Japanese Honeysuckle

Scientific name: Lonicera japonica
Abundance: plentiful
What: flowers, vine tips
How: raw, cooked
Where: boarders, landscaping
When: summer
Nutritional Value: minerals (Ca, K) and protein
Other uses: nectar source for bees & butterflies; basketry
Dangers: there are several deadly honeysuckles, so make sure you have the safe-to-eat Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica).

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves of Lonicera japonica are arranged oppositely along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are typically oval to ovate, measuring approximately 1 to 2 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: Pinnate venation, with prominent veins running from the base to the tip of each leaf.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically entire or slightly toothed.

Leaf Color: The leaves are usually medium to dark green.

Flower Structure: Japanese Honeysuckle produces fragrant, tubular flowers that are paired and often occur in terminal clusters. The flowers have a length of approximately 1 to 2 inches.

Flower Color: Flowers are typically white or yellow with a yellow or orange throat.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, spherical, and berry-like structure.

Seed: Inside the fruit are small seeds.

Stem: The stem is typically climbing or trailing, often with thin, twining vines. It does not produce tendrils.

Hairs: Fine hairs the stem and sometimes its leaves.

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

Japanese Honeysuckle vine.


Yellow flowers.


Unopened flowers.


Close-up of Japanese Honeysuckle leaves.


Japanese Honeysuckle vine tip, which are edible after boiling.


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 approximately 180 different Honeysuckle vines on the plant, most of which are found in China and other parts of Asia. Edibility of the different Honeysuckle vines ranges from a delicious, commonly-eaten potherb to deadly poison, depending on the species. Here in the USA, Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is actually from China but was brought to the United States about 200 years ago from Japan. It is often sold in nurseries as a landscaping plant but it has escaped into the wild in many areas, where it runs rampant due to a lack of natural enemies. Luckily it is one of the best honeysuckles in regards to edibility.

Lonicera japonica produces both yellow and white flowers with the younger flowers being white and then fading to yellow. These flowers always appear in pairs, with a four-lobed upper petal, a single-lobed lower petal and four stamen. The leaves are oppositely arranged (one on either side of the vine) and hairy both on top and underneath. The stem also has fines hairs on it.

Japanese Honeysuckle flowers can be eaten raw and have a sweet flavor due to their nectar. Many child have discovered the joy of plucking honeysuckle flowers and sucking out their nectar from the bottom. This nectar can be infused into granulated sugar or honey. Combine 1 cup of the flowers with 2 cups of the sugar or honey. If using sugar, shake the mixture and let sit 12-24 hours. If using honey, add the honey and flowers to the jar in small, alternating portions to disperse the flowers through the honey. Be sure to start and end with honey so that all the flowers are completely cover. Let the honeysuckle/honey sit for 24-48 then taste. If it needs more infusing, let it sit another 24 hours.

The last four inches of the vines taste rather bitter raw but make a mild and nutritious cooked green when boiled. They contain calcium, phosphorous, and protein so that's awesome.

In some areas of China, the Japanese Honeysuckle vines were used to weave baskets.


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.

Kudzu

Scientific name: Pueraria species (P. lobata, P. montana, P. edulis, P. phaseoloides and P. thomsoni)
Abundance: plentiful
What: young vine tips, young leaves, flowers, roots
How: vine tips & leaves cooked; flowers raw or tea; roots scraped for starch
Where: fields, old farms,
When: spring, summer, fall, winter
Nutritional Value: vitamins, antioxidants, protein, calories
Other Uses: kudzu vines can be woven into fine baskets
Dangers: do NOT plant kudzu, it'll engulf everything!! Be very careful transporting kudzu so as not to drop any seeds.

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves of Kudzu are compound and arranged alternately along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Leaflets are typically palmately trifoliate, each leaflet being ovate to elliptical, measuring approximately 3 to 5 inches across.

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

Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically entire or slightly toothed.

Leaf Color: The leaves are usually medium to dark green on top and can be lighter in color underneath.

Flower Structure: Kudzu produces clusters of small, pea-like flowers arranged in elongated, drooping inflorescences. The flowers have a length of approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch.

Flower Color: Flowers are typically purplish-pink to reddish-purple.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, flat, and brown pea-like pod containing seeds. The pods have a length of approximately 2 to 4 inches.

Seed: Inside the pod are small, brown, and flattened seeds.

Stem: The stem is climbing or trailing, often covering other vegetation with its vines. The stems are green in color but develop red-brown spots as they age.

Hairs: Seed pods are very hairy, whereas stems and leaves may have extremely fine hairs.

Height: Kudzu is a fast-growing vine that can cover large areas, with vines reaching up to 100 feet in length.

Kudzu vine.




Close-up of kudzu leaves (three leaves per stem)


Kudzu leaves in the wild look like Poison Ivy.


Close-up of open flowers.


Close-up of closed flowers at tip of flower raceme.


Close-up of vine stem.


Kudzu seed pods are weirdly hairy.


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.


First introduced from Japan to the United States during the 1876 Centennial Exposition, this out-of-control weed now covers over seven million acres of the American South. Kudzu grows up to one foot per day, putting it in the top four fastest-growing plants known. As it grows it covers and smothers all other plant life...along with anything else that doesn't move out of its way. It is a common sight to see mile after mile of trees, powerlines, and abandoned homesteads covered in kudzu as you drive the backroads of the South.

It is small compensation that the kudzu can be eaten. It's vine tips are tender and full of important compounds such as antioxidants, as well as being high in protein (16% dry weight). The hairs on the vines and leaves make them unpleasant to eat raw, but a quick dip in boiling water wilts these hair so they no longer cause any problems. After boiling the vine tips and young leaves for 30-60 seconds they can then be used in any manner one would cook spinach, collard greens, or other leafy green vegetable.

Kudzu begins flowering in July and continues into September, producing an intense, somewhat artificial, grape smell. Open kudzu flowers can be used raw and make a colorful, flavorful addition to salads. They can also be seeped in hot water to make a tea. These flowers will last a day if kept in the refrigerator.

Kudzu roots can grow to enormous sizes, eight feet long and over 200 pounds! They contain a large percentage of starch but are also fibrous at that size. You are better off digging up smaller roots, 1.5" to 2.5" in diameter, which can be roasted like a potato. Be sure to peel the root before eating. The peeled roots can also be pounded, grated or ground into a gluten-free flour. The starch in kudzu roots can be fermented to produce alcohol. Woo hoo!! Roots are best dug up in the early fall but can be harvested all winter if you need the calories.

The seed pods are green in color and are not edible, nor are the seeds they contain.

Beware of poison ivy mixed in with kudzu. Please do not plant kudzu as it will escape your control and devour everything that doesn't move.


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.

Partridgeberry/Squawberry

Scientific name: Mitchella repens
Abundance: uncommon
What: berries
How: raw
Where: woods, shade
When: late summer, fall, winter
Nutritional Value: Vitamin C
Dangers: may cause miscarriages!

Medicinal Summary:
Berries - diuretic, astringent, sedative, assists with birth, stabilizes with female hormone cycle

Partridge berry. Note the two "eyes".


Another closeup of the berry.


Partridge berry creepers. The berries are found at the end of the plant.




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 lowly partridge berry plant forms a ground covering vine throughout the piney woods of Texas. This small, creeping vine-like plant creeps through the fallen leaves with a bright red berry the only really noticeable thing to differentiate it from the similar looking yaupon holly seedlings.

The bright red color of the berries suggest that the fruit itself would have an equally powerful taste but they are actually very bland. These fruit also have a grittiness to their flesh so the overall impression to me is much like very tiny pears. Not being a fan of pears, I'm not wild about partridge berries either. They are fairly nutritious, as most brightly-covered edible plants are and were used as food by native Americans. They can be eaten raw, dried, or made into jellies and jams, though for the later I recommend they be combined with other more strongly-flavored fruit.


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.

Passion Vine/Maypop

Scientific name: Passiflora incarnata
Abundance: common
What: flowers, ripe fruit, juice, leaves
How: raw, preserves, cold drink, tea
Where: sunny fields, yards, borders
When: late summer through fall until frost
Nutritional Value: Vitamin A & niacin

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves - sedative (tisane)
Flowers - anti-anxiety (tisane)

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

Leaf Shape: Leaves are typically palmately lobed and palmately veined, with usually three to five lobes, each lobe being ovate to triangular, measuring approximately 3 to 6 inches in width.

Leaf Venation: Palmate venation, with prominent veins running from the base to the tip of each lobe.

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

Leaf Color: The leaves are usually medium green.

Flower Structure: Purple Passionflower produces intricate and showy flowers with a unique structure. They have five petal-like sepals, five petal-like corolla segments, and a central crown of filaments and anthers. The flowers can be up to 3 inches in diameter.

Flower Color: Flowers are typically violet-purple and have white or pinkish-purple filaments.

Fruit: The fruit is an ovoid to globose berry approximately 2" in diameter with a tough outer rind. Rind is green when young then turns yellow as it ripens.

Seed: Inside the fruit are numerous small seeds suspended in clear gel.

Stem: The stem is typically a climbing vine with tendrils for support.

Hairs: Fine hairs may be present on the stem.

Height: Passiflora incarnata can climb on other vegetation and reach varying heights.

Passion vine flower


Unripe passionvine fruit (maypop)


Inside of a passionvine fruit (maypop).


Three-lobbed passion vine leaves


Closeup of the passion vine leaf.


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 maypop fruit is ripe when it turns from "Kermit the Frog" green to light green to yellow-orange in color. A better indication of a ripe maypop is a somewhat wrinkly skin whereas the unripe maypop fruit will have a firm, tight feel. Upon splitting the fruit you will see numerous seeds coated in a translucent goo while the inside of the skin will have a thick layer of white pulp. Suck the goo off the seeds like you were eating a pomegranate. The white pulp inside the skin is scrapped off with a spoon and eaten. Roasted seeds of these maypops are considered to be a wonderful snack in Puerto Rico.

Wild passion vines are uncommon in Texas so refrain from harvesting many the low-nutritional value fruit unless you find a vine really covered in fruit. These vines seem to produce a lot of fruit the year after a drought.

Tea made from the dried leaves and stem of the passionvine contain alkaloids with a sedative effect on humans. This tea can be purchased over the counter as a "sleepy time" the United States. Passionvines can quickly grow to cover a large area so harvesting young leaves and stems for use in tea will help keep the vine in check. As with any medicinal tea, I don't recommend drinking it more than 2-3 cups per week. They flowers can also be used for tea but they lack the sedative effect and you also lose the fruit from that flower.


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.

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.

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.