Pecan

Scientific name: Carya illinoinensis
Abundance: plentiful
What: nuts
How: raw, cooked
Where: pecan trees
When: fall
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates and protein

Leaf Arrangement: Alternate arrangement of compound leaves.

Leaf Shape: Odd-pinnate compound leaves with typically 9 to 17 leaflets.

Leaf Size: Individual leaflets are usually 2 to 6 inches in length, depending on location along the petile.

Leaf Color: Green foliage, with variations in shades.

Leaf Margin: Serrated leaflet margins.

Vein Patterns: Pinnate venation pattern on each leaflet. Center vein may not be perfectly centered on leaflet.

Flower Structure: Appears as long, drooping catkins.

Flower Color: Male catkins are yellow-green, while female flowers are reddish.

Fruit (Pecans): Large, brownish, football-shaped seeds (nuts), with lengths ranging from 1 to 2 inches, encased in a thick green husk. Husk usually splits open along four long seams to reveal a mottled, brown-shelled nut.

Seed Size: Pecans are typically 1 to 2 inches in length.

Bark: Gray to brown, with peeling, deep furrows and ridges as the tree matures.

Pecan nut

There's a large variety of pecan nuts, but they're all the same species (Carya illinoinensis).

Pecan nuts cracked open to show meat.

Ripe pecan nuts on tree. Note compound leaf with odd number of leaflets

Almost-ripe pecans (picture taken early August in East Texas).


Pecan tree.


Close-up of pecan's scaly, peeling bark.

Pecan flowers (catkins) in spring.

Pecan twig in winter. Note the scaled buds, with a larger terminal bud. Leaf scars are seen under each bud.

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.



What truly needs to be said about pecans in Texas?
Best. Wild. Food. Ever!

The nuts may be ripe starting in October and continue to be useful into December depending on where you are. They can be shaken from the tree or dropped ones can just gathered off the ground. The other husk is easily removed, especially after it's dried, turned brown, and has begun splitting open along the husk's seams. Cracking the nut's hard shell takes more effort. One can crush them open with your bare hands if strong enough, with the trick being hold three in the hand doing the crushing. Two of the nuts will work as a "hammer and anvil" to crack open the third. A standard pliers-style nutcracker works, but a dedicated device like below is better and available through Amazon. If you use the link I've provided I'll earn a helpful sales commission.

Pecan nut cracker.*

Once cracked, the nuts can be eaten raw, roasted, or added to any number of recipes. They are very nutritious for their light weight, which is why NASA picked them to be the astronauts's snack food, starting with Apollo 13 and continuing through Apollo 16!

Along with the nuts, pecan bark has a special use - it can be turned into a delicious syrup! One collects and cleans a bunch of the shaggy, loose strips of bark, roasts them in an oven, boils them in water, strains out the bark, adds sugar to the liquid, then boils it down. I've written up the complete directions over on my Substack account here: Roasted Pecan Bark Syrup

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.

Peppergrass

Scientific name: Lepidium species
Abundance: common
What: seeds, young leaves
How: seeds raw, leaves raw or cooked
Where: sunny disturbed areas
When: early spring through late winter
Nutritional Value: minerals
Danger: Pennycresses are hyperaccumulators of minerals. If the soil is contaminated with toxic metals these plants will suck them up.

Leaf Arrangement: The leaves of Lepidium species are typically arranged alternately along the stem, with a rosette at the base.

Leaf Shape: The leaves vary in shape but are often oblong to lanceolate. Basal leaves can be more rounded or lobed, while stem leaves are usually smaller and less divided.

Leaf Venation: The venation is pinnate, with a central vein and smaller side veins.

Leaf Margin: The margins of the leaves can be entire (smooth), toothed, or lobed.

Leaf Color: The leaves are usually a bright to dark green.

Flower Structure: The flowers are small and typically arranged in loose clusters spiraling up the top of stems. Each flower has four petals, often arranged in a cross shape.

Flower Color: The flowers are usually white, sometimes with a hint of yellow or green.

Fruit: The plant produces small, round to oval seed pods, often notched at the tip.

Seed: The seeds are tiny, reddish-brown to black, and found inside the pods.

Stem: The stem is slender, branched, and can be smooth or sparsely hairy.

Hairs: Some species may have fine hairs on the stem and leaves.

Height: Lepidium species vary in height but typically range from 6 inches to 2 feet.

Peppergrass plant.


One peppergrass plant. It has a distinctive silhouette.


Close-up picture of the plant.


Close-up of seed pods.


Even closer close-up of seed pods.


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.


North America has over 100 different species of Lepidium and Texas has 23. They are all very similar in appearance and edibility. The seeds have a spicy/peppery taste similar to radishes. I usually just bite the young, green seed-stalks off the plant. The young leaves also have the horse-radishy taste but by the time the seeds appear the leaves have become to power-tasting for most people to eat. The young, tender seed pods also add a bit of a kick to salads.

I like adding them raw to sandwiches or blending them into mayonnaise to make an interesting horseradish-like sauce.   

These plants seem to thrive in waste areas. I see them growing along all the major roads and freeways in Houston. They even grow out of the cracks in the concrete barriers at the toll road toll booths starting in late winter (February) into early summer (May-June). Their shape is distinctive, look for a single stalk that branches out into multiple, "bumpy" stalks.



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.

Persimmon - Texas

Scientific Name(s): Diospyros texana
Abundance: plentiful
What: fruit
How: raw, jams, jelly, candied, tarts
Where: fields, sunny edges of woods, arid areas
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: fiber, Vit C, B, minerals, anti-oxidants, flavonoids.

Leaf Arrangement: Simple, alternate leaves along the stems.

Leaf Shape: Ovate to elliptical leaves, typically 1 inch in length with rounded tip.

Leaf Color: Dark green foliage, sometimes with a glossy appearance.

Leaf Margin: Entire leaf margins without serrations.

Vein Patterns: Pinnate venation pattern on each leaf.

Flower Structure: Inconspicuous, small flowers, often greenish-white in color.

Flower Size: Individual flowers are typically less than 0.5 inches.

Fruit: Small, blackish-purple fruit resembling berries, around 1 inch in diameter. Somewhat tough skin with a juicy, dark interior. The flesh produces a dark juice which is very staining. The fruit have a 5-pointed "crown" on their top with a stem rising up from the center to attach to the tree.

Seed: Seeds within the fruit are small, typically less than 0.5 inches shaped something like a large watermelon seed.. 1-3 seeds may be present.

Bark: Smooth light and dark gray, with some strips of bark peeling away from the trunk.

Hairs: Underside of leaves may have fine hairs.

Texas persimmon fruit, both ripe (black) and unripe (green).


Close-ups of Texas persimmon fruit.




Texas persimmon seeds.


Texas persimmon seeds in animal scats (probably raccoon).




Texas persimmon shrub/tree.


Close-up of Texas persimmon leaves.


Texas persimmon trunk, next to an oak tree which shades it.


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 Texas Persimmon tree is mainly found in Central and Southern Texas. Once can not walk far in the Texas Hill Country without coming across the gnarled, grey shrub with grey, peeling bark. I personally love the looks of the Texas persimmon. It is generally very short, rarely over eight feet tall. They prefer to grow in partially shaded areas, such as under an oak. Most herbivore and omnivore wild animals love the ripe persimmons and I often am alerted to the trees' presence in a near area by first seeing pig scat loaded with persimmon seeds.

Persimmons aren't sweet enough to eat until they are very dark purple-black in color and already falling off the tree. The seeds are very easy to sprout, resulting in numerous persimmon trees in the same area. Like the Virginian persimmon, Texas persimmons are not self-fertile and require both male and female trees to be present for the female tree to produce fruit.

Virginian Persimmons have both male and female trees and both need to be present for fruit. Only the females produce fruit but male trees must be present to fertilize her flowers.


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.

Persimmon - Virginian

Scientific Name(s): Diospyros virginiana
Abundance: plentiful
What: fruit, leaves
How: fruit - raw, jams, jelly, candied, tarts; leaves - tea
Where: fields, sunny edges of woods
When: late summer, fall
Nutritional Value: fiber, Vit C, B, minerals, anti-oxidants, flavonoids.

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged alternately along the stems.

Leaf Shape: Leaves are generally oval to elliptical, ranging from 2 to 6 inches in length.

Leaf Venation: The venation pattern is pinnate, with a central midrib and smaller veins branching out.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are generally smooth and entire.

Leaf Color: Green on top, grayish underneath.

Flower Structure: Small, inconspicuous, bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are typically less than 0.5 inches in diameter and may have four petals.

Flower Color: Flowers typically have a cream-colored hue.

Fruit: Immature fruit is green-gray in color, turning orange-pink when mature. They will be approximately 1.5” in diameter, with a 5-pointed “crown” on their top.

Seed: Seeds within the fruit are usually less than 0.5 inches. They are typically oblong, flattish, brown, and shiny when ripe.

Bark: The bark is gray to blackish, developing deep furrows in a square, block-like 

pattern with age.

Hairs: All parts of the tree are hairless.

Height: Persimmon trees can reach heights of up to 80 feet and 30 feet wide.

Ripe persimmons on tree.


Virginia persimmon fruit is best/sweetest when it is orange in color and the "crown" separates easily from the fruit. In general, only female persimmon trees produce fruit but there are rare occasion when male trees have suddenly produced a few fruit now and then.

Unripe persimmon.


Young persimmon tree. Mature trees can grow 40 to 60 feet tall. The bark is gray to black in color.


Persimmon leaves are oval, smooth-edged, dark green on top and light green/gray on the bottom.

Unripe fruit. Persimmons contain six flatish seeds.


Virginia persimmon in the fall after losing its leaves but still retaining fruit.

Ripe fruit. Note the "crown" where it was attached to the tree.

If the crown separates easily from the fruit it's ready to eat. No frost needed!

Scaly/craggy bark of a mature Virginia persimmon tree.

Raccoons, coyotes, possums, and wild hogs love ripe Virginia persimmons. Finding the seeds in animal poop is a good indication to check your fruit for ripeness. These seeds are approximately 1/2" long.

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 Virginian Persimmon tree is mainly found in the northern areas of East Texas. The trees usually appear together in great numbers due to the many animals that eat the fruit and spread the seeds...along with a nice dollop of fertilizer. The trees are deciduous, losing their leaves in the fall. Only the females produce the edible fruit and the natural ratio for these trees is one female for every ten males. This means you need to plant a lot of seedlings to insure fruit. No one has yet figured out how to tell if a persimmon tree is male or female until it's started producing flowers...about seven years old. Luckily the seeds are very easy to sprout, resulting in numerous persimmon trees in the same area. Persimmon wood is very dense and hard, much like its relative ebony. It's a bit heavy as a walking stick but dang near indestructible so that's what I use.

Persimmons aren't sweet enough to eat until they are dark orange in color and their crown is easily plucked from the fruit.  An unripe persimmon is extremely astringent and will suck all the moisture from your mouth...which is kind of a funny joke to do to someone.

The ripe fruit has a wonderful, sweet flavor. The skins are edible but the body has a hard time digesting them. This can lead to an obstructed bowel if too many fruit are eaten at once.


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.