Wolfberry

Scientific Name: Lycium berlandieri
Abundance: uncommon
What: fruit
How: raw, cooked
Where: sunny, coastal areas, deserts
When: winter, spring
Nutritional Value: Vitamins A, C, E, flavanoids, and essential fatty acids

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

Leaf Shape: The leaves are lanceolate, with a length ranging from 1 to 3 inches and a width of approximately 0.5 to 1 inch. The leaves may be slightly thicker than those of similar-sized leaves on other bushes.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate but the branching veins may be hard to see.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are entire, with a smooth edge.

Leaf Color: The upper surface of the leaves is typically light green with a grayish cast.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and tubular, with a diameter of about 0.25 inches. They are arranged in clusters at the tips of the stems.

Flower Color: The flowers can be lavender or purple.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, round berry.

Seed: Seeds are small, flat, and numerous within the berry. They are typically tan or yellowish in color.

Stem: The stems are woody in appearance and brown in color.

Hairs: The plant may have fine hairs on the stems or leaves, contributing to a slightly fuzzy appearance.

Height: Wolfberry plants typically range in height from 3 to 6 feet, depending on growing conditions and species variation.

Woodberry with ripe berries.

Picture curtesy of Colleen M. Simpson - Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve & Learning Center

Close-up of berries and leaves.

Picture curtesy of Colleen M. Simpson - Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve & Learning Center


Picture curtesy of Colleen M. Simpson - Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve & Learning Center

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.


As you cross the dry, sandy, alkaline soils of south and west Texas and southern coastal areas you make see a gray-colored bush covered in thick, elongated oval leaves. Depending on the time of year, the bush may be covered in long, tubular, white-yellowish-green-ish flowers or if you are lucky, marble-sized, red fruit. It's bark is smooth and gray though lighter than the green-gray of its leaves. You've found a Wolfberry bush and that means you have some great, super-nutritious food!

The berries ripen in mid-winter to early spring. They have a tangy taste as they are related to tomatoes...and so are in the nightshade family. Related to the fad-food Gogi berries, this Texas plant has all the same high vitamin content as well as other beneficial chemical compounds. Usually the berries are dried/dehydrated then nibbled as a healthy snack. They can be added to muffins, and breads. People also use them in smoothies! of course, you can also make infused vodka out of them for a nutritional martini. Recent studies have shown they might help stroke victims.


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.

Elm Oyster Mushroom

 Scientific Name(s): Hypsizygus ulmarius

Abundance: uncommon
What: cap, stem
How: cooked
Where: on dead wood
When: fall, winter, spring
Nutritional Value: 
Dangers: Don't mistake Jack O'Lantern mushrooms (Omphalotus olearius) for oyster mushrooms.

COLLECTING MUSHROOM REQUIRES 100% CERTAINTY. WWW.FORAGINGTEXAS.COM ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR IDENTIFICATION ERRORS BY ANY READERS.

Growth Form: Hypsizygus ulmarius often grows in clusters, typically on living or dead wood of deciduous trees, with elms being their preferred substrate. They often have a more "toadstool" shape than common oyster mushrooms.

Cap Shape and Size: The cap is initially convex, becoming more flattened with age, measuring 3 to 6 inches in diameter. It is white to cream in color, sometimes with a brownish center.

Gills or Pores: The gills are white, becoming cream-colored with age, and are attached or slightly running down the stem (adnate to subdecurrent).

Stipe Characteristics: The stipe is 1 to 3 inches long and 0.5 to 1.5 inches thick, white, sometimes scaly, and sometimes enlarges at the base.

Odor: This species typically has a mild, not distinctive odor.

Bruising: There is no significant color change on bruising.

Spore Color: The spore print is white.

Substrate and Habitat: Found predominantly on hardwoods, especially elm, and beech trees.

Other Characteristics: Known for its preference for growing on elm trees and its thick, meaty flesh. The mushroom is edible and valued for its texture and mild flavor.

Young elm oyster (Hypsizygus ulmarius) mushrooms growing on a dead tree.


Same mushrooms from a slightly different angle.


Another elm oyster from two angles.

The most apparent difference between common and elm oyster mushrooms is the stipe. Elm oysters will generally have a thick, round stipe 1"-2" long whereas the common oyster is usually attached directly to the tree without a distinct stipe.

Use these just as you would any store-bought white, button mushroom...but be sure to cook it. Wild mushrooms will always have a certain amount of bugs, bug larva, and bug eggs in them, so cooking is necessary to kill the extra, protein-filled critters.

Elm oysters prefer hardwoods, especially damaged elm trees. You will not find them on pines or cedars.

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.

Sandpaper Tree

Scientific Name(s): Ehretia anacua
Abundance: common
What: berries
How: raw, juiced, jelly, jam, wine
Where: sunny, borders, stream banks
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: calories
Dangers: none known

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves are arranged alternately on the branches.

Leaf Shape: The shape of the leaves is ovate, with dimensions ranging from 1 to 3 inches in length and 1 to 1.5 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate, having a thick central vein with smaller veins branching off it.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are either entire or have a few teeth above the middle, ending in a bristle tip.

Leaf Color: The leaves exhibit a light green color on both their upper and lower surfaces.

Flower Structure: The Ehretia anacua's flowers are showy and fragrant, star-shaped with five petals, each measuring approximately 1/4 inch, and form in dense clusters at the branch tips.

Flower Color: The flowers are white in color.

Fruit: The fruit of the Ehretia anacua is a berry-like, fleshy, edible drupe, measuring 1/4 inch in diameter, and matures from yellow to orange, growing in large, fairly tight clusters.

Seed: Each fruit contains two seeds.

Bark: The bark of this tree is gray-brown or red-brown, initially scaly, and becomes irregularly furrowed over time.

Hairs: Leaves are covered in short, stiff, fine hairs giving them a sandpaper-like texture.

Height: The Ehretia anacua typically grows to a height of 15 to 45 feet.

Fruit of Sandpaper tree (aka Knockaway tree aka Anacua tree)


Fruit


Leaves


Leaves close-up


Trunk/bark


Branches


Full tree


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.

Other names for this tree are "knockaway" and "anacua". The common name of "sandpaper trees" leaves are rough and tough, allowing them to be used as a crude, natural sandpaper for smoothing wood.

The fruit is sweetish and may be rather juicy. There are historical reports of these berries being used in jelly and wine, but usually mixed with other fruit.