Showing posts with label Borders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Borders. Show all posts

Agarita

Scientific Name(s): Mahonia trifoliolata
Abundance: common
What: Berries
How: raw, cooked, jam, jelly, wine, syrup, roast seeds for coffee
Where: Hill Country, dry grasslands
When: Spring
Nutritional Value: Vit. C

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves - anti-nausea (tisane, tincture, chewed)
Root/Wood - antimicrobial; antiviral; antidiarrheal, immortality (tincture, oxymel)

Leaf Arrangement: The compound, trifoliate leaves are alternate along the stems.

Leaf Shape: Mahonia trifoliolata leaves are compound, typically with three leaflets.

Leaf Venation: The leaflet venation is pinnate.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is serrated  to almost lobed with sharp, stiff points.

Leaf Color: The leaves are usually green, and there might be variations in color on the top and underside. Veins are a lighter gray or milky in color.

Flower Structure: The flowers are arranged in clusters and have a bell-like shape. The diameter of an individual flower is typically around 1/2 inch (1.27 cm). The flowers smell like honey.

Flower Color: Mahonia trifoliolata flowers are yellow.

Fruit: The fruit is a red, football-shaped, berry-like drupe.

Seed: Seeds are small, usually contained within the berries.

Bark: The bark is grayish-brown and may be rough. Inner wood is yellow.

Hairs: Some parts of the plant, such as the undersides of leaves or stems, may have fine hairs.

Height: Mahonia trifoliolata can reach heights of 3 to 8 feet (0.9 to 2.4 meters) depending on environmental conditions.

Agarita shrub.


















Agarita flower buds (picture taken in February in the Hill Country).























Open agarita flowers (picture taken in February in the Hill Country).


























Closeup of ripe and almost ripe agarita berries.




















Closeup of agarita leaf.





















The inner wood of agaritas is a deep yellow color due to the medicinal compound berberine.




















Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.















North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.















The evergreen agarita is a common 2’-6’ shrub found across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Its unusual, three-part leaves are grey-green, very stiff and pointy so harvesting their fruit can be a bit painful. The yellow flowers appear in late winter followed by red, edible fruit in the spring. Agaritas prefer dry areas with well-drained and somewhat alkaline soil along with full sun to partial shade. The shrubs usually gather around mesquite and other small trees. I haven't seen any out standing alone.

In Spring agarita shrubs are loaded with small, bright red berries. These sweet, slightly tart berries can be eaten raw or cooked in any manner one would prepare any berry such as jam, jelly, or wine. The juice from these berries has a pleasingly complex sweet and sour flavor. The small seeds can be roasted then ground for a caffeine-free coffee substitute.

Agaritas have multiple medicinal uses. The leaves can be chewed fresh or dried to help relieve nausea, especial that accompanying hangovers and motion sickness. A tea made from dried leaves will also offer relief. The yellow wood of the roots contain anti-bacterial and anti-viral compound berberine along with bitter components to help with digestion and other stomach issues such as diarrhea. The root wood is usually finely shaved and then made into a tincture with vodka.

Berberine may inhibit the shortening of chromosomal telomeres during cellular replication, which in turn prevents the physical aspects of aging. For this reason, I've started including it in my Immortality Elixir


Balloon Vine

Scientific Name(s): Cardiospermum corindum
Abundance: invasive
What: young leaves; vine tips
How: cooked
Where: fields, borders, dry, moist
When: spring, summer, fall, winter
Nutritional Value: minor
Dangers: none

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves of Cardiospermum corindum are arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are compound, usually with three leaflets, each leaflet being broadly ovate to heart-shaped, measuring approximately 1 to 3 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate venation, with veins running from the base to the tip of each leaflet.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically serrated or toothed.

Leaf Color: The leaves are green.

Flower Structure: The flowers are approximately 1/4" across, with four petals, and occur in clusters.

Flower Color: Flowers are typically greenish-white.

Fruit: The fruit is a distinctive, papery capsule with three inflated chambers, resembling balloons.

Seed: Inside each inflated capsule are small, black seeds with a white band running partway around the seed. 

Stem: The stem is typically climbing or trailing, and it may have fine hairs.

Hairs: Appears hairless or extremely fine hairs.

Height: Cardiospermum corindum can climb to significant heights but is often seen trailing along the ground or climbing on other vegetation.


Ballon vine plant in the fall.
BalloonVine2

Balloon Vine flower. They can keep producing flowers while the temperatures are still warm.
BalloonVine

Balloon vine leaf.
BalloonVineLeaf

Balloon vine leaf and green seed pod "balloon". Seed pod/seeds are NOT edible.
BalloonFlowerPod1

Dried balloon vines seed pods.
DriedBalloonVine

Balloon vine seeds.
BalloonVineSeeds

North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.
BalloonVine

Balloon Vine on the left, Ground Cherry on the right.
BalloonVine-GroundCherry

Across fields and disturbed areas of Texas and the South, Balloon Vines are taking hold. Keep an eye out in sunny fields, especially along ditches and other areas where water may collect. Balloon vines are easily spotted by their small, puffy, pointed seed pods. These pods are mostly air with the fruit located in the center. If the weather stays warm these vines can produce these balloon-like seed pods all year long so you may see white flowers, young, green pods, and dried, brown pods all on the same vine.

Balloon vines are an invasive species from Asia and can quickly cover and kill native plants. This makes a good argument for eating them! The edible parts are its young leaves and vine tips. These are cooked before eating, though to be honest I don't know why. That's how they do it in Asian countries, which is a good enough reason for me.

The puffy seed pods are not eaten, nor are the seeds contained in these "balloons". However, both the leaves and seeds were used medically in India and Asia, along with the roots. Leaf poultices were used on skin wounds and infections as well as minor muscle and joint problems like strains, sprains and arthritis. Tea made from the leaves was traditionally used against stress and bronchitis. Tea from the root was applied topically to treat hemorrhoids. The seeds were crushed for a tea given to relieve fevers and joint pain.


Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Bastard Cabbage

Scientific Name(s): Rapistrum rugosum
Abundance: invasive
What: young leaves, flower buds, flowers, young seedpods
How: raw, cooked
Where: sunny ditches, fields, disturbed areas
When: late fall, winter, spring, early summer
Nutritional Value: minerals, vitamin C, antioxidants
Dangers: none known

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are broad lanceolate, with a length of approximately 1.5 to 4 inches and a width of about 0.5 to 1 inch. Some lobes may be present, especially on older, larger leaves.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate, with prominent veins running from the base to the tip of the leaves.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are serrated or toothed, creating a slightly jagged edge.

Leaf Color: The leaves are generally green, with no significant color variation between the top and underside.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and have four petals, forming a cross-shaped structure. They are clustered at the ends of the stems.

Flower Color: The flower color can vary but is often yellow.

Fruit: The fruit are small, bulbous, pod with a spike at the tip, growing in a spiraling pattern up the ends of stem and branches. 

Seed: Seeds are small, oval-shaped, and numerous within the pod. They may have a brown or black color.

Stem: The stems are erect, branching, and may have a reddish or greenish hue.

Hairs: The plant may have fine hairs on the stems or leaves, contributing to a slightly textured appearance and fuzzy feel.

Height: Rapistrum rugosum typically grows to a height of 1 to 3 feet, depending on environmental conditions.


Full plants seen along a roadside.
Bastard Cabbage

Bastard Cabbage

Bastard Cabbage

A single stalk of Bastard Cabbage. Note the alternating leaf pattern.
Bastard Cabbage

Close-up of flowers and flower buds.
Bastard Cabbage

Close-up of seedpods. Note the "beaks" extending from the tips of the pods away from the stem.
Bastard Cabbage

Close-up of the stem and unopened flower buds. Note the hairs.
Bastard Cabbage

Mature leaf of Bastard Cabbage.
Bastard Cabbage

A seedling of Bastard Cabbage.
Bastard Cabbage


Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.
BastardCabbageTX

North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.
BastardCabbageNA

There's a yellow-flowered invader lining the roadsides and taking over fields of Texas and the rest of North America and it's name is Bastard Cabbage! Wow, that was a lot of "and"s in that previous sentence. Oh well. These plants prefer cool weather, fall through spring, during which time they're unfortunately everywhere. On the plus side, being a member of the brassica (mustard) family, pretty much all parts of this invader from southern Europe are edible.

Starting at the top and working our way down the plant, it's flowers have the standard mustard-family structure of four petals (yellow in this case) in an "X" arrangement surrounding six stamens, four of which are long and two stamens are short. The flowers grow in bunches off the stem and before they blow the highly-packed clusters look like tiny heads of broccoli, which is also a member of the mustard family. Below the flowers are seedpods arranged in a spiral up the stem. Note the "beak" jutting out from the top of the seedpod away from the stem.

The stem itself is somewhat hairy branched. The leaves at its base are large, broad, deeply lobed, and form a rosette whereas the leaves closer to the tops of the stems will be elongated, narrow, and unloved or very shallowly lobed. Underground, bastard cabbage forms a heavy taproot, similar to that of horseradish.

How do I eat this invasive species? The flowers and green seedpods I like raw straight off the plant or added to salads. The broccoli-like flower buds are also eaten raw or cooked like broccoli florets (drizzled with cheese!) The younger, tender leaves are cooked like turnip/collard greens, sautéing them with some garlic and bacon. The younger, tender parts of the stem do well when cooked/steamed like asparagus. I have yet to experiment with the roots but suspect a low-grade "horseradish" sauce could be made from them.


Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Basswood/Linden

Scientific name: Tilia americana
Abundance: rare
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

Leaf Arrangement: Basswood trees typically have alternate leaf arrangement along the branches.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are generally large, heart-shaped, with lengths ranging from 4 to 6 inches.

Leaf Venation: Prominent veins are visible on the leaves, contributing to their overall structure.

Stem Characteristics: The stems are usually slender, and the trunk can reach diameters of 2 to 4 feet.

Flower Cluster: Basswood trees produce fragrant, pendulous clusters of small, pale-yellow to cream-colored flowers in late spring or early summer.

Flower Structure: Individual flowers are small and have five petals. Flowers can be around 0.2 to 0.3 inches in size.

Seed: The seed is enclosed in a papery wing, forming a structure known as a samara. The wings can measure around 1 to 2 inches in length, looking like a leaf. A several seed capsule pairs, all branching from a single stem, dangle down from the leaf-like wing.

Seed Characteristics: Seeds are small and brown, typically located at the center of the samara.

Height: Basswood trees can reach heights of 60 to 80 feet, with variations based on age and growing conditions.

Bark: The bark of young trees is smooth and light gray, becoming more furrowed and darker with age. Bark color can range from light gray to dark gray-brown.

Hairs: Young shoots and leaves may have fine hairs, but mature leaves are generally smooth. Inspect young shoots and leaf undersides for pubescence.

Fruit: The fruit consists of the winged samaras, which are produced in clusters as described above, and become tan to light brown as they mature.

Basswood tree used in urban landscaping.
Basswood

Basswood leaf and flower/nut bract (long, narrow leaf-like thing).
Basswood

Basswood flower cluster and flower bract.
BasswoodFlowers

Close-up of Basswood flowers.
BasswoodFlowers2

Basswood leaves and seedpods.
Basswood2

Basswood2

Basswood

Basswood leaves.
Basswood3

Almost-ripe Basswood nuts in the fall.
Basswood

Ripe Basswood nuts.
Basswood

Basswood bark.
BasswoodTrunk

Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.
BasswoodTX

North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Basswood

Stately basswood trees range from 60 to 120 feet tall with shallowly-furrowed, somewhat greyish bark and round crowns. There are thirty species in North America with Tilia Americana and Tilia caroliniana being the most common in Texas. Basswoods prefer loose, well-drained soil with access to moisture, in particular river flood-plains and in low areas of woods.

The sweet sap, running in the spring before the leaf buds open, can be boiled down into a syrup or just drank as-is. Be sure to sterilize your tools before using them to cut or drill into the tree to collect sap or inner bark. This reduces the chance of a fungal infection striking the basswood.

A very delicious, spicy tea is made from the small flowers of basswood trees, which appear in the spring. The flowers can also be eaten raw. Bees love these flowers and often the tree can be found just by listening for the buzz of the hundreds of bees collecting its nectar. The resulting honey has a flavor imparted from the basswood nectar.

The young leaf buds and leaves can be eaten raw and have a slightly sweet flavor similar to the flowers. These parts can also be cooked like pot-herbs.

In the fall the nuts make a good trailside nibble while hiking, but only eat the inner meat, not the nuts’ outer shells.

The calorie-rich cambium layer, just under the bark, is stripped, finely diced, and boiled into a porridge-like mush to eat any time of the year. In Europe towards the end of World War II basswood sawdust was added to bread to try and produce enough loaves to fill everyone’s belly.

This cambium layer can be used to make strong fibers that can be woven into rope, containers and crude cloth. This inner bark must be soaked for up to two weeks to rot away the majority of the plant’s cells, leaving behind just the fibers. The wood itself is great for carving and for making the body of guitars.


Buy my book! Idiots Guide Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.
Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Bay Laurel

Scientific name: Laurus nobilis & Persea borbonia var. borbonia
Abundance: plentiful
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.

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves - aid digestion; reduces bloating from gas; soothes skin, urinary tract and bronchial inflammations (tisane)

Laurus nobilis (Sweetbay) Structures:
Leaf Arrangement: Bay Laurel leaves are alternate, glossy, and lanceolate.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are elliptical, measuring around 2 to 4 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: Prominent veins are visible on the leaves, contributing to their overall structure.

Leaf Margin: Leaf margins are typically smooth, without serrations.

Flower Structure: Bay Laurel produces small, yellow-green flowers arranged in clusters.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, shiny black berry, approximately 0.5 inches in diameter.

Bark: The bark is smooth and light gray-brown on younger branches, becoming rougher on older trunks.

Height: Bay Laurel trees can reach heights of 30 to 40 feet.

Hairs: Leaves are generally smooth, but young leaves may have fine hairs on the undersides.

Fragrance: The leaves emit a distinctive "bay" aromatic scent when crushed.

Color: Leaves are dark green, and flowers are yellow-green.

Persea borbonia (Redbay) Structures:
Leaf Arrangement: Redbay leaves are alternate, simple, and lanceolate.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are lance-shaped, measuring around 3 to 6 inches in length.
 
Leaf Venation: Prominent veins are visible on the leaves, contributing to their overall structure.

Leaf Margin: Leaf margins are typically smooth, without serrations.

Flower Structure: Redbay produces small, greenish-yellow flowers arranged in clusters.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, shiny drupe, black when mature, approximately 0.5 inches in diameter.

Bark: The bark is smooth and reddish-brown on younger branches, becoming rougher on older trunks.

Height: Redbay trees can reach heights of 30 to 50 feet.

Hairs: Leaves are generally smooth, without noticeable hairs.

Fragrance: The leaves may have a pleasant scent of traditional bay spice when crushed.

Color: Leaves are dark green, and flowers are greenish-yellow.


Young tree. They get much bigger with time.
baylaurel.jpg
baylaurel1.jpg

Much older, larger bay tree!
Bay

Leaves closeup (Bay Laurel leaves have smooth edges)
baylaurel2.jpg

Nuts
baylaurelseeds.jpg

Dead leaves on a bay tree suffering Laurel Wilt. This fungal disease is transferred by an alien beetle and is wiping out our native bay trees. Currently there's no cure. :-(
Bay Tree

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

Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.
BayTX
I know these can be found in Montgomery County, TX.

North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.
BayLaurel

Texas has multiple types of bay trees. Around Houston the most common are sweet bay (Laurus nobilis), redbay (Persea borbonia) and laurel cherry (Prunus caroliniana). All three grow in the same environment, preferably as understory trees in moist, shaded areas. Very slow growing, most you’ll find will be small trees around 20’ tall. However, mature trees can rival oaks in size and appearance. Crushed sweet bay and redbay leaves have a wonderful bay aroma while laurel cherry smells like bitter almonds or artificial cherry scent. That bitter almond smell is poisonous cyanide and the so the leaves of the laurel cherry should not be used as a seasoning or consumed in any other manner.

Besides scent, the toxic laurel cherry trees can be distinguished from safe sweet bay and redbay by the edges of their leaves. The sweet bay and redbay leaf edges will be smooth while the dangerous laurel cherry leaves will have teeth, ranging in number from two very small ones near the base to many all along the leaf edge.

The leaves of the sweet bay and redbay are available all year long and are added to sauces and other foods where one would traditionally use bay leaves. They do have a very potent flavor, so you usually don't need to add more than 3-4. They can be used fresh or dried. Add the leaves while cooking but remove them before serving as no bay leaves should actually be eaten. Supposedly these stiff, hard leaves can penetrate an intestine.

In the fall the dark nuts are toasted and then nibbled on as a strongly-flavored snack. Remove the soft flesh from the bay nut then roll the nuts around in a very hot pan until they start to split open. Remove the outer brittle husk then return the inner meat back to the pan for a final toasting. No oil or grease is needed. These toasted nuts can also be ground and used as a seasoning. 3-5 of these roasted seeds, when boiled in water then adding nutmeg and cinnamon make a very pleasant drink which tastes somewhat like coffee.

Our bay trees are currently under grave attack by a fungal disease transmitted by the invasive, Asian beetle Xyleborus glabratus. This fungal infection first shows up by branches dying and their leaves turning brown. Eventually the whole tree will die, taking with it the main birthplace of Palamedes Swallowtail butterflies. So this disease may not just wipe out one of the south's most common trees, it may also drive that butterfly to extinction, too.


Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

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