Filaree

Scientific Name(s): Erodium texanum, Erodium cicutarium
Abundance: common
What: leaves, flowers, young fruit, root, seeds
How: raw, cooked
Where: disturbed areas, moist, sunny, fields, yards
When: spring
Nutritional Value: vitamins
Dangers: don't mistake Carolina Geranium for Filaree.

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Flowers - antibacterial; antifungal; antiviral (interferon induction); antioxidant; anti-inflammatory; analgesic (tisane)

Texas Filaree (Erodium texanum) structural features:

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged in a basal rosette pattern at the base of the plant.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are pinnately compound, with each leaf divided into several deeply lobed leaflets. The overall leaf length is typically around 2 to 6 inches.

Leaf Venation: Venation is pinnate, with a central vein from which smaller veins branch out within each leaflet.

Leaf Margin: The margins of the leaflets are irregularly lobed and toothed.

Leaf Color: Leaves are a light to medium green, sometimes with hints of red or purple, especially in the leaf veins.

Flower Structure: Flowers are borne on long, slender stalks rising from the basal rosette. Each stalk typically bears one to several flowers.

Flower Color: The flowers are pink to lavender, with five petals. Each petal is about 0.5 to 1 inch in length.

Fruit: The fruit is a long, slender, beak-like capsule, often referred to as a "stork's bill."

Seed: The seeds are contained within the elongated capsule, small and hard.

Stem: The flowering stems are erect and slender, emerging from the basal rosette.

Hairs: The plant may have fine hairs, particularly on the stems and the undersides of the leaves.

Height: The plant typically grows to a height of about 6 to 18 inches.

Texas Filaree (Erodium texanum) seeding.


Slightly larger Texas Filaree. Those purple/red leaves are quite distinctive.


Still larger Texas Filaree (Erodium texanum).

Change in leaves as they mature.

Redstem Filaree (Erodium cicutarium) structural features

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged in a basal rosette pattern at the base of the plant.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are pinnately compound, with each leaf divided into several deeply lobed leaflets. The overall leaf length varies, typically around 1.5 to 3 inches long.

Leaf Venation: Venation is pinnate, with a central vein running through each leaflet and smaller veins branching off.

Leaf Margin: The margins of the leaflets are finely dissected or lacy.

Leaf Color: Leaves exhibit a medium to dark green color, sometimes with reddish hues under stress conditions.

Flower Structure: Flowers are borne on slender, erect stalks that extend above the basal rosette. Each stalk supports a small cluster of flowers.

Flower Color: The flowers are small, with five petals each, usually pink or lilac in color, sometimes with darker veins. Each petal is typically about 0.2 to 0.4 inches long.

Fruit: The fruit is a long, slender capsule, resembling a stork's bill, which is characteristic of the Erodium genus.

Seed: Seeds are small, enclosed within the elongated capsule, and have a unique shape that aids in their dispersal.

Stem: The flowering stems are thin and hairy, originating from the basal rosette.

Hairs: The plant has fine hairs covering the stems and the leaves, giving them a slightly fuzzy appearance.

Height: Erodium cicutarium typically reaches a height of about 10 to 20 inches when in flower.

Redstem Filaree (Erodium cicutarium) plants. Note the red growths on some of the leaves.




Close-up of Redstem Filaree (Erodium cicutarium) leaves.




Close-up of Redstem Filaree (Erodium cicutarium) flowers.


Close-up of Redstem Filaree (Erodium cicutarium) fruit that gives it its other name, 'Storkbill".




Redstem Filaree (Erodium cicutarium) seedling.


Texas distribution of Erodium texanum, 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 of Erodium texanum, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.


Texas distribution of Erodium cicutarium, 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 of Erodium cicutarium, attributed to U.S. Department of Agriculture.


Plants define the ecological zones of Texas. Seeing the reddish, prostrate, rosettes of Filarree tell me the acidic soils of East Texas are shifting to the more alkaline, chalky soil of the Hill Country and farther west. Filler seems to thrive in damaged, barren soils such as walking/riding trails to the cracks in driveways and parking lots. This is one tough plant!

In most high-traffic places you'll find this plant it creeps low to the ground but in wilder, unmowed/untrampled areas it sends it's frilly, lobed leaves upwards along with its 5-petaled, purple flowers. The flowers grow in clusters at the ends of thin, hairy stalks. These flowers eventually turn into long 'beaked" seedpods that give these plants the alternative name of "Storkbill".

Pretty much all parts of this plant are edible, though it can be somewhat bitter raw. Cook the leaves like you would spinach or just steam them. The flowers are okay raw and while I suppose one could treat the seedpods like okra I have yet to confirm that. The seeds are actually quite nutritious with a good dose of vitamin K, according to Green Deane.



WARNING: Carolina Geranium (Geranium carolinianum) flowers and seedpods look slightly similar but it's not edible. The leaves of Carolina geranium are "hand" shaped whereas Filaree leaves are more "Christmas Tree" shaped.

Carolina Geranium flowers and leaves - too bitter to eat.


Carolina Geranium seedpods.


Carolina Geranium roots are strongly astringent and after being dried and powdered were placed in wounds to stop bleeding. The powdered Carolina Geranium roots were also gargled to sooth sore throats.


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.

Horsemint/Lemon Bee Balm

Scientific name: Monarda punctata and Monarda citriodora
Abundance: uncommon
What: flowers, leaves
How: tea, flavoring
Where: fields
When: summer
Nutritional Value: minerals, some vitamin A,B2,C

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Flowers - antimicrobial; anti-inflammatory; diuretic; expectorant; appetite stimulant; antispasmodic; carminative; anti-parasite (tisane)

Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm) Structural Features:

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged in an opposite-alternting pattern along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are lanceolate, measuring about 2 to 3 inches in length and 0.5 to 1 inch in width.

Leaf Venation: Venation is pinnate with a prominent central vein.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are serrated.

Leaf Color: Leaves are a medium green, often with a lighter underside.

Flower Structure: Flowers are tubular, clustered in dense, rounded heads with showy, leafy bracts beneath each cluster.

Flower Color Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm) : The flowers are pale yellow to pinkish, with purple spots. The bracts are often pink or white.

Flower Color Monarda citriodora (Lemon Beebalm): Flowers are lavender to pink. The bracts can be purple, pink, or white.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, dry capsule.

Seed: Seeds are tiny, contained within the capsules.

Stem: The stem is square in cross-section, typical for the mint family, and can be hairy or smooth.

Hairs: There may be fine hairs on the stems and leaves.

Height: The plant typically reaches a height of 1 to 3 feet.

Horsemint (Monarda punctata).


Close-up of Horsemint flowers which are already turning from white to yellowish.


Horsemint stems have hairs running up the leaf petioles.


Horsemint going to seed.


Old, dried Horsemint still smells nice.


A young Horsemint (Coltmint?) in April in Houston.


Lemon Bee Balm (Monarda citriodora).


Close-up of Lemon Bee Balm (Monarda citriodora).


Lemon Bee Balm beginning to drop its petals and go to seed.




Young bee balm in late winter.


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.


Lining many roadsides and scattered across sunny fields, horsemint's and lemon bee balm's flower spikes are easily recognisable even while passing by at high speeds. The calyx beneath the flowers start out green but then change to bright pink/purple then white. Horsemint flowers start out white with dark spots inside their "throats" but then these flowers turn yellowish while the spots remain unchanged. Lemon bee balm flowers are pink/purple and stay that color until the flower begins drying out.

The flowers and young leaves of these plants add a wonderful herbal/citrus flavor to tea, candies, and anything else that may need some help with its flavor. Lemon bee balm is preferred for flavoring as some people feel horsemint flowers have kind of a horsey smell/taste undertone.

Horsemint leaves are exceptionally high in thymol which is a sedative but also very good for calming upset stomachs. Its antibacterial and anti-worm properties make it a good plant to know when you may be faced with bad water or spoiled foods.


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Lady's Thumb

Scientific Name(s): Polygonum persicaria
Abundance: common
What: leaves
How: cooked
Where: moist, sunny areas
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: assorted vitamins & minerals
Dangers: none known

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

Leaf Shape: The leaves are lanceolate to elliptic, usually measuring about 2 to 6 inches in length and 0.5 to 1 inch in width. A short sheath will run down the stem from the base of the leaf.

Leaf Venation: Leaf venation is pinnate, with a central vein and smaller veins branching off to the sides.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are entire, meaning they are smooth without serrations or teeth.

Leaf Color: The leaves are generally green, but they often have a distinctive dark blotch in the center. This splotch can range from a thick "V" to a roundish blotch. How pronounced the sploch is depends on the age of the leaf, with it becoming more distinctive as the leaf ages.

Flower Structure: Flowers are small, grouped in dense, elongated spikes located at the tip of the stem or arising from leaf axils. Each flower is typically around 0.1 to 0.2 inches in diameter.

Flower Color: The flowers are usually pink to red.

Fruit: The plant produces a small, black, shiny nutlet as its fruit.

Seed: The seed is enclosed within the nutlet, which is about 0.1 inch in diameter, round, and black.

Stem: The stem is slender, often reddish, and can be smooth or slightly hairy.

Hairs: There may be fine hairs along the stem and the underside of the leaves.

Height: The plant usually grows to about 1 to 3 feet in height.

Lady's thumb. The dark "V" stain is supposed to look like the thumbprint of a lady.


Lady's Thumb (note the dark smudge on the leaf between the 3" and 4" section of the ruler)


"Smudge-free" lady's thumb.


A stand of lady's thumb blooming along Spring Creek.


Close-up of 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.


This "weed" prefers moist, sunny locations on the banks of streams and lakes but it can occasionally be found in much drier locations. It will usually be in clumps and standing approximately 18"-24" tall. In early summer the pink flowers will appear in small, round clusters at the tops of the stems. From a distance these flowers will make the whole clump of plants look pink.

A delicious potherb, simply boil the leaves for 8-10 minutes then serve with butter or roasted garlic or bits of bacon or all of those combined. It is better to cook it than to eat it raw because bacteria from the water this plant grows along can contaminate 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.

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.