulp there are vertical striations covering the seed. We saw a specimen this weekend in Jacksonville. The tree usually looks gangly and has branches that are often on a 90-degree angle to the trunk.  To read more about the Black Gum and its nearly-offensive but edible relatives click here.

Ripening soon will be Podocarpus arils. The Podocarpus is a very common hedge plant which if ignored will grow into a pine-sized tree. The seeds are mildly toxic (and on the end) but the ripe arils are very grape-like and can be used as grapes, eaten off the bush or made into jelly and wine et cetera. The seeds are listed as toxic but I know of an adult who ate two at one time and had no issue. That said, don’t eat the seeds. When the Podocarpus fruits can be something of a guess. Locally I look for them in August. The fruit can last several weeks and are edible even when they begin to dry and look like raisins.  Oddly, in a local park in downtown Winter Park, a few Podocarpus have escaped trimming and have grown into moderate-size trees. I have seen those fruit in December. You can read more about Podocarpus here.

I was teaching a foraging class near a swamp, except the swamp was fairly dry compared to usual years. We came upon a taller than common Saw Palmetto, Seranoa repens. The Saw Palmetto usually grovels, grows low to the ground. I imagine this one was growing up to avoid the water that usually floods the place. Covering the Saw Palmetto were two examples of grapes that grow locally. One climbs with a single tendril and the other has a forked tendril. As usual I waded into the brush to point out the differences, after all the ground was dry. That’s when I noticed another bush in the pile, face to botanical face as it were. I knew what it was immediately which was also immediately too late. The inflorescence growing out of the axil told me all I needed to know even though the leaves were not exactly text book perfect: Poison Sumac. Ironically there was no immediate water available in the swamp to wash with so I pulled up some Dog Fennel and washed my hands with their sap. Good but not totally good enough: I got two minor rashes from it… well… one minor and one not so minor. But at least it’s just a reddening and a little swelling. No blisters. Itched a lot. Benadryl gel worked well.

Edible sumacs have terminal clusters of berries.

Sumac you can use can be easily identified from Poison Sumac. Sumac had garnet-colored berries in terminal clusters, meaning on the end of the branches. You usually find the shrub in moderate to dry spots. Poison Sumac has white berries not in terminal clusters but further down the stem closer to the trunk. Poison Sumac is also found in damp spots if not standing water. The Sumac’s terminal clusters should  not be harvested right after a heavy rain because the rain washes the acid off and the shrub has to make more. You can also harvest the clusters, hang them up in a dark, dry spot and store them for a season. To read more about the Sumac go here.

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

Foraging Classes: These classes almost always happen as schedule. Sometimes a hurricane interrupts those plans or a holiday reduces attendance to zero. Always check back to make sure the class will go on. 

Sunday June 24th, John Chestnut County Park: 2200 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor, FL 34685. Meet at the trail head of the Peggy Park Nature Walk, pavilion #1 parking lot. 9 a.m.

Saturday, June 30th, George LeStrange Preserve, 4911 Ralls Road, Fort Pierce, FL, 34981. 9 a.m.

The mushroom hunt area is crisscrossed with wood roads and bike trails.

Sunday July 1st: A non-Green Deane Event.  The Orlando Mushroom Group will have its July mushroom hunt with Joshua Buchanan, 9 a.m., at the Markham Trail Head, 8515 Markham Rd, Lake Mary, FL 32746. Fee: $10 per adult. Rain or shine (except hurricanes.) Dress for walking, mosquitoes and ticks. This upland wooded area of oaks and pines reliably produces Chanterelles, various Boletes, Lactifluus, Puff Balls, Russulas and non-edible mushrooms such as Amanitas and Hydenellums.  For more information go to the Facebook page Orlando Mushroom Group. 

Saturday, July 7th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. Meet at the pavilion east of the tennis courts near the YMCA.

Sunday, July 8th, Jervey Gantt Recreation Complex, 2390 SE 36th Ave., Ocala, FL, 34471.  9 a.m. Meet at the entrance to the pool, aka Aquatic Fun Center.

Saturday July 14th, Seminole Wekiva Trail, Sanlando Park, 401 West Highland St. Altamonte Springs, Florida 32714. 9 a.m. Meet at the first parking lot on your right after entering. 

Sunday July 15th, Eagle Park Lake, 1800 Keene Road, Largo, FL 33771. 9 a.m. Meet at the pavilion near the dog park.

Saturday, July 21st, Bayshore Live Oak  Park, Port Charlotte, Fl. 9 a.m. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bayshore Road and Ganyard Street.

Sunday July 22nd, Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, 2045 Mud Lake Road, DeLeon Springs, FL. 9 a.m. Meet at the parking lot on right after crossing the railroad tracks. It will be a long, and hot class. Bring water. Bathrooms are port-O-lets. 

For more information about classes go here. 

Green Deane DVD set of 135 videos

All of Green Deane’s videos available for free on You Tube. 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.  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. They make a good gift for that forager you know. Individual DVDs can also be ordered. You can order them by clicking on the button on the top right of this page or you can go here.

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Do you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object you want identified? On the Green Deane Forum we chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations around the world share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about. 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. One special section is “From the Frightening Mail Bag” where we learn from people’s mistakes. You can join the forum by clicking on the button in the menu line.

Blue Porterweed, native and imported.

Do you like mushrooms but want to avoid some of dangers that come with fungi foraging? Then there is a subtle solution: Blue Porterweed. Found in flower gardens around the world and native to Florida the Blue Porterweed earned its name as a source for tea that tasted like porter beer. Someone had the fermenting idea to add yeast and sugar to a lot of tea and get a brew that tastes similar to porter beer, hence the name. The flower garden variety usually grows up and the local native grows horizontally. The blue flowers, raw, have a subtle flavor of mushrooms. You can read more about the Blue Porterweed here. Oh, and how did porter beer get its name? The same way porter steak did. Porters — baggage handles in old central London — worked all hours and needed quick food. Shops set up to meet that need and out of them came several dishes and named items.

This is weekly issue 309.

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.  

• 475
• His name was Will Endres and he was a North Carolina herbalist…Poison ivy, foraging classes, horse mint, ground cherries, foraging USBs, the Green Deane Forum, Southern Wax Myrtle, https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-475-september-21-2021/474

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-474-september-14-2021/

  Chance happens in foraging. 

  Coralwood, Kudzu, Foraging Classes, Favolus Mushrooms, learning edibles,  foraging USB, the Green Deane forum, aroma and cyanide

  473

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-473-september-7th-2021/

  It would be convenient if Pindo Palms fruited regularly. 

  Pindo palms seeds, Canna, Foraging classes, Ghost Pipes, Labor Day, Tallow Plums

  472

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-472-august-31-2021/

  Are there any Shiitake mushrooms locally? 

  Train Wrecker, Chicken of the Woods, Foraging Classes, Dogwood, Hackberries, Kudzu, foraging DVDs and the Green Deane Forum 

  471

  A white Water Hyacinth was seen recently in the Little Econ River east of Orlando. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-471-august-24th-2021/

  Water hyacinth, Foraging Classes, Wild grapes, Tumble Weed, Goldenrod, Swamp Mallow, Foraging USBs, the Green Deane forum, Donations  

  470

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-470-august-17th-2021/

  One way northern and southern climates differ is the greater array of non-native species that are constantly being imported and or found in southern climates.

  Torell’s Eucalyptus, Chaya, Guavas, Java Plum, Ground Cherries, Coco-plums, Natal Plum, Dragon Fruit, Podocarpus, Persimmons, Foraging USBs, Green Deane Forum, Donations, the Two-Leaf Nightshade 

  469

  Plants remind one that weather is less dependable than we might think. 

  Jambul, Chanterelles, Cactus Fruit, Sugarberry, Doveweed, Foraging Classes, Isabelline, Foraging USBs, the Green Deane Forum, and Donations

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-469-august-10-2021/

  468

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-468-august-3-2021/

  Yes, there are land crabs in Florida and the rest of the gulf coast.

  Land crabs, Foraging classes, Grapes, Podocarpus, Horsemint, Saw Palmetto, Goldenrod, Russian thistle, USBs, Green Deane Forum, donations. 

  467

  Candyroot, Foraging Classes, Wild Grapes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Donations, Saw Palmetto, Barnyard Grass, Brookweed 

  Is it the season or is it the rain?

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-467-july-27th-2021/

  466

  This summer’s foraging classes at Putney Farm in Honea Path South Carolina are now history

  Foraging in South Carolina, American Beech, Sourwood, Birches, Moringa, foraging Classes, Sumac, Country Wine, Saw Palmetto, foraging USB, Green Deane Forum, and Donations

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-466-july-20th-2021/ 

  465

  Newsletter #465, July 13th, 2021

  Kousa Dogwood, Sassafras, Wild Carrots, Birches Apples

  Apples, Mushrooms, Podocarpus, Foraging Classes, Knotweed, Cactus, Peppervine, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, donations, 

  464 

  In real estate it is location, location, location. 

  Blue Indigos, Milk Caps, Jelly Fungus, Strawberry Guava, Foraging Classes, Pandamus Grass, Smilax, Foraging DVDs, Green Deane Forum and Donations

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-464-july-6th-2021/

  463

  Podocarpus are not fickle but they are slightly unpredictable. 

  Podocarpus, Java Plum, Stillwater Canoe, Mushrooms, Foraging classes, Atamasco Lily, foraging USBs, the Green Deane Forum, and donations  

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-463-june-29th-2021/

  462

  If you think you are not allergic to poison Ivy …

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-462-june-22-2021/

  Poison Ivy, Socks and Pythons, Black Cherries, Pokeweed, Yuck, Foraging Classes, Cashews, USBs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations.  

  461

  Sycamores, bacteria, Foraging Classes, Beautyberries, USBs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations, Sweet Acacia

  Sugar maples are famous for their syrup but how many species of trees can you actually tap?

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-461-june-15th-2021/

  460

  What can be said about the Jambul Tree?

  Jambul, Foraging Classes, Maypops, Pindo Palms, Chaya, Foraging USBs, Green Deane Forum, Donations, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-460-june-8th-2021/

  459

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-459-june-1st-2021/

  For more than 60 years I have associated Lilacs with June.

  Lilacs, American Lotus, Foraging Classes, Chinese Tallow Tree, Eastern Hemlock, foraging USBs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations, toxic Atamaso Lilies. 

  This week’s debatable question is “can you eat elderberries raw?”

  Elderberries, Two-leaf Nightshade, Foraging Classes, Morning Glories, foraging USBs, the Green Deane forum, donations, Jack in the Pulpit 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-458-may-25th-2021/

  457

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-457-may-18th-2021/

  Acres of wild blackberries….

  Blackberries, foraging is illegal, Sea Blite, Foraging classes, Sea Purslane, foraging videos on USBs, the Green Deane Forum, 

  456

  The Bunya Bunya and Norfolk Pine are closely related.

  Bunya Bunya, Norfolk Pine, Allergic reactions, foraging classes, Chickasaw Plums, Blue Mushrooms, cattails, foraging videos on USBs, and the Green Deane Forum, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-456-may-4th-2021/

  455

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-455-april-27th-2021/

  Is it edible? 

  Evening Primrose, False dandelions, Yucca, Foraging classes, foraging videos on USBs, the Ghreen Deane Forum, 

  454 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-454-april-20-2021/

  Pineapple Guava, Hercule’s Club, Usnea, Miner’s Lettuce, Foraging Classes, Paper Mulberry, Where do you forage, Foraging Videos, the Green Deane Forum, Brookweed, 

  Perhaps no ornamental has been championed as much as the Pineapple Guava

  453

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-453-april-13-2021/

  It’s about time to make a prediction.

  Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Eastern Coral Bean, Foraging Classes, Watercress, Marlberries, Foraging Videos, Green Deane Forum, Donations, 

  452

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-452-april-6th-2021/

  On the east coast of my native state of Maine about seven miles south of Portland is the Town of Scarbrough.

  Paper Mulberries, Foraging Classes, Deer Mushrooms, Hercules Club, USB Videos, Green Deane Forum, Donations.

  451 

  Which tree has more life, the Mulberry or the Moringa? 

  Mulberry, Atamasco lily, Foraging Classes, Blueberries, Huckleberries, Watercress, Foraging USBs,  the Green Deane Forum, Smilax, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-451-march-30th-2021/

  450

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-450-march-23-2021/

  wisteria, Cherokee Rose, Deer Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Hydrilla, Garlic, video USBs, Green Deane Forum, Donations

  The weather may be chilly still it’s a hot time of year for foraging. 

  449 

  It’s not June that’s busting out all over but rather Vacciniums, mostly blueberries.

  Vacciniums, groundnuts, evening primroses, foraging classes, video USBs, Pawpaws, Florida Pennyroyal,

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-449-march-16-2021/

  448

  The Greeks were perhaps the first people to call things what they were such as “yoke mate” for spouse or “shiny leather” for the Reishi mushroom.

  Bottlebrush tree, Candyroot, Loquats, Mulberries, Foraging classes. USB, the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-448-march-09-2021/

  447

  Fireweed, Latex Strangler Vine, Foraging Classes, Clover, Bacopa, Violets, USBs, Cashews 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-447-02-march-2021/

  Fireweed/burnweed has a flavor chefs love. 

  446

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-446-feb-23-2021/

  Loquats, Loquat wine, Wild Garlic, Foraging Classes, Chickweed, Lamb’s Quarters,  Toxic Butterweed, Bulrush, USBs, and the Green Deane Forum, 

  While driving around have you seen a tree with large, dark green leaves and yellow fruit?

  445

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-445-feb-16-2021/

  Can you eat red mangroves?

  Mangroves, foraging classes, plantagos, Passion Flowers, Black Medic, USBs&DVDs, Alligator pendent, and the Green Deane Forum  

  444

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-444-february-9th-2021/

  Young and tender describes them best: Elm leaves we nibbled during our foraging class in Gainesville Saturday.

  Elms, Eastern Red Bud, Foraging Classes, Ragweed, Cattails, Coquina, Mole Crabs, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, nickerbeans, alligator tooth. 

  443

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-443-february-2-2021/

  If you look across local lakes now you will see ruby red splotches on the horizon. 

  Maples, Drymaria, Foraging Classes, Seaweed, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Jabuticaba, 

  442

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-442-january-26-2021/

  Violets, False Hawk’s Beard, Foraging Classes, Stink Horns, Weed Seeds, USB & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  A common blossom that’s easy to identify is the wild violet. 

  441

  Our mighty stinging nettles are up.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-441-january-19-2021/

  Stinging nettles, Sow Thistle, Foraging Classes, Chickweed, Wild Geraniums, Silverthorn, USBs & DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum 

  440

  The Western Tansy Mustard is one of our shortest-lived wintertime forageables. 

  Western Tansy Mustard, Eastern Gamagrass, Begonias, Foraging Classes, Spiderworts, USBs&DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-440-january-12th-2021/

  439

  Our tasty winter green chickweed is in its glory. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-439-january-05-2021/

  Chickweed, Sheep Sorrel, Oxalis, Latex Strangler Vine, Pellitory, Black Medic, Geranium, Horsemint, Henbit, Shepherd’s Purse, Plantain, Wild Mustard Radish, Canna, Cattails, Foraging Classes, Botany Builder #12, USB & DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum

  438

  What difference can 172.4 miles make?

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-438-december-29th-2020/

  Goji berry, Sea Rocket, Black Medic, Harlequin Glorybower, Foraging Classes, Nagi Tree, Glasswort, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

   

  437

  At what point does a “wild” plant become an edible plant?

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-437-december-22-2020/

  Florida Thatch Palm, Sleepy Hibiscus, Cereus, Bauhinia, Foraging Classes, Cockroach Berry, Silverthorn, USBs and DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  436 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-436-december-15th-2020/

  Usually we see Christmas Berries about April. 

  Christmas Berries. Foraging Classes, Sow Thistle, Mustards & Radishes, Black Calabash, USBs & DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum  

  435

  Our first sighting of one of our winter comestibles happened Saturday

  Chickweed, Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Henbit, Wild Geraniums, Peltate, Is this Plant Edible? foraging USB & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum,  

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-435-december-08-2020/

  434 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-434-december-01-2020/

  Winter Podocarpus, Acerola, Foraging Classes, Chufa, Redflower Ragweed, Weeds of Southern Turf Grasses, foraging USBs &DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.

  Actually there’s nothing wrong with the photo per se, it’s the time of year that’s different.

  433

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-433-november-24-2020/

  Every April of so we go looking for Wild Garlic…

  Wild Garlic, Big Caltrop, Foraging Classes, Ghost Pipes, Balm of Gilead, USBs & DVDs, Green Deane Forum 

  432 

  We are shifting mushrooms seasons from terrestrial to trees or ground to wood.

  Lion’s Mane, Gooseberries, Foraging classes, Sea Purslane, Foraging in urban areas, USB and DVDs, the Green Deane forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-432-november-17th-2020/

  431

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-431-november-10-2020/

  While looking for the yellow-blossomed Dandelions…

  Dandelions, Mustard and radishes, Plantains, Foraging Classes, Brazilian Pepper,Skunk Vine, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  430

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-430-november-3-2020/

  During our foraging class in West Palm Beach Sunday we saw inch-high sprouts of the winter edible Pellitory.

  Pellitory, Poor Man’s Peppergrass, Foraging classes, Seaweed, Jelly Fish, Southern Wax Myrtle, Stinkhorns, Jack Ol Lanterns, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  429

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-429-october-27-2020/

  During our foraging class Sunday in Gainesville we dug up a couple of Winged Yams. 

  Winged Yams. Tropical Almond, Foraging Classes, Roses, Bay Leaves, Citron Melon, the Honeycomb Mushroom, USBs and DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.

  428

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-428-october-20-2020/

  Country Wine, Foraging Classes, Chinese Tallow Tree, Caesarweed, Cambium, USBs and DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, and Ceibas

  Three reasons prompted me to resurrect my wine-making past. 

  427

  Mother Nature has her own schedule.

  Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Golden Rain Tree, Foraging Classes, Dragon Fruit, Partridgeberry, DVDs & USB, the Green Deane Forum

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-427-october-13-2020/

  426

  Fall is a good time to write about Yellow Pond Lilys.

  Yellow Pond Lilys, Persimmons, Monstera deliciosa, Turkey Tails, Foraging Classes, Sida, sumacs, two sages and a pusley, USBs and DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-426-october-6-2020/ 

  425

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-425-september-29th-2020/

  The question isn’t whether Reishi mushrooms grow in North America. 

  Reishi mushrooms, Wax Myrtle Berries, Foraging Classes, American Beautyberries, Sea and Wood Oats, Ground Cherries, Anoles, Chestnut Bolete, DVDs and USB, the Green Deane Forum. 

  424

  Horsemint is in season and easy to find. 

  Horsemint, Crowfoot Grass, Foraging Classes, Apples, the aroma of wild food, plant pronunciations, foraging DVDs and USB, the Green Deane Forum,  

  423

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-423-september-15th-2020/

  No one told the Ringless Honey Mushrooms it isn’t November.

  Ringless Honey Mushrooms, the Syzygiums, Foraging Classes, Heartwing Sorrel, Bacopa, Groundnuts, USB and DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum 

  422

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-422-september-8th-2020/

  Pindo and Queen Palms, Canna, Indian Pipes, Foraging Classes, Scrumping, USBs and DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  421

  In the backwoods of Maine where I grew up Dogwoods were small.

  Perennial Peanut, Kousa Dogwood, Sugarberry/Hackberry, Foraging Classes, Ground Cherries, foraging DVDsUSBs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-421-september-01-2020/

  420

  Gracie gets the prize. 

  Black Trumpets, Persimmons, foraging classes, Kudzu, Wild Apples, the toxic False Parasol, foraging USBs and DVDs, and the Green Deane forum. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-420-august-25th-2020/

  419

  Last Sunday’s foraging class — Haulover Canal — was a hot one with a lot of walking.

  Tallow Plums, Foraging Classes, Goldenrod, Saw Palmettos, White Spiderling, Sumac, foraging DVDS & USBs, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-419-august-18th-2020/

  418

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-418-august-11-2020/

  There is probably some Syzygium in your kitchen.

  Bunya Bunyas, Syzygiums, Chanterelles,  Cactus Tuna, Sugarberry, Doveweed, Isabelline, foraging DVDs and USB, the Green Deane Forum…

  417

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-417-august-04-2020/

  Wild mints can be prima donnas.

  Horsemint, Russian Thistle, Foraging Classes, Goldenrod, Swamp Mallow, foraging videos, Green Deane Forum, Pindo Palms 

  416

  With apologies this newsletter is starting with the foraging class schedule.

  Wild Grapes, foraging class schedule, Pepper Vine, Podocarpus, Country Wine Update, Sumacs, Saw Palmettos, Foraging Videos, Green Deane Forum, Black Gum

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-416-july-29th-2020/

  415

  July is passing and that means many different things to foragers depending upon your location on the rotation.

  Forked-tendril grapes, pindo palms, cactus, foraging classes, the false roselle, barnyard grass, strawberry guava, foraging DVDs & USB, the green Deane Forum, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-415-july-21-2020/

  414

  It’s called Pandanus and Screw Pine and a lot of other names as well.

  Pandanus Grass, Smilax walteri, Foraging Classes, Knotweed, Pineapple Weed, Tamarind, Toe Biters, foraging videos on USB, and the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-414-july-14th-2020/

  413

  Is it time to rethink Magnolias? 

  Magnolias, Foraging Classes, Podocarpus, Florida Wine, Bread and Beer, Foraging Videos on USB, Green Deane Forum, Strawberry Guavas

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-413-july-7-2020/

  412

  First an apology to those who showed up for a class last Sunday at Haul Over Canal to find, like me, the road closed.

  Chamberbitters, foraging classes, Grapes, Magnolias, videos on USB, Green Deane Forum, and Bacopa 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-412-june-30th-2020/

  411

  What can be said about the Jambul Tree? 

  Jambul Tree, Foraging Classes, Morning Glories, Boletes, Poke Sallet, Tindora, Foraging Videos on USBs, and the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-411-june-23-2020/

  410

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-410-june-16th-2020/

  Sugar maples are famous for their syrup but how many species of trees can you actually tap?

  Tapping trees, grapes, foraging classes, American Beautyberries, Creeping Fig, Richardia, videos on USBs and the Green Deane Forum 

  409

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-409-june-9-2020/

  There’s an old song “what a difference a day makes.”

  Mushroom class, foraging classes, Natal Plum, Surinam Cherries, Foraging videos on USBs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  408

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-408-june-2-2020/

  Yellow ponds, that’s how I think of it, or in some places, yellow rivers.

  American Lotus, Jack in the Pulpit, Black Cherries, a toxic lily, Chinese Tallow Tree, Foraging Classes, Maypops, Videos on USBs, and the Green Deane Forum.

  407

  In the realm of plant populations there is endangered, threatened then rare. 

  Candyroot, American Lotus, Foraging Classes, Eggs, USBs and the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-407-may-26-2020/

  406

  This was a “Prunus” foraging week. 

  Chickasaw Plums, Indigo Milk Cap, Black Medic, Foraging Classes, Cattails, Foraging Videos, Podocarpus, Wine Making, Blue Porter Weed, Green Deane Forum, Wild Pineapple. 

   https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-406-may-19-2020/

  405

  We are in between mushroom seasons, so to speak.

  Boletes, Society Garlic, Gopher Apples, Foraging Classes, Foraging DVDs/USBs, Botany Builder #28, Maypops, Toxic Cherry Laurel, Cochineal Dye, and the Green Deane Forum. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-12-may-2020/

  404

  This week’s debatable question is “can you eat elderberries raw?”

  Elderberries, Grapes, Common Plant Names, Redflower Ragweed, Fakahatchee Grass, Ground Nuts, Foraging Classes, Foraging videos, Wild Coffee and Coralberry, the Green Deane Forum. 

   

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-05-may-2020/

  403

  Now is a good time to go looking for blackberries. 

  Blackberries, Pineapple Guava, the Bacopas, Foraging Classes, Foraging Videos now on USB drives, Eastern Coral Bean, Coquina, Green Deane Forum, and Cotton 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-28-april-2020/

  401-402 

  At one time there were just Opuntias.

  Cactus, Gopher Apples,  Deerberries, Foraging Classes, Mushrooms, Foraging DVDs, Persimmons, Avocados, Paper Mulberry, Pawpaw, Smartweed, Green Deane Forum and YUCK!, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-april-14-21-2020/

  400

  Watercress grew in a ditch behind an apartment complex I lived in near Sanford, Florida…

  Watercress, Wild Garlic, Marlberries, Chokeberries, American Nightshade, Chamberbitter, Green Deane Forum, Donations, DVDs 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-7-april-2020/

  399

  Blossoming this time of year is the Eastern Coral Bean, sometimes called the Cherokee Bean.

  Eastern Coral Bean, Sea Blite, Foraging Classes, Pineapple Guava, Foraging DVDs, Variegated Mahoe, Australian Pine, Bananas, Green Deane Forum, Donations, Making Wine 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-31-march-2020/

  398

  If you have an established ivy gourd…

  Ivy Gourd, Swinecress, Foraging Classes, Cashews, Henbit, Purslane, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Donations, Basswood, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-march-2020/

  397

  A common blossom that’s easy to identify is the wild violet.

  Violets, Seablite, Loquats, foraging classes, Redflower Ragweed,  Latex Strangler Vine, Green Deane Forum, Donations, DVDs, Ivy Gourd 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-17-march-2020/

  396

  Fireweed/Burnweed has a flavor chefs love.

  Fireweed/Burnweed, Clover, Foraging Classes, Waning Weeds, Fungi, Creeping Cucumber, Bacopa, Pennyroyal, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Donations 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-10-march-2020/

  395

  A few newsletters ago it was mentioned the Mulberries were in blossom.

  Mulberries, foraging classes, Pawpaws, Time Change, Dandelions and False Dandelions, Winter Plants and Wintergreen, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Donating, and foraging photo #19 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-3-march-2020/ 

  394

  Species in the Rumex genus can be difficult.

  Rumex, Foraging Classes, Citron Melons, Loquat, Clover, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDS, Donations, 

   https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-25-february-2020/

  393

  What are those white blossoms?

  Plums, Hawthorns, Pawpaw, Foraging Classes, Blewit, Wild Garlic,  Plantagos, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Donations, Botany Builder #38.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-18-february-2020/

  392

  It’s time for my annual warning about Butterweed

  Butterweed, Bulrush, Foraging Classes, Wild Pineapple, Red Powder Puff, DVDs, Creeping Indigo warning, Green Deane forum, donations, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-11-february-2020/

  391

  Most trees in the Pea Family are toxic but not all of them.

  Eastern redbud, Cattails, Pines, Foraging Classes, Coquina and Mole Crabs, Acorns, Plantagos, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-04-february-2020/

  390

  While driving through the middle of the peninsula this week I noticed Lambsquarters in their most common seasonal place: Citrus groves.

  Lambsquarters, Foraging Classes, Passifloras, Doveweed, Axils, Jelly Fish, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-28-january-2020/

  389

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-21-january-2020/

  Cladonia is a large genus of edible but not tasty lichen.

  Lichen, foraging classes, Botany Builder 28, Wild Lettuce, Removing Invasive Species, Botanical Names, Black Medic, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations

  388

  It’s rather obvious that wintertime foraging varies where you live.

  Winter Foraging, Chickweed and edible friends, Foraging classes, Sublimed sulfur, A cheap foraging book, Details and Solanum Americanum, Oyster Mushrooms, DVDs, Donations and the Green Deane Forum. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-14-january-2020/

  387

  Eastern Gamagrass, aka Fakahatchee Grass, is an edible you don’t see and then you do.

  Eastern Gamagrass, Ivy Gourd, Foraging Classes, Teas, Botany Builder #10, Carpetweed, Donations, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-7-january-2020/

  386

  There’s no reason to buy mustard greens now.

  Wild mustard and radish, Butter and Ruby Boletes, Foraging Classes, Edible Blossoms, Surinam Cherries, toxic Creeping Indigo. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-31-december-2019/

  385

  It’s a good time to mention the toxic Butterweed and Rattlebox.

  Butterweed, Foraging Classes, Roses, Hawthorns, Euell Gibbons and Nutrition, Rattlebox 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-december-2019/

  384

  Plants give you something to look forward to especially if you know where and when to look.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-17-december-2019/

  Wild Garlic, Chickweed, Goosegrass, Sow Thistle, Stinging Nettles, Dandelions, Sycamore, Foraging Classes, Tar Vine, Desert Horse Purslane, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, Urban Crawl

  383

  Mother Nature can be fickle and it’s almost always tied to weather.

  Grapes, Swinecress, Silverthorn, Foraging Classes, False Hawk’s Beard, Jelly Ears, Botany Builder #31,  Cactus, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-10-december-2019/

  382

  Pyracanthas are furious in the fall.

  Pyrachanthas Chinese and Siberian Elms, Silverthorn, Foraging Classes, Drymaria, Botany Builder #30, Magnolia Blossoms, Ginkgo, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, Pollination in a word, and Remembering Nefertiti

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-3-december-2019/

  381

  This time of year two wintertime foragables come up, one quite esteemed the other barely edible.

  Henbit, Wild  Geraniums, Foraging Classes, Chickweed, Horse Nettle & Tropical Soda Apple,  Bananas

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-26-november-2019/

  380

  wild Mustards and radishes, Toxic Water Hemlock, Smartweed, Foraging Classes, Golden Rain Tree, Skunk Vine, Scat Contamination, Lady Bugs, and Lion’s Mane 

  Many foraging books are what I call “Ohio-centric.”

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-19-november-2019/

  379

  Dandelions, Seaweed, Foraging classes, Jellyfish, Wax Myrtle Berries, the Stinkhorn and Jack O’Lanterns, Mustards and Radishes, the Green Deane Forum, Donations, and foraging DVDs  

  Dandelion blossoms, ten pounds of sugar, and two cakes of bread yeast became my first batch of wine.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-05-november-2019/

  378

  Edible Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Tie Change, Blue and Red Sages and Oakleaf Flea Bane, Chinese Elm, Christmasberries, Wild Mustards, donations, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  Unusual rains last week coaxed more life out of several edible mushroom species that were seasonally put to bed a month ago.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-29-october-2019/

  377

  Cucumber Tree, Paul Dreher, Sida, Turkey Tails, Foraging Classes, Palmate Leaves, Richardia, Perennial Peanut, Caesarweed, Botanical Names, Donations, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  Foraging is treasure hunting for adults

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-22-october-2019/

  376

  As is often the case one can walk past edible species many times and not notice them.

  Cinnamon, Dragon Fruit, Foraging Classes, Sumac, Persimmons, Yellow Pond Lily, Donations, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-15-october-2019/

  375

  The fruiting of species can be a mystery. 

  Cocoplums, Simpson Stopper, Coconut borer, Southern Wax Myrtle, Foraging Classes, Ringless Honey Mushrooms, White American Beautyberries, Wood Oats, Donations, foraging DVDs,  the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-08-october-2019/

  skipped a week, wordpress down

  374

  Panicum is a very common group of edible native and non-native grasses in Florida and North America.

  Panic Grass, Aromas, Plant Pronunciations, Foraging Classes, Purslane, Pindo Palm Wine, Donations, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-september-2019/(opens in a new tab)

  373

  It’s the time of year to talk about Saw Palmetto berries.

  Saw Palmettos, Tallow Plum, Foraging Classes, Wild Apples, Elevation, Donations, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum

  Newsletter 17 September 2019

  372

  Seagrapes are coming into season.

  Seagrapes, Doveweed, Foraging near roads. Foraging Classes this week, Black & Sweet Gums, Isabelline and Mushrooms of the Gulf South. 

  Newsletter 10 September 2019

  371

  Newsletter 03 September 2019

  Labor Day used to mean more than hurricanes threatening the east coast from Florida to Maine.

  Labor Day, Creeping Fig, Foraging Classes in spite of Hurricane Dorian, Liatris, Poke Weed, Yellow Pond Lilly,  Poke Weed, Mosquitos & Beer, Lawns Aren’t Green, donations, 

  370

  It’s the time of year when Horsemint is easy to find. 

  Horsemint, Cocoplums, Natal Plumbs; Mushroom, Chitin, Arsenic and Insects; Stevia and Ragweed, Foraging Classes, Railroad Tracks, Goldenrod, Go Fund Me

  Newsletter 27 August 2019

  369

  I never receive mail about Lion’s Ear.

  Newsletter 20 August 2019

  Lion’s Ear, Brazilian Nightshade, Foraging Classes, Sida, Gopher Apples and Tallow Plums, White Chicken of the Woods, Go Fund Me, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  368

  The Water Hyacinth is blooming and no doubt many people are irritated by that.

  Newsletter 13 August 2019

  Water Hyacinth, Milk Cap Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Kudzu, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, and I need a webmaster. 

  367

  Bunya Bunya get no respect 

  Bunya Bunya, Red Spiderling, Goldenrod, Sugarberry, Foraging Classes, Horsemint, Sweet Gum/Black Gum, The False Parasol: A mushroom to avoid, Green Deane Forum, Russian Thistle and railroad tracks, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund me, and I need a webmaster.

  Newsletter 6 August 2019

  366

  What’s in season to forage? Many species now perhaps because of unusual weather pattens this year.

  What plants can you forage for now, what mushrooms can you forage now, foraging classes, Blue Porter Weed, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me 

  365

  It’s common yet uncommon, that is, not rare but you don’t notice it too often. 

  Hawthorns, American Lotus, Upcoming foraging class schedule, Chanterelles, Burgoo and Loblollies, Donations, the Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs 

  Newsletter 23 July 2019

  364

  One more abbreviated newsletter with schedule because I have been teaching out-of-state. 

  Newsletter 16 July 2019

  Newsletter 23 July 2019

  363

  Newsletter 9 July 2019

  This and next week’s newsletters (July 9 & 16, 2019) are abbreviated because…

  362

  One would think that with a name like “Barnyard Grass” one would find the species in barnyards. 

  Barnyard Grass, Strawberry Guava, Seaside Gentian, Spanish Needles, Toxic polypore, Foraging Classes, Teaching in South Carolina, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs 

  Newsletter 2 July 2019

  361

  Yes it is edible but….

  The other White Chicken-of-the-Woods, Two-Leaf Solanum, Norfolk Pines and the Bunya Bunya, Foraging Classes Florida,  Foraging Classes South Carolina. Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, and foraging DVDs 

  Newsletter 25 June 2019

  360

  Ground cherries locally tend to have two seasons, spring and fall. 

  Ground Cherries, South Carolina Foraging Classes, new food crops, Florida Foraging Classes, the Winged Yam, Passion Flower, the toxic Cherry Laurel, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs

  Newsletter 18 June 2019

  359

  Yellow ponds, that’s how I think of it, or in some places, yellow rivers.

  American Lotus, South Carolina Foraging Classes, Local Foraging Classes, the toxic Atamasco Lily, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Juniper Berries, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, the Chinese Tallow tree 

  Newsletter 11 June 2019

  358

  From a foraging point of view it was a very berry weekend starting with Coastal Ground Cherries, Physalis angustifolia in Port Charlotte.

  Ground Cherries, Cassine, Marco Island, Classes in South Carolina, Foraging Classes Florida, How Safe Is Foraging, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, DVDs  

  Newsletter 4 June 2019

  357

  The first time I ever saw red poppies growing was in Athens on my first visit to Greece

  Corn Poppies, Impatiens, Smartweed, Mushroom Update, Foraging Classes, Botany Builder #28 Echinate, Blue Porterweed, Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, DVDs, and Wild Pineapple 

  Newsletter 28 May 2019

  356

  If you were starving and came upon a patch of cattails you would have great cause for celebration.

  Cattails, Kudzu, Acorns, Lantana, Foraging Classes, Gopher Apples, Go Fund Me, and foraging DVDs 

  Newsletter 21 May 2019

  355

  The American Nightshade is a much-maligned plant

  American Nightshade, Ground Cherry, Blueberries et cetera, Carolina Bristle Mallow, Foraging Classes, Juniper Berries, Donations, the Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs

  Newsletter 14 May 2019

  354

  There’s an odd kind of mulberry here in Florida. 

  Basswood (The Linden/Lime Tree) Chestnut Bolete, Foraging Classes, Kudzu, Wild Pineapple, Winged Yam, Foraging DVDs, Ivy Gourd, Donations, Gamagrass/Fakahatchee Grass, the Green Deane Forum 

  Newsletter 7 May 2019

  353

  There’s still time to look for Sea Blite, a seasonal salt-tolerant species that’s here this month, gone next month

  Sea Blite, Sugarberry, Foraging Classes, the Mahoe, Partridgeberry, Marlberries Revisited, DVDs, Donations and the Green Deane Forum. 

  Newsletter 30 April 2019

  352

  By April Stinging Nettles are usually gone for the season.

  Newsletter 23 April 2019

  Stinging nettles, Green Mushrooms,  Suriname Cherries, Wild Garlic, Foraging Classes, Miner’s Lettuce, Confederate Jasmine, Florida Pennyroyal, Redvein Abutilon, DVDs, Go Fund Me, and the Green Deane Forum 

  351

  If you are in the habit of eating wild mushrooms

  Newsletter 16 April 2019

  Five Edible Wild Mushrooms, Pineapple Guava, Eastern Coral Bean, Forestiera segregata the Florida Privet, Weekly Foraging Classes, Wild Edibles and locations they like, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, and Go Fund Me 

  350

  Watercress/Wintercress grew in a ditch behind an apartment complex I lived in…

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-09-april-2019/

  Watercress, Wild Garlic, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Marlberries, Chokeberry, Making You Own Vinegar, Usnea, DVDS, Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, A Leafing Hickory 

  349

  Tallow Plums are something of a botanical mystery.

  Newsletter 2 April 2019

  Tallow Plums, Wild Garlic, Blueberries and relatives, Toothache Tree as a source of pepper, Foraging Classes, Eastern Coral Bean, American Nightshade, Soon it will be mushroom season, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me. 

  348

  A few newsletters ago it was mentioned Mulberries were in blossom…

  Newsletter 26 March 2019

  Mulberries, Creeping Cucumber, Coco-plums, Foraging Classes and a new location, toxic Butterweed, Suriname Cherries, Green Deane Forum DVDS, Fermenting Spiderwort, Go Fund Me…  

  347

  Pawpaws can be among the most difficult and easy wild fruits to find.

  Newsletter 19 March 2019

  Pawpaws, Eating Grass, Foraging Classes, sickening Tropical Sage, Wisteria, Gladiolus, Raceme vs Spike, the Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me. 

  346

  With an impossible scientific name and strong aroma Fireweed is often over looked by the foraging community.

  Fireweed, Mayflowers, Lilacs, Pussy Willows, Foraging Classes, Mistetoe, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, Drying Loquats

  Newsletter 12 March 2019

  345

  Most foragers know Smilax tips are edible.

  Newsletter 5 March 2019

  Smilax berries, Marlberries, Daylight Saving Time, True Thistles, Coquina & Mole Crabs, Botanical Names, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum, DVDs, and Go Fund Me 

  344

  Heads up, literally: Loquats are ripening.

  Newsletter 26 February 2019

  Loquats, Blackberries, Mulberries. Maypops, Creeping Cucumbers, Dollarweed, Strange Time of Year, Foraging Classes,  Eau de Rodent, Turkey Berry,  Toxic Tomatoes, the Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, 

  343

  Lamb’s Quarters… Fat Hen… and where to find it.

  Newsletter 19 February 2019

  Lamb’s Quarters, Citron Melons, Last Average Frost Date,  Maple Seeds, Eastern Red Bud, Pink Tabebuia, Loquats, Pawpaws, Surinam Cherries, Cocoplum, Wild Mustard, Wild Radish, Blackberries. Agaricus campestris, Foraging Classes, Go Fund Me, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Plantago rugelii  

  342

  The Western Tansy Mustard is one of our shortest-lived winter-time forageables.

  Newsletter 12 February 2019

  Western Tansy Mustard, Bittercress, Micro-Mustards, Black Medic, Foraging Classes, Florida Herbal Conference, Doveweed, the Larch, Tulips, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, DVDs,  

  341

  Going north to forage is always pleasant this time of year. 

  Newsletter 5 February 2019

  Wild Garlic, Black Cherry vs Laurel Cherry, Elderberries, Foraging Classes, Lawns Aren’t Green, Florida Herbal Conference, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs 

  340

  Yeah… that’s a mouthful…

  Male Pine Cones, Poorman’s Pepper Grass and Maca, Perennial Peanut, Foraging Classes, Seaweeds, Dandelions, Nicker Beans, Florida Herbal Conference, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, and Trametes lactinea.

  Newsletter 29 January 2019

  339

  An often overlooked wild edible is Bulrush.

  Newsletter 22 January 2019

  Bulrushes, Candyroot, Florida Pennyroyal, Sow Thistle, Wild Pineapple, Florida Herbal Conference, Calliandra, Foraging Classes, Blewits, Magnesium Deficiencies, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, Spanish Cherries 

  338

  Newsletter 15 January 2019

  A common blossom that’s easy to identify is the wild violet. It’s cultivated brethren is the pansy.

  Violets, foraging mistakes, upcoming foraging classes, the Florida Herbal Conference, Bauhinias, False Hawks Beard, Green Eyes, Florida Privet, foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, Swinecress, Stink Horns, and Lawns Aren’t Green. 

  337

  Newsletter 08 January 2019

  There are Plantains that look like tough bananas and there are Plantains that are low and leafy plants. 

  Plantains/Plantagos, Fleabane, Goji Berry, Sycamore tree, Sublimed Sulfur, Richardia, Foraging Classes, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me.  

  336

  Newsletter, 01 January 2019

  Newsletter, 01 January 2019

  Making their winter debut are our stinging nettles and they might have the second-worst nettle sting on earth.

  Stinging nettles, Sow Thistles, Chickweed, Foraging Classes, Podocarpus Mystery, Hen Bit, the “Bills”, Wax Myrtle Berries, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me

  335

  Newsletter 18-25 December 2018

  Newsletter 18-25 December 2018

  Newsletter 18-25 December 2018

  A winter edible you should be scouting for is Galium aparine, or Goosegrass…

  Goosegrass, Jelly Ears, False Hawk’s Beard, Roses, Nickerbeans, Christmasberry, Dandelion, Lemon Bacopa and it’s evil bitter sister Water Hyssop, Foraging Classes, Pinellas County, Foraging Videos, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, Thistle Seeds, 8th Annual Urban Crawl 

  334

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-11-december-2018/

  Pyracanthas are furious in the fall. Their brilliant red berries stand out in every landscape 

  Pyracanthas, Gingko, Chickweed, Hibiscus, Bauhinia, Foraging Classes, Death By Apple Seeds, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me, can you ID the edibles? 

  333

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-04-december-2018/

  Both the Chinese and Siberian elms have several edible parts.

  Chinese and Siberian elms, if an animal can eat it, West Indian Chickweed, upcoming Foraging Classes, Passiflora lutea, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, Foraging videos, and oaks   

  332

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-27-november-2018/

  Foragers benefit from bad ideas. 

  Silverthorn, Little Mustards, Creeping Cucumber, Foraging Classes, Go Fund Me, Wax Myrtle, Green Deane Forum, Indian Pipes, Foraging Videos, 

  331

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-20-november-2018/

  The seasons are changing and so is the foraging with a shift into not only fall but winter plants.

  Christmasberry, Sugarberry, Foraging Classes, Carpetweed, Beefsteak Polypore, Go Fund Me. Green Deane Forum, Foraging videos

  330

  Common plant names can be so misleading. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-13-november-2018/

  Silk Floss Tree, Pandanus Grass, Sand Spurs, Stinging Nettle, Foraging Classes, Chicken of the Woods, Go Fund Me, Foraging DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum  

  329

  We don’t have the opportunity to often use the word “windfall”…

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-november-06-2018/

  Chinese elm, pines and inner bark, jellyfish, wild oaks and sea purslane, foraging classes, personal notes, donations, DVD and the Green Deane Forum 

  328

  The tree is easy to find but is it edible? 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-30-october-2018/

  Golden Rain Tree, Daylight Saving Time, Back Yard Foraging and Pets, Foraging Classes, Smartweed, Go Fund Me, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum

  327

  Learning about edible wild plants seem intimidating at first.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-23-october-2018/

  Ringless Honey Mushroom, Foraging Class Schedule,  Morning Glories, Go Fund Me, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum, 

  326

  Our Sumacs are happy. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-16-october-2018/

  Sumacs, Persimmons, What is Edible? Foraging Classes, Perennial Peanut, Sea Grapes, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs, 

  325 

  This might be a good time to write about Yellow Pond Lilys.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-09-october-2018/

  Yellow Pond Lily, Papaya and Castor Beans, Sida, Turkey Tails, False Turkey Tails, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum. 

  324

  Is it edible? Yes, no, maybe…

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-2-october-2018/

  Chinese Tallow Tree, Caesarweed, Horsemint, Oyster Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum. 

  323

  Seasons can be subtle

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-25-september-2018/

  Seasons, Jambul Tree, Mushrooming, Saw Palmaettos, Foraging Classes. Toxic Caterpillars, Foraging Videos, and the Green Deane Forum. 

  322

  It was on the side of the bike trail, half squished.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-18-september-2018/

  Persimmons, Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Bananas, Foraging Classes, Peppervine, Foraging Videos, Green Deane Forum, 

  321

  In the backwoods of Maine where I grew up Dogwoods were small.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-11-september-2018/

  Kousa Dogwood, Canna, Ground Cherries, Cocoplums, Foraging Classes, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, OMG!, Carpetweed, Indian Pipes 

  320

  In the olden BC days… before computers…

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-04-september-2018/

  Fall foraging, foraging classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum,  Go Fund me, Creeping Fig 

  319

  Still unpacking from my road trip (which is my excuse for this shorter-than-usual weekly newsletter.)

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-28-august-2018/

  Mushroom class, foraging class in South Carolina, Foraging Classes, Kudzu, Radium Weed, DVDs, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum  

  318

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-21-august-2018/

  This is an abbreviated newsletter

  Foraging class schedule for August and September 2018

  317

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-14-august-2018/

  Bunya Bunya get no respect in countries where people have plenty of food.

  Bunya Bunya, Norfolk Pine,  Black Gum, Sugarberry, Erect Spiderling, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Foraging Classes, Go Fund Me, 

  316

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-08-august-2018/

  There’s an old phrase: “Sometimes you have to bow to the absurd”

  Chanterelles, Black Trumpet, Sumac, Foraging Classes, Horsemint, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, 

  315

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-31-july-2018/

  Putting on black fruit now is the much-debated Peppervine, Ampelopsis arborea.

  Peppervine, Pindo Palms, Foraging Classes, Americaln Lotus, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Where the wild food is.  

  314

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-july-2018/

  Our foraging class in Port Charlotte this past week was above and beyond if you like fruit.

  Cocoplums,  Jambul Tree, Mangos, Ground Cherries, Foraging Classes, Fermenting Mushrooms, Blue Porterweed, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, 

  313 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-17-july-2018/

  Millions of dollars and many decades have been spent trying to eradicate the edible pictured above.

  Latex Strangler Vine, Beefstake Polypore, Sugarberry, Foraging Classes, Eastern Gammagrass, Purslane, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Lawns Aren’t Green, 

  312

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-10-july-2018/

  Lobsters… no, not the kind from the sea but the woods: Lobster mushrooms. 

  Magnolias, Lobster Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Carpetweed, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Bacterial Considerations, 

  311

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-3-july-2018/

  There’s a wonderfully aromatic plant that prefers to hide most of the year.

  Horsemint, Tallow Plum, Orlando Mushroom Group, Pecan Truffles, Foraging Classes, and DVDs 

  310

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-26-june-2018/

  Podocarpus does not, as they used to say, have an attitude.

  Podocarpus, Simpson Stopper, Orlando Mushroom Group, Foraging Classes, Jack In The Pulpit, Green Deane Forum, and foraging DVDs. 

  309

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-19-june-2018/

  Paper Mulberries are related to bread fruit. 

  Paper Mulberries, St. John’s Mint, Black Gum, Podocarpus, Poison Sumac, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Blue Porterweed

  308

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-12-june-2018/

  Sorting out Morning Glories, Maypops and plants with cyanide, a Bolete with no name, Foraging Classes, Eating Little Red Bugs, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs,  

  307

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-05-june-2018/

  Yellow ponds, that’s how I think of it…

  American Lotus, Black Cherry,  Foraging Classes, Toxic Atamasco,  Milk Caps. The Old Man of the Woods, Green Deane Forum, Chinese Tallow tree, foraging DVDs, 

  306

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-29-may-2018/

  Yucca is not Yuca. Or said another way: YOU-ka is not YUK-ka.

  Yucca, Matchhead, Oaxaca Lemon Verbena, Doveweed, Ficus Racemosa, American Nightshade, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Eastern Hemlock 

  305 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-22-may-2018/

  The Orlando Mushroom Group (OMG!) met Sunday for their first fungal foray of the year. 

  Orlando Mushroom Group, Pawpaws, Foraging Classes, Pregnancy and Plants,  Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me, and Chanterelles. 

  304

  Spiderworts got me in trouble once

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-15-may-2018/

  Spiderworts, Pond Apples, Sea Oxeye, Foraging Classes, OMG mushroom hunt, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Botany Builder 26,   

  303

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-08-may-2018/

  Not all of botany is settled.

  Grapes, Ivy Gourd, Eastern Gamagrass, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, the Orlando Mushroom Group, 

  302 

  Sea Purslane and Purslane are not the same species

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-01-may-2018/

  Sea Purslane, Sargassum, Morning Glories, Foraging Classes,  Foraging DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Orlando Mushroom Group, Go Fund Me, Jack in the Pulpits, 

  301

  The American Nightshade is poised to fruit heavily.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-april-2018/

  American Nightshade, Blackberries, Orlando Mushroom Group, Common Fungi of South Florida, Foraging Classes, Ivy Gourd, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me, 

  Newsletters in chronological order

•  29 November2016:  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-6-december-2016/ Issue 235: What do you see #25, Beautyberries, Simpson Stoppers, Wild Pineapples, Where To Find Wild Edibles. Foraging Classes, A possible edible shrub? Bananas, Foraging DVDs and the Green Deane Forum
• 22 November 2016:  Issue 234 Dandelions, Goji Berries, Wapato, Foraging Classes, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum
• 15 November 2016: Issue 233: Chinese Elm, Wild Lettuce, Horsemint, Smartweed, Beautyberry, Brazilian Pepper, Winged Sumac, Foraging Classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum,
• 08 November 2016:  Issue 232. Cucumber Weed, Honey Mushrooms, Creeping Cucumber, Tallow Plum, Christmasberry, Foraging Classes, Green Deane DVD, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 01 November 2016: Issue 231: Edible Wild Radish, Deadly Water Hemlock, Peppery Smartweed, Crushed Acorns, Foraging Classes, DVDs and the Green Deane Forum
• 25 October   2016: Issue 230: Tropical Almond, How Kids Learn, Foraging Classes, Dove Plums, the Green Deane Forum and foraging DVDs.
• 18 October 2016: Issue 229: Do you need to know the botanical names? Morning Glories, Persimmons, Yam A, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Acorn Bread.
• 11 October 2016: Issue 228: Harvesting windfall, is the ground polluted? the Green Deane Forum and foraging DVDs
• 04 October 2016: Issue 227: Carpetweed, foraging and bacteria, foraging classes, the Green Deane Forum, and foraging DVDs.
• 27 September 2016: Issue 226: Acorns, Creeping Fig, Jewels of Opar, Foraging Classes, Ft. Desoto, Chaya, Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs.
•  20 September 2016: Issue 225: Hackberry – Sugarberry, Kudzu, Skunk Vine, Foraging Classes, Persimmons, Green Deane DVDs and the Green Deane Forum.
• 13 September 2016: Issue 224: Water Hyacinth, Panic Grass, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Pindo Wine, the Green Deane Forum
• 06 September 2016: Issue 223: Learning how to forage, what’s in season now, foraging classes, Green Deane DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.
• 30 August 2016 was a fifth Tuesday. No newsletter was published.
• 23 August 2016: Issue 222: Beautyberries, grapes, Pindo Palm, Simpson Stopper, Horsemint, Saw Palmetto, Persimmons, Maine Blueberries, milkweed pods, foraging classes., DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, medicinal and edible mushrooms.
• 16 August 2016: Issue 221: Horsemint, Pindo Wine, Begonias, Goldenrod, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Beautyberries,
• 09 August 2016: Issue 220: Black Cherry, Black Gum, Black Pepper Vine Fruit, the North American Ebony, persimmon, foraging classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 02 August 2016: Issue 219: Pindo Palms, White Boerhavia, Water Hyssop and memory, Hackberries, Foraging Classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, and Wild Grpaes
• 26 July 2016: Issue 218: The Jambul Tree, Norfolk Pine, Hairy Cow Pea, Magnifying Glass, Foraging classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, and Simpson Stoppers.
• All data on site between April 16 and June 8th were lost because of Hostgator’s incompetence. That included many newsletters.
• 12 April 2016: Issue 203: Finding Pawpaws, blossoming Eastern Coral Bean, fruiting Mulberries, the Mahoe, Partridgeberries in Florida! Upcoming foraging classes and ForageFest, the Green Deane Forum and DVDs.
• 5 April 2016: No newsletter because of hacking attempt.
• 29 March 2016: Issue 202: Ivy Gourd or Tindora, Bidens alba, Fermenting, Loquats, Foraging Classes and DVDs.
• 22 March 2016:  Issue 201: Linden Tree, Fermenting Spiderwort, Avocado Seeds, Foraging Classes, DVDs
• 15 March 2016: Issue 200: Identifying Garden Weeds, Loquats, Butterweed, New Class Location, Upcoming Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, 200th Newsletter!
• 8 March 2016: Issue 199: Garden weeds, finding edible weeds, Western Tansy Mustard, Foraging Classes, Sow thistles, Green Deane Forum and  DVDs.
• 1 March 2016: Issue 198: Florida Herbal Conference 2016, Poor Man’s Pepper Grass and Maca, Foraging Classes, Seaweed, Free Mustard Seeds, Green Deane DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 23 February 2016: Issue 197: The Eastern Redbud and Chickasaw Plum, Wild Radishes and Mustards, Earthskills and Florida Herbal Conference 2016, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Free Mustard Seeds, Green Deane DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 16 February 2016: Issue 196: Sow Thistles, Thorns, Spines and Prickles, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging Classes. Florida Herbal Conference, Free Mustard Seeds, Green Deane’s DVDs.
• 9 February 2016: Issue 195: Silverthorns, Plantagos, Foraging Classes, Florida Herbal Conference, Foraging DVDs, free Red Mustard seeds.
• 2 February 2016: Issue 194: Tulips, Mustards, Dandelions, Doveweed, Florida Herbal Conference, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Videos, Free Mustard seeds, and the Green Deane Forum: Did you ever eat a larch?”
• 26 January 2016: Issue 193: Eastern Gamagrass, Florida Herbal Conference, Sea Blite, Queen and Pindo Palms, Opuntia and Nopales, Foraging Classes, Green Deane DVDs.
• 19 January 2016: Issue 192: Silverthorn, Sheep’s Sorrel, Free Red Mustard Seeds, Stinging Nettles, Henbit, Chickweed, Foraging Classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum
• 12 January 2016: Issue 191: Roots revisited: Ivy Gourd. Wild Teas. Foraging Classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.
• 5 January 2016: Issue 190:Stinging nettles, Purslane, Oxalis, Mystery Root, Foraging classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum.
• 29 December 2015: Issue 189:Goosegrass, Christmasberry, Natal Plum, Yaupon Holly, Bananas, Nicker Bean, Ground Cherry, Sea Purslane, Sea Blite, Coral Berry, Gracilaria, CLasses, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum
• 22 December 2015: Issue 188: Ringless Honey mushrooms, Deer Mushrooms, Tamarind, Mahoe, Tropical Almond, Fifth Urban Crawl, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum,
• 15 December 2015: Issue 187: Silverthorn, Peppergrass, Chickweed, Foraging Classes Green Deane Videos, the Green Deane Forum, fifth annual Urban Crawl.
• 8 December 2015: Issue 186: Wild lettuce, Osage Orange, Ginkgos, Cashew Trees, Pineapple Guava, Turk’s Cap, Foraging Classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 1 December 2015: Issue 185: Tropical Soda Apple aka Horse Nettle, Henbit,  Stork’s Bill and Cranesbill,
• 24 November 2015: Issue 184; Chickweed, pomegranate peelings, pines, homemade mustard, foraging classes, the Green Deane Forum, and DVDs
• 17 November 2015: Issue 183; Seaweed and Lichen, where to forage, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum.
• 10 November 2015: Issue 182:Wild Drinks, a book review; Wax Myrtle Berries, Wild Radish, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum, and DVDs
• 3 November 2015: Issue 181:Black gum, Seagrapes, Doveweed, Foraging near Roads, Classes, Green Deane Forum, and Videos.
• 27 October 2015: Issue 180:Foot fruit: Podocarpus and Cashews, Sandspurs, Pony Foot, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum and Videos
• 20 October 2015: Issue 179:What is a Ceiba and how do you say it? Partridgeberry, Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Red Bays and Magnolias, Laurel Wilt, Pellitory aka Cucumberweed, Foraging Classes, and the Green Deane Forum
• 7 October 2015 no  newsletter published because site had to be backed up because of hackers.
• 6 October 2015: Issue 178:Tallow plum, White Beautyberries, Sumac, Sea and Wood Oats, Cactus and Nopales, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum,
• 29 September was a fifth Tuesday, no news letter published then.
• 22 September 2015: Issue 177: Frost, and ripening vegetables and fruit, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum
• 15 September 2015: Issue 176:Purslane and a look-alike, Pepper Vine, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Heartwing Sorrel, Green Deane Forum,
• 8 September 2015: Issue 175: 18 edibles along the Seminole-Wekiva Trial, Foraging Class Schedule, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 1 September 2015: Issue 174: Kudzu, wild apples, mountain foraging, upcoming classes, the Green Deane Forum
• 18 and 25 August, no newsletters as Green Deane was on vacation hiking in the Carolinas.
• 11 August 2015: Issue 173:Horsemint, Foraging along railroad tracks, Goldenrod, Swamp Rose Mallow, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum.
• 4 August 2015:   Issue 172:Ripening grapes, saw palmetto fruit, Yellow Anise, Green Maypops, Large Boletes, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum.
• 28 July 2015: Issue 171:Citron Melons, three edible mushrooms; Blue Lactarius, the Old Man of the Woods, and Chanterelles. Lone Star Ticks and Armadillos in the news, Foraging Classes and the Green Deane Forum
• 21 July 2015: Issue 170:Tasty Tamarind, Tropical Almonds, the lesser-known Silk Bay, Foraging Classes, The Green Deane Forum, Are the Seasons Changing?
• 14 July 2015: Issue 169: Are all Portulacas edible? Which yam is it? Elderberries. Foraging Classes. Taking a Bee Hive Home, and The Green Deane Forum.
• 7 July 2015:  Issue 168: Paper Mulberries, Pindo Palm, Yaupon Holly, The Timucua, Pawpaws, plant books, upcoming foraging classes, the Green Deane Forum.
• 30 June 2015: Fifth Tuesday, no newsletter.
• 23 June 2015: Issue 167: Sea Blite, Glasswort, Creeping Fig, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum.
• 16 June 2105: Issue 166:Laco-fermenting, toxic Atamasco Lily, Smilax, Sword Ferns, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum,
• 9 June 2015: Issue 165: Latex Strangler Vine, American Lotus, Dock Seeds, foraging mistakes, early season Podocarpus, Reishi mushrooms, foraging classes, Green Deane Forum
• 2 June 2015: Issue 164: Ivy gourd, Honey Mushrooms, Wild Food Plants of Hawaii, Classes, Green Deane Forum.
•  26 May 2015, no newsletter because of hackers. 
• 19 May 2015: Issue 163:Gopher Apples are blossoming as are Groundnuts. Candyroot is getting showy, Blueberries are ripening. The Simpson Stopper has three kinds of leaves. Wild Coffee and Coralberry Confusion, Upcoming Classes, and the Green Deane Forum,
• 12 May 2015: Issue 162: Watercress, Wild Garlic, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum, Botany Builder 28, Does anyone want to guess?
• 5 May 2015: Issue 161:Wild Pineapple, Ground Cherries, Horsemint, Three kinds of wild grapes, upcoming foraging classes, Botany Builder 27, edible Pluteus petasatus, the Green Deane Forum
• 28 April 2015: Issue 160:Blackberries, Pickling Betony roots, Elderberry, Smilax, Juniper Berries, Upcoming Classes, Green Deane Forum, What Do You See #24.
• 21 April 2015: Issue 159: Distance and Elevation, Paper Mulberry, Red Mulberry, Basswood, False Hawk’s Beard, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum, Botany Builder #26,
• 14 April, 2015: Issue 158: Pineapple Guava, the Tallow Plum, where to look for edible plants, upcoming foraging classes. the Green Deane Forum, and What Do You See #23
• 7 April 2015: Issue 157: ForageFest 2015, Lantanas, Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, A Beginner’s Guide of Edible Florida, foraging in Port Charlotte, non-edible Nicker Beans, foraging classes, the Green Deane Forum, and What Do You See #22
• 31 March 2015: Issue 156: Is it time to reassess Nuphar roots? Identifying the Simpson Stopper. Foraging Instructors. What ’s in Season, Foraging Class Schedule, Green Deane Forum, What do you see #21.
• 24 March 2015: Issue 155: Mulberries, Wild Cucumbers, Edible Palms, Sea Rocket, Which Blueberry? Green Deane Forum. Upcoming Foraging Classes, What Do You See #20.
• 17 March 2015: There was no newsletter.
• 10 March 2015: Issue 154:Paw paws, Pennyroyal, Dandelions, Green Deane Forum, Foraging Classes, Daylight Saving time, What Do You See #19
• 3 March 2015, Issue 153: Florida Herbal Conference 2015, Turpentine Pines, Banning Mulberries, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forums, Bird Peppers, and What Do You See #18
• 24 February 2015: Issue 152: Eastern Redbud, Plums, Limequat, Foraging Classes, Seasonal changes and Mulberries, Florida Herbal Conference, Green Deane Forum, and What Do You See #17.
• 17 February 2015: Issue 151: Pepper Grass, Wild Geraniums, Paper Mulberry, Foraging Classes, Guest article: Bees, Butterflies, and Moths, Florida Herbal Conference 2015, the Green Deane Forum, and Winter Buds10 February 2015: Mystery diced root,  Florida Earthskills 2015 is history, Florida Herbal Conference 2015 is next,  foraging classes, Green Deane Forum, the 150th newsletter.
• 27 January 2015: The Wax Myrtle, Mustards & Radishes, Hairy Cowpea, Green Deane Forum, Earthskills 2015, Florida Herbal Conferece 2015, How Ungreen of Us.
•  20 January 2015: Goji berries, Plantagos, Black Medic, Green Deane Forum, Earthskills 2015, Florida Herbal Conference 2015, and Chain of Contamination
• 13 January 2015: Poorman’s Pepper Grass, Creeping Cucumber, Bulrush, Green Deane Forum, Earthskills 2015, Florida Herbal Conference 2015, classes, Wild Pineapple, Creeping Indigo warning, Calliandra haematocephala, What Do You See #16. 
• 6 January 2015: False Hawk’s Beard, Roses, Earthskills gathering, 2015 Florida Herbal Conference, Foraging Classes, Pellitory, Goosegrass, Less Money More Weeds
• 30 December 2014: New Year Leaves, Bauhinias, Pansies, Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Earthskills Conference, Florida Herbal Conference, Janus, the Roman God who looks both ways, 4th Annual Urban Crawl.
• 23 December 2014: Are cattails really that good? Is the Moss Rose edible? FORAGER! Classes, DVDS and the Green Deane Forum.
• 16 December 2014: Sycamores, Wild Mustards, When a Description Doesn’t Fit, Upcoming Classes, Green Deane DVDs, The Green Deane Forum, Florida Herbal Conference
• 9 December 2014: Wild edibles in downtown Savannah, Georgia, Pyracanthas, Ginkgop, Swinecress, Henbit, herbalism vs foraging, upcoming foraging classes, Green Deane DVDs, and the Florida Herbal Conference.
• 2 December 2014: The Cabbage Palm, Sow Thistle, Weeds vs. Cultivated Crops, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, and the Florida Herbal Conference.
• 25 November 2014: Pellitory, Usnea, Thanksgiving, foraging classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum and the herbal conference.
• 18 November 2014: Persimmons, Indian Pipes, Cactus fruit, Lantana, foraging classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum and the herbal conference.
• 11 November 2014, no newsletter as Green Deane had dental surgery.
• 4 November 2014:    Making Vinegar, Marlberries, Wintercress, Florida Herbal Conference, Upcoming Classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 28 October 2014: Ground Cherries, Cocoplums, Simpson Stopper, Elderberries, Lemon Bacopa, Bananas, Lactarius Indigo, Upcoming Classes, DVDs, The fourth Florida Herbal Conference, and Florida Gulf Coast University.
• 21 October 2014: Roses, Book Review: The Wild Wisdom of the Weeds, upcoming foraging season, classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane forum.
• Oct 7and 14 no newsletter because Green Deane attended an out-of-state memorial service.
• 30 September 2014: Date Palms, Mushroom Season, Red Tide, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum.
• 23 September 2014: Is Portulaca pilosa edible? Gopher Apples, What’s in Season, Class Schedule, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.
• 16 September 2014: The Tallow Plum, a neat way to clean tunas, looking for yams, the beautyberry is happy, upcoming classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum
• 9 September 2014: The passion fruit, where is it safe to forage, the Jambul Fruit, Puss Moth Caterpillar, Classes, DVD, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 2 September 2014: Sumac, Bananas, Cana, Old Man of The Woods, Podocarpus, Answer to What Do You See #16, Green Deane Forum, DVDs.
• 26 August 2014: Pine nuts, wild cucumbers, hiking in North Carolina, foraging classes, What Do You See #16, Green Deane Forum and DVDs.
• 19 August 2014: No newsletter, Green Deane hiking in the Carolinas.
• 12 August 2014: No newsletter, Green Deane hiking in the Carolinas.
• 5 August 2014: No newsletter, Green Deane hiking in the Carolinas.
• 29 July 2014: Bunya Bunya, Ganoderma mushrooms, upcoming classes, where to find the strangler latex vine, the Green Deane Forum and DVDs.
• 22 July 2014, American lotus, Fifth Annual Mushroom Intensive, Portulacas, Foraging Classes, The Green Deane Forum, and Podocarpus
• 15 July 2014, Black Cherries, Strawberry Guava, Horsemint, Basswood, Mushroom Workshop, White Indigoberry
• July 1st and 8th, no newsletter as Green Deane was on vacation.
• 24 June 2014: Drehear Park, Jambul, Purslane, Classes, DVDs, changing servers.
• 17 June 2014: Chickasaw Plums, the deadly Water Hemlock, a Monsoon of Mushrooms, the answer the What Do You See #15, upcoming classes, the Green Deane Forum and DVDs.
• 10 June 2014: Jack In The Pulpits, Seasonal Changed, Podocarpus, Junipers, What Do You See 15, Answer to What Do You See 14, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum, and DVDs.
• 3 June 2014: No newsletter because of attempted hacking.
• 27 May 2014: Memorial Day and the Corn Poppy. Where do you forage? What Do You See #14.
•  2o May 2014: Discovering Chaya; a new loop; Florida’s Wild Edibles, a book review; classes and DVDs.
• 13 May 2014: Caloric staples: Cattails, Kudzu, Acorns; Seasonal Changes; “Giant Hog Weed” on the Green Deane Forum; Upcoming Foraging Classes; DVDs; What Do You See 13 Answers, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 6 May 2014: Blackberries, the Water Hyacinth, Of Butterflies and Bees, What Do You See #12 and 13, Green Deane Forum and DVDS.
• 29 April 2014: Fifth Tuesday of the month. No newsletter published that date.
• 22 April 2014: Wild Garlic and Onions, Fleabane, Surinam Cherries and Mulberries, What Do You See 12, the answer to What Do You See 11, the Green Deane Forum, Classes and DVDs.
• 15 April 2014:  Florida pennyroyal, Pawpaws, A new edible Redvein Abutilon, Birds and Loquats, What Do You See #11, answer to What Do You See #10, upcoming classes, DVDs
• 8 April 2014: Mulberries, Magnolia Vinegar, Surinam Cherries, What Do You See 10, answer to What Do You See 09, Upcoming Foraging classes, Book Review: Foraging With Kids, DVDs.
• 1 April 2014: The Tropical Chestnut, the Eastern Redbud, Miner’s Lettuce, Upcoming Foraging Classes, What do You See #09, answers to What Do You See 08, Book Review: Guide To Wild Foods And Useful Plants, DVDs, Barbie…
• 25 March 2014: Finding “wild” edibles, Wild Cucumber, Basswood, Black Medic and Hop Clover, Upcoming Classes,  Brevard Botanical Garden Plant sale, What Do You See 08, answer for What Do You See 07, and DVDs.
• 18 March 2014:  Golf courses revisited, rain brings the mushrooms, spring greens are putting on, got an article for the newsletter? Classes, DVDs, What Do You See #07, answers to #06,  Birmingham Plant Sale, Book Review: Foraging & Feasting.
• 11 March 2014:  Finding wild edibles, Dandelions, False Dandelions, Time Change, What Do You See #06, Spring is Here, Upcoming Classes, DVDs, Guest Articles Request.
• 4 March, 2014: Winging it with maple seeds, Turk’s Caps, Florida Herbal Conference 2014 is history, how to avoid the toxic Cherry Laurel, What Do You See? #05 and the answers to #04, looking for a travel trailer and holding classes in west Florida and beyond.
• 25 February, 2014: Sheep Sorrel, mystery mushroom, upcoming classes, Botany Builder 39, What Do You See? #04, Answer to What Do You See 03,  DVDs and close encounters of the slithering kind.
• 18 February 2014: Nettle season, the evergreen Water Hyssop, White Clover, Boletes, our guest article: Plant Nutrition, upcoming classes, the Florida Herbal Conference nears, What Do You See #3 and the answer to What Do You See #2,
• 11 February 2014: Blewit Mushroom, Wild Garlic, Botany Builder #38, Plantago Power, Guest Article: Is it really Global Warming?  What Do You See #2 and last week’s answer and more all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 4 February 2014: What is White Snow? The Silverthorns are fruiting. Which Ganoderma is it? Botany Builder #37. What Do You See #1, and new feature. EarthSkills gathering Florida is this week, Florida Herbal Conference is this month, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 28 January, 2014: Cooking up mustard roots, Botany Builder #36, why doesn’t epazote freeze? Class Schedule, EarthSkills 2014, Florida Herbal Conference, DVDs, looking for Mr. Good Transportation, and guest writers.
• 21 January 2014: Tansy Mustard, Swine Cress, Botany Builder #35, Part II of  guest writer Dewayne Allday’s To Shroom or not to Shroom, EarthSkills 2014 gathering, Florida Herbal Conference 2014, and upcoming foraging classes.
• 14 January 2014: Start looking for Silverthorn fruit, Henbit, Amaranth and Bitter Cress in local garden, Botany Builder #34, guest writer Dewayne Allday, To Shroom or not to Shroom, EarthSkills 2014 gathering, Florida Herbal Conference 2014, and upcoming foraging classes,
• 7 January 2014:   Plantagos are ready for harvesting, Chickweed by Heather Pierce with recipes, Botany Builder 33, How safe is foraging? Class schedule, the Florida Herbal Conference, and Green Deane’s DVDs.
• 31 December 2013: No newsletter published that date.
• 24 December 2013: Vibrant chickweed, abundant pellitory, eat your Christmas tree? The Third Annual Urban Crawl with violet recipe, the common sow thistle, Botany Builder #32, Bottled scallions and the Green Deane Forum, what is foraging? upcoming classes and DVDs,
• 17 December 2013: The Green Deane Forum, the Tropical Almond, Botany Builder 31, Over Foraging, ETWs Archive, Mushrooms to be found, three thefts, Green Deane DVDs.
• 10 December 2013: Wild Radishes and Mustards, Juniper Berries, Amelia Island, Egan Creek Greenway, The Blue Heron Inn, and Botany Builder #30: Peltate. From the Archive: Is this Plant Edible?
• 3 December 2013: Sow thistles are sprouting, the wild lettuce is up. How many raw elderberries should you eat? The Silverthorn is in blossom, swinecress will soon be here, and Botany Builder #29.
• 26 November 2013: Strangler Latex Vine still fruiting, seasonal Little Mustards, Stinging Nettles, Forest Kindergarten, a dear visitor, Florida Herbal Conference, Foraging DVDs, and Botany Builder #28: Lianas.
• 19 November 2013: Chickweed is back! Along with stinkhorns, train wreckers, making dandelion wine, walnuts in the news, Florida Herbal Conference, DVDs, and foraging instructor updates.
• 12 November 2013: Sargassum, other sea veteables, eating jellyfish, cooking with sea purslane, the wood oats alternative, classes, DVDs, Florida Herbal Conference and an insect invasion.
• 5 November 2013: The seasonal change is upon us and winter foraging should be picking up. There’s acorns to be collected, a yam blossom to see, and a luffa surprise. The Florida Herbal Conference is coming up, and shoveling snow all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 29 October 2013: No newsletter published that date.
• 22 October 2013: The Tropical Almond, Smartweed, Dudaim Melon, Polyporus Tenuiculus, Florida Herbal Conference, and Green Deane’s DVDs.
• 15 October 2013: A new edible, Perennial Pea; early-season cucumber weed; going out of season sea-grapes, persimmons, coco-plums, simpson stopper; begonias-hemlock, honey mushrooms, a calculating cat, Florida Herbal Conference, and DVDs.
• 8 October 2013: Black Gum, eating Anoles, the Green Deane Forum, Chestnut Bolete, 2014 Florida herbal conference, Green Deane’s DVDs, and 2000-year old seed sprouts.
• 1 October 2013: Sumac’s in season, persimmons, saw palmettos, creeping cucumbers, three iffy edibles, trust, the genus Lactarius, language and grazing.
  24 Septemner 2013: Ever eat a Norfolk Pine? Snacking on Hairy Cowpeas blossoms. Dare you eat a Saw Palmetto berry? Persimmons are coming into season. Sign up early for the Florida Herbal Conference. Recent rains will stimulate mushroom sightings. Change in the newsletter policy. DVDs as selling.
• 17 September 2013: Cereus fruit, ground nuts, 5,000 questions, upcoming classes, herbal conference, my mystery mushroom, DVDS.
• 10 September 2013: Remembering wild apples, the aroma of wild plants, coming to terms with botanical names, a purslane recipe, the Florida Herbal Conference and DVDs,
• 3 September 2013: Blooming horsemint, Kudzu, classes, Ganoderma curtisii, make a berry picking bucket, upcoming conferences and DVDs.
• 27 August, 2013: Blossoming Coral Vine, Eastern Gamagrass, Grapes, Foraging Classes, Rattlesnakes, Poison Sumac, and Puffballs
• 20 August 2013: Podocarpus and fruit wines, thank you cards, class schedule, DVDs, and for what it’s worth.
• 13 August 2013: Fireweed is gourmet?  Pindo Palms, Bitter Gourd, native grapes, Mt. Washington, Blueberries, persimmons, upcoming foraging classes and a common toxic mushroom the Green Parasol.
• 6 August 2013: Osage Orange, Saw Palmettos, foraging teachers, upcoming foraging classes, seasonal mushrooms, and how we love our pets.
• 30 July 2013: Getting Cereus about blooming cactus, the Monadas for medicine and spice, DVDs, our native Anise trees and remembering Dick Deuerling.
• 23 July 2013, Where to look for weeds, Pineapple weed, Toe Biters, 2 million views, DVDs, and a tribute to mom, Mae Lydia Putney Jordan.
• 9 July and 16 July 2013 no newsletter due to a death in the family.
• 2 July 2013: The tasty Bunya Pine Cone, natal plums, willows, botany builder, classes and your pick for a new vegetable.
• 25 June 2013: The orange Paper Mulberry, the orange Hackberry, Green Deane’s DVDs, Environmentalism, upcoming classes, and the Tree of Heaven all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green
• 18 June 2013: Chickasaw plums, ivy gourd, the false roselle, toxic daturas, hand lenses, classes, and who’s manipulating whom?
• 11 June 2013:  Getting food out of the Chinese Tallow Tree, harvesting young wild yams, pickled Betony root, the deer are raining what? And upcoming classes.
• 4 June 2013: The maypops and pawpaws are putting on fruit, yucca are blossoming, black cherries are ripe and the black nightshade berries are ripening. That and a new class location, Seminole-Wekiva.
• 28 May 2013: Sea purslane, sea oats and wood oats, a profusion of coco-plums,  easterngammagrass and how to eat cicadas
• 21 May 2013: The Prunus are a fruiting, the winged yam, where to find sea blite, should you eat Black Medic, Smilax are in blossom, and new video about Wild garlic/Onions.
• 14 May 2013: No newsletter that week
• 7 May 2013: Blackberries, Lemon Bacopa, Surinam Cherries, Basswood, Linden Tree, recent articles and the city of Winter Park spraying cattails because they are not aestheticallypleasing in the park.
• 30 April 2013: How to tell sow thistles apart, creeping fig, lawns, and why can’t I eat this?
• 23 April 2013: The sweet aroma of the candyroot, the surprising relative of the Hairy Cowpea, Barnyard Grass, the Rose Apple and releasing bio-controls.
• 16 April 2013: St. Nicholas Monastery and Tropical Almonds, Pellitory Itch, Vacant Lots, Bamboo Cove, Botany Builder #26, and the calming effects of nature.
• 9 April 2013:  Pawpaws are blossoming, are there any poisonous look alikes, the bugs are coming, cold weather, and $1.6 million for a frog phobia.
• 2 April 2013: The wild onions/garlic are fruiting, how to tell the edible Black Cherry from the toxic Laurel Cherry, toxicity in Elderberries, and more Grass is God rebellion.
• 26 March 2013: Finding fireweed, digging up betony roots, drying loquats, Botany Builder #25, Coppicing, Road Kill, and spreading seeds.
• 19 March 2013:  The Queen Palm, changing weeds from edible to noxious, velvet leaf, crabgrass, Botany Builder #24, Samaras, New Articles, House Calls, Suriname Cherries, Nopales, and The Drunken Botanist all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 12 March 2013: Mulberries, Creeping Cucumber, Coco-plums, Smartgrass, Botany Builder 23, pinna, winter plant facts, time change, GD videos coming.
• 5 March 2013:    Goosegrass, pawpaws, Christmasberry, Botany Builder 22 stipules, cultivating wild plants, Apps, Scrub jays.
• 26 February 2013: Sheep’s Sorrel, White Snow, new articles, shocking news about bees, the Australian Pine, hydrilla, and worms
• 19 February 2013: Loquats, poison hemlock, turkey berries, toxic tomatoes, conferences, Lake Woodruff, osage orange and turtle travails.
• 12 February 2013: The ever elusive chickweed, solar oven and nut sheller, the tale of two nettles, wild lettuce, more hard-headed government, new mushroom book, the Maslin technique, ragweed, upcoming classes and loss of habitat
• 5 February 2013: A close up of usnea, a likeable lichen. The silverthorn is in full fruit, find aromatic wild garlic, identify watercress. There’s also the Thistle Epistle, Frostbites, Mulberries, the herbal conference and up coming classes, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 29 January 2013: Smilax, non-edible nicker beans, seasonal eating, naughty knotweed, front yard gardening and decapitated grass, pool fish pond, and upcoming class schedule in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green
• 22 January 2013:  What you can do with a wild wing yam, Florida Pennyroyal, a special Hawthorn you should know about, my latest videos and articles, is eating nutrition good for you? Don’t eat the rattlebox. Sugar Cane and winning environmental bar bets.
• 15 January 2013:  Haulover Canal, Seablite, classifing plants, clovers, thistles, sow thistles, wild lettuce, Florida Herbal Conference, rising wheat prices.
• 8 January 2013: Maples are beginning to seed, find local Goosefoots, where the wild food is, the taste test, Florida Herbal Conference, microscopes, and Eugene Handsacker’s shell game

• 1 January 2013: Chickweed, sublimed sulfur, herbal conference, Green Deane’s DVDs, Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, Turks Cap, Oxalis, Violets, Plantagos, and the prime mistake foragers make.

• 25 December 2012: Christmas in Florida, identifying chestnuts, what about ground cherries, winter vines, the toxic Mexican Poppy, the annual urban crawl and natal plums, Canada’s maple syrup much-to-do,

• 18 December, 2012: How to tell a mustard from a radish. Which cactus pad should you pick? The February Florida Herbal Conference, a traditional urban crawl

• 11 December 2012: Finding sumacs, magnolia blossoms as spice, the Florida Herbal Conference, follow ups on pollination and Featherstonehaugh, fertilizer, Maygyver and Nefertiti.

• 4 December  2012: Finding Winged Yams, our little winter mustards, pollenating creatures, Florida Herbal Conference, the Green Deane Forum, Mushrooms a la David Spahr and Dr. Kimbrough, Alligators with marijuana and Featherstonehaugh, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 27 November 2012: The mustards of wintertime, how to sort out hollies, learning about mushrooms, growing weeds from seeds, dandelions, and the fate of Edward Archboldall all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 20 November 2012:  It’s holly season, and wild mustard time along with seasonal little mustards. Also in the newsletter: The Pond Apple, Florida’s Herbal Conference, Thanksgiving lore, wild pumpkins, Botany Builder 21 and faded underwear, all From The Village Green.

• 13 November 2012: Going nuts with hickories and acorns;, Spanish Needle tea, good for some of what ails you, why bumble bees can’t fly, and the Florida Herbal Conference,

• 6 November 2012: Hackberries (Sugarberries) Fireweed, “bad” landscape trees, weighty issues, bikes, time and the 2013 Florida Herbal Conference, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 30 October 2012:   Which came first, grains or tubers? Groundnuts, wild rice, armadillos, clouds, a follow up on snails and Oh Deer, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 23 October 2012:  Oak trees are masting (dropping acorns) new articles, mushrooms, snails, turtles, False Hawk’s Beard, and more in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 16 October 2012:  The winter greens of chickweed, bittercress and poor man’s pepper grass; Solanum americanum, when not to eat; solar oven update, Halloween rant, the impact of weeds, updated articles, the Untouchables, and ginkgo gastronomics.

• 9 October 2012:    A new crop of sandspurs, confusing Poke berries and Elderberries, nettles for clothes, blue honey, new article about Pandanus, preserving fall foliage, cooking with pine needles and a cockroach eating contest.

• 2 October 2012:  Pandanus and Ivy Gourd, digging sticks, growing zones and recording setting pumpkin.

• 25 September 2012:  Chaya, confusing nettles, winter weeds, new articles, yams, the dangers of foraging, tales of a city lot.

• 18 September 2012: Fuzzy marbles, sweet and sour maypops, food and medicine, recently added articles, sumac hiar, vultures and belladona.

• 11 September 2012:  Finding tart food, a look at sumac and the false roselle, a new herbalism book and resource, the Green Deane Forum, Sea-Grapes, and scorpions

• 4 September 2012:   Get Gopher Apples while you can, Getting High, the effect of elevation on plant seasons, a yam for colder weather, a bike with no pedals, and is you cat making you ill?

• 14 August 2012: Maypops are coming into season; what do you know about cyanide; how to get rid of chiggers; Man of the Earth big root deep down; sorting out wild grapes, and earthworms.

• 7 August 2012: Eastern Gamagrass, Asian Clams, new articles posted, Creeping Cucumbers, Upcoming classes, Chinese Tallow Tree, Green Dean Forum, What’s the Buzz.

• 31 July 2012:    Sea Purslane on the grill, when is a clover not a clover? What to do about spices. Archiving newsletters. Class schedule. Growing Patio Potatoes and yams. Fined for growing food and holding birthday party
  all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 24 July 2012 : The Podocarpus is coming into season, grapes are early this year, where to hold a foraging class. my class schedule, making friction fire, is that really a strawberry and sonar sex… all in this week’s newsletter, From The Village Green by Green Deane

• 17 July 2012 :  Coco-plums are in season, as is Silverhead. Why is Black Point in Maine called that and where does Bidens grow in Brazil? American Holly, scorpions, armadillos and how to make your own sourdough bread, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 10 July 2012:  A flower that tastes like a mushroom, fear of foraging, nutrition, what is a pirogue, and my class schedule, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 3 July 2012: Sorting out ground cherries, hairs on plants and why we need to know them, Class Schedule, an upcoming road trip, a great garden party, and Lichen In Space, all in this week’s Green Deane’s Newsletter, From The  Village Green.

• 26 June 2012: Sorting out blueberries, or, how to figure out what the plant is. Is This Plant Edible and changing views on edibility. And upcoming classes all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 19 June 2012:   What to eat strawberry guavas, which wild edibles should pregnant women avoid, are you collecting seaweed for supper? Lawn grass and code enforcement. Upcoming classes all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 29 May 2012:  Surinam Cherries are ripening but they aren’t cherries. Firethorn berries are green but wait a few weeks. Botany builder #20. What’s barnyard grass? Visit the Green Deane Forum. Bicycles in the news. How to tattoo a banana, all in this week’s Green Deane newsletter From The Village Green.

• 21 May 2012:  Pineapples that don’t exist, Guerrilla Gardening, upcoming classes and exactly what is the meristem stage? All in this week’s newsletter “From The Village Green” by Green Deane.

• 7 May 2012:  Can Rescuegrass rescue you? Why forage and what are “naked” seeds? This an more in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green by Green Deane.

• 23 April 2012: Wild Garlic is heading, spurge nettles are rooting, sea blite is ready for picking, and eastern coral beans are showing you where they are. Did Green Deane actually get poison sumac and what did the spam filter catch? That and more in this weeks newsletter From The Village Green.

• 9 April 2012: Peppery smartweed, the “yuck” factor, kudzu, the winged yam, pennyroyal, budget cut benefits, and more in this week’s From The Village Green, Green Deane’s Newsletter.

• 2 April 2012: Where the weeds are. Going to a gym. Compound leaves. Rumex, Topi mambo, Water Lettuce, Duckweed, Edible Flowers Part 19, Classes, Green Deane Forum and “For What It’s worth” all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 26 March 2012:  What’s in and out of season? The Florida Herbal Conference. How do you find edible plants? Pictures or drawings? Upcoming Classes, and more in From the Village Green, Green Deane’s newsletter.

• 19 March 2012: Where to find papaws. Can you eat grass? Four new articles: Sida, False Roselle, Edible Flowers Part 18, Gout Weed. Can you eat tropical sage? Botany Builder #14, that and more in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 5 March 2012: The Eastern Redbuds are confused. A 30,000 year old flower? What might you do if you catch the flu. Sorting out the Perseas. Five new articles.  Arrest made in burning down the world’s oldest Cypress. Class schedule. Green Deane Forum update, all in From the Village Green, Green Deane’s Newsletter

• 20 February 2012: Wild Radish is turning fields yellow, harvesting nopales, milkweed vine and the evolution of the garden, two new articles, a forum update, this week’s classes, and ducks, all in “From the Village Green” this week’s Green Deane Newsletter.

• 6 February 2012: The Green Deane Forum, a place to meet other foragers and share questions and successes,  Brazilian Pepper, a staple that grows in teh shade, Botany Builder 14, Herbal Conferencem, Cliamate change. All in this Green Deane’s newsletter this week, From The Village Green.

• 23 January 2012:  What to do with Brazilian Pepper. Tapping Trees a new way. What’s the difference between a tree and a shrub? Herbal Conference, and I didn’t know that all in this weeks newsletter From The Village Green.

• 16 January 2012:  Persimmons and frost, saving weed seeds, Botany Builder #12, an herbal invitation, African bees and more in this weeks newsletter from Green Deane.

• 9 January 2012: The stinging dwarf is back, who is Sunny Savage? Passiflora, epiphany and manatees; new articles, what’s the difference between roots and rhizomes? Wild cucumbers, upcoming classes and the newsletter.

• 2 January 2012: Pigging out on swinecress. A prescription for walnuts? Snow. New articles on reeds, dahlias, nutrias and edible flowers part nine; Botany builder #10, classes, and how many wild edibles should you know, in Green Deane’s newsletter this week From The Village Green

• 26 December 2011:   A yam what am a yam; peppergrass; Janus the god of gates; Did you know? New articles; Urban Crawl and upcoming classes; Botany Builder; a Christmas memory and more in Green Deane’s newsletter this week, From The Village Green.

• 19 December 2011: Chickweed is up locally. Here’s another good reason to forage. What does -ifera mean? Turtle Mound. Canna Island update. Wild Radishes, and more in Green Deane’s newsletter this week, From The Village Green

• 12 December 2011: Pellitory’s in season. How many apple seeds can you really eat? Botany Builder #7, monocots and dicots. Classes this week. Why are two wheels not part of the green movement? All in Green Deane’s newsletter this week From The Village Green.

• 6 December 2011:  The controversy over Palmer Amaranth, Tools of the Trail, Poison Plant Handbook, Botany Builder, Did You Know, and upcoming classes, in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green

• 28 November 2011:  Crowfoot Grass, A grass dictionary, Botany Builder: blade and margin; Thanksgiving.

• 21 November 2011:  The Chinese Elms are fruiting, what about what the animals eat, a chickweed relative, what is a pappus, a look at a yellow passion flower and a bit of reminiscing in Green Deane’s latest newsletter, From The Village Green.

• 14 November 2011:  Telling the difference between a wild radish and a wild mustard. How many wild edibles are there? What do you need to know to get started? Why cook bamboo shoots? Botany Builder and this week’s classes, all in Green Deane’s latest newsletter.

• 8 November 2011:  Look alikes, tell the difference between edible elderberry and toxic water hemlock, discoveries found during this week’s class, what’s peltate?

• 31 October 2011:  The Halloween and foraging connection…. Seedlings… I.T.E.M.-izing. Battery Acid and pokeweed. Rev7, the Botany Builder and more in Green Deane’s newsletter this week, From The Village Green.

• 24 October 2011:   Fresh this week:  The new website is up. Are you harvesting sumac berries now or young sow thistles? A “new” edible was found during our foraging class. What about genetically modified foods?  What every runner or    bicyclist should hear about. And did Green Deane really get poison ivy and how you can avoid it. All in Green Deane’s latest newsletter.

• 1 September 2010 Cost of food, paper mulberry, liatris, pokeweed, wasabi

• 1 August 2010 Watervine, Smilax, Does’t Grow Here, Pomegranates

• 1 July 2010  Jelly Palm, Cactus, Clockwise, Birch Allergies

• 1 June 2010  Why forage, How safe is foraging, Sea Blite, Ilex vomitoria

Blossoming Carolina Pony Foot, a small bitter edible found under foot. Photo by Green Deane

Are they edible? That is often asked about a small lawn plant called Pony Foot, or Dichondra carolinensis. I think they are bitter and medicinal, others toss them into salads. But since they are bitter it is better to mix them with other greens — as one does chicory — rather than using them as the main ingredient. They spread by means of runners and they taste a lot better without the runners.  The species is also used as a ground cover in shade. I’m not sure why the plants were called Dichrondra which means two hearts. Its leaves do alternate but they are more kidney-shaped than heart-shaped. They also have a slightly off-side funnel shape (a basal notch.) While usually dime-size I have seen them more than an inch across. Pony Foot is often found with two other edibles, Dollarweed, which has a stem attached to the middle of the leaf, and Gotu Kola which has a spade-shaped leaf but rounded teeth on the margin and the stem is hairier.

Sublimed sulfur to thwart tick attacks.

Before the state of Florida went on the Internet most of the information it thought fit for its citizens to know was produced in pamphlet form. When the shift was made to the Internet some information got lost or was dropped. One useful bit of advice was using sublimed sulfur to keep ticks off.  Available online or through local pharmacies or chemical supply stores you put it in an old sock or the like and dust your cuffs and collar with it before entering tick habitat. It either repels them or vastly slows them down from finding a place to grab on, giving you more time to find the hardy ones. I have used it for many years very successfully. I still find a tick or two on me now and then but not attached. While I am not a biochemist I would suspect this would not be something you would do if you had a sulfur allergy.

Weeds of Southern Turf Grasses

If you didn’t find a weed book you wanted under the Christmas tree here’s one you can pick up locally or order from the University of Florida:  Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses. The book is not designed for foragers but rather land managers. However, the majority of the plants in the book are edible. It has 437 color photographs of 193 weed species found in the south usually on lawns and the like. As you can see by the link I have a list of the edible plants and what pages they are on. Many of my students just print the list then paste each entry on the appropriate page. There is also a link on the page to order it through the state of Florida. DO NOT ORDER IT THROUGH AMAZON OR OTHER BOOKSELLERS. Why? Because they can charge you from $49.95 to over $800 for a book you can buy at a local extension office for $8. If you order it through the link I provide it is $14 plus shipping. Yes, I actually found one bookseller asking over $800 for it. As it says on the link I do not get any money for recommending this book. It is just an inexpensive, handy book to have.

The Amaranth has a seed spike and often has a notch at the end of the leaf and a chevron-shaped watermark.

What is the prime mistake made by foragers? That’s very easy to answer: They make the plant fit the description. It happens to beginners and old hands as well. The beginners don’t see the details and the more experienced are irritated the plant doesn’t fit so they stretch the definitions. But as the bromide warns the devil is in the details. I will readily admit I loathe details. It is not me by nurture or nature. It is one of two reasons I did not stay with law…details and the you-must-win mentality even when you’re wrong.  But details, as much as we might not like them, are what foraging is all about. If I can suppress my irritation with details and work with them so can you. The good part is that you can get to know a plant well enough that the details make a whole picture and you don’t have to think about them as much with plants you know.

The Black Nightshade has berries. Photo by Green Deane

I had a friend who thought of himself as an outdoorsman thus beyond needing to study edible plants. He called me one day asking “how do I get the seeds out of the pigweed berries.”  I knew there was a problem immediately. Our local “pigweed” does not have berries but our local nightshade does. Our “pigweed” (upper left photo) is an Amaranth and has seed spikes. About the size of fingers or more they are covered with tiny flowers that produce a multitude eye-of-the needle seeds, tan to black.  No berries involved at all. Conversely the nightshade produces an umbrella-like spread of black shiny berries on one small stalk (photo to right.) It does have a lot of seeds inside the berries. So I thought I had better ask him why he wanted the seeds before I told him him the Amaranth didn’t have berries but the nightshade did. He wanted to grow some in his yard. They had been steaming the leaves and eating them like spinach! When I got done explaining he said “then that’s why we’ve all been getting headaches after eating the leaves.” Indeed. The leaves of this particular nightshade are edible but they must be boiled in one or two changes of water, not steamed.My friend had skipped many details. The wrong identification also led to the wrong preparation compounding the error. Admittedly they did have a few things in common. They were both green, grew at the same time and had leaves that can vaguely be the same rough diamond shape. But the difference between a seed spike of small green flowers vs. a cluster of shiny black berries is not paying attention to details. Fortunately no great harm was done. 

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

Foraging Classes: Last Saturday’s foraging class at Eagle Lake in Largo went well. It was a sight unseen but had plenty of wild edibles to identify. If you know of more place for such a class please let me know. Generally speaking state parks and or wilderness are not good locations. Large, old, city and county parks often are. They have a variety of different landscapes such as lawn, fields, woods, ponds et cetera. 

Saturday, January 6th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail. Orlando, FL., 32817. 9 a.m. We meet next to the WMCA building at the tennis courts. It will be chilly, dress warmly. 

Sunday, January 7th, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405, 9 a.m.  We meet just north of the science center parking lot.

Sunday, January 14th, Florida State College,  south campus, 11901 Beach Blvd.,  Jacksonville, 32246. 9 a.m. Meet in front of Building D.

Saturday, January 20th, Spruce Creek Park, 6250 Ridgewood Ave. Port Orange, 32127. 9 a.m., at the pavilion. (First right after entrance.) 

Sunday, January 21st, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive, Port Charlotte. 9 a.m. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bayshore Road and Ganyard Street.

Sunday, March 4th, Eagle Park Lake, 1800 Keene Road, Largo, FL 33771. 9 a.m. Meet at the pavilion by the dog park. 

To read more about the classes go here. 

Poison Sumac only grow in wet spots. Photo by Green Deane

There’s a wide variety of Sumacs.  Locally the local edible is the “Wing Sumac.” In other areas of the country it can be the Staghorn Sumac. Shapes and quality vary but they always have terminal clusters of garnet-colored berries, give or take a hue. The berries have hair on them. And on the hair is malic acid, the acid that makes apples tart. You can rinse off the acid and make a vitamin-C rich “lemonade.” The berries can then be dried, ground, and used as a spice. And in the springs the shoots can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked. If you are worried about Poison Sumac, to the right, it grows only in wet spots, has a much different leaf, and when in fruit has white berries positioned farther down the stem, not terminal clusters. Also Poison Sumac leaves have bright red stems.

Green Deane DVD Set

All of Green Deane’s videos available for free on You Tube. 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.

Keynote Speakers at the Florida Herbal Conference Linda and Luke Black Elk.

It’s time to be thinking about two conferences in February, Earthskills in Hawthorn, and the Florida Herbal Conference near Lake Wales. I lead plant walks at both events. Earthskills is Feb 7-11 and the Florida Herbal Conference is Feb 23-25. Both are now accepting registration. You can register at Earthskills here.  Because you read this newsletter you can get a discount for the Florida Herbal Conference. If you register for that conference between now and January 31 using the code FHC2018_GREENDEANE you can get a 30% discount. Keynote speakers this year at the Florida Herbal Conference are Linda and Luke Black Elk from the Standing Rock Reservation. Linda (of the Catawba Nation) is an ethnobotanist specializing in teaching about culturally important plants and their uses as food and medicine. She is a lecturer at Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates, North Dakota. Luke Black Elk (Thít?u?wa? Lakota) is a storyteller, grassroots activist, and traditional spiritualist. He has conducted research in water restoration, sustainable building design, and food sovereignty, and hopes to use these techniques to encourage a more traditional way of life among his people. Luke has lived on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation his entire life, becoming deeply involved in cultural and community activities. For more information about the Florida Herbal Conference go here.

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Do you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object you want identified? On the Green Deane Forum we chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations around the world share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about. 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. One special section is “From the Frightening Mail Bag” where we learn from people who eat first then ask questions later. You can join the forum by clicking on “forum” in the menu.

Pokeweed seeds before soaking in battery acid. Photo by Green Deane

Weed Seeds: You can plant many weed seeds to get a crop of edible weeds closer to home, if not in your own yard (now you know why my putting-green neighbors loathe me.) Weeds are designed to take care of themselves and do quite well even when ignored. I have planted wild radish, peppergrass, chickeweed, purslane and crowsfoot grass on my “lawn” and they have done quite well. Many weeds can be planted in your garden. Chinopodiums and amaranth are two that need very little encouraging. Make them a row, barely cover the seeds with soil and you will have a mess o’ greens. Mustards are a bit pickier to grow. Their seeds, such as peppergrass, should be stored in a dry area for about four months between 50 and 68 degrees F for optimum germination.  A cellar stairs is just about perfect for that, or outdoors in a Florida winter. Other seeds need special treatment.Pokeweed seeds are a good example. Their germination rate is very low, around 6 percent, if not treated. What’s treated? Replicating a bird’s gut. Soaking the seeds in battery acid for five minutes increases the germination rate into the 90s. You can buy the battery acid at auto stores. One container will last you decades. Once treated, plant successive rows of pokeweed seeds and have a lot of pokeweed from your garden. You can harvest the shoots or let them turn into big roots that will send up shoots annually.

This is weekly issue 285. 

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