Merriwether's Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Texas and the Southwest

New Updates: 12/11/2011

2011-12-11T22:29:00.000-06:00

New Technique Added: Making Sauerkraut and Other Fermented Foods

Previous Update: Added Black Nightshade and Cow's Tongue Cactus. Improved: Prickly Pear Cactus and Yucca.

Introductions and Guidance

2009-02-21T05:15:00.009-06:00

Greetings, friend. My name is Merriwether, welcome to my edible wild plants blog. By day I'm a research chemist but my weekends are spent exploring the surprisingly large tracts of wild land in and around Houston. Since the Fall of 2008, I've been teaching teaching an edible wild plant classes at the Houston Arboretum and other parks and nature preserves around Houston.

This blog contains the names and pictures of edible wild plants I've found in my explorations. Each plant has a post listing when and where to find it, which parts are edible, and how to prepare them. All the photographs of these plants were taken by me. These wild edibles can be found around Houston and other areas of Texas, though most of these plants can also be found nationwide and even worldwide.

There are three ways to find a plant on this blog. The first is by common name as listed in the sidebar to the left. Meanwhile on the right sidebar you can look for the plant based on the environment it grows, season, plant type, flower color, fruit or seedpod color, and use. Finally, the blog search box at the top of the page can be used to search for key words such as scientific names.

Beneath the left-hand full list of plants is a list of articles I've written on ways to use edible wild plants, gardening, and assorted information to help you live a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Foods edible raw have been marked with the Raw label to make them easier to focus on by raw foodists. Please read the plant details to identify which parts of the plant can safely be eaten raw and thoroughly wash any plants, especially if collected from ponds, streams, marshes, or swamps.

I'm a teacher at heart so if you have questions feel free to e-mail me and I'll try to answer them.. Also, please read and take to heart the Foraging Ethics. This is to insure that the joy of wild foods remains available to all.

Peace be with you.
-Merriwether

Foraging Ethics

2009-02-21T05:10:00.002-06:00

1. Respect the law. You must have permission from the property owner to collect plant matter. To forage without permission is considered stealing and you can be arrested. Most state and federal land prohibit gathering plants except in survival situations.

2. Respect the land. Fill your holes, pack out your garbage (and garbage left by others), don't hack/slash/smash/burn your way through nature. Don't harvest a plant if there are just a few around.

3. Respect the plant. Don't strip all the leaves from one plant, just take 1 shoot or 2-3 leaves from many plants. Minimize damage to the plants. Cut leaves off the plant with a sharp knife or shears rather than tearing them off. Harvest inner bark using long, thin vertical strips on one side of the tree, do not cut a ring all around the tree which will kill it. Sterilize your cutting tools with alcohol or bleach to prevent transfer of diseases.

4. Respect yourself. Please positively identify any plant before eating it. Eating the wrong plant can lead to illness or in rare circumstances, even death. Also be aware of any environmental hazards in your foraging location such as snakes, bears, or chemical hazards from old oil fields, roadways, lead paint around old buildings or areas subject to flooding from sewers.

The Forager's Shack

2009-02-21T05:01:00.001-06:00

Check out The Forager's Shack for the books, videos, and gear I recommend for foragers, gardeners, and people wanting to live a more self-sufficient lifestyle. I only suggest gear I actually use and has my seal of approval so you know your money won't be wasted on junk.

I earn 4%-6% of the value of your purchase from the Forager's Shack, which allows me to maintain and improve this website. Win-win for all of us, don't you think?

Collecting Tools

2009-02-21T04:50:00.001-06:00

All one really needs to properly gather wild edible plants is sharp knife, a digging tool, and a container to hold your harvest. Personally, I prefer to use a garden shears instead of a knife when gathering leaves, shoots, tendrils, twigs, and other items that are cut off a plant. Note though that I always have a knife with me as part of the 10 Wilderness Essentials. For digging roots and tubers I use a Japanese Hori Hori Knife.

My harvest container depends on what I'm collecting. A net bags such as the type onions come in is very good for leaves/twigs/roots. Reusing a bag like this is also good for the environment. Berries and other delicate plant matter work best in shallow Tupperware-style containers. Don't use high-sided container for berries. You'll be tempted to fill the container to the top and the resulting weight will crush the berries at the bottom.

A bag with lots of pockets works great for carrying your tools, guidebooks, and harvest containers. I prefer a shoulder bag to a backpack because the shoulder bag has quicker access. You need to remove a backpack to take out/put in stuff. Shoulder bags do have an annoying tendency to swing forward into the way when you bend over, but I find clipping it to one of my rear belt loops with a cheap carabiner takes care of this problem.

Other optional gear:
1. Guidebook of edible plants (better safe than sorry)
2. Leather gloves (some plants have thorns)
3. Sunblock
4. Bug repellent
5. Long pants (better protection against bugs, sun, thorns, etc...)
6. Water (duh)
7. Small notebook
8. Ruler or small tape measure
9. Camera

Check out my store, The Forager's Shack, for these items and more to help you in your foraging!

Foraging for Calories

2009-02-20T21:26:00.000-06:00

Let's talk about finding calories in the woods for a bit. Most vitamins and minerals are actually easy to come by from edible wild plants but calories are a lot more difficult. There's a basic rule of thumb that states that while at rest your body will consume calories equal to ten times your body weight. If you are working hard this can jump up to twenty times your weight (find your calorie requirements here).

I'm 6'5" and 200 pounds. To meet my energy needs to make it through a hard day backpacking I'll need 20 x 200 = 4,000 calories. Food-wise how much is this?

Snickers Bar...........136 calories per oz
Peanut butter..........168 calories per oz
Whole wheat flour......97 calories per oz
Baked potato (plain)...26 calories per oz

A regular Snickers Bar is 2oz, so I'd need to eat FOURTEEN of them to fuel myself. I kind of like the sound of that, though the resulting dentistry bills would suck. What if I eat something healthier like potatoes? A large, plain baked potato weighs about 10oz, so I'd need to eat FIFTEEN of them.

I don't want to carry fifteen potatoes per day when I'm out in the woods.

So, what about wild edibles?

Acorns................112 calories per oz
Pecans................197 calories per oz
Apple..................15 calories per oz
Cattail tuber..........19 calories per oz
Blackberries...........12 calories per oz

Nuts are definitely the main source of non-animal-based calories in the wild. I would need to eat 35oz (2.2 lbs) of acorn nut meat, which means collecting somewhat more than that weight of acorns as I need to shell, crush, then extract the tannin from them before eating. Pecans do much better, I'd only need to eat 20oz of shelled pecan nut meat.

But nuts are only available for a short time. What about berries or some sort of tuber? Unfortunately, these have approximately 1/5 the calories of nuts. One of most common sources of calories in the woods are greenbrier roots. They have slightly fewer calories than potatoes so I'm going to have to dig up around ten pounds of them which is time consuming and hard. Plus they don't taste very good. Cattail tubers are easier to dig but give even less calories than greenbrier. Berries give still fewer calories, I'd need to find twenty pounds of them to meet my energy needs.

Most of us have some built-in fat reserves to get us through short periods of famine. However it does not take long for irritability, confusion, and weakness to set in when the body is deprived of it necessary calories. For more information on the effects of starvation I recommend reading They Starved So That Others Be Better Fed: Remembering Ancel Keys and the Minnesota Experiment

Sow Thistle

2009-01-08T20:34:00.015-06:00

Scientific name: Sonchus oleraceus
What: leaves, stems, roots
How: Young leaves in salads, steamed or boiled; stems can be peeled then steamed like asparagus; roots are very bitter and generally considered to be edible in dire circumstances after roasting or boiling; coffee can be made from roasted roots.
Where: yards, fields, disturbed areas, sunny
When: Early spring through fall
Nutritional Value: Rich in vitamins A,Bs,C and some minerals

Sow thistle.

Closeup of leaves wrapped around stem.

Young sow thistle plant.

Sow thistle flowers.

Photo courtesy of Wildcat

Young sow thistle seed heads. Pickle them or serve with a oil/vinegar dressing to cuts some of their bitterness.

This weed can be found everywhere and is very rich in vitamins and other nutrients. The plant body looks a lot like bull thistle but sow thistle has a number of small, yellow flowers rather than one bulbous purple or tan flower. Also unlike bull thistle stem fibers, sow thistle fibers make poor cordage.

To make coffee from sow thistle roots roast the roots in a 400F oven until they turn dark brown. The dark brown the darker the resultant coffee. Grind the browned roots in a coffee grinder and then use the results as you would regular coffee grounds to make a caffeine-free coffee.

Making Maple Syrup & Sugar

2008-11-16T20:12:00.003-06:00

Maple sugar/syrup is easy to make and is a wonderful source of stable, storable calories. You can collect the sap from any maple tree (not just sugar maples) in any part of the world if you know what you are doing.

First, a little plant biochemistry. The sugar in maple sap is used by the tree as building blocks for making new leaves. This means the sugary sap starts flowing in late winter when the tree starts making the leaf buds. Up north, the tree "wakes up" and begins pumping sap up to its branches when nights are still below freezing but daytime highs are in the mid-40s. This is when you need to tap your tree. In southern climates knowing when the sap flows is trickier. I suggest you drill a 1/4" hole into your tree at a slight upwards angle 3" into the tree on New Year's Day and then watch for sap to begin leaking out. Drill this hole on the south (warmest) side of the tree about 3 feet off the ground, just as you would place a tap (aka "spile"). I wouldn't put a tube or anything in it other than maybe a cotton ball that had been treated with the bleach solution. Just keep an eye on the hole and see if it starts weeping.

Traditional maple tree taps are called spiles and can be ordered on-line from various sources. You can also make your own spiles from PVC tubing, Tygon tubing, plastic pen bodies, hollowed-out pieces of elderberry, bamboo, etc. Just make sure the hole you drill will hold the spile tightly. If the hole is too big you can pack the opening with softened wax. The spile should be cut at an angle with the longer part of the spile up against the top of the hole. Sap flows into the hole from the bottom (duh), so you don't want to plug the bottom of the hole. Sterilized soda bottles make great collectors as the small top keeps crap out of the sap. Traditional sap buckets have hinged cover to do the same thing (crap protection).

You need a maple tree at least 12" in diameter to tap. Drill the tap hole(s) on the south-facing side of the tree about three feet off the ground. If the tree is more than 20 inches in diameter you can add a second spile, and if it's greater than 27 inches you can have three spiles. The tap holes are drilled 3 inches deep at a slight upward angle. Spiles will be either 5/16 inches or 7/16 inches in diameter, so use the corresponding drill bit. Pound the spile into the hole and hang your bucket from the little notch on the spile.

IMPORTANT: Wash all your drill bits and spiles with a bleach solution before they enter the tree to avoid infecting the tree with fungus or bacteria! Use a 1:10 bleach to water solution (example: 1 teaspoon bleach in 9 teaspoons of water). Let any plug-dowel soak in freshly-made bleach solution for about 15 minutes before inserting it into the hole. Soak-time for spiles and drill bits ranges from 2-3 minutes for metal or plastic objects up to 15 minutes for porous materials. Some people spray this solution on the tree just before tapping but I have a bit more faith in the strength of trees than that.

Sap will run 4-6 weeks, but the sweetest, most sugar-filled sap will be at the beginning. Check your buckets and collect the sap every day at first as the sap will really be flowing and this will keep non-sap stuff out of the buckets. By the fifth week all the sugar that had been stored in the roots has been transferred up into the new leaf buds. Remove the spile, disinfect the tap hole, then place a bleach-treated wooden dowel in the hole.

It takes about 10 gallons of sap to make one quart of syrup, or a 40-to-1 sap/syrup ratio. Boiling it down releases a LOT of water vapor so it is best done outside. Side story: one year my dad decided to boil off the water using the stove inside the house. Mom was out of town that day. Dad boiled off approximately 50 gallons of sap which caused all the wallpaper in our house to peel. When mom got home she was pretty upset.

It's best to evaporate most of the water over a wood fire outside using a big pot. Pure water boils at 212F, finished syrup boils at 219F. Keep track of the temperature with a large candy thermometer. Once you've driven off enough water outside over the fire to raise the boiling temperature to 216F you can take it inside and finish it off over the more controlled heat of your stove. Transfer the fluid to a smaller pot, filtering it through some cheese cloth if there are solids present. Once it reaches 219F transfer the hot syrup to clean (sterilized by boiling) jars.

This syrup will stay good as-is for about two months and if frozen for up to a year. For longer-term storage it is best to reduce it down to maple sugar. To do this carefully keep boiling the syrup to drive away the rest of the water. You want the temperature of the boiling sugar to be between 290F and 300F. It will want to foam over and if it does remove the pan from the heat until the sugar/syrup settles down, then return it to the heat. Traditionally, the boiling sugar (290-300F) is transferred to a wooden bowl and stirred with a wood spoon to remove the last bit of moisture. It will harden into a solid mass as it cools. This mass is broken off the spoon and out of the bowl and stored in an airtight container. When sugar is needed use a heavy-duty cheese grater to grate off what you need.

Water Hyacinth

2008-10-08T20:51:00.011-05:00

Scientific name: Eichhornia crassipes
What: young leaves, stems, bottom "flotation pods"
How: boiled, fried
Where: marshes, water
When: all year
Nutritional Value: Vitamin A
Dangers: Raw and cooked plants may cause itchiness in some people. Also, these plants collect and concentrate any toxin/pollutants in the water, so only collect them from areas of know high water quality. Water hyacinth is very prolific and invasive which has resulted in many places outlawing its transport. This means you might get arrested for taking some home to eat. Water hyacinths are a free floating plant that can be very invasive.

Cluster of water hyacinths.

Closeup of water hyacinth air bladders.

Full plant removed from the water.

Closeup of water hyacinth flowers.

More pictures of water hyacinths.

Creeping Cucumber

2008-10-08T20:28:00.007-05:00

Scientific name: Melothria Pendula
What: green (unripe) fruit
How: raw
Where: woods, borders, stream banks
When: summer
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates and protein
Dangers: The seeds/fruit contain a POWERFUL laxative when ripe, so avoid purple or black fruit.

Honey Mesquite

2008-10-04T22:35:00.020-05:00

Scientific name: Prosopis glandulosa
What: young leaves, seed pods, seeds
How: seed pods raw, cooked, pounded into flour, made into tofu. Young leaves in salad or cooked like spinach
Where: arid fields
When: late summer, early fall
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates, protein, calcium
Other uses: excellent firewood
Dangers: up to 20% of mesquite pods are infected with very dangerous aflatoxin-producing fungus. Only pick pods that are still on the tree and have not been attacked by boring-beetles.

Honey mesquite tree.

Honey mesquite bark and spines.

Leaves and young flowers.

Young mesquite seed pods.

Mature honey Mesquite seed pod.

Mesquite seeds/seed pods are rich in protein, minerals, and fructose. This fructose makes them an exceptionally good food source for diabetics as the body does not use insulin to break down the fructose. The beans can be dried for storage and ground as needed.

Pods that have fallen to the ground or which have bore-holes in them have up to a 20% chance of being infected by a aflatoxin-producing fungus. However, undamaged pods still on the tree are unlikely to have this problem. Most adults are quite resistant to aflatoxin effects but small children can be at risk. Very large doses of aflatoxin can eventually cause liver cancer.

Dandelion

2008-09-30T21:49:00.013-05:00

Scientific name: Taraxum officinale
What: leaves, flowers, roots
How: young leaves in salad or boiled; flowers are used in wine; roots are roasted to make a coffee substitute or boiled for twenty-thirty minutes before eating
Where: yards, sunny
When: spring, early summer
Nutritional Value: Vitamins A, B, thiamine, riboflavin, minerals, and protein

Single dandelion plant.

Cluster of dandelion plants, flowers, and seed-heads.

Dandelions are one of the superfoods of foraging due to their high amounts of vitamins, minerals, and protein as well as the multitude of ways to use them. However, these nutrients come at a cost, mainly the strong bitter flavor of this plant.

This bitterness can be tamed via several different methods. The easiest is just to boil the leaves in several changes of water to extract the bitter compounds. This will remove a small amount of the nutrients and the resultant leaves are not very visually appealing.

If you have access to milder greens with which to make a salad then "dilute" a small amount of shredded dandelion leaves with a much large amount of mild greens. 1 part dandelion + 9 parts mild greens is a good ratio.

Wilting the dandelion greens with hot bacon grease is perhaps the most flavorful method. The hot grease both destroys some of the bitter compounds as well as coats and "desensitizes" your tongue to the bitterness. This is my favorite treatment. Note that olive oil will also work though not quite as well.

Overwhelming the bitterness with (sour) vinegar and or salty (soy sauce) flavors also works. A strong vinegar/oil salad dressing with the dandelion greens works very well.

The yellow flowers can be used to make wine, tea, or dress up a salad. Remove the extremely bitter, green bracts from the base of the flower though.

To make dandelion coffee you first need to collect a large bowl of dandelion roots. Scrub them to remove dirt, then roast them in an oven at 400 degrees F until they turn brown. The dark brown the darker the resultant coffee. Grind the browned roots in a coffee grinder and then you can use the results as you would regular coffee grounds. While this tastes just like normal coffee it does not contain any caffeine.

Yarrow

2008-09-26T22:48:00.010-05:00

Scientific name: Achillea millefolium
What: flowers, leaves, roots
How: flower/leaves-tea, young leaves-salad greens
Where: sunny fields, landscaping, yards
When: summer
Nutritional Value: low
Other Uses: used in the past to treat cuts and wounds.
Dangers: may cause allergic reaction in some people

Yarrow

Yarrow flowers

Yarrow stem and leaves

Young yarrow plants

Devil's Walking Stick

2008-09-11T22:45:00.008-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Aralia spinosa
What: young leaves
How: cooked
Where: sunny fields
When: spring
Nutritional Value: vitamins, flavanoids, phytochemicals
Dangers: very thorny

The young leaves of the Devil's Walking Stick tree can be eaten in the spring before the spines on the leaf stems stiffen. Finely chop the leaves then cook. The non-edible berries form in large clusters, starting out green in mid-summer and then turn red around September.

Close-up of spines on young tree (found on trunk and branches)

Unripe fruit photographed in August in Houston. Ripe fruit is red but NOT edible.

Leaves have a compound opposite layout.

Ginkgo

2008-09-11T22:00:00.046-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Ginkgo biloba
What: leaves, nuts
How: leaves raw, tea; seed/nut roasted
Where: woods, landscaping
When: leaves in spring, summer, fall; nut in summer
Nutritional Value: leaves are medicinal, nuts have calories
Dangers: the fruit STINKS and contains assorted, somewhat dangerous chemicals. Do not let the raw fruit pulp come in contact with bare flesh, mouth, or eyes.

Ginkgo leaf.

Ginkgo trunk.

Ginkgo are ancient trees dating back 270 million years and is considered a "living fossil" and a single tree can live 1,000 years. Individual ginkgo trees are either male or female, with only the female producing fruit. The fruit ripens in the summer as approximately grape-sized yellow fruit. This fruit pulp smells really bad, something like a cross between dog poop and vomit. This pulp is discard because the real treasure is the large seed it contains. Wear rubber gloves when digging the seed out of the ginkgo fruit or else your hands will stink for days. Scrub any pulp off the seeds with plenty of running water. The seeds/nuts are then roasted as the unroasted seeds are still somewhat toxic.

Ginkgo leaves have a long history of being used to treat issues with blood circulation, memory, and dementia. The easiest way to use them is to chew a leaf into a pulp and then suck on this pulp for 10-20 minutes. Tea can also be made from the leaves.

Chile Pequin

2008-09-11T21:46:00.001-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Capsium annum
What: fruit
How: raw, dried, roasted
Where: borders
When: summer, fall
Nutritional Value: assorted beneficial chemicals
Dangers: HOT!!!

The tiny chile pequin peppers are some of the hottest known (Scoville rating 100,000 - 400,000) and add a wonderfully fierce fire to dishes. Use them any way you would a commercial hot pepper including sauces, salsas, or to add a "bite" to assorted pickled veggies or eggs.

These plants can not handle full Texas sun and usually grow best in the partial shade of some larger plant. The peppers appear after the tiny white flower dry and drop off the plant. They are hottest when they are young and green then lose a small amount of fire when they turn red.

Closeup of chile pequin bush.

Closeup of chile pequin fruit. Note the small size of both the fruit and the leaves.

Chile pequin bushes are medium-sized, about two feet high and three feet across.

American Beautyberry

2008-09-08T23:19:00.012-05:00

Scientific name: Callicarpa americana, callicarpa japonica
What: ripe berries
How: raw, preserves
Where: woods
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: minor amounts of vitamins and carbohydrates
Other uses: Recent studies indicate beauty berry leaves contain several very strong mosquito repellent molecules. Toxicity of these molecules still needs to be determined.
Dangers: Some people have reported stomach upset after eating beauty berries. Limit yourself to small servings until you know how your body will react.

American Beautyberry with ripe berries.

Closeup of the berries. They are almost ripe, just need to darken to a deep purple color.

Closeup of a beautyberry leaf.

Immature berry clusters.

Japanese beautyberry stay white rather than turn purple. They are edible.

The berries can be eaten raw but their delicate flavor makes an excellent jelly. Once my beautyberry bushes produce enough berries I'll make some wine out of them.

Hickory

2008-09-08T23:03:00.013-05:00

Scientific name: Carya spp.
What: nuts
How: raw, roasted
Where: Woods, Landscaping
When: fall
Nutritional Value: Vitamin A,E,K,B6; fats, minerals
Other uses: Wood is great for tool handles

Hickory nuts.

Hickory leaves. Note the compound leaf has nine or less (but always and odd number) leaflets while a pecan leaf will have 11-17 leaflets.

Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) tree.

Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) tree bark.

Water hickory (Carya aquatica) nuts are too bitter to eat.

Water hickory bark.

Peppervine

2008-09-08T22:53:00.013-05:00

Scientific name: Ampelopsis arborea
What: ripe berries (black)
How: raw, preserves
Where: woods, borders
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: low in carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins
Dangers: Some people have reported stomach upset after eating peppervine fruit. Limit yourself to small servings until you know how your body will react.

The berries are ripe when they are black. Most people consider these berries somewhat odd tasting. They taste vaguely sweet-grape/not grape to me and leave my mouth feeling dry. That being said, I actually like their flavor though I spit out the seeds as they are gravelly.

Water Plantain

2008-09-08T22:51:00.010-05:00

Scientific name: Alisma plantago
What: rootstock, young leaves
How: boiled, roasted
Where: sunny water
When: roots - winter, spring, early summer
Other uses: carbohydrates
Dangers: Must be cooked to be edible otherwise it is too bitter and somewhat toxic.

Water plantain in pond.

Water plantain along edge of stream.

Water plantain flowers.

The thicker roots contain starch which becomes edible/digestible after boiling or roasting. They are quite bitter so often boiling THEN roasting is the recommended way of preparing them.

Prickly Pear

2008-09-08T22:50:00.012-05:00

Scientific name: Opunita lindheimeri
What: fruit (nopalito), pads, juice
How: peeled pads can be pickled, fried, made into jerky; fruit can be raw or blended into a smoothy/icee drink; juice from strained fruit can be drunk, made into ice cream, mixed drinks, preserves.
Where: sunny fields
When: fruit-late summer, pads-all year though younger pads taste better.
Nutritional Value: vitamin C, some minerals and omega-3 fatty acid
Dangers: The spines and tiny, fine hairs are very irritating and can even be fatal if lodged in the throat. Burn off the spines/hairs to remove.

Prickly Pear in May

Unripe fruit

Ripe fruit

Before doing anything with the pads or fruit you must remove their tiny, almost invisible needles called glochids. Use a barbecue tongs to harvest the pads/fruit and then burn off the glochids with a torch or gas stovetop.

The pads can be peeled then sliced and cooked like green beans though much slimier. Peeled pads can also be seasoned with your favorite beef/venison jerky spices then dehydrated into "vegan jerky".

The fruits are usually mashed, boiled, and then strained through a fine mesh such as cheesecloth to release their delicious juice. Peel the fruit then mash it up in a saucepan. Add just enough water so as to cover the pulp then boil for about ten minutes. Let the resulting juice cool a little then filter out the pulp and seeds through cheesecloth or other fine filter. This juice can be drank straight, made into jelly or wine, or slightly sweetened (it's already quite sweet) then boiled down to make a syrup.

Burning glochids off of the fruit of the similar Opunita species "Cow's Tongue" cactus.

Partridgeberry/Squawberry

2008-09-08T20:37:00.012-05:00

Scientific name: Mitchella repens
What: berries
How: raw
Where: woods, shade
When: late summer, fall, winter
Nutritional Value: Vitamin C

Partridge berry. Note the two "eyes".

The lowly partridge berry plant forms a ground covering vine throughout the piney woods of Texas. This small, creeping vine-like plant creeps through the fallen leaves with a bright red berry the only really noticeable thing to differentiate it from the similar looking yaupon holly seedlings.

The bright red color of the berries suggest that the fruit itself would have an equally powerful taste but they are actually very bland. These fruit also have a grittiness to their flesh so the overall impression to me is much like very tiny pears. Not being a fan of pears, I'm not wild about partridge berries either. They are fairly nutritious, as most brightly-covered edible plants are and were used as food by native Americans. They can be eaten raw, dried, or made into jellies and jams, though for the later I recommend they be combined with other more strongly-flavored fruit.

Another closeup of the berry.

Partridge berry creepers. The berries are found at the end of the plant.

Acorn

2008-08-20T21:37:00.067-05:00

Scientific Name: Quercus spp.
What: nuts
How: leach out tannins with lots of water then grind to flour, roast nuts then grind for coffee
Where: oaks (white, red, live, burr, post, pin, etc)
When: fall
Nutritional Value: protein, minerals, fats and carbohydrates
Other uses: tanning leather
Dangers: very bitter if not tannic acid isn't leached

Burr oak acorns are the biggest at over 1" across.

Assorted oak leaves.

Burr oak leaf.

Live Oaks (Quercus fusiformis) are the most common oak in Houston but they produce the least desirable acorns. Live oak nuts are hard to remove from their shells and are very bitter.
White oaks (Quercus alba) produce the least bitter nuts, followed by Red oaks (Quercus rubra) but even both of these need the tannins leached from their acorns. White oak acorns mature in one year while Red oak acorns take two years to complete their growth.
Pin oaks (Quercus palustris) are related to Red oaks while Bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa) are related to White oaks.

Tannins can be leached out by placing the shelled nuts in a mesh bag then submersing them in running water for several weeks. A more modern method is to grind them into a coarse flour (blenders or food processors work) then treat them like coffee grounds and repeatedly run them through a coffee maker until they no longer taste bitter. The hot water will extract the tannins. One can also do this by placing the ground acorn flour in a filter of some sort then pour large amounts of water over it but that is much messier than the coffeemaker trick.

To use acorns as a caffeine-free coffee substitute coarse-grind them then roast them at 400F in an oven to a dark brown color. At this point you can use them just like ound coffee.

Amaranth

2008-08-20T21:37:00.066-05:00

Scientific name: Amaranthus spp.
What: young leaves, seeds
How: Young leaves raw or cooked, seeds eaten raw, roasted or ground into flour
Where: sunny fields, disturbed areas
When: summer
Nutritional Value: Grains supply protein, calories, and minerals. Leaves vitamins A & C along with minerals calcium, iron, and phosphorous, and also fiber.

One variation of amaranth.

Another variation of amaranth.

Red amaranth (often used as decorative plant).

Another amaranth.

Prostrate pigweed aka Amaranthus blitoides seedling.

Mature prostrate pigweed (Amaranthus blitoides).

Shiny/silvery underside of prostrate pigweed (Amaranthus blitoides).

Amaranth seeds are very rich in carbohydrates and up to 16% protein by weight. Better still, the seeds contain the amino acid lysine which is very rare for plants but vital for human health. A single plant can produce as many as 100,000 of these wonderful, slightly nutty-tasting seeds. The ornamental varieties are just as productive as the wild one but are more attractive. The red amaranths were used by Native Americans both as a food source and a dye.

Arrowhead/Wapato

2008-08-20T21:37:00.061-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Maranta spp. and Sagittaria spp.
What: tubers, young leaves, young flower stalks
How: boiled, roasted
Where: marshes, water
When: tubers all year, best in late fall and early winter; young leaves in early summer; flower stalks well before flower buds have opened.
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates
Dangers: Beware the similar-looking arrow arum, (Peltandra virginica) plant which has an arrowhead-shaped leaf and produces tubers same as Sagittaria species.

Arrowroot plants have many long veins radiating outwards from the center (palmate).

Arrowroot leaf and flower stalk with white flowers and unopened buds.

Note the spider-like (palmate) pattern of veins in the arrowhead-shaped leaves.

A stand of wapato plants.

Closeup of wapato flowers.

Traditionally arrowroot/wapato tubers are freed from the mud by tearing them from the roots while walking barefoot in the water. The tubers float to the surface where the can be collected. They are prepared for eating by first peeling the bitter outer skin, followed by cooking any way you would cook a potato. The young leaves are harvested and boiled before they've had a chance to unroll/unfurl. The flower stalk is cooked like asparagus but it must be harvested before it's flower buds have opened.

Note that these tubers do not store very well, unlike traditional potatoes. If you want to try and keep them make sure you are storing only perfect, undamaged tubers and place them in moist, clean sand in a cool, dark place.

TOXIC MIMIC: ARROW ARUM PLANT
The tell the difference between arrowhead plants and Arum arrowhead plants look at the pattern of veins in the leaves. Toxic arrow Arum leaves have only three main veins, one each running out from the center out to the points of it's leaf. From these three main veins branch out smaller veins, much like you see in a "normal" leaf of other plants. The good arrowhead/wapato leaf has many veins radiating out from the center of the leaf (palmate), making it kind of look like a spider. These veins meet up again at the tips/points of the wapato leaf.
The tubers of the arum plant are high in toxic calcium oxilate which is toxic and can cause burns in the mouth. Non-toxic sagittaria & maranta plants have leaf veins which run parallel to each other from the top to the bottom of the leaves. Toxic arrow arum veins branch out perpendicular to a large central vein.

Basswood/Linden

2008-08-20T21:36:00.028-05:00

Scientific name: Tilia americana
What: flowers, leaves, buds, inner bark
How: leaves raw in salad, buds to nibble, flowers for tea, cambium (inner bark) raw or boiled for calories
Where: Sunny edges of woods
When: buds in late winter, young leaves spring/summer, flowers summer, cambium all year
Nutritional Value: Leaves contain vitamins and minerals, inner bark has carbohydrates
Other uses: cordage from bark, not a good firewood

Basswood leaves and seedpods.

Basswood bark.

A very delicious tea is made from the small flowers of basswood trees, which appear in the spring. The young leaf buds and leaves can be eaten raw. The calorie-rich inner bark is stripped away and boiled to eat. This cambium layer can also be soaked then shredded to make strong fibers that can be woven into containers.

Bamboo/River Cane

2008-08-20T21:36:00.027-05:00

Scientific name: Arundinaria gigantea
What: seeds, young shoots
How: cooked/steamed
Where: river banks above high-water level
When: early spring through summer
Nutritional Value: small amounts of carbohydrates, protein, and vitamin C
Other uses: fishing poles, lattice structures, blow guns
Dangers: beware of deadly purple Ergot fungus.

Rivercane

Closeup of stem.

Grove of rivercane.

Young river cane shoots can be used in stir-fries and other Asian-style dishes the same as bamboo shoots. The canes were also used by Native Americans to make arrows and blowguns.

River cane is slightly susceptible to ergot fungal infections. Closely examine any river cane for signs of a purple powdery substance before harvesting especially during rainy summers following very cold winters. Ergot poisoning can lead to hallucinations followed by death. I have yet to find any river cane infected with ergot, but I still keep an eye out for this fungus.

Bay Laurel

2008-08-20T21:34:00.035-05:00

Scientific name: Umbellularia Californica
What: nuts, leaves
How: roast nuts, used leaf as seasoning
Where: woods, borders
When: leaves all year, nuts in the fall
Nutritional Value: Calcium, iron, other minerals, vitamins A, C, B6, folate.
Other uses: nuts contain a mild stimulant
Dangers: Looks similar to the very poisonous cherry laurel. The leaves of cherry laurel smell like cherry/cyanide and have toothed edges while bay laurel leaves have smooth edges and smell like Italian seasoning.

Young tree

Leaves closeup (Bay Laurel leaves have smooth edges)

Nuts

Teeth (pointy bits along edge of leaves) + cyanide/cherry smell = poisonous cherry laurel. DO NOT EAT CHERRY LAUREL!!

Betony

2008-08-20T21:34:00.034-05:00

Scientific name: Stachys floridana
What: tubers, leaves, stems
How: tubers raw, cooked, or pickled; leaves & stems in tea or smoked
Where: shady undergrowth, lawns
When: during cool seasons, especially winter
Nutrional value: calories from tuber, antioxidants in leaves,
Dangers: plants can reproduce from even small section of tuber making them invasive

Plant and young tubers

Plant and edible tuber

Betony patch (plants with the purple flowers are betony)

Sell your coat and buy betony!
-Italian proverb

Large patches of betony plants can be found in local forest from late winter until mid/late spring. During this time the tubers are growing, reaching full size of about an inch long. Not every plant produces a tuber, you need to dig up quite a few to find them. These plants readily reproduce from bits of tubers and roots and so are considered to be invasive.

Betony has a long history of being an herbal "magic bullet" capable of curing many ills. It's high tannic acid content helps it staunch bleeding; assorted alkaloids and antioxidants supposedly give relief from fevers and headaches along with improving overall blood circulation. In Europe it is believed to help with issues with the stomach, liver and gallbladder. It was ingested as a tea, herb, and also by both smoking and as snuff well before the arrival of tobacco.

Blackberry

2008-08-20T21:33:00.031-05:00

Scientific name: Rubus ursinus
What: flowers, berries
How: open mouth, insert flower/fruit, then chew
Where: Sunny wastelands, borders between woods and fields, blackberry plants grow as tall, vertical canes.
When: Spring
Nutritional Value: Vitamin C
Other uses: wine, jelly, tea
Dangers: sharp thorns

Blackberry flowers

Blackberries in various stages of ripeness.

Blackberries appear in the second year of a particular's cane's growth. That cane will not produce berries again and should be trimmed away after harvest to keep the plants healthy and easier to pick.

A delicious tea can be made from blackberry flowers and/or its young leaves. I recommend using the leaves rather than flowers so not to reduce the amount of fruit produced. For tea pick young healthy leaves in late morning after any dew has dried but before the sun has had a chance to evaporate the volatile flavoring oils out of the leaves. Dry the leaves before use for a richer flavor. The combination of blackberry and yaupon holly leaves makes a most excellent and vitamin-rich tea rich.

The technical name for this type of plant structure is a "cane" but I put it under "Vine" to make it easier to find by beginners.

Black Walnut

2008-08-20T21:33:00.030-05:00

Scientific name: Juglans nigra
What: nuts
How: raw, cooked
Where: forests, fields
When: fall
Nutritional Value: fats, protein, some minerals
Other uses: dye, fish poison
Dangers: shell juice stains objects and poisons fish

Almost ripe nuts. They are a little larger than golf balls when ripe.

Black walnut trees can prefer open sunny fields but can also end up in forests. The wood is much sought after by woodworkers.

Bullrush/Cattail

2008-08-20T21:32:00.031-05:00

Scientific name: Typha agustifolia
What: Tubers, shoots, male portion of flower, pollen
How: Tuber starch granules are removed by hand from fibers, young shoots cut from tubers, older stems can be peeled back to get soft, white edible pith, male (top) part of flower steamed before it become fluffy, pollen from male section is shaken into paper bag from flower and use as flour
Where: Shallow water
When: Tubers in winter, shoots in spring/summer, pollen and flowers in spring
Nutritional Value: Young shoots have low amounts of minerals. Pollen is high in protein. Tubers are high in calcium, iron, potassium, and carbohydrates.
Other uses: Fluff is good tinder and insulation, leaves can be woven into baskets and used to thatch huts.
Dangers: Fluff may cause skin irritation, wash thoroughly before eating raw.

Bullrushes/cattails

Closeup of cattail bases.

Flowers (brown top is male portion, green part below male is female section)

Canna Lily

2008-08-20T21:32:00.030-05:00

Scientific name: Canna indica
What: Tubers, young shoots
How: Pulp to remove starch, cook shoots
Where: Sunny areas, often in landscapes
When: summer, fall
Nutritional Value: Calories
Other uses: They will absorb pollutants/contaminants from wetlands.

Mature canna lilies in the wild.

The leaves look like banana plants and can be used to wrap foods for cooking just like banana leaves.

Mature canna lilies in my backyard.

Edible tuber. Use it just like a potato.

Young edible shoot.

Flowers (not edible).

Canna lilies were a vital food source for Northwestern Native Americans and contain the highest percentage of starch of any known tuber. They can be cooked like potatoes though the natives would also make flour from them. To obtain canna lily flour slice the tubers into 1/4" disks and allow them to dry for a day or two. Then crumble these disks up in a large bowl of water. The starch (flour) will sink to the bottom of the bowl and any fiber will float to the top where it can be collected and discarded. Allow the starch to dry completely then grind/pound it into flour.

Cassava/Manioc/Tapioca

2008-08-20T21:31:00.012-05:00

Scientific name: Manihot esculenta
What: young leaves, root tubers
How: mash leaves then boil and drain; peel and boil tubers then mash, drain, let dry, then grind into flour.
Where: partial sunny, borders, fields, abandoned homesteads
When: late summer fall
Nutritional Value: Tuber extremely high in starch; leave high in protein, vitamins, and minerals
Other uses: Tubers high in starch, calcium, and vitamin C, leaves are rich in protein.
Dangers: Bitter manioc contain high levels of hydrocyanic acid whereas sweet manioc contains just a small amount.

Young tree

Close-up of leaves

Closeup of the Cassava seed pod (not edible).

This plant is a staple food for many Africans, supplying much of their protein and minerals (leaves) and calories (tubers). The plant can easily be grown by planting a branch 2" in diameter and 2'-3' long so that the bottom third is in the dirt. Water well at first but it will become fairly drought resistant after a few months. It prefers full sun.

The leaves are high in minerals and protein, but also toxic hydrocyanic acid. To make then safe to eat first wash the freshly picked young leaves in cold water. Next, grind/mash/chop them up into mush which is then boiled in a minimum amount of water for 15 minutes. Then season the leaves with onion, salt, or other spices and serve.

To make manioc flour harvest and immediately wash and peel the tubers. Grate the tubers using a medium grater and collect the material in a clean cloth bag. Squeeze the bag tightly to press out all the water from the grated manioc. Place the pressed manioc "cakes" in the sun to dry, then re-grate them once dried. Remove any plant fibers from this material which is then ground or pounded into flour. This flour can be used as a direct replacement for wheat flour. Store it in an airtight container.

Sweet manioc tubers can be roasted or boiled like potatoes.

Cleaver

2008-08-20T21:30:00.054-05:00

Scientific name: Galium aparine
What: seeds, leaves, stems
How: seeds roasted for coffee, leaves/stems raw though better cooked; tea from stems & leaves
Where: fields, yards, woods, sunny areas
When: Fall, Winter, Spring
Nutritional Value: Vitamin C
Other uses:
Dangers: They can be eaten raw but their tiny hairs irritate most people. Cooking them removes this problem.

Young cleavers among wood sorrel and wild violets.

These common weeds pop up in mid-winter and by spring they form huge clumps of clingy, vine-like plants. In some circles cleaves are known as "backpacker colanders" as a large clump of them can be used as a field-expedient colander for straining pasta of rinsing berries.

Cleavers are often used as a source of vitamin C in assort bottled fruit juices and the same vitamin C benefits can be acquired from cleaver tea. I think young cleavers taste like peas.

Chicory

2008-08-20T21:30:00.052-05:00

Scientific name: Cichorium intybus
What: Leaves, roots, flowers
How: cook leaves, roast root then grind into a coffee substitute, flowers can be eaten raw
Where: Sunny areas, ditches, abandoned yards
When: early spring otherwise leaves are too bitter
Nutritional Value: Leaves contain vitamins A, C, K

Closeup of chicory flower.

Chicory plant before growing flower stalks.

The young leaves can be eaten raw in salads, though they do have a strong, somewhat bitter taste. This bitterness increases once the plant flowers.

Chicory roots can be used as a caffeine-free coffee substitute. Roast the roots to a dark brown color in an oven at 400F. The darker the color the more roasted flavor they will have. After roasting coarsely grind the roasted roots before using to brew coffee.

Chickweed

2008-08-20T21:30:00.051-05:00

Scientific name: Stellaria media
What: leaves, stems
How: raw or cooked
Where: sunny, shady disturbed areas
When: winter, spring, summer
Nutritional Value: Rich in iron, potassium, other minerals, and vitamins A, D, B, C, and minerals
Dangers: Chickweed contain a small amount of saponins (soap-like) chemicals. Excessive quantities of it can cause stomach distress.

Patch of chickweed growing against house foundation.

Close-up of chickweed flower.

Chickweed going to seed.

Chickweed sprouts were a common source of greens on early navy ships and helped prevent scurvy before the discovery of vitamin C. Their small amount of saponins help give dishes containing chickweed a creamy texture, especially when diced finely and simmered in pasta sauces. It's also tastes wonderful in pesto, salsas, and raw food/vegan "green drinks" as well as greatly increasing the nutritional value of these foods.

The hairy "Mouse-Eared Chickweed" must be cooked before eating to soften the hairs on the stems and leaves.

Clover

2008-08-20T21:29:00.023-05:00

Scientific name: Trifolium repens L.
What: leaves, flowers, root
How: leaves-raw or cooked before flowers appear; flowers-raw, cooked, dried for tea or flour, root-dried then cooked
Where: lawns, fields
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: protein

Both fresh or dried clover flowers can seeped in hot water to make a delicious tea. The leaves and roots can be added to stews, soups and other simmered dishes for a boost of protein.

Cow Parsnip

2008-08-20T21:29:00.021-05:00

Scientific name: Heracleum sphondylium montanum
What: young leaves, stem, roots, seeds
How: leaves-raw/cooked; stem and roots-peel then boil; seeds-dry then add to soups and stews
Where: shade, borders, woods, marsh
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: sugars/calories in stem and roots
Dangers: WARNING: Similar-looking to deadly, foul-smelling hemlock! Also, juice and hairs of cow parsnip can irritate skin and contains suspected cancer-causing chemicals.

Cow parsnip plant (almost seven feet tall).

Closeup of flowers.

Another view of flowers.

Leaves of cow parsnips are huge, well over twelve inches across.

Curled Dock, Yellow Dock

2008-08-20T21:28:00.074-05:00

Scientific name: Rumex crispus
What: very young leaves, seeds
How: leaves may be eaten raw, but boiling removes toxic oxalic acid and reduces bitterness, roast seeds or grind seeds into flour
Where: fields, disturbed areas, stream and pond banks
When: summer, fall, winter, spring
Nutritional Value: leaves are high in vitamin A&C, minerals, protein; roots high in iron and other minerals
Dangers: contains oxalic acid, limit intake to a few raw leaves, boiling removes much of the oxalic acid

Young leaves are edible raw at this point.

Probably need boiling now.

Dock plant.

Mature curled dock (early summer).

Closeup of curled dock seeds.

Dock is a rich source of vitamins and minerals and the leaves, though tangy in flavor, taste mild enough to eat raw up until the flower spikes appear. After that but it can become bitter. Boiling it in a change of water removes some of the bad taste. Mix it with milder greens to cut the flavor more. My Polish friend raves about creamy dock soup from the old country. Her version takes a lot of work, mine involves just dicing up young dock leaves (about 1/2 cup) and tossing them in a can of cream of mushroom soup. Add crumbed bacon and diced potatoes to really jazz it up!

The papery sheath holding the seeds is hard to remove so it is usually just left on the seeds, though be warned consuming large quantities of the sheath fiber will do wonders (not all good) to you digestive output. Imagine eating a really, really big bran muffin...topped with Ex-Lax. The seeds can be roasted then eaten as a snack or ground into flour, boiled into porridge, added to bread, etc... Really, their use is limited only by your imagination!

Dewberry

2008-08-20T21:28:00.070-05:00

Scientific name: Rubus species
What: flowers, berries
How: open mouth, insert flower/fruit, then chew. seep flowers/young leaves in hot water for tea
Where: Sunny wastelands, borders between woods and fields. Dewberry plants grow as a low, horizontal ground cover.
When: Spring
Other uses: wine, jelly, tea, wine
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates, vitamin C; small amount of minerals and vitamins A & B
Dangers: sharp thorns

Unripe fruit

Ripe fruit

A delicious tea can be made from dewberry flowers and/or its young leaves. I recommend using the leaves rather than flowers so not to reduce the amount of fruit produced. For tea pick young healthy leaves in late morning after any dew has dried but before the sun has had a chance to evaporate the volatile flavoring oils out of the leaves. Dry the leaves before use for a richer flavor. The combination of dewberry and yaupon holly leaves makes a most excellent and vitamin-rich tea rich.

The dewberry plant creeps along the ground as a thorny vine.

Elderberry

2008-08-20T21:28:00.069-05:00

Scientific name: Sambucus canadensis
What: flowers, berries
How: the flowers can be eaten raw or fried as fritters, the berries are best when cooked into muffins/pancakes/waffles, made into jam or wine
Where: edges, wet areas
When: summer
Nutritional Value: Vitamin A & C
Dangers: all other parts of plant (bark, leaves, wood) are poisonous. Berry clusters must be flat, kind of like cauliflower, not rounded like a globe.

Flowers (edible)

Dark purple-black fruit (edible).

Leaves (not edible!)

Day Lily

2008-08-20T21:28:00.062-05:00

Scientific name: Hemerocallis fulva
What: leaves, flowers, flower pods, tubers
How: young leaves-raw or cooked; flowers/pods raw or cooked; tubers-cooked
Where: sunny areas, often in flower beds but have escaped
When: summer
Nutritional Value: calories, minerals, vitamins B & C
Dangers: The original species (Hemerocallis fulva) of day lilies is considered edible but due to extensive experimental breeding toxic forms of day lilies have been created. It is safest to only eat day lilies that you can confirm are Hemerocallis fulva at the time of purchase (it should say the species name somewhere on the sales tag).

Day Lily flowers and flower pods.

The flowers add a colorful splash to salads while the unopened flower buds are best battered then fried...but then everything is good battered then fried.

Grape - Muscadine

2008-08-20T21:27:00.032-05:00

Scientific name: Vitis rotundifolia
What: fruits, leaves, young tendrils
How: fruit raw, cooked, dried, preserves, wine; leaves and tendrils cooked.
Where: Edges of woods, Its leaves aren't as fuzzy as Mustang grapes nor do they have white undersides.
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value:, calories, antioxidants, very low in vitamins and minerals.

Immature fruit

Mature fruit

Fallen mature fruit

Close-up of leaves

Very mature grape vines.

When ripe the fruit is very sweet and flavorful but unlike store-bought grapes the skins of muscadines is very thick/chewy and the inner pulp is quite gelatinous. The seeds can be eaten with the grape or saved to be crushed for grape oil. The white, powder coating on the skin is a naturally-occurring yeast which can be used to ferment the crushed grapes into wine.

Muscadine grape vines can be used as an emergency water source in the woods. Cut through a thick grape vine as high up as you can reach, followed by cutting through it again at the very bottom. To collect the water which drips out support the top end up in the air and place the bottom end below it in a container. Once the water flow stops cut two feet off the top and more water will drip out of the vine. Repeat the cutting off of the top two feet every time the water stops flowing until no vine is left.

Grape - Frost

2008-08-20T21:27:00.030-05:00

Scientific name: Vitis vulpina
What: fruit, leaves, young tendrils
How: fruit raw, cooked, dried, preserves, wine; leaves and tendrils cooked
Where: edges of woods
When: winter, fruit best after frost
Nutritional Value: calories, very low in vitamins and minerals.

Frost grapes do not become edible until after a frost. They are best used for jams and jellies.

Garlic - Wild

2008-08-20T21:27:00.004-05:00

Grape - Mustang

2008-08-20T21:26:00.018-05:00

Scientific name: Vitis mustangensis
What: fruits, leaves, young tendrils
How: fruit raw (very tart), cooked, dried, preserves, wine; leaves and tendrils cooked,
Where: Edges of woods. Mustang grape leaves are fuzzy and have a white underside.
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: calories, antioxidants
Other uses: water can be obtained from the vines (see technique in grapes- muscadine post), wild yeast from the fruit
Dangers: Mustang grapes are very acidic and handling/eating large amounts of the raw fruit can cause burns to hands and mouth.

Mustang grape vine with unripe fruit. Note that the top of the leaves are green while their underside is white/gray. Both sides of the leaf are fuzzy to the touch.

Almost-ripe Mustang grapes.

Mustanf grape leaves can either have a traditional grape-leaf shape or be deeply lobed.

Mustang grapes are the first to ripen in the summer here in Texas. They have a thick skin surrounding a very tart, gelatinous inner. This tartness makes them unpleasant to eat raw and are better if made into jam/jelly or wine. When making jelly include some skins of green/unripe grapes as a source of pectin.

Greenbriar

2008-08-20T21:24:00.042-05:00

Scientific name: Smilax spp.
What: tender vines (portion easily snapped off by hand), tendrils, tubers, leaves, berries
How: vines and tendrils are eaten raw, steamed or baked; roots are sliced, then pounded and boiled to free starch; berries eaten raw or made into jams or jelly
Where: shady forests
When: All year
Nutritional Value: tubers high in starch & minerals; leaves & stems high assorted vitamins and minerals.
Other uses: Vegan jello shots
Dangers: Pick from vines containing both thorns and tendrils only.

Edible tip of greenbriar (bullbriar) vine.

Close-up of greenbriar (bullbriar) vine tip.

Greenbriars and Catbriars are the only vines with both thorns and tendrils.

Greenbriar (bullbriar) tubers and vines.

Same tuber body as above after digging up. The youngest, best tuber will be the white one next to where the vine joins the tubers.

Some tubers turned up by a construction crew.

Closeup of greenbriar (bullbriar) tuber.

Berries in January. They have a slight sweet taste and contain 1-2 inedible seeds.

Slicing up a tuber in preparation for collecting it's starch.

Dried slices of greenbriar (bullbriar) naturally turn reddish-orange.

Greenbriar is one of the best wild foods available as it can be found in immense quantities all year-round, tastes really good, is very nutritious, and is a source of calories (tubers). Greenbriars are the only vines that have both tendrils and thorns making them easy to identify.

To find the edible tips just pull on the greenbriar vine until you get to it's top end. You can eat any soft, tender portion of the plant (stem, leaves, and tendrils). The vines may grow as a single stalk or branch out into many vines ranging in diameter from 1/8" to over 3/4". Multiple branching vines are more common with smaller-diameter plants. These above ground portions of the plant can all be eaten raw, the leaves and tendrils can also be cooked like spinach, and the vines can cooked like asparagus.

Track the thickest vines back to their buried tubers. These tubers can form a mass up to 75 pounds but are difficult to dig due to their many long roots. The starch produced from the tubers may have an astringent, unpleasant taste but it is rich in calories. It is exceptionally good at thickening stews and even water to the point of becoming almost Jello-like. Native Americans would slow roast the tubers under a fire for several days, then chew the cooked starch out of the tubers and spit out the fibers. The youngest tubers are the best to harvest. They will be the lightest in color though the color may be white, light pink, light purple or light yellow.

The starch was also collected by slicing the tubers into 1/4" disks, letting them dry in the sun for a few days, then crumbing the disks in a large bowl of water. The granules of starch fall to the bottom of the bowl and the fibers float to the top. The water and fibers were discarded and the starch was dried and then ground up for use as flour. It still has a bitter taste but it'll give you calories.

Leaves of different types of Catbriar. They are all palmate-veined.

Edible tip of catbriar.

Hibiscus

2008-08-20T21:24:00.040-05:00

Scientific Names: Abelmoschus esculentus, A. manihot, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Abelmoschus esculentus, A. moschatus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, H. sabdariffa, H. syriacus, H. tiliaceus, Hibiscus divaricatus, H. heterophyllus, H.mutabilis, H. trionum.
What: flowers, leaves, seeds, roots
How: flowers raw, young leaves raw or cooked, seeds roasted then ground to powder added to soups and stews. Roots are diced then roasted.
Where: sunny areas, often used in landscaping
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: Flowers high in antioxidants; seeds are high in protein & starch; leaves high in minerals; roots contain starch.
Other uses: cordage, fire drills
Dangers: Some types of hibiscus contain dangerous toxins. Identification of edible species is safest when the species can be identified from it's label at the time of purchase.

There are many cultures that claim to eat hibiscus roots but I haven't found out how to actually prepare them.

Jerusalem Artichoke

2008-08-20T21:23:00.068-05:00

Scientific name: Helianthus tuberosus
What: tubers
How: raw, cooked
Where: fields, wastelands
When: winter
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates, minerals
Dangers: may cause gas

Tubers

Tubers and roots

Plant

Closeup of plant leaves

Flower

Jerusalem artichokes thrive in neglected waste areas and produce a large amount of starchy tubers. This makes them an excellent plant for guerrilla gardening in vacant lots and other urban-blighted areas. They belong to the same family as sunflowers and produce similar flowers in the late summer/fall.

As the tuber grow during the summer they are filled with a large starch molecule called inulin. Inulin tastes sweet but is a very complex carbohydrate which the human digestive system can not break down to extract any usable calories. Tubers eaten in the summer or fall will give you some minerals, a few vitamins, and some fiber but the inulin starch will just pass through the digestive track. Sidenote: some bacteria in the gut can eat this inulin and after doing so this bacteria will produce quite a bit of methane gas...which may lead to excessive flatulence.

However, after the first frost of the year the tuber starts producing a slow-acting enzyme which breaks the inulin down into simple sugars that the plant will use to grow new stalks in the spring. We can digest/metabolize these simple sugars. This means if we have to wait until late winter to harvest the tuber to get calories from them.

If possible leave the tubers in the ground during winter and just dig them up as need. This works great in Houston or other southern climates. Tubers stored in a refrigerator tend to get mushy for some reason. If you are up north store the tubers outside in a covered wooden box filled with loose, dry sand.

Jerusalem artichoke tubers were a staple food of many Native American tribes and were spread throughout North America via trade between tribes. However, they were not actively cultivated like corn, squash, beans or other well-known native crops. The tubers were buried and then the plants were usually just ignored until late winter when the natives were running low on stored food. At this time the women would go searching for field mouse homes to raid for Jerusalem artichoke tubers. The mice loved the tubers and would spend a great deal of time digging them up and stockpiling them around their nest. The women would then just steal them from the mice.

Indian Strawberry

2008-08-20T21:23:00.067-05:00

Scientific name: Duchesnea indica
What: small red fruit, young leaves
How: fruit raw (tasteless/bland), leaves and flowers raw, cooked, or in a tea
Where: sunny or partially shaded fields
When: spring
Nutritional Value: minerals, low in vitamins

Fruit. (Oval leaves in lower left corner of above picture are not Indian Strawberry leaves)

Flower

Sadly, these bright red fruit actually have a bland, inside taste. However, they are usually plentiful when in season and can supply a good dose of vitamins, flavanoids and antioxidants.

Mallow

2008-08-20T21:23:00.066-05:00

Scientific name: Malva neglecta, Malva parviflora
What: leaves, young shoots, roots
How: raw, steamed, sauteed, tea. leaves and roots produce a thickening agent
Where: sunny, fields, yards
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: very high in minerals, vitamins A & C, and protein.

Mallow leaves and flowers.

These mallows are "superfoods" rich in vitamins, minerals and protein. It is rarely eaten fresh as the leaves are stiff and rough and have a bland taste that is easy covered by others flavors. A popular way of consuming this plant is to dry it then crumble it into smoothies, soups, stews, or other foods with sauces.

Horsemint/Lemon Bee Balm

2008-08-20T21:23:00.061-05:00

Scientific name: Monarda spp. and Mentha spp.
What: flowers, leaves
How: tea, flavoring
Where: fields
When: summer
Nutritional Value: minerals, some vitamin A,B2,C

Horsemint/Lemon Bee Balm (Monarda spp.)

Young Bee Balm (Monarda spp.)

Another horsemint flower (Monarda spp.)

The flowers and young leaves of this plant add a wonderful herbal/citrus flavor to tea, candies, and anything else that may need some help with it's flavor such as yaupon holly tea.

Mulberry

2008-08-20T21:22:00.057-05:00

Scientific name: Morus microphylla and other Morus species
What: berries (red, pink or white), young leaves, inner bark
How: berries raw, dried, jelly, wine. Young leaves in salad. Inner bark can be boiled and eaten all year.
Where: Woods, borders between woods and fields, urban landscapes
When: spring
Nutritional Value: high in vitamins C&K, minerals and some carbohydrates

Ripe and unripe mullberries (picture taken in late April).

Leaves of a mullberry tree. They can have 0-5 lobes.

Young mullberries (picture taken in November)

Milkweed

2008-08-20T21:22:00.056-05:00

Scientific name: Asclepias spp.
What: young shoots, young flower buds, young seed pods
How: all young parts raw or cooked
Where: fields
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: minerals
Other uses: cordage, tinder
Dangers: Toxic dogbane looks slightly similar, but is smaller. The milky white sap of dogbane can blister skin. Edible milkweed has fine white hairs on it's stem whereas dogbane does not. If the milkweed pod is bitter boil it to improve taste.

Milkweed pods of Asclepias viridis. These are a bit large and would have been better a week or so earlier.

The milkweed stem contains very strong natural fibers which can be braided into fine cordage.

Maple

2008-08-20T21:22:00.055-05:00

Scientific name: Acer spp.
What: Inner bark, seeds, leaves, sap
How: Boil inner bark or dry into flour, cook seeds, young leaves raw or cooked, boil sap down to syrup
Where: everywhere
When: anytime
Nutritional value: sugar in sap, protein and carbohydrates in seeds, minerals in leaves, carbohydrates in inner bark.

Tapping sugar maples is best done in late winter when daytime highs are 40-50F but below freezing at night. Complete directions for making maple syrup and maple sugar are HERE.

Maple seeds can be roasted like pumpkins seeds. Remove the seeds from their "wings" before roasting. The young leaves are best within the first few weeks of appearing and are delicious raw and wonderful when added to salads, especially with a tangy oil/vinegar dressing.

The inner bark is mainly a survival food. Cut long vertical strips of the bark off the tree, not exceeding more than 10% of the width of the tree trunk. Taking more will most likely kill the tree and even just taking 10% will greatly weaken it. The inner bark looks like a brown paper bag. Slice it into thin strips then boil it for several hours to make a mush. It will still tastes pretty much like a boiled paper bag.

Red maple seeds. They are ready in the spring before the tree puts out its leaves.

Honey Locust

2008-08-20T21:22:00.054-05:00

Scientific name: Gleditsia Triacanthos,
What: buds, flowers, young seed pods, seeds
How: raw or cooked in soups and stews, tea/drink
Where: sunny, arid land
When: Spring, summer.
Nutritional Value: sugar, protein, minerals
Other uses: extremely hot and fragrant firewood
Dangers: These can occasionally contain toxic, bitter tasting compounds. Only use sweet-tasting honey locusts.

Honey locust spins on trunk of tree.

Honey locust spines on branches along with flowers.

Closeup of honey ocust spine.

Mature honey locust seed pod.

Pecan

2008-08-20T21:21:00.065-05:00

Scientific name: Carya illinoinensis
What: nuts
How: raw, cooked
Where: pecan trees
When: fall
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates and protein

Pecan nut

Ripe pecan nuts on tree.

Almost-ripe pecans (picture taken early August in East Texas).

Pecan tree.

What truly needs to be said about pecans in Texas?
Best. Wild. Food. Ever!

Onion - Wild

2008-08-20T21:21:00.064-05:00

Scientific name: Allium species
What: bulbs and young stems/leaves
How: raw or cooked as seasoning
Where: open, sunny areas
When: all year, more common in cool weather.
Nutritional Values: Vitamin C plus small amounts of other vitamins, minerals, some carbohydrates.
Other Uses: juice acts as a weak insect repellent
Dangers: Toxic "Crows Poison" plants look just like wild onion but only wild onion smells like onion. If it smells like onion it is safe to eat, if it just smells like grass it is toxic Crow's Poison (Nothoscordum bivalve).

A bunch of wild onions.

A single wild onion plant.

Wild onion flowers.

Wild onions form large beds of plants which drive out other plants. They are most common in cooler weather.

Nutsedge

2008-08-20T21:21:00.062-05:00

Scientific name: Cyperaceae spp.
What: tubers, seeds
How: tubers and seeds can be eaten raw or cooked
Where: fields, lawns, marshes, woods, water
When: summer
Nutritional Value: seeds contain protein and carbohydrates, tubers contain starch
Dangers: Beware of toxic mimic Verbane. The stem of edible nutsedges are triangular in shape while the toxic verbane has a round stem. Thoroughly wash any plants collected from water to remove harmful bacteria.

One type of nutsedge.

Another type of nutsedge.

Nutsedge seeds shaken from head of plant.

Nutsedges were originals cultivated in ancient times as both a food source (especially the high protein seeds). Along with seeds there are deposits of starch in pea-sized tubers along the roots. These must be carefully dug out of the ground as the roots are fragile and will tear away if the nutsedge is pulled from the ground.

Plantain

2008-08-20T21:21:00.060-05:00

Scientific name: Plantago major
What: leaves, young seed pods
How: raw, steamed
Where: Sunny fields, urban yards
When: Spring
Nutritional Value: minerals, vitamin B
Other uses: Rub mashed leaves on insect bites to relieve pain/itching

Really big plantains.

The leaves are too rough and stiff to be eaten raw in salads by most people. It is better to juice the leaves or steam or boil that part of the plant. However the seed heads make a good munch raw.

Prickly Ash/Toothache Tree

2008-08-20T21:20:00.039-05:00

Scientific name(s): Zanthoxylum clava-herculis, Zanthoxylum hirsutum, and Zanthoxylum fagara
What: leaves, dried fruit
How: chew a small bit of leaf to numb mouth/lips, use dried fruit Sichuan seasoning
Where: shaded woods
When: whenever leaves are present
Nutritional Value: medicinal, antioxidants
Other uses: Hit people with spiny club made from trunk
Dangers: Slightly toxic, do not swallow leaves or bark

Prickly ash bark and spines.

Mature tree trunk.

The leaves and bark of these trees contains a fairly strong anesthetic. Native Americans would cut off one of the thorns and place it on the gum near their hurting tooth. After a few minutes that area would go numb, allowing a friend to yank the bad tooth out. Pioneers and early Texas settlers would use the leaves instead of the bark/spines. I have no idea why one people used one part and other people used a different part for the same treatment.

These trees produce a massive amount of bright red berries in the fall. In China the dried, roasted berries of similar species of Zanthoxylums are used as the main ingredient of Sichuan seasoning. Pick the ripe berries and let them dry until they split open revealing dark seeds. Remove the seeds and coarse-grind the husks for use in many Chinese recipes. The husks can also by dry-roasted in a frying pan to give a richer, somewhat smokey flavor. The numbing aspect of the berries tempers their spiceiness into a unique flavor.

Purslane/Sedum/Stone Crop

2008-08-20T21:20:00.035-05:00

Scientific name: Portulaca oleracea
What: stems, leaves
How: raw or cooked
Where: sunny sidewalk cracks, yards,
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: Vitamins A,C,Bs; minerals, omega-3fatty acid

Here in Houston purslane is often found thriving in the cracks of sidewalks and driveways during the worst of summer's heat. The tiny black seeds are prolific and will easily grow in containers, flowerbeds and just about anywhere else. Purslane will also reproduce from plant fragments, making it very easy to propagate.

Purslane is very rich in omega 3 fatty acids as well as other nutrients. It is delicious raw, steamed, fried or cooked. The thickest stems can also be pickled.

Sumac

2008-08-20T21:19:00.044-05:00

Scientific name: Anacardiaceae
What: red berries
How: lemonade, tea, seasoning
Where: fields
When: early summer
Nutritional Value: minor traces of vitamins and antioxidants
Dangers: white sumac berries are very toxic

Sumac shrubs.

Closer look at sumac shrubs.

Closeup of sumac berries.

Ripe sumac berries.

Young sumac flowers which will eventually turn into berries.

A pleasing "pink sumacade" is made by soaking the berries in cold water for ten minutes, then filtering the liquid to remove berries and fine sumac hairs before drinking.

Redbud

2008-08-20T21:19:00.042-05:00

Scientific name: Cercis canadensis (and other Cercis species)
What: flowers, young seedpods
How: flowers raw or cooked, young seedpods cooked
Where: often landscaped or wild
When: flowers spring, young seedpods after flowers
Nutritional Value: Flowers contain assorted vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Seeds have protein.

Edible flowers

Edible seed pods

The flowers of redbud trees are wonderfully tasty with a fresh, slightly sweet flavor. The young seedpods can be used as peapods in stir-frys or sauteed for the first few weeks they are around, but then become stringing, tough, and somewhat bitter.

Queen Anne's Lace/Wild Carrot

2008-08-20T21:19:00.041-05:00

Scientific name: Daucus carota
What: young root, young shoots
How: 1st year root raw, cooked; 2nd-year flower stems peeled raw or cooked.
Where: fields
When: early summer
Nutritional Value: High in vitamin A and minerals
Other uses: crushed leaves work as an insect repellent
Dangers: don’t confuse with deadly water hemlock. Queen Anne's Lace sometimes has a small red flower in the center of the white flowers and the root smells like carrot. Hemlock has a very foul, disagreeable odor.

Queen Anne's Lace flower and stem. Note the hairy stem. Hemlock (TOXIC!) has a smooth, hair-free stem.

Queen Anne's Lace flower.

Queen Anne's Lace leaves.

Partially exposed "carrot" of Queen Anne's Lace.

Hemlock is an extremely poisonous plant which looks very similar to wild carrots. Luckily there are several ways to tell them apart:
1. Wild carrot flower stem is hairy, hemlock flower stem is smooth/have no hairs.
2. Wild carrot flower stem is solid, hemlock flower stem is hollow.
3. Wild carrot flower stems are green and occasionally have long, reddish stripes. Hemlock flower stem have red/purple spots of assorted size and the occasions partial stripes but will be purple at the bottom.
4. Wild carrot flower stems are not powdery, hemlock flower stems often have a white powder on them.
5. Wild carrot flowers (umbels) are arranged in a a thick, tight pattern with only a small amount of open space between them. Hemlock flowers are much more sparse and have open areas between the smaller flower clusters making up the umbel head.
6. Wild carrots usually don't grow more than 3-6 feet tall, hemlock can grow 6-9 feet tall.
7. Wild carrot flower umbels will curl up into a "bird's nest" when they dry, hemlock umbels remain in their original "umbrella" shape when they die and dry up.

Rose

2008-08-20T21:18:00.053-05:00

Scientific name: Rosa species
What: flowers, fruit at base of flower
How: both flowers and rose hips can be used in tea, jelly, additions to soup, stews
Where: yards, abandoned farms
When: fall
Nutritional Value: rose hips contain vitamin A,C,E,K and minerals
Other uses: good for giving to women after you've done something stupid
Dangers: Sometimes giving them to women can backfire horribly

Roses

Rose hips

Rose hips are a wonderful source of vitamin C and can be made into jam, jelly, or tea. The petals make a colorful and flavorful addition to salads.

Sassafras

2008-08-20T21:18:00.052-05:00

Scientific name: Sassafras albidum
What: twigs, roots, leaves
How: drinks, candy
Where: forest edge
When: all year though roots are most flavorful if harvested in late winter
Nutritional Value: none
Dangers: Recent studies suggest a liver cancer link with drinking excessive amounts of sassafras tea.

Three types of leaves.

Easily identifiable small tree, just look for the three types of leaves all on one tree. One leaf has three lobes, one has two lobes that look like a mitten, and the third leaf will be unlobed.

Root beer was originally flavored by the roots of sassafras harvested in late winter. Twigs collected at this time will also supply the root beer flavoring chemical "safrole". The most concentrated amounts of safrole is found in the roots of "suckers" growing around the base of the tree.

Young sassafras leaves are dried, then pounded into a fine Filé powder used in gumbo and other Cajun cooking. Filé powder shouldn't be boiled when cooked as this makes it stringy and alters the flavor. It is better added to the meal in a small serving dish for people to add to the already-cooked gumbo.

Shepherd's Purse

2008-08-20T21:17:00.016-05:00

Scientific name: Capsella bursa-pastoris
What: seeds, young leaves
How: seeds raw, young leaves raw or cooked
Where: sunny disturbed areas
When: early spring through late winter
Nutritional Value: minerals

Shepherd's purse plant.

Closeup of shepherd's purse seed stalk.

The seedpods are small, heart-shaped with a spicy/peppery taste. Eat the whole seed stalk while green or dry then crush the seeds.

Thistle, Bull

2008-08-20T21:16:00.062-05:00

Scientific name: Cirsium species
What: stem, roots, leaf ribs
How: peel stem then eat raw or cooked; tea from leaves, stem; roots are boiled; large center leaf ribs are stripped from leaf and eaten raw.
Where: fields
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: some vitamins and minerals
Other uses: cordage from stem fibers
Dangers: Very prickly

Young bull thistle

Harvested mature thistle. Wear thick gloves.

The hollow stem. You want to peel away the stem's outer red-green layer.

Partially-peeled stem. The outer reddish-green layer easily splits away from the delicious inner light-green layer.

I'm told you can boil, peel and eat the thistle heads like artichokes but I have not tried this yet.

Turk's Cap

2008-08-20T21:16:00.061-05:00

Scientific name: Malvaviscus arboreus
What: flowers, fruit, young leaves
How: Flowers and young leaves raw or cooked; flowers can make pink lemonade type drink; fruit can be made into tea or preserves.
Where: shady areas, often used in landscaping
When: Flowers can appear all year long if warm enough.
Nutritional Value: Flowers high in antioxidants; seeds are high in protein & starch; leaves high in minerals; fruit high in vitamin C

Young turk's cap leaves in the spring.

Turk's Cap shrub/bush in the summer and already flowering.

Closeup of Turk's Cap flower.

Closeup of Turk's cap flower.

Closeup of fruit.

Sweetgum

2008-08-20T21:16:00.059-05:00

Scientific name: Liquidambar styraciflua
What: seeds, chew sap, leaf poultice for antibiotic, sting-bite relief
How: Break apart large seed pods to get to the sweetgum seeds then rub the seeds to free them from their outer shell before eating or grinding into flour; sap can be dried for chewing gum substitute.
Where: everywhere
When: leaves anytime, seed pods in fall
Nutritional Value: seeds contain calories and protein
Other uses: leaves can be mashed into a poultice for antibiotic and sting-bite relief
Dangers: stepping on seed pods while barefoot hurts

Sweetgum seed pod

More sweetgum pods

Spiderwort/Day Flower

2008-08-20T21:16:00.058-05:00

Scientific name: Tradescantia species
What: leaves, stem
How: leaves salad, stem steamed or cooked
Where: shade, partial sun, woods, fields
When: spring, late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: minor amounts of vitamins and minerals
Other uses: the normally blue stamen hairs indicated mutation by turning pink when exposed to radiation. The same effect has since been observed when the spiderwort plant is subjected to chemical pollution.

Spiderwort.

Clump of spiderwort plants.

Closeup of mature spiderwort stems.

Closeup of spiderwort unopened flower buds.

Closeup of spiderwort flower.

Dayflower plant.

Closeup of dayflower.

Closeup of dayflower.

The sap of these plants is very mucilaginous, similar to okra and aloe vera. Rubbed on minor (1st degree) burns this sap brings relief. Also like okra, it can be used to thicken stews. I love this plant because it is nutritious and can be found in the Houston area almost all year long. Hard frosts will kill it back to the ground but it'll be back and ready to eat in about two months. I hide chopped-up spiderwort/dayflower in lots of stews and slow-cooker meals I give my family.

Willow

2008-08-20T21:15:00.065-05:00

Scientific name: Salix spp.
What: twigs, inner bark
How: tea made from chopped up twigs; inner bark is an emergency food and is eaten raw or dried and ground into flour
Where: woods, water, sunny fields, landscaping
When: twigs highest in salicylic acid in early spring; inner bark any time
Nutritional Value: inner bark contains carbohydrates
Other uses: Willows contain salicylic acid which is a precursor of aspirin.
Dangers: Salicylic acid can cause stomach upset in high doses.

Medium-sized willow tree.

Close-up of leaves.

Willow trunk

Wood Sorrel

2008-08-20T21:15:00.064-05:00

Scientific name: Oxalis species
What: leaves
How: salad, seasoning
Where: shady undergrowth
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: Vitamins A & C
Dangers: Contains high concentration of oxalic acid, limit consumption to three leaves per meal

Wood sorrel

Another wood sorrel

Common yard weed wood sorrel. Often mistaken for a clover.

Patches of wood sorrel are very prevalent on forest floors, often near wild violets, cleavers, wild onions, etc... The three-lobed leaf looks similar to clover/shamrocks and range in size from 1/2" to almost 3" across. They have a very strong, tangy flavor that some people find too intense. It only takes a few to spice up a salad. The purplish-pink flowers can also be added to salads though mainly just for color.

Violet

2008-08-20T21:15:00.062-05:00

Scientific name: Viola species
What: Leaves, flowers
How: Leaves and flowers raw (great in salads), tea from flowers
Where: small, heart-shaped flowers in shady, moist areas
When: Winter (in Houston), Spring, early summer
Nutritional Value: Very rich in vitamin A,C

Water Lily

2008-08-20T21:15:00.060-05:00

Scientific name: Nymphaea odorata, Nymphaea lutea
What: roots, young leaves, flowers, seeds
How: roots must be peeled then eaten raw or can be dried and pounded into flour; flowers-raw or cooked; seeds-raw or roasted, young flowers cooked
Where: still water
When: flowers-June to August, seeds-August to September, young leaves early spring-late summer
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates in roots, protein in seeds
Dangers: root can be bitter tasting making it unpleasant to eat.

Root tuber and young leaves

Another picture of the tuber and more mature leaves.

Yaupon Holly

2008-08-20T21:14:00.012-05:00

Scientific name: Ilex vomitoria
What: tea from leaves
How: Dry leaves, add boiling water
Where: woods
When: all year
Nutritional Value: caffeine and antioxidants
Dangers: Avoid the berries as they will make you vomit. Do not mistake yaupon holly for the toxic Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense).

Left: yaupon holly (SAFE)
Right: Chinese privet (TOXIC)

The leaves of yaupon holly and Chinese privet are very similar in shape and size. An easy way to tell them apart is the leaves of the Chinese privet grow in a uniform pinnate manner. The leaves of yaupon holly have a random, chaotic growth pattern. Just remember "chaos = caffeine"!

Yaupon holly leaves are an excellent source of caffeine. There are a few different ways to prepare yaupon holly leaves for brewing tea. The easiest method is to just air-dry them by cutting of a branch and hanging it in a warm, dry area (not in direct sunlight) and let the leaves dry naturally. Most of the leaves will fall off the branch as they dry so lay a towel or something under it to catch the leaves. This method can take two weeks or more depending on the temperature and humidity. Doing it this way also results in a very un-complex flavor for the tea.

Forced-drying the leaves in a dehydrator or an oven set at 200F is popular. It is fast, usually taking just a day and this quick drying in my opinion gives a better taste that slow air-drying. Leaves done this way are somewhat similar to green tea in mouth-appeal. It doesn't taste like green tea, but it has several similar "under-flavors", if that makes any sense.

The most complex, richest flavors comes from roast-drying the leaves in an oven set at 400F. This requires some practice and experimentation. Lay the leaves on a cookie-sheet. There can be some overlap but each leaf needs some exposure to the air. Put the cookie-sheet in the oven and watch the leaves as they turn brown. The darker you let the leaves get the more roasted and complex flavors you will release. Warning: if they get too dark they have a scorched flavor.

I should also mention the 'black tea" or "black drink" made by native Americans. In the fall and winter they would mash the ripe berries into a goo, mix in just a little extra water, then simmer this over a fire. The resulting brew would be drunk as part of a religious ceremony. This drink would actually give the N.A.'s caffeine poisoning. They would throw up moments after drinking the tea, but the huge dose of caffeine would cause them to enter a highly intense alter state for a few hours where they would talk to their gods.

Yucca/Spanish Dagger

2008-08-20T21:13:00.020-05:00

Scientific name: Yucca spp.
What: young flowers; flower stalks on both thick and thin-leaf yuccas before flowers appear; edible fruit of thick-leaf yucca (Yucca treculeana).
How: New flowers raw or cooked, flower stalks raw or cooked, fruit baked or roasted, stems raw or cooked
Where: Sunny areas
When: Flowers just after bloom, flower stalks before flowers appear, fruits when ripe, March through end of summer.
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates, minerals
Other uses: Soap from stem and root, fibers/cordage from leaves, laxative properties, fish poison (saponins) from root.
Dangers: Only flowers, flower stalk, and fruit are edible, the rest of the plant is very poisonous.

Yuccu plant

Yucca flowers. They are best withing the first few days or opening but after that they can turn nasty. Taste one before harvesting a lot.

Closeup of yucca flowers and flower pods.

Yucca fruit.

The flower stalk is sweet-tasting before it produces flower pods/flowers. Roast it before the pods appear. As the flower pods mature the stalk becomes tasteless and tough. After the flowers have past the ripe fruit of the thick-leaf yucca (Yucca treculeana) can be roasted and eaten like eggplant. Thick-leaf yucca is identified by the leaf base being four inches across where it attaches to the yucca's trunk.

The fibers of the yucca leaf are very strong and have been twisted into cordage for thousands of years.

Clover - Red

2008-07-30T22:44:00.006-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Trifolium pratense
What: leaves, flowers
How: raw or boiled, tea
Where: sunny fields
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: protein, assorted medicinal compounds

Red clover (plus some white clover around the edges)

Closeup of red clover flower. Note the white "V" chevrons on the leaves (somewhat hard to see in this picture).

Red clover can be eaten raw but it is easier to digest if boiled for a bit. More often it's beneficial chemicals are consumed as a tea. Seep/simmer the red clover leaves and flowers in water for about ten minutes to release its full flavor and helpful chemicals such as salicylic acid (aspirin), trypotphan (sleep inducer), genistan (anti-cancer agent), and estrogenic chemicals.

Pineapple Weed

2008-07-30T22:29:00.004-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Matricaria discoidea
What: flowers, leaves
How: raw, tea
Where: dry, abused soil such as dirt roads
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: minimal

Pineapple weeds.

Whole pineapple weed plant.

Closeup of pineapple weed yellowish-green flowers.

Pineapple weed is an amazing plant which seems to thrive in abused soil such as dirt roads, driveways, and other dry/sandy soil. Yet a very calming tea similar to chamomile can be made from the plant.

The crushed plant can be rubbed on exposed skin as a weak insect repellent.

Bull Nettle

2008-07-30T22:12:00.009-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Cnidoscolus stimulosus, Cnidoscolus texanus
What: seeds, taproot
How: seeds raw, roasted; root baked
Where: sunny fields
When: summer, fall
Nutritional Value: protein, calories
Dangers: entire plant is covered in stinging hairs similar to stinging nettle.

Bull nettle flower and leaves.

Bull nettle seed pod which hold the tasty seeds.

Bull nettle plant.

The stinging hairs which cover bull nettles offer a great protection against man and beast. While the pain they inflict is fierce, it often lasts less than an hour. Harvesting the delicious seeds is best done using BBQ tongs to remove the seed pods from the plant. Then place these pods in a brown paper bag and wait a while (days). The pods will dry and then rupture, releasing the seeds to be harvested.

Digging up the taproot can be tricky. First carefully cut away the top part of the plant with a machete or other long blade, then dig a hole 18" deep 10"-12" away from the stem of the plant. Then carefully shave away the soil on the plant-side of the hole until you see the root. At this point carefully remove the dirt from around the fragile root until you can lift it from the soil. Peel the root and then either roast or boil it like a potato. It will retain a bit of firmness rather than turning as soft as a potato. It'll have a strong fiber core which also needs to be discarded.

Prickly Lettuce

2008-07-30T21:51:00.018-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Lactuca serriola
What: young leaves
How: leaves in salad or cooked
Where: woods, fields, yards
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: Vitamins A, B, minerals
Dangers: excess consumption of leaves and sap can lead to stomach upset, seeds contain some varnish oils.

Young plant.

Mature prickly lettuce. They can actually get over six feet tall in prime growing locations.

Closeup of prickly lettuce flower buds.

Spines along main vein on bottom of leaf.

The spines of this plant are fairly soft and edible raw when the leaves are young. As the plant matures it increases in bitterness, becoming inedible by the time it produces flowers. The white, milky sap contains a small amount of the opiate-type chemical lactucarium, however recent studies have shown this chemical has little to no actual effect on people.

Persimmons

2008-07-29T21:58:00.007-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Diospyros texana, Diospyros virginiana
What: fruit
How: raw, jams, jellys, candied, tarts
Where: fields, sunny edges of woods
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: fiber, Vit C, B, minerals, anti-oxidants, flavonoids.

Ripe persimmons on tree.

Persimmon fruit is best/sweetest when it is black in color and a little over ripe. At that time it will be orange in color. Only female persimmon trees produce fruit.

Unripe persimmon.

Young persimmon tree. Mature trees can grow 40 to 60 feet tall. The bark is gray to black in color.

Persimmon leaves are oval, smooth-edged, dark green on top and light green/gray on the bottom.

Unripe fruit. Persimmons contain six flatish seeds.

Persimmons aren't sweet enough to eat until they are very dark purple-black in color and already falling o9ff the tree. Persimmon wood is very dense and hard, much like its relative ebony. The seeds are very easy to sprout, resulting in numerous persimmon trees in the same area.

Primrose, Pink

2008-04-30T22:45:00.008-05:00

Scientific name: Oenothera speciosa
What: young leaves, flowers
How: petals raw, young leaves (before flowers appear) raw or boiled
Where: yards, sunny
When: spring, early summer, summer
Nutritional Value: Vitamin F, some fatty acids
Dangers: Eating large quantities of these flowers may cause stomach distress.

Pink Primrose weeds

Pink Primrose flower

Pink Primrose leaves

The young leaves of the pink primrose are edible before the plant flowers. Luckily they mature in a staggered time so young leaves can be found among plants already in flower.

Class: May 16th at Peckinpaugh/Old Riley Fuzzel Nature Preserve

2008-04-26T21:58:00.003-05:00

UPDATE: Both classes on May 16th are now full.

UPDATE: Due to the huge response there will be two classes on May 16th. The 9:30am class will mainly be members of the Spring/Woodlands Vegan/Raw Foods Group and the 2pm session will be Zombie Squad and ETS members along with long-time readers of my blog. If you haven't received an e-mail from me asking you to attend the 2pm class then it is safe to assume you are signed up for the 9:30am class.

Cost: FREE!

When: 9:30am on Saturday, May 16th, 2009. Class will take approximately three hours. If more than 20 people sign up I'll run a second class starting at 2pm.

What to bring: Water, bug repellent, snacks/lunch, camera, notepad, shoes appropriate for walking on uneven dirt trails.

Where: Peckinpaugh/Old Riley Fuzzel Nature Preserve located at 1209 Old Riley Fuzzel Road, Spring, Texas 77386

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This is a primitive nature preserve. There are mosquitoes, snakes, alligators, poison ivy, and dirt paths. There are NO bathrooms, running water or shaded pavilions! The nearest bathroom/cold drinks/food is a new gas station just north of the nature preserve on Riley Fuzzel Road.

Since this is a nature preserve we are not allowed to actually harvest any plants so again, bring a snack.

The class is open to children ten years old or older.

Please reserve your spot in the class by emailing me at "merriwetheradventurer -AT- yahoo -DOT- com". I find classes work best when they are under 20 people. If more than 20 people sign up I'll run two classes that day with the second class starting at 2pm. Please include in your RSVP if you are willing to attend a class at 2pm. I will email you if that turns out to be the case.

Attention Zombie Squad members, it would work great if y'all attended the second class if a second class is needed.

Stinging Nettle

2008-04-23T22:04:00.011-05:00

Scientific name: Urtica dioica
What: leaves and young stems
How: cooked greens, tea
Where: woods, borders, abandoned areas, woods, sunny and shady areas
When: spring, early summer
Nutritional Value: Rich in vitamins A,C,D,K, many minerals, and high in protein.
Dangers: can cause skin irritations, handle while wearing leather gloves. Cook to remove stingers before consuming.

Closeup of stinging nettles.

Patch of stinging nettles.

Young stinging nettles. They are tender and tasty while still this small.

Stinging nettles are known throughout the world as a very nutritious and highly medicinal plant though you must be careful when harvesting them. The stem and leaves are covered with tiny hollow needles filled with formic acid. Touching any of these needles will inject you with the formic acid which causes an extremely painful burning sensation.

The young stems and leaves should be boiled approximately ten minutes to remove the formic acid before eating young nettle plants. Alternatively, seeping the leaves in hot water creates a very healthy tea loaded with vitamins and minerals.

These plants are easy to identify by their hairy, square stems and the burning sensation they cause when grabbed with the bare hand. Sidenote: don't grab them with your bare hand, it really hurts! If you do grab them with your bare hand the sting can be soothed by rubbing curled dock, plantain, or other astringent leaves on the area.

Mayhaw

2008-04-23T21:35:00.009-05:00

Scientific name: Crataegus opaca (Mayhaw)
What: ripe fruit
How: raw (tart), preserves, tea
Where: woods, swamps, landscaping, abandoned areas
When: fall, winter
Nutritional Value: very high in vitamin C and minerals

Mayhaw fruit

Mayhaws grow best in wet, swampy areas as small trees or large shrubs. Mayhaw jelly is a very popular treat here in Texas. The fruit are high in pectin so the jelly doesn't need additional pectin. The darker the fruit the more tart it will taste, which most people prefer for making jelly.

Wax Myrtle/Bayberry

2008-04-23T21:25:00.007-05:00

Scientific name: Myrica cerifera
What: leaves
How: seasoning herb
Where: woods, landscapes
When: leaves are present all year, though they are most aromatic in late winter/early spring.
Nutritional Value: flavonoids/anitoxidants
Other uses: The small blue berries have a wax coating which can be used to make bayberry candles.

Wax myrtle/Bayberry berries

Wax myrtle/Bayberry leaves

Allow leaves to dry or force-dry the leaves in an oven, then crumble into food. These are one of the key seasoning for Cajun seafood boils.

Bayberry candles are made from the wax found on the outside of the small, blue berries. Boil the berries in some water and collect the wax that floats to the surface. This wax is brittle and doesn't mold well. Combine the bayberry wax with beeswax or other soft wax for better results. Yes, I know bayberry candles are a key component of pagan money spells. No, I don't sell bayberry candles.

How to learn edible wild plants.

2008-04-12T23:57:00.000-05:00

Learning edible wild plants takes time and effort, there are very few shortcuts. Hopefully I can give you some guidance that will cut out a lot of wasted effort. If you are serious about learning your local edible flora here what you want to do:

The Terrible Secret of Books
I get several e-mails a week asking "what one book is the best guide to edible wild plants?". The quick response is Peterson's Guide to Edible Wild Plants. It is probably the most comprehensive guide to edible plants in North America even though it mainly focuses on the northeast. It has color pictures, line drawings, and habitat info on hundreds of plants.

But I have yet to meet anyone who successfully taught themselves more than 6-9 plants using this book.

There's now such thing as a great edible plant guide. Unless you are already a plant expert it's impossible to teach yourself all your local edible plant from a single book. It's too hard to have clear pictures of every plant in every stage of it's life. For that reason you really need to have multiple reference books. I have over thirty plant books that I use as guides. These aren't all just about wild edibles. They also include wildflower guides, weed guides, tree guides, botany textbooks, gardening books, forestry books, etc... Each book has different pictures and descriptions of the same plants. Once you get some books start flipping through them every chance you get. You want to train you eyes to see specific plants among the Big Green Sea that surrounds you. You don't need to know the name or anything else about the plant at this point, just that you might have seen it in one of your books.

Cross Referencing
Once you've found a plant that might be edible it's time to ID it. Take a bunch of pictures of the plant's flowers, leaves (top and underside), stem, and overall appearance. Compare it to many pictures in your books, match the leaves, it's size and shape, and where it is usually found to similar plants in your books. At this point it's very helpful to understand plant descriptors (sepals, palmate, lobed, etc...) as it makes it easier to search through the books. Don't limit yourself to just using books to ID a plant. The internet is obviously another great resource for figuring out what the plant might be.

Take a Class
The best thing a plant newbie can do is take a class and I'm not just saying that because I teach the subject. A few hours with a good teacher will get you through the first, steepest part of the learning curves. By the end of the class you won't be adrift in the Big Green. You'll be able to pick out many plant all around you that are safe to eat (as well as know which tasty-looking plants are highly toxic!). Once you've been taught a bunch of edible plants, learning more becomes much easier as your "plant eye" will be much stronger. Then when you are on your own looking at a landscape you'll already see plants that you can/can not eat. You'll be left with just a few plants that you don't know, which is no longer overwhelming.

The other nice thing about taking a class is you'll get to see plants in different stages of their life. A particular plant may not be ready for harvest yet, but by seeing a young one you'll be able to go back and follow it's growth. Or if it's past time you may be able to collect seeds to grow your own.

Growing Your Own
One of the best things you can do to learn edible wild plants is to grow your own. Seeds can be either collected in the wild (follow all appropriate laws!) or purchased via the internet. Observing the plant from seedling to maturity is a great way to train your eyes to see it out in the wild.

The Well-Trained Eye
The repeated scanning of your plant books, internet sites, and home-grown plants will have filled your subconscious with key plant-shapes to look for and you'll be surprised at how they suddenly jump out at you! Each time you go out pick a few new plants to research and after a year or three you'll have mastered the all local edibles. You know you are doing it right when you start dreaming about edible wild plants.

Pickerelweed

2007-11-01T21:34:00.006-05:00

Scientific name: Pontederia cordata
What: young leaves, seeds
How: young leaves in salad or cooked; seeds raw, roasted, or ground into flour
Where: shallow water
When: early summer to fall
Nutritional Value: nuts high in starch
Dangers: It is best to cook water plants to kill any bacteria or other water-born parasites

Pickerelweed plants

Pickerelweed flower

Pickerelweed leaf.

The young leaves are edible before they unroll (early summer). The pickerel fruit isn't edible but the seed it contains is a great food source. These seeds can be eaten raw, ground into flower, roasted, or boiled into a porridge.

Burdock

2007-11-01T20:23:00.017-05:00

Scientific name: Arctium minus, Arctium lappa
What: young leaves, flower stalks, 1st year root
How: young leaves raw, as tea, stir-fried, or boiled in 2-3 changes of water; peel green skin of plant stalks to reveal inner white core which is eaten raw or cooked; root of 1st-year plants less than 1" in diameter and must be peeled then boiled in two changes of water until tender; roasted roots for coffee
Where: open fields, sunny areas
When: leaves in spring, flower stalks in summer, roots summer and fall
Nutritional Value: Roots contain some minerals, vitamins C & B6, and some calories. Leaves contain many vitamins and phytochemicals
Other uses: you can stick a bunch of the burrs together to make a crown, but that usually ends badly
Dangers: burrs are clingy

Burdock plant.

Burdock stem.

Burdock root (partial).

More burdock roots. These are up to 32 inches long.

Burdocks prefer moist areas such as along stream banks and shady, wooded areas that stay wet.These biennial (live two years) plants produces large leaves the first year followed by flower stalks, flowers, and burrs the second year. Both the Common Burdock (Arctium minus) and the Great Burdock (Arctium lappa) are edible. The outer rind of both the roots and plant stalks is very bitter and must be removed. If the root still has some bitterness boiling with changes of water will remove it. I find the peeled roots have a delicious sweet/savory flavor and a texture similar to bamboo shoots.

The peeled roots can also be used to make a caffeine-free coffee substitute. Dice the roots then roast them to your preferred level of darkness in an oven at 400F. Grind these roasted roots in a coffee grinder than either use as-is or mix with regular coffee grounds.

The roots are also excellent when pickled using the Ball Book of Canning recipe for pickling okra.

Black Nightshade

2007-10-11T20:28:00.001-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Solanum nigrum
What: leaves, ripe berries
How: berries raw, leaves cooked
Where: yards, fields
When: summer, fall
Nutritional Value: assorted vitamins, minerals
Dangers: high concentrations of toxic alkaloids (solanine and others) found in green berries and smaller amounts in leaves. Cooking leaves reduces toxins to safe levels.

Black nightshade bush.

Closeup of black nightshade flower (white petals, yellow center.

Closeup of black nightshade fruit. Ripe fruit is black, unripe fruit is speckled green.

Don't eat the green fruit!!

Black nightshade leaves.

Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) is one of the most popular vegetables of Asia and Southern Europe yet here in North America it is lumped in with it's much more poisonous family members such as belladonna. Its green, immature berries do contain solanine but the ripe berries are safe to eat with the preferred method being to bake them in pies. The leaves also contain a small amount of the solanine but are rendered safe by any cooking method. I like the leaves cooked in curry sauce then poured over chicken and rice.

Cow's Tongue Cactus

2007-10-11T20:27:00.004-05:00

Scientific Name(s): Opuntia engelmannii var. linguiformis
What: pads, flowers, fruit
How: peeled pads can be pickled, fried, made into jerky; fruit can be raw or blended into a smoothy/icee drink; juice from strained fruit can be drunk, made into ice cream, mixed drinks, preserves.
Where: sunny fields, landscaping
When: fruit in fall, pads-all year though younger pads taste better.
Nutritional Value: vitamin C, some minerals
Dangers: burn or scrap off the tiny needles (glochids) before eating, 1% of population is allergic to cactus-based foods.

Cow's tongue cactus used in landscaping.

Cow's tongue cactus fruit (picture taken in mid September in Houston).

Another closeup of cow's tongue fruit (also taken in mid-September in Houston).

Closely related to prickly pears, cow's tongue cacti pads and fruit can be used in the same manner as other Opuntia species. The pads can be peeled then sliced and cooked like green beans though much slimier. The peeled pads can also be sprinkled with your favorite beef/venison jerky spices and then dehydrated into "vegan jerky".

The fruits are usually mashed, boiled, and then strained through a fine mesh such as cheesecloth to release their delicious juice. This juice can be drank straight, made into jelly or wine, or slightly sweetened (it's already quite sweet) then boiled down to make a syrup.

Before doing anything with the pads or fruit you must remove their tiny, almost invisible needles called glochids. Use a barbecue tongs to harvest the pads/fruit and then burn off the glochids with a torch or gas stovetop.

Burning glochids.

Peel the fruit then mash it up in a saucepan. Add just enough water so as to cover the pulp then boil for about ten minutes. Let the resulting juice cool a little then filter out the pulp and seeds through cheesecloth or other fine filter.

Peeled fruit before mashing and boiling.

Straining the juice.

Note: I used a Batman cup because otherwise I'd get in trouble for using my wife's good kitchen stuff.

Horsetails

2007-07-16T21:04:00.005-05:00

Scientific name: Equisetaceae spp.
What: young stems, roots
How: tea with young stems boiled in 3-4 changes of water or roots after roasting
Where: near water
When: young shoots in the spring, roots all year
Nutritional Value: minerals
Other uses: These plants contain a large amount of silica which makes them excellent for scrubbing dishes in the wild. They also contain some very astringent compounds which makes mashed-up horsetails an excellent clotting agent to help stop bleeding.
Dangers: Equisetaceae species contain thiaminase, an enzyme which removes vitamin B from the body. This enzyme is destroyed by cooking the horsetails.

The silicic acid found in horsetail tea is thought to strengthen the walls of blood vessels and the air sacs in lungs along with promoting regrowth of damaged joint tissue. Its astringent chemicals reduce bleeding especially in the mouth and act as a diuretic to flush out the body.

Plum - Wild

2007-07-09T22:15:00.008-05:00

Scientific name: Prunus spp (mexicana, maritima, etc...)
What: ripe fruit
How: raw, dried, preserves, wine, brandy
Where: Usually along edges of woods
When: fall
Nutritional Value: high in carbohydrates, vitamin A, and minerals

Mexican plum fruit

The white stuff on the fruit is wild yeast which can be used to make bread or alcohol same as store-bought yeasts.

Mexican plum tree

Mexican plum tree trunk

The fruit of the Mexican plum can vary wildly in taste from sweet to inedible. Other Prunus species can be found in Texas and all have edible fruit but toxic leaves and seeds/pits. Their leaves and seeds/pits contains cyanide so you shouldn't eat these parts. The amount of cyanide varies and in extreme circumstances the seeds can be roasted and then eaten if they are NOT bitter.

Hackberry

2007-07-09T21:37:00.011-05:00

Scientific name: Celtis spp. (occidentalis, laevigata)
What: berries
How: raw, dried, preserves
Where: moist, sunny areas
When: fall when berries are red, orange, or purple
Nutritional Value: calories

Ripe hackberry fruit.

Unripe berries

Sugar Hackberry (Celtis laevigata) tree.

Sugar Hackberry (Celtis laevigata) tree trunk.

Closeup of hackberry bark "scales/warts".

Most of your ancestors owe their lives to the fruit of the hackberry tree. It is the oldest-know foraged food, going back over 500,000 years to the grave of Peking Man. Found on every continet except Antartica, every culture that arose around hackberry trees utilized them as one of their main sources of calories...until us now. Now it is considered a "trash tree" and considered to me an annoyance. We have forgotten how it kept so many humans alive for tens of thousands of years.

The ripe fruit of hackberries are less than 1/4 inch in diameter and consist of a thin, sweet skin surrounding a large, hard seed. This edible seed is rich in protein and fats, but is extremely hard. Trying to crush the seed with your teeth can easily result in a broken tooth. You are better off crushing up the berries in a mortar & pestle to make a sweet, energizing paste. If you don't have a way to crush the seeds then just eat the skin/flesh off then spit out the seed. While these berries ripen in the fall they often remain on the trees and edible well into spring.

The trees are often considered to be "trash trees" (which boggles my mind!) and can grow up to 80' tall in moist, sunny locations such as along lakes, ponds, or streams. They also seem to thrive in urban environments. Their gray bark is usually covered with lumpy, scaly wart-type growths that are made of layered sections.

Lichen

2007-07-07T21:34:00.008-05:00

Scientific name: That's a bit complicated.
What: entire lichen
How: boil with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or hardwood ashes to neutralize acid, then either eat the resulting goo or add it to any stew, soup, or bread recipe.
Where: on trees, rocks, and ground everywhere in the world.
When: any time
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates
Dangers: Of the thousands of different lichens, only two are not edible. The two toxic ones are Wolf Moss Lichen (Letharia vulpina) and the related Letharia columbiana. These are found from the Yukon down along the West Coast and in to Arizona. Wolf Moss lichen is a bright yellow, stringy lichen used to poison wolves and also make a lovely yellow dye. Letharia columbiana is bright green, stingy and found in the same geographic areas.

I've included lichen under Trees as that's where you'll usually find it.

Oakmoss lichen (Evernia prunastri, the stringy ones) & Flavoparmelia caperata (the flatter ones) on an oak tree.

Oakmoss lichen (Evernia prunastri, the stringy ones) & Flavoparmelia caperata (the flatter ones) on an oak tree.

Generic edible lichen.

Another generic edible lichen.

Samples of fructicose lichens.

Samples of foliose lichens.

Samples of crustose lichens.

Lichens are a symbiotic organism made up of a fungus combined with an algae. The come in many bright colors which makes them a popular source of traditional dyes. Current naming convention is to classify it by the fungal portion. They can also be separated by their three growth types:
1. Crustose, which form crust-like sheets flat against the surface on which they are growing.
2. Foliose, which form stringy or leaf-like structures above the surface.
3. Fruticose, which form bulbous growths on top of stalks attached to the surface. These resemble tiny mushrooms.

As mentioned earlier, all but two lichens are edible. However most are considered starvation foods and only eaten as a last resort. These organisms survive contain a high concentration of acid which must be neutralized before consuming. The traditional method involves boiling the lichens in water with ashes from hardwood. The hardwood ashes produce lye (sodium hydroxide) which neutralizes the acid. A simpler way now days is to add sodium bicarbonate to the boiling water. They are quite low in nutritional value, including carbohydrates, so a large amount of the lichen must be eaten.

Trifoliate Orange/Bitter Orange/Hardy Orange

2007-07-07T21:16:00.007-05:00

Scientific name: Poncirus trifoliat
What: Mature fruit
How: juice and zest as seasoning and as a lemonade replacement
Where: partially shady woods
When: late fall
Nutritional Value: Vitamin C
Other uses: The the twisted and intertwined branches covered in sharp 2" long spines make this a great security hedge. This tree is used as a root-stock for grafting other citrus fruits.

Trifoliate oranges.

Full-sized, though not yet ripe fruit.

Trifolate orange leaves. Note the three (tri) leaves (foliate) on each stem.

The golf ball sized fruit of this tree ripens to a yellow color in the fall about the time the tree loses its leaves. This fruit is extremely sour so only a little bit is needed for flavoring. There is no edible flesh inside the fruit, just a large number of seeds. For maximum amount of juice, let it sit for two weeks after picking before squeezing.

Mallow - Marsh

2007-06-15T22:34:00.010-05:00

Scientific name: Althaea officinalis
What: roots, young leaves, flower buds,
How: Leaves, roots, stem, and flowers contain a mucilage-like material which can be used to thicken soups and stews. Flowers can be eaten raw. Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked with other greens or boiled alone. Roots are peeled, sliced then fried. Flower buds can be raw, cooked, or pickled like okra. All parts of the plant can be made into tea, seeds are roast and ground for a coffee substitute.
Where: Moist areas
When: Young leaves in spring, summer; roots all year, flowers in summer.
Nutritional Value: Roots high in starch, rest of plant contains small amounts of vitamins and minerals

Marsh mallow (plants grow up to five feet tall).

Mallow flower and bud.

Marsh mallow plant and flower buds.

Closeup of flower buds (green fruit).

Closeup of marsh mallow flower (petals may be white to pink in color).

Closeup of mallow seeds inside pod (brown fruit).

Marsh mallows are usually found in shady, moist areas but on occasion they can be found in sunny, moist areas, too.

To make original marshmallows, peel roots and slice them into thin wafers then boil 20 minutes in minimum amount of water. Remove the root slices, add sugar or other sweetener and boil down fluid until very thick. Whip this hot fluid like egg whites then drop globs onto wax paper, after they've cooled dust them with powdered sugar.

The seeds can be roasted then ground in a coffee grinder for use as a substitute for real coffee. It tastes pretty good, though does not have any caffeine.