Magnolia

Scientific Name(s): Magnolia grandiflora
Abundance: common
What: flowers, leaves, maybe seeds
How: flowers pickled; leaves as tea; seeds...you're on your own!
Where: landscaping, woods
When: spring flowers, fall seeds, leaves all year
Nutritional Value:
Dangers: some sources list the seeds as edible others list them as poisonous

Medicinal Summary:
Seeds - anti-tumor; anti-inflammatory; anti-bacterial; anti-seizure; sedative (tincture)
Leaves - anti-cancer; antibacterial (tisane, tincture)

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are typically arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Simple, large, and broadly ovate leaves, varying in size among species.

Leaf Color: Leaves will be dark green on top and a bronze color underneath. 

Flower Structure: Magnolias are known for their large, showy flowers with multiple petals and protruding center. They give off a sweet, floral scent.

Flower Size: Flower size can be over a foot in diameter.

Flower Color: Colors range from white and cream to faint pink or yellow.

Fruit (Cone): The fruit is a cone-like structure, often reddish or brown when mature, measuring a few inches in length. Dozens of red seeds can be seen peeking out of each cone when mature.

Seed Size: Seeds are typically 1/4"-1/2 ovals, with a hard, red coat and a white/cream interior.

Bark: Mottled gray-brown and somewhat rough/wrinkled, kind of like elephant skin.

Height: Heights of mature magnolia trees can range from 15 to 80 feet, depending on the species.

Hairs: Seed pods and leaf stems are fuzzy.

Magnolia tree. Note the green tops and brown undersides of the leaves.


Magnolia flower buds.


Flower beginning to open which I feel is the best time to pick them for use.


Open flower. Soon after they open the petals begin turning brown. I don't harvest them once several petals have become spotted.


After the flower petals drop away the fuzzy seedhead is revealed.


Come fall, the red seeds begin bursting out of the seedhead. The hard, red shell covers a light-tan 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.


Fifty million years ago Magnolia trees dominated the Earth. Today they are found in the southeastern United States and running down into Central and South America. Oh, how the might have fallen! Yet, there's some pleasure in knowing Texas has some of the last northern holdouts of this ancient race. Looking at these trees, with their giant, ambrosial-scented flowers and thick, leathery leaves, it's not surprising they come from the time of Eocene period, when global temperatures were much hotter than today and plant life thrived.

Look for these trees both as landscaping centerpieces as well as wild in the east Texas woods. They keep their large, somewhat oval leaves all year around. Flowers appear in mid-spring followed by the clusters of hard, red seeds in the fall. The bark is relatively smooth and gray with assorted discolorations of lichen. Mature trees can have round crowns forty feet across.

The strong scent of freshly-opened magnolia flowers can be overpowering and so the flowers themselves aren't eaten raw. Shredding the flowers then pickling using the pickled okra recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, produces something similar to pickled seaweed served at sushi joints. A number of bartenders and distilleries have been experimenting with magnolia flower infused gins to create Texas-specific cocktails.

The leaves, after drying, has a long history of herbal medicinal use to fight cancers. Testing by western science has revealed magnolia leaves contain several compounds that reduce the growth of blood vessels to tumors. Lots of work still remains in turning these into an accurate, predictable medicine.

In the fall the trees are covered with clusters of bright red seeds about the size of small jelly beans. Digging through the research on the edibility of these magnolia beans, one find them listed as both poisonous and edible.Being a scientist, I've eaten three of them so far. At the first bite they have a sweet, pleasant flavor but at the second bite my mouth tasted like it was flooded with gasoline. Bleeech! The seeds have the outer, red coat surrounding pale, tan nutmeat. I suspect that the sweet flavor comes from the coat and the gasoline flavor from the nutmeat or perhaps vice-versa. More experimentation with these beans is required.


50 Million year old! Fights cancers! Link leads to another 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.

Ginkgo

Scientific Name(s): Ginkgo biloba
Abundance: rare
What: leaves, nuts
How: leaves raw, tea; seed/nut roasted
Where: woods, landscaping
When: leaves in spring, summer, fall; nut in summer
Nutritional Value: leaves are medicinal, nuts have calories
Dangers: the fruit STINKS and contains assorted, somewhat dangerous chemicals. Do not let the raw fruit pulp come in contact with bare flesh, mouth, or eyes.

Medicinal Summary
Leaves - improves blood circulation; improves memory; may reduce dementia (eaten, tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are unique, fan-shaped, and arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Ginkgo leaves have a distinctive fan shape, typically measuring 2 to 3 inches in length. Often displaying a cleft in the middle.

Leaf Margin: Leaves have a lobed or bilobed margin.

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

Flower Structure: Ginkgo trees are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female trees. Male flowers are small, catkin-like structures.

Flower Color: Flowers are small (1/8") cones growing on 1"-2" spikes, being either green or yellow.

Fruit (Seed): The fruit is a large, fleshy seed surrounded by a foul-smelling outer layer. The seed is about 1 inch in diameter. They onlt form on female trees and ripen in the fall.

Bark: Bark is typically light gray and smooth on young trees, becoming rougher and more deeply furrowed with age.

Height: Ginkgo trees can grow to be 50 to 80 feet tall.

Hairs: Leaves and stems are generally smooth, without noticeable hairs.

Branching Pattern: Ginkgo trees have an open, spreading growth form with distinct branches.

Ginkgo leaves.


Close-up of Ginkgo leaf.


Ginkgo trunk.


Young Ginkgo tree.


Unripe Ginkgo fruit (female trees, only).


Close-up of Ginkgo fruit. When yellow/orange, soft, wrinkly, and falling from the tree it's ripe.


Ginkgo fruit (ripening in the fall).

By Famartin (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Ginko nuts after removing outer fruit (female trees only).


Ginko trees, native to Asia, are now common landscaping plants. Due to the mess and smell of the ripe nut outer coating, usually only male forms of the tree are used. Ginkgo are ancient trees dating back 270 million years and is considered a "living fossil" and a single tree can live 1,000 years. Individual ginkgo trees are either male or female, with only the female producing fruit. The fruit ripens in the summer as approximately grape-sized yellow fruit. This fruit pulp smells really bad, something like a cross between dog poop and vomit. This pulp is discard because the real treasure is the large seed it contains. Wear rubber gloves when digging the seed out of the ginkgo fruit or else your hands will stink for days. Scrub any pulp off the seeds with plenty of running water. The seeds/nuts are then roasted as the unroasted seeds are still somewhat toxic.

Ginkgo leaves have a long history of being used to treat issues with blood circulation, memory, and dementia. The easiest way to use them is to chew a leaf into a pulp and then suck on this pulp for 10-20 minutes. Tea can also be made from the leaves.


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.

Shagbark Hickory

Scientific name: Carya ovata
Abundance: uncommon
What: nuts
How: raw, roasted
Where: Woods, Landscaping
When: fall
Nutritional Value: Vitamin A,E,K,B6; fats, minerals
Other uses: Wood is great for tool handles

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are compound, alternating along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Compound leaves typically consist of 5 to 17 leaflets. Each leaflet can measure 3 to 8 inches in length. Leaflets are opposite, except for the single, tip leaflet.

Leaf Color: Foliage is generally green, with variations among hickory species.

Flower Structure: Inconspicuous, small greenish-yellow flowers are arranged in catkins (1"-1.5" long spikes).

Flower Size: Individual flowers are tiny, about 1/8 inch in size.

Fruit (Nut): The fruit is a hard-shelled nut enclosed in a husk. Nut size varies among hickory species but can range from 1 to 2 inches.

Bark: Bark appearance varies among hickory species, ranging from smooth to rough, with furrows and ridges. Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) bark appears as peeling, vertical strips

Height: Hickory trees can vary widely in height, from 30 to 100 feet, depending on the species.

Hairs: All parts are hairless

Wood Color: The heartwood color varies from pale to reddish-brown, depending on the hickory species.

Branching Pattern: Hickory trees typically have a straight trunk with a spreading crown.

Hickory nuts.



Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) tree.


Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) tree bark.


Top of Shagbark Hickory leaf.


Bottom of Shagbark Hickory leaf.


Flowers of Shagbark Hickory (taken March in Houston, TX).


Water hickory (Carya aquatica) nuts are too bitter to eat.


Water hickory bark (inedible hickory).


Hickory leaves. Note the compound leaf has nine or less (but always and odd number) leaflets while a pecan leaf will have 11-17 leaflets.


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.


Related to pecans and walnuts, Shagbark Hickory trees aren't nearly as common but when found the nuts are quite tasty. Only the Shagbark species of hickories are edible whereas the Water Hickory (Carya aquatica), though more common, are too bitter to eat.


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.

Lotus

Scientific Name(s): Nelumbo lutea
Abundance: uncommon
What: nuts, tubers
How: nuts raw, roasted, pounded into flour; tubers raw, roasted, candied, baked.
Where: still water
When: nuts fall, winter; tubers late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: nuts protein, carbohydrates; tubers starch
Dangers:none...well, occasionally alligators in Texas.

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are peltate, meaning the leaf's stalk attaches to the center of the leaf blade, and they rise well above the water surface on long petioles.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are circular and large, commonly measuring 18 to 36 inches in diameter.

Leaf Venation: The venation is radiate, sometimes called orbicular. Veins start from the point where the petiole attaches to the underside of the leaf and run out to its edge, sometimes branching between stem and edge.

Leaf Margin: Margins are smooth and entire, forming a distinctive rounded shape without indentations.

Leaf Color: A bright green on the upper surface, often with a waxy coating that can repel water.

Flower Structure: Flowers are large and solitary with numerous petals, rising above the water on stout stalks, typically 12 to 18 inches across.

Flower Color: The blooms are a soft yellow, with a central cone-like structure that houses numerous carpels.

Fruit: The fruit is an aggregate of nuts nestled in a pit in a funnel-shaped receptacle which becomes woody and conical as it matures. Each nut is visible through an opening in the top of the funnel/cone.

Seed: Seeds are large, hard, and ovoid, about 0.5 to 0.8 inches in length, with the capability to remain viable for up to 100 years.

Stem: Stems are actually elongated petioles that are thick and waxy, reaching heights of 3 to 6 feet above the water surface.

Hairs: There are no hairs on the stems (petioles) or flowers; both are characterized by a smooth surface. The top side of the lrge, round leaves are covered in microscopic hairs that impart a hydrophobicity to the the leaf surface, but are too small to feel by touch or see by the unaided eye.

Height: The plant can reach an overall height, including the flower stalks, of up to 8 feet above the water level.

Lotus plants. In shallow water they often stand out a foot or more above the water.




Close-up of a lotus leaf. They are intact circles, unlike the cloven form of regular water lily pads. Lotus pads can grow to over two feet in diameter. Microscopic, hydrophobic hairs on the surface of the lotus pads cause water to bead up and run like mercury.




Small lotus pad in spring. Note the two lighter hemispheres mark at it's center.


Lotus tuber. Raw it tastes kind of like a potato.


Lotus flowers are large, up to a foot across and the number of seeds they contain can vary.




Lotus seed pod ready for picking.


A perfect lotus nut, ready to be shelled.


A shelled lotus nut. You still have to remove the green, baby plant before roasting and eating otherwise the nut will be bitter.


Lotus seedpods and nuts after drying in the wild.


Cracked lotus nut. The small, green plant germ (plant embryo) is very bitter and must be removed. The nuts are very hard to crack.


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.


Common in many shallow, still water, lotus are often mistaken for some sort of large water lily. The main differences between lotus and water lilies are lotus "pads" are round & intact whereas water lily pads have a cleft or gap in the pad and so aren't a complete circle. Also, lotus pads grow up to a foot out of the water on strong stalks while lily pads stop growing at the surface of the water. Lotus seedpods look like weird, green showerheads pointing up at the sky while green and then drooping face down towards the water when brown and dry. The tubesrs are thick, long, segmented and MUCH tastier than water lily tubers!

Lotus nuts were a much-beloved food of Native Americans due to the flavor and high-energy content. After cracking and removal of the small, bitter, green plant embryo the seeds can be eaten raw, roasted, roasted then pounded into flour, or candied. Toasting, boiling, then mushing up the seeds gives a hearty porridge that reminds me of Malt-O-Meal.

Lotus tubers can be somewhat of a challenge to harvest. The tubers grow during the summer at the end of the lotus runners. Follow a pad stem or seedpod stem down to its base runner then follow this runner to its end. These tubers can be eaten raw, roasted, or candied by boiling in a concentrated sugar solution. Mix a little ginger in with the lotus root when you candy it for a real treat!


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.

Pecan

Scientific name: Carya illinoinensis
Abundance: plentiful
What: nuts
How: raw, cooked
Where: pecan trees
When: fall
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates and protein

Leaf Arrangement: Alternate arrangement of compound leaves.

Leaf Shape: Odd-pinnate compound leaves with typically 9 to 17 leaflets.

Leaf Size: Individual leaflets are usually 2 to 6 inches in length, depending on location along the petile.

Leaf Color: Green foliage, with variations in shades.

Leaf Margin: Serrated leaflet margins.

Vein Patterns: Pinnate venation pattern on each leaflet. Center vein may not be perfectly centered on leaflet.

Flower Structure: Appears as long, drooping catkins.

Flower Color: Male catkins are yellow-green, while female flowers are reddish.

Fruit (Pecans): Large, brownish, football-shaped seeds (nuts), with lengths ranging from 1 to 2 inches, encased in a thick green husk. Husk usually splits open along four long seams to reveal a mottled, brown-shelled nut.

Seed Size: Pecans are typically 1 to 2 inches in length.

Bark: Gray to brown, with peeling, deep furrows and ridges as the tree matures.

Pecan nut

There's a large variety of pecan nuts, but they're all the same species (Carya illinoinensis).

Pecan nuts cracked open to show meat.

Ripe pecan nuts on tree. Note compound leaf with odd number of leaflets

Almost-ripe pecans (picture taken early August in East Texas).


Pecan tree.


Close-up of pecan's scaly, peeling bark.

Pecan flowers (catkins) in spring.

Pecan twig in winter. Note the scaled buds, with a larger terminal bud. Leaf scars are seen under each bud.

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.



What truly needs to be said about pecans in Texas?
Best. Wild. Food. Ever!

The nuts may be ripe starting in October and continue to be useful into December depending on where you are. They can be shaken from the tree or dropped ones can just gathered off the ground. The other husk is easily removed, especially after it's dried, turned brown, and has begun splitting open along the husk's seams. Cracking the nut's hard shell takes more effort. One can crush them open with your bare hands if strong enough, with the trick being hold three in the hand doing the crushing. Two of the nuts will work as a "hammer and anvil" to crack open the third. A standard pliers-style nutcracker works, but a dedicated device like below is better and available through Amazon. If you use the link I've provided I'll earn a helpful sales commission.

Pecan nut cracker.*

Once cracked, the nuts can be eaten raw, roasted, or added to any number of recipes. They are very nutritious for their light weight, which is why NASA picked them to be the astronauts's snack food, starting with Apollo 13 and continuing through Apollo 16!

Along with the nuts, pecan bark has a special use - it can be turned into a delicious syrup! One collects and cleans a bunch of the shaggy, loose strips of bark, roasts them in an oven, boils them in water, strains out the bark, adds sugar to the liquid, then boils it down. I've written up the complete directions over on my Substack account here: Roasted Pecan Bark Syrup

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.