Sycamore Tree

Scientific Name(s): Platanus occidentalis
Abundance: common
What: sap
How: boiled down to give a syrup
Where: sunny edges of woods, along banks of rivers and lakes
When: sap flows best in winter just before leaf buds appear
Nutritional Value: calories, water

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are alternate along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are palmately lobed with three to five lobes, resembling a maple leaf.

Leaf Venation: The venation is palmate.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is serrated.

Leaf Color: The upper side of the leaves is bright green, and the underside is paler.

Flower Structure: Sycamores have small, dense, ball-like flower clusters called heads. The flowers are not showy.

Flower Color: The flowers are greenish and inconspicuous.

Fruit: The fruit consists of a spherical cluster of achenes, often hanging in groups.

Seed: Each achene of the fruit contains a single seed. Each fruit will have upwards of hundreds of seeds.

Bark: Sycamore bark is distinctive, with a smooth, patchy, exfoliating, green-brown outer layer that reveals lighter gray, inner bark.

Hairs: Sycamore leaves feel slightly fuzzy.

Height: Sycamore trees can reach impressive heights, commonly exceeding 80 feet.

Sycamore bark has a distinctive flaking, mottled look.


Sycamore leaves are similar in shape to their relative, the maple.


Mature sycamore leaves are huge, easily reaching more than 12" across.


In the winter the deciduous sycamores lose their leaves leaving behind inedible seed pods.


Close-up of seedpod and its many achenes.


Seep pod split open to reveal fuzzy interior.


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 sycamore is a relative of maples and so can be tapped in late winter for sap. Sycamore syrup is much lower quality than maple syrup and takes approximately 50 gallons of sap to produce 1 quart of syrup. Generally this not considered to be worth the effort. However, this sap flows strongly and can be used as an emergency source of water throughout most of the year.

While inedible, the fruit which consists of a cluster of many seeds, is still useful. Left intact, the fruit make a somewhat durable bobber for fishing, though if the water does penetrate the fruit it'll eventually sink. The fluff inside the fruit can be used as tinder to start a fire.

The leaves make one of the best wild toilet papers, but remember to pinch rther than smear.


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.

Thistle, Bull

Scientific name: Cirsium species
Abundance: uncommon
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

Leaf Arrangement: It forms a basal rosette at first followed by alternating leaves on stem as it grows. Edges of leaf are prickly.

Leaf Shape: Young leaves are elliptical; older leaves are deeply incised, very spiny, and up to 24 inches long​​.

Leaf Venation: Veins are pinnate.

Leaf Margin: Deeply incised with pronounced stiff spines along the edges​​.

Leaf Color: Green on the upper surface, softer white hairs below; cottony and woolly underside​​.

Flower Structure: Gumdrop-shaped flowers, one to two inches long, grow singly at the ends of shoots and branches​​.

Flower Color: Pinkish-purple, occasionally white​​.

Fruit: No fruit. Seeds are light-colored, oblong, and have dark brown to black longitudinal stripes​​.

Seed: 1/16" long, somewhat flattened with white, plume-like hairs (pappus) that detach at maturity​​​​.

Stem: Erect, spiny-winged stems two to five feet tall, sparsely hairy​​. Hollow and produces white sap when cut.

Hairs: Stiff hairs on the leaf upper surface, cottony and woolly on the underside​​.

Height: Typically grows 2 to 5 feet tall, can grow up to 6 feet.

Young bull thistle


Immature bull thistle flower.


Mature flower.


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.


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.


A bane to many landowners, Bull Thistles stand tall and spikely menacing across Texas fields. They can reach over four feet tall in ideal growing conditions with multiple purple flowers on each stalk. The spines along the edges of the leaves and flowers are stiff, sharp, and very painful. Few animals will eat these plants due to the daunting spines and so without any enemies to keep them in check Bull Thistles can overrun a field in just a few years.

Bull Thistles are an absolutely delicious treat if you know the trick. When the very first flowers appear cut down the thistle as close to the ground as possible and cut off the leaves, discarding them. Peel the outer, stringy layer off the stem which is easy to do. Get your thumbnail under it and pull the outer layer off, it'll come off easily. The peeled stalk tastes like sweet celery and I love it raw and used in salads. You can also cook it in any dish which calls for celery such as stews and Asian stir-frys.


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.

Thistle - Milk

Scientific Name(s): Silybum marianum
Abundance: uncommon
What: roots, leaves, young flowers, seeds
How: roots raw or cooked; young leaves raw or steamed after removing spines; flowers are steamed; seeds roasted or pressed for oil.
Where: sunny fields
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: Vit. C, calories
Dangers: Spines must be removed before cooking or eating. Some people may be allergic to milk thistles, especially those allergic to artichokes.

Medicinal Properties:
Flowers/Leaves/Stem/Seeds* - protects and heals liver (raw, tisane)
*greats medicinal property found in the seeds

Leaf Arrangement: Basal and alternate along the stem.

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Leaf Shape: Deeply lobed, obovate, spiny green leaves with distinctive white marbling.

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Leaf Venation: Pinnate with one main vein running from the base towards the tip.

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Leaf Margin: Has both teeth and lobes.

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Leaf Color: Spiny green leaves with white veins and noticeable white coloring following the veins.

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Flower Structure: Thistle-like, mildly-scented, purple-pink flower heads (2" across) subtended by spiny bracts.

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Flower Color: Purple-pink.

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Fruit: Small, dry, one-seeded fruits (achenes) attached to a parachute-like structure called a pappus.

Seeds: Each with a pappus for wind dispersal, resembling a small, brown, elongated seed.

Stem: Grooved, hollow, and may be covered in a light cottony fuzz.

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Hairs: Simple hairs on the leaf blade with no glands, not tangled or wooly.

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Height: Grows up to 6 feet tall.

Milk thistle.


Milk thistle seedling.


Slightly older milk thistle.


Close-ups of a milk thistle flower.




Milk thistle seed, which science has found to be a powerful source of liver-detoxification compounds.


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.


Milk thistles are easy to identify by their height (upwards of 6' tall), beautiful purple flowers, and white veins on blue-green leaves. Start looking for it in open fields in mid-February though depending on the weather they can be found into early summer.

The stem is tasty when peeled and then eaten raw, but try to get it before the flowers have opened. The leaf center "rib" is also tasty after the rest of the leaf (and prickers) are stripped away. The roots can be roasted for a coffee substitute.

They have a long history of medicinal use, especially for treatment of the liver. A tea made from all parts of the plant is the usual method of treating the liver though the seeds have the most effect according to recent research. Link to medicinal usage.

Beware mistaking White Prickly Poppy (Argemone albiflora) for milk thistle. Prickly poppy leaves are much narrower (less than 1" wide in lobed portions) and significantly less "milky" in the veins. If unsure, let the plant form flowers, which are white with yellow centers on prickly poppy.

Prickly Poppy leaf.


Prickly poppy flower.



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.

Sow Thistle

Scientific name: Sonchus oleraceus
Abundance: plentiful
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
Dangers: Don't mistake poisonous Common Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) or Texas Groundsel (Senecio ampullaceus) for Sow Thistle.

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves - antidepressant; antioxidant; antimicrobial; soothes urinary tract inflammations including from kidney stones; sedative; fever reducer; anti-inflammatory; pain reliever (tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves of young plants form a basal rosette and then leaves are alternating up the stem once it appears. 

Leaf Shape: Variable, typically runcinate or lyrate-pinnatifid; deeply lobed with rounded lobe margins, resembling a dandelion leaf. Basal leaves can be broadly obovate (egg-shaped with the wider end toward the tip) and up to 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. Stem leaves smaller and less deeply lobed. Stem leave may wrap around the stem.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate; veins branch off a central midvein in each lobe, reaching the lobe margin without further branching.

Leaf Margin: Leaf edges are sharply serrate. 

Leaf Color: Bright green, often with a paler underside. Younger leaves may have some purple tints.

Flower Structure: Flower heads with numerous strap-shaped ray florets around the outside and tubular disc florets in the center. Flower heads are approximately 1" across and arranged in clusters at the ends of stems and at leaf-stem junctions.

Flower Color: Bright yellow; ray florets sometimes slightly more vibrant than disc florets.

Fruit: Dry, flattened achenes with a pappus of white bristles, aiding wind dispersal. Each achene contains a single seed. Achenes approximately 1/8 inch long and 1/16 inch wide.

Seed: Single seed per achene, small and brown, about 1/16 inch long.

Stem: Erect, smooth, and hollow, producing white sap when cut/damaged. 

Hairs: Absent; no hairs present on any plant parts.

Height: 6-36 inches.

Sow thistle.


Closeup of leaves wrapped around stem.


Young sow thistle plant.


Slightly older sow thistle.


Sow thistle flowers.

Photo courtesy of Wildcat

Sow thistle flowers (never opened, opened, and gone to seed).


Young sow thistle flower buds. Pickle the ones that haven't opened by soaking them in leftover pickle juice for at least six weeks in the refrigerator. Buds that are still flat or slightly dipped inwards are the ones you want such as those directly above the ruler. Buds that come to a point have already opened and aren't worth eating.


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.


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.

My favorite way to eat sow thistle is to pick and steam the young plants before they've produced any flower buds. The steamed stalk/leaves go great with steamed carrots.

Another great treat is pickled sow thistle buds. Simply pick flower buds before they have ever opened and drop them in leftover pickle juice. Let them soak for six weeks and they become a wonderful nibble, very similar to pickled capers.


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.


Don't mistake poisonous Common Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) for Sow Thistle. Both their flowers look very similar but Groundsel leaves are blunt and fuzzy whereas Sow Thistle leaves are spiky and hairless. Also, a closer look at the flowers reveals black tips at the ends of the calyx (the collar around the base of the flowers).

Common Groundsel (poisonous).


Close-up of Common Groundsel flowers (poisonous). Note the black triangles at the bases of the flowers.


Texas Groundsel (Senecio ampullaceus) also has flower buds shaped like Sow Thistle but it's buds are yellow and its ray petals are fewer in number but wider than Sow Thistle's.


Texas Groundsel leaves wrap around the stem in the same manner as Sow Thistle but its leaves are fuzzy and covered in fine threads, seeming like spider webs.


Edible Dandelion Mimics:
Dandelion
Cat's Ear
Chicory
Japanese Hawkweed
Salsify
Sow Thistle
Texas Dandelion
Wild Lettuce


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.

Sweet Potato

Scientific Name(s): Ipomoea batatas
Abundance: common
What: leaves, tubers
How: Leaves raw, boiled then sautéed; tubers boiled, roasted
Where: landscaping
When: summer, fall
Nutritional Value: calories, fiber, protein, vitamins C,B6, riboflavin, thiamin and niacin, minerals K, P, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, and Cu

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are alternately arranged along the stems.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are variable, ranging from heart-shaped to palmately lobed or entire, typically measuring 2 to 6 inches in width and length.

Leaf Venation: Venation is palmate, with a multiple veins running from base of leaf out to its edges and lobe tips. 

Leaf Margin: Margins can be entire, lobed, or wavy, depending on the variety.

Leaf Color: Ranges from green to purple or reddish, sometimes variegated.

Flower Structure: Flowers are funnel-shaped, borne on short stalks, and typically 1.5 to 3 inches in diameter.

Flower Color: Usually pink, purple, or white.

Fruit: Produces a capsule containing 4 black seeds.

Seed: Seeds are small, black, and angular, about 0.1 inches in diameter.

Stem: Stems are long, slender, and vining, often rooting at the nodes.

Hairs: Stems and leaves can be smooth or sparsely hairy.

Height: The plant is generally sprawling, with vines extending several feet in length.

Sweet Potato vine.


Close-up of Sweet Potato leaves.


Sweet Potato tubers.




Sweet Potato tuber cut open, note they are not orange.


Purple Sweet Potato vines are the most nutritious of the different varieties.

Picture contributed by Eric Cee of SPEAR Survival.

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


Few plants seem to thrive in the Texas summer heat like Sweet Potatoes. There prolific, yellow-green vines explode in late June and on until cold fall weather (if any) appears. In a sheltered spot they can ever survive all year long in Houston and locations farther south. This durability, low water requirements, and resistance to the sun's burning rays make them an extremely popular, low-cost landscaping plant...resulting in highly nutritious food all over the place!

While the young, tender leaves can be eaten raw in salads and on sandwiches, most people prefer to make them more tender with a quick boil, followed by sautéing them in butter with onions, garlic, or other herbs. Think of the leaves as another spinach substitute, though Sweet Potato leaves don't shrink up nearly as much as spinach.

The tubers of decorative Sweet Potatoes lack the huge quantity of vitamin A (and its resultant orange color) found in Sweet Potatoes raised specifically as food. The fluctuations in available water cause these pale, though mineral and calorie rich, tubers to grow in spurts, usually resulting in cracked surfaces. While these fissures make cleaning and peeling the tubers somewhat difficult, they don't affect the flavor. Note though, the flavor will be somewhat "rougher" and less sweet than the Sweet Potatoes you are used to.

The number of tubers per plant is much less than one normally finds with the food crop version but considering how many plants there are of this, if one falls the fall landscaping crew digging up these vines and replacing them with winter plants, you easily gather your fill! Also note, like regular potatoes, these tubers can be used to make alcohol. Woohoo!


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.