Cholla Pencil Cactus

Scientific Name(s): Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
Abundance: common
What: fruit
How: raw, jam, jelly, wine
Where: arid, sunny, shade, borders, fields
When: winter
Nutritional Value: calories
Dangers: tiny spines (glochids) can cause a lot of pain and discomfort if not removed from fruit before eating.

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are small and ephemeral, with the plant primarily characterized by its stem segments.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are scale-like, very small, and typically fall off early in the season.

Leaf Venation: Not discernible due to the small size and scale-like nature of the leaves.

Leaf Margin: The margins are smooth, as the leaves are more like scales.

Leaf Color: The leaves, when present, are green but quickly become inconspicuous.

Flower Structure: Flowers are solitary and borne at the tips of the stem segments.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically yellow to greenish-yellow.

Fruit: Produces dry, spiny, 3/4" long fruits that are red when ripe, often persisting on the plant. After a certain amount of time, new cholla branches grow from these fruit.

Seed: The seeds are small and found within the dry fruits.

Stem: Characterized by slender, cylindrical stem segments that can be green to or gray-brown depending on age, forming a dense, twiggy shrub.

Hairs: There are no hairs, but the plant has numerous spines and glochids (small barbed bristles).

Height: The plant typically reaches 2 to 6 feet in height.

Cholla cactus aka Christmas cactus aka pencil cactus with fruit in January.


New, green stems of the cactus grow off its fruit.




Close-up of cholla cactus fruit.


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.



Cholla Pencil cactus first appear in the drier areas of east Texas and becomes more and more common as you head west. This cactus is easily recognized by it's long, thin, multi-branched stems intersected by small, red, thorny, tasty fruit. Other names for it include "Tasajillo" and "Christmas Cactus". The red fruit starts appearing in late summer and hangs around through mid-winter. When intertwined with a tree or other support, they can grow almost six feet tall. Their small (1/2") yellow to slightly greenish flowers open in the afternoon and then close by sunset. Look for it in sunny fields, especially along fence lines and other borders. Unlike the fruit of most plants, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis fruits sprout multiple, new stems in late winter/early spring which make collecting these small treats somewhat difficult and time-consuming. Add to that their many thorns and tiny glochids and you have food that really takes some effort to harvest.

This is another plant that requires a thick, leather glove and a sharp knife to harvest. These fruit are too small to use the burning technique to remove their spines/glochids like I do with Opuntia cactus tunas. Carefully trim away the section of skin containing the thorns, then they're ready to eat. I suppose one could juice them or use them to make jelly, jam, or wine but honestly, even though they taste great I'm just to lazy to put in the effort required to harvest more than a quick snack's worth.


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.

Cucumber Weed

Scientific Name: Parietaria pensylvanica
Abundance: rare
What: leaves
How: raw, steamed
Where: shade, moist areas, yards
When: spring
Nutritional Value: potassium
Dangers: a small percentage of people are allergic to this plant and break out in hives if they eat it

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Stem - diuretic, in particular to help flush out kidney stones (tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: Alternate, with leaves spaced somewhat evenly along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Lanceolate to ovate, with a length typically ranging from 1 to 2.5 inches.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate, with a prominent midvein and several less prominent lateral veins branching off.

Leaf Margin: Entire, meaning the edges of the leaves are smooth without teeth or serrations.

Leaf Color: Bright green to yellow-green, often with a slightly paler underside.

Flower Structure: Small and inconspicuous, clustered in groups along the stem near the leaf axils (leaf-stem junction).

Flower Color: Green, blending with the foliage.

Fruit: Not commonly observed, but when present, are small, dry, and one-seeded.

Seeds: Tiny, with a hard outer coating.

Stem: Erect to ascending, typically ranging from 6 to 18 inches in height, with a green to reddish-green color.

Hairs: Covered with short, soft hairs, giving the plant a slightly fuzzy texture.

Height: Usually between 6 to 18 inches tall.

Young cucumber weed seedlings (November in Houston).


A lone, multi-stem Cucumber Weed hanging out next to a very old barn.


Close-up of single stem. Note flowers are directly attached to stem and leaves "zig-zag" up it.


Close-up of stem showing how flowers appear at the base of leaves.


Close-up of Cucumber Weed flowers. Like the leaves, they are green and hairy.


Close-up of mature leaf. It's edges are smooth, without any bumps/teeth.


Even closer close-up of leaf. Note the hairs, especially along the leaf's edge.


TOXIC MIMIC - Don't mistake members of the Acalypha genus for Cucumber Weed. They look similar in size, shape, and habitat but their actually easy to tell apart.


Acalypha leaves (picture below) lack hairs and have toothed edges unlike the smooth, hairy edge of Cucumber Weeds.


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.


While not listed by the USDA as found in Harris and Montgomery counties of Texas, I find it in those locations quite often.

"Cool as a cucumber" is a good way to remember when to hunt Cucumber Weed. These small, delicious weeds appear in the cooler days of late fall through early spring, usually in moist, shady areas that see a lot of human traffic and the resulting soil damage. The particularly seem to like growing along cement foundations of buildings which suggests to me they prefer somewhat alkaline soils. They'll often be intermingled with other edible and non-edible weeds.

Cucumber Weed leaves zig-zag up the stem, alternating from side to side but since the square stem twists as it grows the leaves end up in a spiral. Along the upper portion of the stem two hairy, green flowers grow at the base of each leaf. These flowers are attached directly to the stem on either side of the leaf.

Use this cucumber-flavored plant raw in salads or smoothies. Supposedly it's good steamed then mixed with pasta in a white sauce, having a much milder flavor than spinach.

A number of members of the Acalypha resemble Cucumber Weed. Remember, if the leaf has teeth/bumps along its edge and isn't hairy you have a toxic Acalypha and NOT an edible Cucumber Weed.


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.

Curled Dock, Yellow Dock

Scientific name: Rumex crispus
Abundance: plentiful
What: very young leaves, seeds
How: leaves may be eaten raw; 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 small amounts of oxalic acid, limit intake to what you'd normally eat of spinach

Medicinal Summary:
Root* - laxative; appetite stimulant; antibiotic, antifungal; antidiabetic type II (poultice, tisane, tincture)
*root must be allowed to dry 8 months to 1 year for medicinal properties to develop

Leaf Arrangement: Basal rosette with a few alternate leaves higher on the stem.

Leaf Shape: Lanceolate to oblong, with a distinctive wavy or curled margin, typically 4 to 10 inches long. Edges of youngest leaves will be curled inwards towards the center of the leaf.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate, with a central midvein and several branching side veins.

Leaf Margin: Curled or wavy, giving the species its common name.

Leaf Color: Green to dark green, with reddish veins on occasion.

Flower Structure: Small, grouped in whorls along elongated, upright flowering stalks.

Flower Color: Greenish to reddish-brown, not particularly showy.

Fruit: A small, triangular, winged achene.

Seeds: Enclosed within the fruit, typically brown, and triangular in shape.

Stem: Erect, often reddish, and can grow 2 to 4 feet tall.

Hairs: Generally smooth, without significant hairiness.

Height: Typically ranges from 2 to 4 feet in height.

Young leaves are edible raw at this point.


Remove the ribs from ones this age before eating the leaves raw.




Probably need boiling now.


Dock plant.




Curled Dock root.


Mature curled dock seedheads (early summer) have a distinct "rust" color.






Close-up of curled dock seeds.


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.


Dock is a rich source of vitamins and minerals and the leaves, though tangy in flavor, taste mild enough to eat young leaves raw up until the flower spikes appear. After that but it can become tough and somewhat bland. Steaming, boiling or sautéing improves the texture of large, mature leaves. 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. To remove this outer shell, toast the seeds to make the shell brittle, then "grind" them between the palms of your hands to shatter the shell off the seeds. Take this shell/seed mixture and go outside during a light wind and pour the mix back and forth between two bowls, allowing the wind to blow away the lighter shell material. This is called winnowing.

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! My favorite way is to mix them with cream cheese and slap it on a Ritz-style cracker. They add a nutty, quinoa type flavor to soups and stews.

Tea made from dried roots of curled dock has been used medicinally as an anti-cancer agent though little research supports this use. The roots' antibacterial and antifungal properties are well documented, as both a wash or applied as a poultice. Mashed-up fresh roots were used to treat minor skin issues such as scraps, rashes, and abrasions. It has anti-inflammatory powers when taken internally. I personally use a vodka-based tincture of chopped curled dock root as a "bitters" for mixed drinks. Woo hoo!



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.

Desert Hackberry

Scientific Name: Celtis pallida
Abundance: common
What: fruit
How: raw, cooked
Where: dry, desert areas
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: calories
Dangers: spines are sharp!

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are alternate along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Simple, ovate leaves with serrated margins, typically measuring 1 to 2 inches in length.

Leaf Color: Foliage is typically pale green to gray-green.

Flower Structure: Inconspicuous, small, greenish flowers are arranged in clusters.

Flower Size: Individual flowers are very small, around 1/8 inch in size.

Fruit (Drupe): The fruit is a small, rounded drupe, about 1/4 inch in diameter, typically reddish-brown when ripe.

Bark: Bark is mottled grayish-brown, with thorns. Some thorns may have smaller thorns.

Height: Desert hackberry can grow to be a medium-sized tree, reaching heights of 20 to 30 feet.

Hairs: Leaves may have microscopic hairs, giving a slightly rough texture.

Branching Pattern: The branching pattern is irregular, and the tree may have a somewhat open form.

Desert Hackberry fruit when ripe.


Close-up of ripe fruit.


Thicket of Desert Hackberry trees. They grow with interlaced trunks and branches.


Close-up of leaves.


Note how the young branch "zig-zags" betweens leaf nodes and spines.


Close-up of spines on young twig.


Close-up of spine on mature branch.


Desert Hackberry trunk.


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.


As much as I love Desert Hackberries, birds love them even more. The spiny thickets that these small tree form are are a safe, food-filled haven for all manner of small birds. Look for these thickets in arid, hot areas of south and west Texas, though in these environments they will likely cluster near water sources including dry gullies. The trees rarely get much over 15 feet tall. The small, oval leaves stay on the tree most of the year but can fall in extremely dry conditions.

The ripe fruit is quite sweet, orange in color, and its single seed is much softer than the hard stone found in Sugar Hackberry fruit. I eat the whole thing raw, seed and nut combined. It can be eaten raw, mashed then baked into a calorie-laden snack bar, or boiled in some water to make a syrup. A truly industrious person could gather enough of the ripe fruit to make a bottle of wine or two if they were willing to fight through the plant's thorns...and deal with the resulting angry birds.


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.

Epazote

Scientific Name(s): Dysphania ambrosioides (formerly Chenopodium ambrosoides)
Abundance: common
What: leaves
How: seasoning
Where: sandy soil along woodland borders
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: low
Dangers: use sparingly as a herb as high doses can be poisonous. ~1% of the population suffers an allergic reaction to epazote

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged in an alternate pattern along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are generally lance-shaped or narrowly ovate, with lengths varying between 1.5 to 4 inches and widths of about 0.5 to 1 inch.

Leaf Venation: Venation is pinnate, with a prominent central vein and smaller veins branching out towards the leaf margins.

Leaf Margin: Leaf margins are serrated or toothed, particularly towards the leaf tip.

Leaf Color: The color of the leaves ranges from a dark green to a reddish-green, often with a matte finish.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and inconspicuous, clustered in small, axillary spikes.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically greenish or whitish.

Fruit: The fruit is a tiny and green.

Seed: The seeds are minute, not typically noticeable unless the fruit is opened.

Stem: The stem is erect, branched, and can have reddish or purplish hues.

Hairs: Stems are hairy.

Height: The plant usually reaches heights of 2 to 3 feet.

Young epazote plants.


Top view of epazote plant.


3/4 tilt view of epazote.


Side view of epazote. Note the alternating leaves.


Close-up of epazote's hairy stem.


Topside of leaf. Note how the veins run to the points along the edge of the leaf.


Underside of the leaf. Note how the veins run to the points along the edge of the leaf.


Epazote flowers.


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.


Disturbed, sandy soil along woodland borders is the most likely place to find the ancient herb. If you are familiar with lamb's quarter's appearance you're half way to identifying this plant. Epazote leaves alternate up the stem and look like elongated versions of lamb's quarter leaves. This plant will branch out some, usually from near the bottom of the plant. Trimming its top will cause multiple sprouts continuing to grow from the cut spot. By the end of its growing season it can be five feet tall and somewhat leggy. The most distinctive part of this plant is its scent. To me the crushed leaves smell like lemons soaked in gasoline. Other people think it smells more like brake fluid or some sort of industrial cleaner. It's hard to believe something who's name translates into "skunk sweat" is used heavily in cooking! But throughout the ages it has been a key flavor in South American dishes, especially in the areas of the Yucatan and Veracruz areas of Mexico.

Considering how strong of flavor it has only a few leaves are needed to impart the correct citrusy tones to bean dishes. Why is it added to beans? Well, it turns out Epazote contains some compounds that are particularly good at breaking down bean proteins, making them more readily digested by the human body. A side effect of this "pre-digestion" is the gas-producing effects of beans is reduced. The leaves can be dried but fresh is preferred when cooking.

Epazote flowers and seeds resemble those of lamb's quarter, with the flowers being tiny, green, and numerous and the seeds being tiny and brown. Due to the high concentration of ascaridole in the seeds, I don't recommend eating them like lamb's quarter seeds.

The ascaridole oil found in Epazote leaves is used as a deworming (vermifuge) agent and was taken as a tea made from the leaves and seeds to rid the humans and animals of tapeworms, ringworms, and other parasitic worms. To expel the dead worms from the body, a laxative was also taken. However, the levels of this oil needed to kill worms is very close to what would be fatal to humans, too. This makes Epazote an anti-worming agent of last resort, modern medicines are much safer.


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.