Showing posts with label Tree. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tree. Show all posts

Acorn - Oak

Scientific Name: Quercus spp.
Abundance: common
What: nuts
How: leach out tannins with lots of water then grind to flour, roast nuts then grind for coffee
Where: oaks (white, red, live, burr, post, pin, etc)
When: fall
Nutritional Value: protein, minerals, fats and carbohydrates
Other uses: tanning leather
Dangers: very bitter if not tannic acid isn't leached

Medicinal Summary:
Galls - astringent, hemostatic; antibacterial; antifungal, may reduce symptoms of Parkinson's disease (tisane)
Acorns - astringent (tisane)
Bark - astringent (tisane)

Leaf Arrangement: Simple, alternate leaves along the stems.

Leaf Shape: Highly variable, ranging from lobed to unlobed, depending on the oak species.

Leaf Color: Green foliage, with variations in shades.

Leaf Margin: Leaf margins can be entire or serrated, depending on the species.

Flower Structure: Inconspicuous , small, green flowers in the form of catkins.

Flower Size: Individual flowers are typically very small, less than 0.25 inches.

Fruit (Acorns): Acorns are the distinctive fruit of oaks, varying in size from 0.5 to 2 inches.

Seed Size: Seeds within acorns vary in size, usually less than 1 inch.

Bark: Bark color and texture vary among oak species, often becoming rougher and deeply furrowed with age.

Height: Oak trees can range widely in height, from 40 to 100 feet or more.


Acorns



















Bur oak acorns are the biggest at over 1" across.



















Shelled acorns.


















These are the oak flowers (on catkins) that eventually become acorns.






















Assorted oak leaves.



































Bur oak leaf.






















An oak gall, created by chemical warfare between a type of wasp and the oak tree.























Stately oak trees can grow over 100’ tall and hundreds of feet in diameter under ideal conditions. Their bark ranges from smooth to deeply fissured. Branches tend to give oak trees a round or oblong shape. They usually prefer full sun and loose, well drain soils but with fifteen different species to choose from in Texas along, there’s a good chance you’ll find an oak somewhere nearby.

The calorie-laden acorns of oaks have supplied fats, oils, and protein to mankind for thousands of years. A one ounce (28.3g) serving of shelled acorn meat contains about 110 calories in the form of 6.8g of fats and 1.7g of protein, plus a small amount of calcium. Acorns can be ground into a gluten-free, high-protein flour good for making flat breads and batter-style baked goods as well as to thicken stews and to make gravy. Roasted acorns have been used as a substitute for coffee grounds, but all that can be said about that is the resulting liquid is brown and bitter, any similarity to it and coffee is strictly due to the desperation of the brewer.

Acorn must have their tannic acid leached out before consumption. Luckily tannic acid is very water-soluble and easy leach out by placing the shelled, crushed nuts in a mesh bag then submersing them in running water for several days. An easier method is to coarsely chop them in a blender or food processor then repeatedly running them through a coffee maker until they no longer taste bitter. The hot water will extract the tannins but do not allow the acorns to cool between flushes or the tannic acid will bind more tightly to the acorn meat. Also, do not grind the acorns finely before leach them as a flour-sized particles will clog the filter.

Unfortunately, the fats and oils in acorns turn rancid fairly quickly. Fresh ground acorn flour will go bad in as little as four weeks if exposed to air and warm temperatures. Freezing the flour, especially if vacuum-packed (a messy process) can stretch its usable life to six months. You are better off freezing the un-shelled acorn and just leaching and grinding as you need it. Frozen, vacuum-packed acorns still in their shell can last up to a year.

White oaks (Quercus alba) produce the least bitter nuts, followed by Red oaks (Quercus rubra) but even both of these need the tannins leached from their acorns. White oak acorns mature in one year while Red oak acorns take two years to complete their growth. Pin oaks (Quercus palustris) are related to Red oaks while Bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa) are related to White oaks. Live Oaks (Quercus fusiformis) produce the least desirable acorns as they are hard to remove from their shells and are very bitter.

To use acorns as a caffeine-free coffee substitute coarse-grind them then roast them at 400F in an oven to a dark brown color. At this point you can use them just like ground coffee.

The oak gall wasp likes to lay its eggs under the tender bark of new oak twigs. Doing so somehow triggers the formation of a round oak gall. The oak tree doesn't like this much and starts pumping assorted chemicals into the gall to try and kill the wasp larva. The end result is a small, hard ball loaded with medicinal properties. These galls were crushed and then used to make ointments, tinctures, medicated oils, and teas to fight infections inside and outside of the body. The crushed oak galls were also combined with iron salts in vinegar to create a very dark, non-fading 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.

Allegheny Chinkapin

Scientific Name(s): Castanea pumila
Abundance: rare
What: nuts
How: raw or roasted
Where: sandy, shaded areas near water
When: fall
Nutritional Value: calories, protein
Dangers: nut husks are very prickly

Leaf Arrangement: The Chinkapin tree typically exhibits alternate leaf arrangement along the branches.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are generally long, narrow, and sharply toothed, with lengths ranging from 3 to 6 inches.

Leaf Venation: Prominent veins are visible on the leaves, contributing to their overall structure.

Stem Characteristics: The stems are usually slender and multiple-trunked. Exact measurements can vary, but diameters may range from 0.5 to 2 inches.

Flower Spike: In the spring, the tree produces long clusters of small, tan-yellow flowers, adding visual appeal. Flowers can be around 0.2 to 0.4 inches in size.

Flower Structure: Individual flowers are small and lack showy petals. Colors can include tan-yellow.

Seed Head: The Chinkapin tree forms sharp, spikey pods containing small acorn-like nuts in the fall. The length of the seed head can range from 2 to 4 inches.

Seed Characteristics: Nuts are small, round, and lack tannins, providing a sweet, nutty flavor. Diameter may range from 0.5 to 1 inch. Colors can include brown.

Height: The Chinkapin tree typically ranges in height from 10 to 20 feet, with variations based on age and growing conditions.

Hairs: Some Chinkapin tree varieties may have fine hairs on the undersides of leaves. Inspect the leaves for pubescence.

Nuts: The nuts consists of spiky husks protecting the small acorn-like nuts. Colors of the husks may include green, turning brown as they mature.

Bark: The bark is textured, contributing to the tree's resilience. The color can vary but often includes shades of gray or brown.

Allegheny Chinkapin leaves.
ChinkapinLeaves1

Close-up of leaves.
ChinkapinLeaves

Nut pods in the fall, having dropped some of the nuts.
ChinkapinPods2

Close-up of pods with and without nuts.
ChinkapinNut

Close-up of shelled nuts. This picture was taken a month after they had ripened and so they've begun to dry out but are still edible.
Allegheny Chinquapin

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.
ChinquapinTXMap

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

To stumble upon a stand of Allegheny Chinkapins is to stumble upon treasure. These large, usually multi-trunked bushes/small trees suffered from Chestnut Blight leading to reduced numbers across much of North America. A rare stand can still be found growing under larger trees in the sandy soil of tall banks overlooking water. The sandy soil gives them the drainage they need to avoid root-rot while the larger trees partially protects them from the fierce Texas sun. The long, narrow, sharply-toothed leaves, deep green on top and pale underneath, are arranged in an alternate pattern along the branches. In the spring long clusters of small, tan-yellow flowers hang from the tree. By fall these clusters have been replaced with sharp, spikey pods, each containing what looks like a small acorn.

Harvesting these nuts takes some work as they cling to the tree and are protected by the sharp, spiny remains of their outer husks. One usually has to carefully pick nuts off the shrub/tree one by one. You are likely to find some of the nuts have already germinated while still attached to the tree. Don't eat these but instead carefully plant them nearby.

Allegheny Chinkapin nuts lack tannins or other bitter compounds and so have a sweet, nutty flavor when eaten raw. Being so rare, limit yourself to just a nut or three. Take a few more to plant in similar locations so as to try and bring back this amazingly delicious treat. Animals love these nuts so getting them before squirrels, raccoons, possums and the such is tricky.

Like chestnuts, Allegheny Chinkapin nuts can be roasted to give almost a chocolatey sort of flavor. Place the uncracked nuts on a cookie sheet in an oven at 350F. After five minutes pull out a nut, crack it open and taste it. The roasting time is a personal preference but if the nuts' shells begin cracking it's definitely time to pull them out.

If you do over-roast the nuts they can still be used to make a caffeine-free coffee substitute. Grind the shelled nuts in a coffee grinder then either use them as is or combine them with real coffee to make a pot of brown, somewhat bitter fluid.

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.

Basswood/Linden

Scientific name: Tilia americana
Abundance: rare
What: flowers, leaves, buds, inner bark
How: leaves raw in salad, buds to nibble, flowers for tea, cambium (inner bark) raw or boiled for calories
Where: Sunny edges of woods
When: buds in late winter, young leaves spring/summer, flowers summer, cambium all year
Nutritional Value: Leaves contain vitamins and minerals, inner bark has carbohydrates
Other uses: cordage from bark, not a good firewood

Leaf Arrangement: Basswood trees typically have alternate leaf arrangement along the branches.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are generally large, heart-shaped, with lengths ranging from 4 to 6 inches.

Leaf Venation: Prominent veins are visible on the leaves, contributing to their overall structure.

Stem Characteristics: The stems are usually slender, and the trunk can reach diameters of 2 to 4 feet.

Flower Cluster: Basswood trees produce fragrant, pendulous clusters of small, pale-yellow to cream-colored flowers in late spring or early summer.

Flower Structure: Individual flowers are small and have five petals. Flowers can be around 0.2 to 0.3 inches in size.

Seed: The seed is enclosed in a papery wing, forming a structure known as a samara. The wings can measure around 1 to 2 inches in length, looking like a leaf. A several seed capsule pairs, all branching from a single stem, dangle down from the leaf-like wing.

Seed Characteristics: Seeds are small and brown, typically located at the center of the samara.

Height: Basswood trees can reach heights of 60 to 80 feet, with variations based on age and growing conditions.

Bark: The bark of young trees is smooth and light gray, becoming more furrowed and darker with age. Bark color can range from light gray to dark gray-brown.

Hairs: Young shoots and leaves may have fine hairs, but mature leaves are generally smooth. Inspect young shoots and leaf undersides for pubescence.

Fruit: The fruit consists of the winged samaras, which are produced in clusters as described above, and become tan to light brown as they mature.

Basswood tree used in urban landscaping.
Basswood

Basswood leaf and flower/nut bract (long, narrow leaf-like thing).
Basswood

Basswood flower cluster and flower bract.
BasswoodFlowers

Close-up of Basswood flowers.
BasswoodFlowers2

Basswood leaves and seedpods.
Basswood2

Basswood2

Basswood

Basswood leaves.
Basswood3

Almost-ripe Basswood nuts in the fall.
Basswood

Ripe Basswood nuts.
Basswood

Basswood bark.
BasswoodTrunk

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.
BasswoodTX

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

Stately basswood trees range from 60 to 120 feet tall with shallowly-furrowed, somewhat greyish bark and round crowns. There are thirty species in North America with Tilia Americana and Tilia caroliniana being the most common in Texas. Basswoods prefer loose, well-drained soil with access to moisture, in particular river flood-plains and in low areas of woods.

The sweet sap, running in the spring before the leaf buds open, can be boiled down into a syrup or just drank as-is. Be sure to sterilize your tools before using them to cut or drill into the tree to collect sap or inner bark. This reduces the chance of a fungal infection striking the basswood.

A very delicious, spicy tea is made from the small flowers of basswood trees, which appear in the spring. The flowers can also be eaten raw. Bees love these flowers and often the tree can be found just by listening for the buzz of the hundreds of bees collecting its nectar. The resulting honey has a flavor imparted from the basswood nectar.

The young leaf buds and leaves can be eaten raw and have a slightly sweet flavor similar to the flowers. These parts can also be cooked like pot-herbs.

In the fall the nuts make a good trailside nibble while hiking, but only eat the inner meat, not the nuts’ outer shells.

The calorie-rich cambium layer, just under the bark, is stripped, finely diced, and boiled into a porridge-like mush to eat any time of the year. In Europe towards the end of World War II basswood sawdust was added to bread to try and produce enough loaves to fill everyone’s belly.

This cambium layer can be used to make strong fibers that can be woven into rope, containers and crude cloth. This inner bark must be soaked for up to two weeks to rot away the majority of the plant’s cells, leaving behind just the fibers. The wood itself is great for carving and for making the body of guitars.


Buy my book! Idiots Guide 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.
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.

Bay Laurel

Scientific name: Laurus nobilis & Persea borbonia var. borbonia
Abundance: plentiful
What: nuts, leaves
How: roast nuts, used leaf as seasoning
Where: woods, borders
When: leaves all year, nuts in the fall
Nutritional Value: Calcium, iron, other minerals, vitamins A, C, B6, folate.
Other uses: nuts contain a mild stimulant
Dangers: Looks similar to the very poisonous cherry laurel. The leaves of cherry laurel smell like cherry/cyanide and have toothed edges while bay laurel leaves have smooth edges and smell like Italian seasoning.

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves - aid digestion; reduces bloating from gas; soothes skin, urinary tract and bronchial inflammations (tisane)

Laurus nobilis (Sweetbay) Structures:
Leaf Arrangement: Bay Laurel leaves are alternate, glossy, and lanceolate.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are elliptical, measuring around 2 to 4 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: Prominent veins are visible on the leaves, contributing to their overall structure.

Leaf Margin: Leaf margins are typically smooth, without serrations.

Flower Structure: Bay Laurel produces small, yellow-green flowers arranged in clusters.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, shiny black berry, approximately 0.5 inches in diameter.

Bark: The bark is smooth and light gray-brown on younger branches, becoming rougher on older trunks.

Height: Bay Laurel trees can reach heights of 30 to 40 feet.

Hairs: Leaves are generally smooth, but young leaves may have fine hairs on the undersides.

Fragrance: The leaves emit a distinctive "bay" aromatic scent when crushed.

Color: Leaves are dark green, and flowers are yellow-green.

Persea borbonia (Redbay) Structures:
Leaf Arrangement: Redbay leaves are alternate, simple, and lanceolate.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are lance-shaped, measuring around 3 to 6 inches in length.
 
Leaf Venation: Prominent veins are visible on the leaves, contributing to their overall structure.

Leaf Margin: Leaf margins are typically smooth, without serrations.

Flower Structure: Redbay produces small, greenish-yellow flowers arranged in clusters.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, shiny drupe, black when mature, approximately 0.5 inches in diameter.

Bark: The bark is smooth and reddish-brown on younger branches, becoming rougher on older trunks.

Height: Redbay trees can reach heights of 30 to 50 feet.

Hairs: Leaves are generally smooth, without noticeable hairs.

Fragrance: The leaves may have a pleasant scent of traditional bay spice when crushed.

Color: Leaves are dark green, and flowers are greenish-yellow.


Young tree. They get much bigger with time.
baylaurel.jpg
baylaurel1.jpg

Much older, larger bay tree!
Bay

Leaves closeup (Bay Laurel leaves have smooth edges)
baylaurel2.jpg

Nuts
baylaurelseeds.jpg

Dead leaves on a bay tree suffering Laurel Wilt. This fungal disease is transferred by an alien beetle and is wiping out our native bay trees. Currently there's no cure. :-(
Bay Tree

Teeth (pointy bits along edge of leaves) + cyanide/cherry smell = poisonous cherry laurel. DO NOT EAT CHERRY LAUREL!!
LaurelCherryRuler

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.
BayTX
I know these can be found in Montgomery County, TX.

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

Texas has multiple types of bay trees. Around Houston the most common are sweet bay (Laurus nobilis), redbay (Persea borbonia) and laurel cherry (Prunus caroliniana). All three grow in the same environment, preferably as understory trees in moist, shaded areas. Very slow growing, most you’ll find will be small trees around 20’ tall. However, mature trees can rival oaks in size and appearance. Crushed sweet bay and redbay leaves have a wonderful bay aroma while laurel cherry smells like bitter almonds or artificial cherry scent. That bitter almond smell is poisonous cyanide and the so the leaves of the laurel cherry should not be used as a seasoning or consumed in any other manner.

Besides scent, the toxic laurel cherry trees can be distinguished from safe sweet bay and redbay by the edges of their leaves. The sweet bay and redbay leaf edges will be smooth while the dangerous laurel cherry leaves will have teeth, ranging in number from two very small ones near the base to many all along the leaf edge.

The leaves of the sweet bay and redbay are available all year long and are added to sauces and other foods where one would traditionally use bay leaves. They do have a very potent flavor, so you usually don't need to add more than 3-4. They can be used fresh or dried. Add the leaves while cooking but remove them before serving as no bay leaves should actually be eaten. Supposedly these stiff, hard leaves can penetrate an intestine.

In the fall the dark nuts are toasted and then nibbled on as a strongly-flavored snack. Remove the soft flesh from the bay nut then roll the nuts around in a very hot pan until they start to split open. Remove the outer brittle husk then return the inner meat back to the pan for a final toasting. No oil or grease is needed. These toasted nuts can also be ground and used as a seasoning. 3-5 of these roasted seeds, when boiled in water then adding nutmeg and cinnamon make a very pleasant drink which tastes somewhat like coffee.

Our bay trees are currently under grave attack by a fungal disease transmitted by the invasive, Asian beetle Xyleborus glabratus. This fungal infection first shows up by branches dying and their leaves turning brown. Eventually the whole tree will die, taking with it the main birthplace of Palamedes Swallowtail butterflies. So this disease may not just wipe out one of the south's most common trees, it may also drive that butterfly to extinction, too.


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.

Beech

Scientific Name(s): Fagus grandifolia
Abundance: uncommon
What: nuts, inner bark, young leaves
How: nuts raw, roasted; inner bark toasted, boiled; young leaves raw
Where: woods
When: winter, spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: calories
Dangers: beech nuts contain small amounts of oxalic acid and a few other compounds with minor toxicity.Small amounts of the nuts can be eaten raw but larger quantities should be roasted to remove the compounds.

Leaf Arrangement: Beech tree leaves are alternate along the branches.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are elliptical with a pointed tip, measuring approximately 2 to 4 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: The leaves have prominent parallel veins.

Leaf Margin: Leaf margins are serrated, featuring small, fine teeth.

Flower Structure: Beech trees produce small, inconspicuous flowers of both sexes on the same tree. Male flowers are arranged in catkins.

Fruit: Beech nuts are contained within prickly husks, commonly known as beechnuts or mast. Each nut is about 0.5 to 0.75 inches long.

Bark: Beech tree bark is smooth and gray on younger trees, becoming rougher and developing fissures as the tree ages.

Height: Beech trees can reach heights of 50 to 80 feet.

Hairs: The leaves are generally smooth without noticeable hairs, but some varieties may have fine hairs on the undersides.

Fall Color: Beech trees display vibrant autumn foliage, ranging from golden yellow to rich coppery-brown.

Color of Beech Nuts: Beechnuts are typically brown when mature, enclosed in spiky husks.

Beech leaves and young nuts
Beech

Close-up of young nuts
Beech

Beech nuts ready to eat but still in husks (fall).
Beech

Peeled beech nuts.
Beech

Beech leaves
Beech

Beech leaves in fall
Beech

Underside of beech leaf in fall
Beech

Beech tree bark
BeechTrunk

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.
Beech USDA TX

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

When walking through East Texas woods always be on the lookout for the fantastic beech tree. They are definitely uncommon to almost the point of being rare but a well-trained eye will likely find one. Beech are kind of strikingly ordinary trees. Their gray, relatively smooth bark white occasional splotch of white lacks the craggy coolness of oaks. The alternating, slightly ruffled, dark green leaves rarely call attention to themselves. During most of the summer and even fall the beech nut husks can easily be mistaken for acorn husks by novice woods roamers. The most likely time a beech tree will stand out is in early to mid winter when the surrounding deciduous trees have lost most of their leaves beech beech leaves will have turned tan/brown but will be clinging tenaciously to the tree, giving it a big ball of tan color among the winter grays.

In later winter/early spring the new beech leaves make a find salad green. Be sure to use a pruning shears to harvest the leaves so as to minimize the damage to the bark, a common entry point for tree-killing fungi. I'm told the young leaves can be soaked in a mixture of brandy and gin for a few weeks to make a liquor called Beech Noyau. Unfortunately I haven't been in the presence of a beech at the right time to gather leaves for this drink.

The nuts spend most of their time completely encased in a somewhat spiked husk which doesn't split open until fall, if ever, to reveal the single, three-sided nut inside. After removing the outer husk there's a second, inner sheath encasing the nut that should be peeled off before eating. Beech nuts are loaded with fats which make them an excellent source of calories in the woods. As mentioned at the top of this article, it's best to roast beechnuts if you plan on eating a lot of them.

Think of the inner layer of bark (cambium) of beech trees as emergency oatmeal. To eat this inner bark, peel it as thinly as possible and then let it dry. Once dried, chop it up into flakes which are usually pounded into a low-grade flour or boiled like oatmeal. The flavor is on par with that of boiled paper but it will give you calories. Remember to harvest the inner bark from strips running lengthwise on branches rather than from the stem so as to minimize "tourniqueting" the sap flow, killing the tree. The inner bark can be harvested all year long.

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.

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