Showing posts with label Only Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Only Texas. Show all posts

Barbados Cherry

Scientific Name(s): Malpighia glabra and other Malpighia species
Abundance: common
What: flowers, berries
How: flowers raw or tea; fruit raw, jelly, jam, wine
Where: landscaping
When: spring, summer, fall, winter
Nutritional Value: vitamin C
Dangers: none

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged oppositely along the branches.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are ovate to elliptical, typically measuring 1 to 3 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: Venation is pinnate, with a distinct midrib and smaller lateral veins.

Leaf Margin: Margins are entire, smooth, and sometimes slightly wavy.

Leaf Color: A glossy green, often with a leathery texture.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and have a diameter of approximately 1 inch. They are typically arranged in clusters at the terminal ends of branches. Flowers have five club-shaped petals spaced widely apart.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically pink or rose-colored with a diameter of about .

Fruit: Produces a bright red, berry-like fruit, similar in appearance to a cherry.

Seed: Each fruit contains several small seeds.

Stem: Stems are woody, with a branching habit forming a dense shrub.

Hairs: There are no significant hairs on the leaves or stems.

Height: The plant usually forms a shrub up to 3 to 6 feet tall, sometimes taller under ideal conditions.

Barbados cherry bush.
BarbadosCherryShrub

Barbados cherry fruit.
BarbadosCherry

Barbados Cherry

BarbadosCherryFruit

Close-ups of the Barbados cherry flowers.
BarbadosCherryFlowers1

BarbadosCherryFlower2

Barbados cherry leaf.
BarbadosCherryLeaf

Barbados Cherry

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.
BarbadosCherryTX

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

Barbados cherries originally come from the Caribbean. When it was discovered a single berry contains the daily recommended dose of vitamin C it was quickly adopted by navies to help against scurvy and so planted in many places. The plant doesn't handle cold well, though it does fine in normal Southern winters if only a few hard frosts occur. They are evergreen, which increases their appeal in landscapes.

The flowers can be eaten raw or used to make tea. However, it is best to leave the flowers alone so as to maximize fruit production.
The fruit starts appearing in May and will continue to appear waves through the winter if the weather is mild. These berries range in flavor from somewhat sweet to very acidic, with the higher acid content also having the higher vitamin C. Eat the berries raw if they aren't too sour/acidic, otherwise use them in jelly, jam, juice or wine.

Many plant nurseries have Barbados cherries for sale. Plant in sunny, well-drained soil but do keep them watered. A layer of mulch will help prevent the roots from drying out. Single plants will produce berries but the fruit production will be much higher if two or more Barbados cherries of different varieties are planted within 4-16 feet of each other for cross-pollination.


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.

Cow's Tongue Cactus

Scientific Name(s): Opuntia engelmannii var. linguiformis
Abundance: uncommon
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.

Leaf Arrangement: The plant features small, ephemeral leaves that quickly transform into spines, with the primary structure being the stem pads.

Leaf Shape: Initially small and cylindrical, the leaves quickly modify into spines and are not a lasting feature.

Leaf Venation: Not applicable, as the leaves transition into spines and lack typical venation patterns.

Leaf Margin: Undefined in the modified spiny leaves.

Leaf Color: Initially green but quickly replaced by spines and therefore not a prominent feature.

Flower Structure: Flowers are solitary and grow from the edges of the stem pads.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically yellow, sometimes with red or orange hues.

Fruit: Produces a fleshy, elongated fruit, which can be red or purple when ripe.

Seed: The seeds are small, contained within the fruit.

Stem: Characterized by flat, broad stem segments, commonly referred to as pads, that are linguiform (tongue-shaped).

Hairs: No true hairs are present, but there are spines and glochids (tiny barbed bristles) on the stem segments.

Height: The plant typically forms a low, spreading shrub, generally reaching 2 to 4 feet in height.


Cow's tongue cactus used in landscaping.
CowsTongueCactus

Cow's tongue cactus fruit (picture taken in mid September in Houston).
CowsTongueFruit1

Another closeup of cow's tongue fruit (also taken in mid-September in Houston).
CowsTongueFruit2

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

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.
BurningGlochids

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.
PeeledCowsTongueFruit

Straining the juice.
Straining


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.

Palm - Texas Sabal

Scientific Name(s): Sabal mexicana
Abundance: common
What: fruit, palm heart
How: fruit raw; palm heart roasted, pickled
Where: landscaping, wild from southern to central Texas
When: summer, fall, spring
Nutritional Value:
Dangers: none

Texas sabal palm.
TexasSabalPalm2

TexasSabalPalm1

Texas sabal palm base.
TexasSabalPalmBase

Texas sabal palm trunk and crown.
TexasSabalPalmTrunk

Texas sabal palm fan-type leaves.
TexasSabalPalmLeaves

Fruit dark purple, .5” in diameter, thinly fleshed over a large seed, ripens in summer.

The palm heart is also eaten, but harvesting it kills the palm. Palm hearts (terminal buds) are the "root" the center-most, youngest leaf at the very top of the tree. It is harvested by cutting off the top of the tree and carving out the palm heart which kills the tree.

Leaf fibers make great cordage.


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.

Persimmon - Texas

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

Leaf Arrangement: Simple, alternate leaves along the stems.

Leaf Shape: Ovate to elliptical leaves, typically 1 inch in length with rounded tip.

Leaf Color: Dark green foliage, sometimes with a glossy appearance.

Leaf Margin: Entire leaf margins without serrations.

Vein Patterns: Pinnate venation pattern on each leaf.

Flower Structure: Inconspicuous, small flowers, often greenish-white in color.

Flower Size: Individual flowers are typically less than 0.5 inches.

Fruit: Small, blackish-purple fruit resembling berries, around 1 inch in diameter. Somewhat tough skin with a juicy, dark interior. The flesh produces a dark juice which is very staining. The fruit have a 5-pointed "crown" on their top with a stem rising up from the center to attach to the tree.

Seed: Seeds within the fruit are small, typically less than 0.5 inches shaped something like a large watermelon seed.. 1-3 seeds may be present.

Bark: Smooth light and dark gray, with some strips of bark peeling away from the trunk.

Hairs: Underside of leaves may have fine hairs.



Texas persimmon fruit, both ripe (black) and unripe (green).
TexPersimmonFruit2

Close-ups of Texas persimmon fruit.
TexPersimmonFruit3

TexPersimmonFruit1

Texas persimmon seeds.
TexPersimmonSeeds

Texas persimmon seeds in animal scats (probably raccoon).
TexPersimScat

Persimmon Texas

Texas persimmon shrub/tree.
TexPersimmon

Close-up of Texas persimmon leaves.
TexPersimmonLeaves

Texas persimmon trunk, next to an oak tree which shades it.
TexPersimmonTrunk

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.
PersimmonTexasTX

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

The Texas Persimmon tree is mainly found in Central and Southern Texas. Once can not walk far in the Texas Hill Country without coming across the gnarled, grey shrub with grey, peeling bark. I personally love the looks of the Texas persimmon. It is generally very short, rarely over eight feet tall. They prefer to grow in partially shaded areas, such as under an oak. Most herbivore and omnivore wild animals love the ripe persimmons and I often am alerted to the trees' presence in a near area by first seeing pig scat loaded with persimmon seeds.

Persimmons aren't sweet enough to eat until they are very dark purple-black in color and already falling off the tree. The seeds are very easy to sprout, resulting in numerous persimmon trees in the same area. Like the Virginian persimmon, Texas persimmons are not self-fertile and require both male and female trees to be present for the female tree to produce fruit.

Virginian Persimmons have both male and female trees and both need to be present for fruit. Only the females produce fruit but male trees must be present to fertilize her flowers.


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.

Purple Sage

Scientific Name: Leucophyllum frutescens
Abundance: common
What: leaves
How: tea
Where: arid plains, landscaping
When: spring, summer, fall, winter
Nutritional Value: medicinal

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves - antimicrobial; congestion relief; cough suppressant; liver protection (tisane)

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

Leaf Shape: The leaves are simple, opposite, and lanceolate, with a length of approximately 1 to 2 inches.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate but not highly noticeable due to the small size and simple structure of the leaves.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are entire, with a smooth and unbroken edge.

Leaf Color: The leaves are typically gray-green, and this color is uniform on both the upper and lower surfaces.

Flower Structure: The flowers are tubular and are clustered at the tips of the branches. Each flower has a five-lobed corolla.

Flower Color: The flowers can range in color from shades of purple to lavender or pink with a white throat spotted with brown dots.

Fruit: The plant produces small, inconspicuous capsules as fruit.

Seed: The seeds are contained within the capsules.

Stem: The stems are woody and may have a somewhat tangled or bushy appearance.

Hairs: The plant has fine hairs on the stems, leaves, and flowers contributing to a fuzzy or velvety texture.

Height: Leucophyllum frutescens typically reaches a height of 3 to 8 feet, forming a dense and rounded shrub.


Purple sage (also known as cezino) plant.
PurpleSagePlant

Close-up of single stalk.
PurpleSageStem

Close-up of plant tip.
PurpleSageTip

Close-up of single leaf.
PurpleSageLeaf

Close-up of flower.
PurpleSageFlower

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.
PurpleSageTX

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

Purple sage, also known as cenizos, gives rise to the purple prairies of Texas, though it's found mostly in the more arid regions. The plant retains its leaves all year long but the flowers appear in the summer and fall, blooming after rains. They prefer full sun in well-drained, alkaline soils.

The leaves are dried and then used to make tea. This tea is an enjoyable drink and often just drank for the taste. However, traditionally this tea was also used to fight the symptoms of colds, including the congestion, fever, and coughing. Recent research has shown these leaves help protect the liver.

Purple sage can be found for sale at most plant nurseries. If you are not in their native range, plant the cezino in full sun in a raised bed to insure adequate drainage. If kept to wet purple sage may die.


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.


Sandpaper Tree

Scientific Name(s): Ehretia anacua
Abundance: common
What: berries
How: raw, juiced, jelly, jam, wine
Where: sunny, borders, stream banks
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: calories
Dangers: none known

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged alternately on the branches.

Leaf Shape: The shape of the leaves is ovate, with dimensions ranging from 1 to 3 inches in length and 1 to 1.5 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate, having a thick central vein with smaller veins branching off it.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are either entire or have a few teeth above the middle, ending in a bristle tip.

Leaf Color: The leaves exhibit a light green color on both their upper and lower surfaces.

Flower Structure: The Ehretia anacua's flowers are showy and fragrant, star-shaped with five petals, each measuring approximately 1/4 inch, and form in dense clusters at the branch tips.

Flower Color: The flowers are white in color.

Fruit: The fruit of the Ehretia anacua is a berry-like, fleshy, edible drupe, measuring 1/4 inch in diameter, and matures from yellow to orange, growing in large, fairly tight clusters.

Seed: Each fruit contains two seeds.

Bark: The bark of this tree is gray-brown or red-brown, initially scaly, and becomes irregularly furrowed over time.

Hairs: Leaves are covered in short, stiff, fine hairs giving them a sandpaper-like texture.

Height: The Ehretia anacua typically grows to a height of 15 to 45 feet.


Fruit of Sandpaper tree (aka Knockaway tree aka Anacua tree)
Sandpaper Tree

Fruit
Sandpaper Tree

Leaves
Sandpaper Tree

Leaves close-up
Sandpaper Tree

Trunk/bark
Sandpaper Tree

Branches
Sandpaper Tree?

Full tree
Sandpaper Tree

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.
Sandpaper USDA TX


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


Other names for this tree are "knockaway" and "anacua". The common name of "sandpaper trees" leaves are rough and tough, allowing them to be used as a crude, natural sandpaper for smoothing wood.

The fruit is sweetish and may be rather juicy. There are historical reports of these berries being used in jelly and wine, but usually mixed with other fruit.

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