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.

Gayfeather/Liatris

Scientific Name(s): Liatris spicata and other Liatris species
Abundance: uncommon
What: root/tuber
How: roasted
Where: open fields, landscaping
When: fall, winter
Nutritional Value: calories

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged in a basal rosette at the base and alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are linear to lanceolate, with lengths varying from 1 to 3 inches and widths about 0.1 to 0.6 inches.

Leaf Venation: Venation is parallel, with a central vein prominent on each leaf.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are entire, with no serrations or lobes.

Leaf Color: Leaves are typically a medium to dark green.

Flower Structure: The flowers are arranged in dense, spike-like clusters at the top of erect, stiff stems.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically purple, sometimes ranging to pink or white, with each individual flower small and tubular.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, dry, one-seeded achene.

Seed: Seeds are contained within the achenes, small and hard.

Stem: The stem is tall, erect, and unbranched, often with a rough texture.

Hairs: Leaves and stem can be covered in fine, grayish hairs.

Height: The plant can grow to a height of 2 to 4 feet.

Edible gayfeather tuber.


Young gayfeather plant (early June in Houston).


A stand of gayfeather plants.


Close-up of gayfeather stand.


Close-up of gayfeather flower.


Close-up of gayfeather flower before opening.


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.


There are quite a few different species of Gayfeathers growing in stands across the fields, prairies, ditches, and woodland glades of Texas and North America. All are considered non-poisonous but only a few of them produce tubers big enough to be worth eating. Their tall, unbranching spikes start green, then erupt with many small, purple flowers, followed by browning as they dry. During the winter months clusters of these old stalks are easy spot, even through snow on the central plains. The drought-resistant Liatris spica are becoming popular in low-water xeriscapes and can often be found at big-box home improvement stores.

Gayfeather tubers continue to grow larger year after year but only the latest-year's portion is tender enough to eat, with the common species Liatris spica being considered the best. Memorize the location of the summer-blooming purple flower stalks for harvesting the tubers in the fall and winter. Once harvested, use these tubers as you would potatoes. They do well boiled or roasted.


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.

Groundnut

Scientific Name: Apios americana
Abundance: rare
What: tubers, flowers, vine tips, seedpods
How: tubers are boiled, roasted, not raw; flowers & yound seedpods cooked; vine tips raw or cooked
Where: moist areas
When: spring, summer, fall, winter
Nutritional Value: calories, protein
Dangers: 1% of the population is allergic to groundnuts

Groundnut tubers, 1-3 years old.




Groundnut vine.


Close-up of groundnut vine tip.


Close-up of groundnut stem.


Groundnut leaf (odd-pinnate).




Close-up of unopened flowers.


Close-up of opened groundnut flowers.




Groundnut seedpod. Cook before 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.


Groundnuts aka hopniss are a wonderful, potato-like tubers found in moist soils all across North America, including along many Texas streams and ponds. They like river banks, where their vines will entwine anything that will support them. These vines have a rough, hairy feel to them and range in color from reddish at the base up to pale green at the newest tips. The leave are odd-pinnate which means it's a compound leaf with and five to seven (always an odd number) leaflets off the main petiole (leafstem).The purple-white flower clusters appear in late summer and continue to appear into the fall.

The edible, slow-growing tubers can be dug any time of the year as they take up to three years to reach their full size, approximately as big as a hen's egg. The individual tubers will have their highest concentration of starch in the fall, which makes them tastiest at that time. These tubers grow in chains along the roots, once you find one you can follow the root to collect many more. An single vine can produce a dozen or more tubers, most of which will be big enough to eat.

These tubers can be prepared just like potatoes which frying being my personal favorite. They are a bit more bland as well as being a little bit fibrous than regular potatoes, but salt or other seasoning helps with the flavor. Groundnut tubers are significantly higher (up to 17% by weight) in protein than potatoes, which makes them an excellent food source.

The rest of the plant is edible but the flowers, bean-like seedpods, and vine tips aren't nearly as desirable as the tubers.

Groundnuts are easy to grow in your garden or a self-watering Earth Bucket as long as you have patience and plenty of water. I have them growing in both a wet spot in my yard and an Earth Bucket as part of my permaculture food forest.

While ground nut tubers are an amazing food, approximately 1% of the population can develop allergies to them. This allergy can hit the first time they eat the tubers or any time the sit down to a meal of them after that first time. There's no good way of telling in advance if a person might be allergic, but if someone has an extreme allergy to peanuts I would hesitate in giving them any part of the groundnut plant.


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.

Heals All

Scientific Name(s): Prunella vulgaris
Abundance: uncommon
What: leaves
How: raw, tea, cooked
Where: borders, woods, fields, wastelands, full sun, light shade
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: medicinal compounds
Dangers: none

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Stems/Flowers - wound healer; antibacterial; antiviral; anti-cancer; colitis anti-inflammatory; hemostatic; appetite stimulant (tisane, poultice)

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

Leaf Shape: The leaves are broadly lanceolate to ovate, typically measuring about 1 to 3 inches in length and 0.5 to 1 inch in width.

Leaf Venation: Venation is pinnate, with a central vein and smaller branching veins.

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

Leaf Color: The color of the leaves is a deep green, often with a slightly lighter shade on the underside.

Flower Structure: Flowers are clustered in dense, pyramidal, spike-like inflorescences at the tips of stems or in the leaf axils.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically purple or violet, though they can also be pink or white. Each flower is tubular with a two-lipped appearance.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, dry nutlet.

Seed: Seeds are contained within the nutlets, small and hard.

Stem: Stems are square in cross-section, a characteristic of the mint family, and can be hairy or smooth.

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

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

Bed of heal's all plants while flowering.


Heal's all bed before flowering.


Individual heal's all stalk.


Heal's all plant.


Close-up of heal's all flower stalk before flowering.


Close-up of heal's all flower.


Note the "beard" on the flower's lower lip petal.


Heal's All seedlings in January in Houston, before producing a stem or flowers.


Heal's All in the summer after going to seed.


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.


Usually found in somewhat moist, woody areas, Heal's All is a rather unassuming plant for most of it's life. Appearing in late winter, it's first call to attention occurs with the appearance of its unmistakable, pyramidal flower stalk in mid-spring. It isn't a solitary plant and so much prefers being surrounded by many of its fellow Heal's All plants.

Heal's all is often considered to be the best all-around medicinal plant. Other names for it include selfheal, heart-of-the-earth, and woundwort. According to legend and also Peterson's Guide to Medicinal Plants heal's all will take care of problems with lungs, liver, kidneys, blood, joints, cancers, ulcers, tumors, swellings, and back trouble. The usual method of ingestion is as a leaf tea or alcohol extraction. I also like chopping the leaves up and adding them to any rice I am cooking.

The plant can be air-dried for later use. as tea, but the alcohol extraction is best done with fresh leaves. The dried leaves & flowers can also be smoked as part of an herbal "tobacco" mixture.

Link to scientific papers on the medicinal properties of Heal's All (Prunella vulgaris).


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.