Clover - Crimson

Scientific Name(s): Trifolium incarnatum
Abundance: uncommon
What: seeds, flower
How: seeds ground into flour, sprouted; flower raw or dried for tea
Where: sunny fields and ditches with moist soil, landscaping
When: spring, early summer
Nutritional Value: calories

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are trifoliate, consisting of three leaflets. Each leaflet is ovate to elliptical in shape.

Venation: The venation is pinnate, with a central vein in each leaflet and smaller veins branching off to the sides.

Leaf Margin: The margins of the leaflets are entire, meaning they are smooth without any teeth or lobes.

Leaf Color: Leaves of crimson clover are typically a bright green color.

Flower Structure: The flowers are arranged in dense, elongated, cone-like heads up to 2" long. Each flower head is composed of numerous small, pea-like florets.

Flower Color: The flowers are a striking crimson red, which is the characteristic feature of this clover species.

Fruit: The fruit is a small pod, typically containing only a few seeds.

Seeds: Seeds are small, yellow to brown in color, and kidney-shaped.

Stem: The stem of Trifolium incarnatum is erect, branching, and somewhat hairy.

Hairs: The plant has fine hairs along the stems and on the leaves.

Height: Crimson clover can reach 20" tall in ideal growing conditions but is often half that height.

Field of crimson clover


Young flower just beginning to turn crimson.


Mature flower head. They are much more elongated than white and red clovers


Close-up of leaf. Note the fine hairs along the leaflets' edges.


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 sunny fields of east Texas turn fiery red in the springtime with thousands of Crimson Clover flowerheads. This durable, prolific wildflower can often be found growing profusely in road medians thanks to Lady Bird Johnson's Texas beautification program. Beware sticking your nose too close to inhale its sweet aroma as both butterflies and bees find its nectar quite delicious!

Though lacking the medicinal properties of Red Clover, Crimson Clover's flowerhead makes a pleasant tea and can be used either fresh or after drying. I've never smoked it but based on my experience with other clovers, it's likely it'll be just as good.

The seeds have a long history of being collected and ground into flour. The individual seeds are small but it's relatively easy to harvest many of them to add to other plant seeds you've gathered. These seeds can also be sprouted into highly nutritious microgreens using standard sprouting techniques.

Being a nitrogen fixer, Crimson Clover makes an excellent fallow crop for revitalizing depleted soils. They prefer near-neutral pH soil with good drainage for optimal growth. A thick mat of this will often choke out other weeds which is either good or bad depending on how hungry you are. :-)


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.

Cottonwood

Scientific Name(s): Populus deltoides, other Populus species
Abundance: rare
What: inner bark
How: raw, cooked
Where: sunny fields near water
When: spring, summer, fall, winter
Nutritional Value: calories, vitamin C
Dangers: none

Medicinal Summary:
Young Bark - anti-inflammatory; pain reliever; fever reducer (tisane)
Leaf Buds - pain reliever; antimicrobial, heals sprains and contusions (infused oil)

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are alternate along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are broadly triangular or deltoid in shape, with a length of approximately 3 to 6 inches.

Leaf Margin: Leaf margins are serrated, featuring coarse teeth.

Leaf Venation: Leaf veins are pronounced and light colored than leaf.

Leaf Color: Foliage is typically bright green, turning yellow in the fall. 

Flower Structure: Eastern cottonwood trees are dioecious, producing separate male and female catkins (long, narrow clusters of tiny flowers).

Flower Color: Male catkins are red or yellow, while female catkins are green.

Fruit (Capsule): The fruit is a small, capsule-like structure, around 1/4 inch in size.

Bark: Bark is smooth and greenish-gray on young trees, becoming deeply furrowed and gray-brown on mature trees.

Height: Eastern cottonwood trees can reach towering heights of 50 to 100 feet.

Hairs: Leaves and mature bark are generally smooth.

Wood Color: The heartwood is light brown. Center of branches have a distinct, darker, 5-pointed start in their center.

Cottonwood tree.


Cottonwood branch.


Cottonwood leaves in early fall with both green and yellow leaves.


Cottonwood bark.


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.


Cottonwood trees were a welcome sight for those settlers and Native Americans crossing Texas. Their presence indicated water within easy digging distance. Quick growing, they can reach 100 feet tall with a spread of 75 feet in under twenty years. In the early summer Cottonwoods produce LOTS of the cottony fluff for which they are named. Come fall their leaves take on a striking yellow color which stands out boldly among the lesser trees and bushes.

The inner bark (cambium layer) is a good source of calories and vitamin C. One must peel away the thick, outer bark to get to this edible cambium layer. The cambium is finely diced before eating to lessen the amount of chewing needed. It can be eaten raw or boiled into a porridge. Please note that removing this inner bark will likely kill the tree and Cottonwoods are becoming rare in Texas. Please harvest the bark only in a matter of life or death. However, Cottonwoods shed branches during storms. Harvest the cambium layer from these fallen branches as soon as possible.

During the winter Cottonwoods protect their next year's leaf buds with a resinous coating. These buds were collected in the winter and gently boiled in an edible oil to make a salve to treat sore throats and coughs. Being a relative of willows, the bark of the Cottonwood can also be used as a source of aspirin.


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 Parsnip

Scientific name: Heracleum maximum
Abundance: rare
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.

Leaf Arrangement: Alternate, with leaves large and deeply lobed.

Leaf Shape: Broadly ovate, with deep lobes and a serrated or toothed margin. Mature leaves can be over 16" across at their widest.

Venation: Palmate, with a prominent central vein and visible lateral veins branching off in each lobe.

Margin: Serrated or toothed, particularly towards the leaf tip.

Leaf Color: Bright to dark green, with a slightly coarse texture.

Flower Structure: Compound umbels, large and flat-topped, with numerous tiny flowers in each umbel.

Flower Color: White, sometimes with a slight pinkish hue.

Fruit: Flat, oval, two-seeded schizocarps.

Seeds: Small, flat, and attached in pairs.

Stem: Tall, stout, and hollow, often with purplish or reddish blotches.

Hairs: Generally hairless, but the stem may have fine bristles.

Height: Typically grows between 4 to 10 feet tall.

Cow parsnip plant (almost seven feet tall).


Closeup of flowers.


Another view of flowers.


Mature seedhead of cow Parsnip.


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


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


Look for Cow Parsnips in partially shady areas where water (usually a stream) meets woods. They seem to prefer hardwood forests to pine.

While not quite on par with Pokeweed, Cow Parsnips do require caution when harvesting and preparing the young shoots. Like Pokeweed, harvest the shoots when they're under 9" tall but you'll also want to take the cow parsnip's root. Wear gloves and arm guards while collecting them so the furanocoumarin chemical in the sap and surface needles can't adhere to your skin. If this chemical does get on you it'll make those areas of skin super-sensitive to sunlight, resulting in patches of 2nd degree sunburns.

Still the plant is quite tasty. Saute the diced-up leaves, stem, and roots in butter, oil, or bacon grease along with onions or garlic for a few minutes. They'll shrink a little but not disappearing like spinach. Hit them with a dash of cedar-infused apple cider vinegar and have at 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.

Dayflower

Scientific name: Commelina communis
Abundance: plentiful
What: flowers, leaves, stem
How: flowers raw or cooked, leaves salad, stem steamed or cooked
Where: shade, partial sun, woods, fields, landscaping
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.

Leaf Arrangement: Alternate, with leaves emerging one at a time along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Oval to lanceolate, typically ranging from 2 to 5 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: Parallel, with veins running lengthwise from base to tip.

Leaf Margin: Entire, with smooth edges.

Leaf Color: Bright green, often with a shiny or glossy surface.

Flower Structure: Solitary or clustered in leaf axils or at the stem's end, each flower with two petals. Blossoms are about 1" across.

Flower Color: Usually bright blue, occasionally white or purple.

Fruit: A capsule, typically small and round.

Seeds: Small, black or dark brown, enclosed within the capsule.

Stem: Erect or creeping, depending on the species, and can be either slender or somewhat fleshy.

Hairs: Generally smooth, but some species may have fine hairs along the stem or leaves.

Height: Varies by species, typically between 6 inches to 2 feet tall.

Dayflower plants in the morning.


Dayflower plants in the afternoon after the day's flowers have gone away.


Close-up of dayflowers.


Close-up showing a leaf, too.


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.


In just about everyone's flowerbed creeps Dayflower. The thin, weak stems fall over until there's so many present that they force each other upright. In the morning these stems will end in blue, two-petal flowers coming out of a green, beak-like structure. The flowers don't last though, shriveling up a little after the solar noon. The tough leaves have a a parallel vein structure and join to the stem with a sheath which runs down the stem approximately 1/4 inch. This plentiful weed appears in the spring and grows through the summer and fall, dying back only when a hard frost hits it. Be warned, if you just pull it up from your garden or flowerbed and toss it aside it'll take root and begin growing wherever it lands and touches soil.

Dayflowers are slightly more tender than Spiderworts, but are still tough. Because of this, even though the entire plant is edible I rarely use any more than just the top cluster of flowers and flower buds. These bits can be added to salads for a splash of color or tossed into cooked dishes, too. On rare occasions I'll include the uppermost 1-3 leaves if I'm making a curry or stew that'll be simmered a long time. While the stems do contain a slime, the quantity is too low to be a worthwhile thickening agent or first aid gel.


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.

Day Lily

Scientific name: Hemerocallis fulva
Abundance: common
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).

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are basal, growing directly from the base of the plant in a fan-like arrangement.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are long and linear, typically 18 to 24 inches in length and 1 to 1.5 inches wide.

Leaf Venation: The venation is parallel, running the length of the leaf.

Leaf Margin: Margins are entire, with smooth edges.

Leaf Color: A bright to deep green, often with a slightly glossy appearance.

Flower Structure: Flowers are large, funnel-shaped, and borne on tall, erect scapes.

Flower Color: The blooms are typically orange, with variations ranging from yellow to red.

Fruit: Produces a capsule containing black seeds.

Seed: The seeds are black and glossy, enclosed within the capsule.

Stem: The flowering stem, or scape, is long, round, and hollow, rising above the foliage.

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

Height: The foliage remains close to the ground, while the scapes can reach about 3 feet tall.

Day Lily flowers and flower pods.




Root tubers.


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


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. Roast the tubers.


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.

Elderberry

Scientific name: Sambucus canadensis
Abundance: common
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, calcium, iron, sterols, and flavonoids.
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. Compounds in elderberry flowers and berries can disrupt chemotherapy drugs.

Medicinal Summary:
Flowers, Berries - immune system stimulant (syrup, tincture, tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are opposite, arranged in pairs along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Compound leaves with 5 to 11 leaflets. Each leaflet measures around 2 to 4 inches in length.

Leaf Margin: Leaflet margins are serrated with fine teeth.

Leaf Color: Foliage is typically dark green.

Flower Structure: Large, flat-topped clusters of tiny, fragrant, white flowers known as umbels.

Flower Color: Flowers are typically creamy white and bloom in late spring to early summer. The flowers have five petals, with a diameter of the individual flower being 1/4". 

Fruit (Berry-Like): The fruit is a small, dark purple to black berry, around 1/4 to 1/3 inches in diameter growing in umbel-like clusters.

Bark: Young stems are smooth and green, while older stems are gray with small, dark spots. Beneath the bark is a soft, white pith.

Height: American elderberry can grow to be 5 to 12 feet tall.

Hairs: Stems and leaves are generally smooth.

Growth Form: American elderberry has a multi-stemmed, shrub-like growth form.

Stands of elderberry can be 12'-14' tall.




Elderberries along a stream bank.


The flowers start out as small, light-green balls then open up into white/cream flowers with five petals.


The flower clusters are shaped kind of like cauliflower in an "umbel" (aka umbrella shape).


Flowers (edible).


Close-up of flowers after harvesting.




Dark purple-black fruit (edible dry or cooked, not raw).




Close-up of compound (multi-leaflets) leaves (topside).


Close-up of compound leaves (underside).


By the end of summer the leaves can become very complex.


Stem/trunk of Elderberry. The spots where from leaves growing from the stem in previous years.


Getting ready to make a batch of Grandpa's "Cure's what ails ya!" (Godzilla movie not required). Directions below.


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.


Stands of elderberry are most common along streams and other moist areas. Standing approximately 10 feet tall with compound leaves and green-to-gray, bumpy bark and white pithy interiors, elderberries are distinctive shrubs or small trees. The cauliflower-shaped clusters of white flowers appear in early spring, flowered by clusters of green and then dark purple berries. The plant will continue to produce flower clusters through the summer and berries into early fall. One has to be quick to gather the berries as birds love them!

The elderberry flowers are a good raw snack, eaten right off the tree. Other popular uses include adding the flowers to muffins, pancakes, frosting and batter-frying them into fritters. They can also be used to flavor assorted non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks.

The berries do NOT taste great raw due to the presence of a rather off-putting volatile oil. However, drying or cooking the berries drives off this chemical resulting in a really good flavor. Add the berries raw or dried berries to pancakes, muffins or other batter-style cooked goods. Elderberry jam and jelly is an old-time favorite. Of course, the most popular way to use elderberries is to make wine!

My grandfather used to make great elderberry wine. He also made a general illness preventative/cure medicine called "Cure's what ails ya!" from the flowers by filling a 1 quart canning 1/3 to 1/2 full with fresh elderberry flowers (no stems!) then adding 1 tablespoon of sugar, two shots of Triple Sec orange liquor and filling to jar almost to the top with vodka. The jar was sealed tightly then shook twice a day for 6-8 week. At that point the solids were strained out and the fluid transferred into a tightly capped bottle. I am NOT giving medical advice but two shoots of this was our family treatment when we felt an illness coming on. Western science suggests elderberry flowers and berries contain the immune-system stimulating molecule "Sambucol" which can also be bought over the counter in pharmacies for use in fighting viral infections. Please note that if you are on immune system suppresants, such as after an organ transplant or if you suffer from an auto-immune disease, you should avoid consuming elderberry products.

There are two plants people often mistake for elderberry, Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) and Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum). Chinese Privet is slightly toxic and has simple rather than compound leaves though they are all lined up so as to look a little like the compound leaves of elderberry, but smaller and not pointed at the end. Chinese Privet fruit appears in the fall/winter in grape-like clusters of dark, purple, somewhat football-shaped berries instead of the umbels of elderberry berry clusters.

These are Pokeweed berries which are deadly. Note that they grow in a column rather than an umbrella-shape.


Chinese Privet berries and leaves. This plant is commonly mistaken for Elderberry but it is POISONOUS.




Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) produce umbel-shaped clusters of small, white flowers that look just like elderberry flowers but as with the Chinese Privet, Arrowwood leaves reveal its true identity. Arrows leaves are simple, oppositely-opposed along its branches and have toothed edges. After the flowers pass umbel-shaped clusters of grayish-purple, football-shaped berries ending in little dried flower bits appear. These fruit are edible but tasteless.

Arrowwood flowers (edibility unknown...so don't eat them).


Arrowwood leaves (not edible).


Arrowwood berries (edible but tasteless).



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.