Peppervine

Scientific name: Ampelopsis arborea
Abundance: common
What: ripe berries (black)
How: cooked, wine
Where: woods, borders
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: low in carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins
Dangers: Berries contain crystals of calcium oxalate which must be removed before consuming.

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves of Ampelopsis arborea are arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are typically compound with 3-5 leaflets with each lobe being ovate to elliptical. Entire leaf may be approximately 3 to 5 inches in length, with each leaflet being about 1/2" across.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate venation, with veins running from the base to the valley of each leaflet serration.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically serrated or toothed.

Leaf Color: The leaves are green.

Flower Structure: Peppervine produces small, inconspicuous flowers that are arranged in clusters.

Flower Color: Flowers are typically greenish-white or yellowish-green.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, spherical berry-like structure with a diameter of approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch. The berries start out white/yellowish, turning to pink with red/purple spots, and then finally turning dark purple/black when ripe.

Seed: Inside the fruit are small seeds.

Stem: The stem is typically climbing or trailing, often with tendrils for support.

Hairs: Fine hairs may be present on the leaves.

Height: Peppervine is a climbing vine and can reach varying heights depending on its support structure.

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.


Peppervine is a summertime vine that loves hot weather though the berries don't appear until close to the start of the school year. These vines prefer full sun to partial shade so look for them along fences in your neighborhood and climbing over bushes at the edges of woods. Soil type doesn't seem to matter.

The sweet, grape-flavored berries are ripe when they are black. Leave the spotted pink and purple berries to ripen more. Though delicious, most people get a weird tickle in the back of their throat after eating one or more berries. This tickle is actually due to tiny needles of calcium oxalate which are defensive measure of the Peppervine. Excessive consumption of calcium oxalate will result in chemical burns in your throat.

Luckily, calcium oxalate isn't very water soluble and easy to separate from the berries' juice. My preferred method is to squeeze the berries through cheesecloth, collecting the juice and discarding any solids left in the cheesecloth. Now add one ounce of tap water to every nine ounces of juice and place this solution in a see-through pitcher or bottle in your refrigerator. Let it sit overnight which causes the needles of calcium oxalate to settle down to the bottom of the container. Carefully pour off the liquid while avoiding stirring up and re-adding the calcium oxalate back into the solution. Pouring it through a coffee filter will help remove the crystals. It's best to err on the side of caution and leave behind juice rather than get some of the calcium oxalate.

Once you've operated out the calcium oxalate you can use this juice like grape juice. Drink it, jelly/jam it, or even make wine from it!

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.

Plum - Chickasaw

Scientific Name(s): Prunus angustifolia
Abundance: common
What: fruit; pit
How: fruit raw, jelly/jam, or wine; pit ground and dried, then boiled
Where: sunny fields
When: early summer
Nutritional Value: calories, flavonoids
Dangers: none

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are alternately arranged along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are lanceolate, being long and narrow with pointed tips.

Leaf Venation: Leaves exhibit pinnate venation, with prominent, straight veins extending from the midrib.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is serrated, featuring fine teeth along the edges.

Leaf Color: The upper side of the leaves is green, while the underside may have a paler hue.

Flower Structure: The flowers are simple, with a diameter of approximately 1 inch, featuring five white petals.

Flower Color: The flowers are predominantly white.

Fruit: The fruit is a drupe approximately 1" in diameter, initially green and turning yellow to red as it matures.

Seed: A single stone pit is contained within the drupe, typically small, oval, and brown in color.

Bark: The bark of young stems is smooth and purple-brown, becoming more textured with age. 1" thorns are found along branches.

Hairs: None present.

Height: Chickasaw Plum typically reaches a height of 12 to 20 feet.

Ripe and unripe Chickasaw Plums.




Ripe Chickasaw Plums.


Chickasaw plum thicket.


Close-up of branch.


Close-up of Chickasaw plum thorn.


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.


Forming thickets of large bushes/small trees across Texas, Chickasaw Plums are by far sweeter than Mexican Plums. They are covered with white flowers in the mid-to-late winter and the fruit is ready to pick by the beginning of June.

Small but very sweet, these plums can be eaten raw, made into preserves, or even fermented into wine. The pits contain a small amount of cyanide but Native Americans would grind the pits then allow them to sit for a few days. During this time naturally occurring enzymes would break down the cyanide. The ground pit material would then be boiled as a porridge or perhaps used as a seasoning.


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.

Plum - Wild

Scientific name: Prunus mexicana
Abundance: plentiful
What: ripe fruit
How: raw, dried, preserves, wine, brandy
Where: Usually along edges of woods
When: fall
Nutritional Value: high in carbohydrates, vitamin A, and minerals

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are alternately arranged along the stems.

Leaf Shape: Mexican Plum leaves are ovate, being broad and rounded with a pointed apex.

Leaf Venation: Leaves exhibit pinnate venation, featuring prominent, arching veins.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is serrated, with fine teeth along the edges.

Leaf Color: The upper side of the leaves is green, while the underside may have a lighter color.

Flower Structure: The flowers are simple, with a diameter of approximately 1 inch, featuring five white petals.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically white, found distributed in small clusters along the branches.

Fruit: The fruit is a drupe, initially green and turning purple as it matures.

Seed: Single stone pit is contained within the drupe, usually small, oval, and brown in color.

Bark: The bark of Mexican Plum is initially smooth and , darkening and developing scaly fissures with age.

Hairs: Leaves are slightly fuzzy.

Height: Mexican Plum typically reaches a height of 15 to 25 feet.

Mexican plum fruit


The white stuff on the fruit is wild yeast which can be used to make bread or alcohol same as store-bought yeasts.


Mexican plum tree


Mexican plum tree trunk


Close-up of wild plum flower (photo taken February in Houston).


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 fruit of the Mexican plum can vary wildly in taste from sweet to inedible. Other Prunus species can be found in Texas and all have edible fruit but toxic leaves and seeds/pits. Their leaves and seeds/pits contains cyanide so you shouldn't eat these parts. The amount of cyanide varies and in extreme circumstances the seeds can be roasted and then eaten if they are NOT bitter.

The gray powder on the surface of the plums is a wild yeast which can be used to start sourdough or make wine. To use wild plums to create a sourdough follow these steps:

Step 1. On day 1 combine 1 cup whole wheat flour with 1/2 cup cool, non-chlorinated water, and 4-6 undamaged, gray-dusted wild plums in a bowl and gently stir together. Cover with a towel and let sit somewhere warm and undisturbed.

Step 2. After 24 hours discard half the mixture but leaving the plums in the retained portion. Add 1 cup unbleached flour and 1/2 cup non-chlorinater water. Gently mix everything. Cover with a towel, let sit somewhere warm for 24 hours.

Step 3. By now (day 3) you may see some bubbling in your starter and it'll hopefully have a somewhat fruity scent. If the starter is bubbling it's time to remove the plums. You'll also have to start "feeding" it twice a day. For each feeding scoop up heaping 1/4 cup of the starter and combine it with 1 cup unbleached flour and 1/2 cup non-chlorinated water about every 12 hours. Unused starter should be shared or discarded.

Step 4. Keep repeating Step 3 for 3-7 days until it almost doubles in size between feedings and has a nice, tangy aroma.

Step 5. Start making sourdough breads! Move unused sourdough starter to the fridge, discarding half and feeding it 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water once a day. If you don't remove some starter every day it'll overrun your container and also likely become too acidic, killing itself. Humans aren't the only creatures that take over paradise and end up killing ourselves with our waste. Yeast does this, too.

For making wild plum wine you should get 101 Recipes for Making Wild Wines at Home: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers (Back to Basics Cooking)


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.

Pokeweed/Poke Salat

Scientific Name(s): Phytolacca americana L.
Abundance: uncommon
What: young shoots & leaves, berry juice
How: young shoots & leaves boiled in three changes of water; berry juice boiled then made into jam/jelly
Where: woods, shady areas, sunny areas, fields
When: spring
Nutritional Value: vitamins
Dangers: all parts of plant contain different amounts of extremely toxic (fatal) alkaloid compounds, especially roots, stems, mature leaves, and seeds.

Medicinal Summary:
Root* - lymph flow stimulator; anti-inflammatory; anti-swelling; antibacterial (tincture)
*extremely poisonous, only to be used by trained experts!

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are large, ovate to lanceolate, and can measure about 4 to 10 inches in length and 2 to 5 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate, with a central vein and smaller veins branching out towards the leaf edges.

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

Leaf Color: The leaves are a medium to dark green, sometimes with a reddish tinge, especially as they age.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and borne in racemes, which are long, drooping clusters.

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

Fruit: The plant produces berries that are initially green, turning to a deep purple or almost black when ripe. They spiral down red-purple stalks 2"-4" long, to form narrow, elongated clusters.

Seed: Each berry contains several small, black seeds.

Stem: The stem is thick, hollow, and often reddish or purple as it matures.

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

Height: Phytolacca americana can grow quite tall, typically reaching 4 to 10 feet in height over the course of just one summer.

Young pokeweed plants, ready to be boiled then eaten.

The pokeweed on the left is a perfect size for eating, the one on the right is too big.




Young sprouts next to a more mature pokeweed. Red color has already appeared in the older pokeweed's stem, indicating it is now unsafe to eat, even after multiple boilings.


Mature plants can grow to over 5' tall in one summer, making them one of the fastest growing plants in Texas. When mature they'll have red stalks, and multiple berry clusters as shown below.

Pokeweed leaves are hairless, pinnate-veined, alternate along the stem, edges are slightly "ruffled" with very minor scalloping, and can grow to over 10" in length!

Flowering pokeweed. There will usually be multiple flower spikes on the plant.


Close-up of a flower spike. The flowers spiral up the spike. The round bulbs haven't blossomed yet.

 Extreme close-up of a single pokeweed flower. Note the five, white petals.

After the flower are done the berries begin to grow. They remind me of squat, green pumpkins at first.

The older berries, near the base of the spike, ripen to a purple color before the berries at the tip.  The seeds are extremely poisonous but the pokeweed berry juice can be made into a jelly...very carefully!

Completely ripe, now. They form a single spiral down the stalk, just like the flowers did.

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.


Pokeweed was often one of the first greens to appear after a winter devoid of fresh plants and so it was cherished not just for its fantastic taste but also because it allowed satisfying a hunger for plants. It mainly grows in the protective yet sunny edges of woods with braver plants being out in full sun an others hiding in complete shade. It's bright green color stands out among the darker greens, browns, and grays of later winter plants. The stem starts out green like the leaves but quickly turns red as it matures. The youngest part of the stem at the top of the plant may stay green while the rest of the stem turns almost a purple-red color.

Young, boiled pokeweed leaves & shoots are considered a special treat in the South and a canned version is occasionally available in grocery stores. The pokeweed leaves must be harvested before there is any noticeable red color in the leaves or stem, usually when the plant is still under about six inches tall. Even at this young age there are highly toxic alkaloids present so the leaves must be boiled in three changes of water to render them safe enough to eat. Bring just to a boil, then replace the hot water with fresh, room temperature water. Unfortunately, the required boiling does reduce their vitamin C content some but they will remain loaded with all sorts of other vitamins and minerals.

The seeds are very toxic even after cooking, but the juice of the berries can be made safe by boiling. After boiling the berry juice can be made into a jam or jelly. The berry juice can also be used as a dye or even as an ink.


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.

Pride of Barbados

Scientific Name(s): Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Abundance: common
What: unripe seeds
How: cooked
Where: landscaping, full sun
When: spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: protein, calories
Dangers: ripe seeds are poisonous

Leaf Arrangement: The compound leaves are arranged alternately along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are bipinnately compound, consisting of multiple pairs of small, oblong leaflets. Each leaflet can measure approximately 1 to 2 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: The venation in the individual leaflets is not highly noticeable.

Leaf Margin: The leaflets have entire margins, meaning they are smooth and not toothed.

Leaf Color: The leaves are typically green, and the color is uniform on both the top and underside.

Flower Structure: The flowers are typically arranged in large, showy clusters at the ends of branches. Each cluster consists of multiple individual flowers.

Flower Color: The flowers come in a variety of colors, including shades of red, orange, and yellow. The vibrant colors make them highly conspicuous.

Fruit: The fruit is a flattish pod that develops after the flowering period. The pods are typically brown and elongated.

Seed: Each pod contains several seeds.

Stem: The stems are green, woody, and can be somewhat thorny. 

Hairs: The plant is hairless.

Height: Caesalpinia pulcherrima can reach a height of 6 to 10 feet, and it tends to have a sprawling growth habit.

Full plant in mid-summer will have both flowers and seedpods at different stages of maturity.


The red and orange flowers grow in clusters at the ends of branches and aren't edible.


The tender, green seedpods contain soft, edible bean seeds. The pod husks aren't edible.




The leaves are double-compound with the leaflets on the stems attached to the main leaf stem.

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. Pride of Barbados plants are found all across Texas.

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

There are few landscaping plants as showy as the non-native Pride of Barbados bushes. Their round shape, complex leaves, bright flower clusters, and long pea pods draw attention and admiration. These bushes are very tolerant of Texas summers, actually preferring full sun.  They can be planted in areas receiving as little as three hours of direct sunlight every day but they won't thrive and produces tons of blossoms with that much shade. The first year or two of planting they should be deeply watered 1-2 times a week but after that they become very drought tolerant. The USDA rates them hardy in zones 8 to 11. It may freeze and die back to the ground but fresh shoots will often appear in late spring when this happens.

The first thing noticed about this plant are usually the flowers. They produce clusters of five-petaled, red-centered, yellow/orange-tipped flowers with long stamen at the ends of many branches. The individual flowers can reach up to 3" across. Unopened flower buds are small, red balls with red stems, alternating along the end of the branch.

At the same time as the flowers (pretty much spring, summer, and fall) this plant will also have a variety of large pea pods, up to 5" long. When young these pods are green but turn a dark purple color upon maturity.

The stems are woody, ranging from green to brown in color and somewhat lumpy in texture. The bush grows multiple trunks, each branching several times.

Pride of Barbados leaves are compound twice-compound with the primary stems alternating along the branches and then the leaflet-bearing branches are opposite one another along the primary stem. The leaflets are oval in shape, have entire edges (no teeth or lobes) and opposite each other along the secondary stems. These leaflet appear in even numbers, with two growing out the end of the secondary stem.

The edible part of this plant are immature seeds taken from young, green seedpods. As the seed mature they become more and more poisonous. Though not deadly, they can cause a great deal of stomach distress if eaten too late. Younger seeds are always better than older seeds in the case of Pride of Barbados. The seeds are cooked by steaming or boiling before eating. Other cooking methods will work, too. The seed pod husks aren't eaten.


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.

Rose

Scientific name: Rosa species
Abundance: common
What: flowers, fruit at base of flower
How: both flowers and rose hips can be used in tea, jelly, additions to soup, stews, and salads
Where: yards, abandoned farms
When: fall
Nutritional Value: rose hips contain vitamin A,C,E,K and minerals
Other uses: good for giving to women after you've done something stupid
Dangers: remove seeds before using rose hips. 

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are pinnately compound, consisting of multiple leaflets. Each leaflet can vary in size, typically ranging from 1 to 3 inches in length and 0.5 to 1 inch in width.

Leaf Venation: The venation is generally pinnate, with a central vein running along the length of each leaflet, and smaller veins branching off to the sides.

Leaf Margin: The leaflets often have serrated or toothed margins.

Leaf Color: The leaves are typically green, and the color is uniform on both the upper and lower surfaces.

Flower Structure: The flowers are typically large and showy, consisting of multiple petals arranged in a rosette pattern. The flowers are located at the ends of the stems.

Flower Color: Roses come in a wide range of colors, including but not limited to red, pink, white, yellow, and orange.

Fruit: The fruit of the rose, known as a rose hip, is a small, round to oval structure that resembles a small apple and develops after the flower has been fertilized.

Seed: Rose hips contain numerous small seeds. The seeds are typically brown and are surrounded by fleshy tissue.

Stem: The stems of roses are often woody, with thorns or prickles along the length. The stems may vary in color, including shades of green, brown, or red.

Hairs: The leaves may have small, fine hairs, contributing to a slightly rough texture.

Height: The height of a rose plant can vary widely depending on the species or cultivar, ranging from a few feet for miniature roses to several feet for larger varieties.

Domestic roses


Domestic rose hips



Wild rose flower.


Wild rose stems.


Wild rose hips.

Assorted other types of rose hips

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.


Wild roses can be found growing along fences (barbwire or other types) across the Texas prairie and on old homesteads. They make a formidable barrier or security fence once well established. They are pretty much impervious to droughts, blistering heat, and cold winter frosts.

Rose petals make a colorful and flavorful addition to salads as well as a delicately-flavored jelly. Rose hips are a wonderful source of vitamin C and can be made into jam, jelly, or tea. The seeds inside these hips are covered with tiny, stiff hairs. You must remove the seeds before consuming the hips otherwise these hairs will cause irritation to you bum the next day...


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.