Hackberry

Scientific name: Celtis spp. (occidentalis, laevigata)
Abundance: plentiful
What: berries
How: raw, dried, preserves
Where: moist, sunny areas
When: fall when berries are red, orange, or purple
Nutritional Value: calories, protein

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are alternate along the stem.

Leaf Shape: Simple, ovate leaves with serrated margins, typically measuring 2 to 4 inches in length.

Leaf Color: Foliage is typically dark green, turning yellow in the fall.

Flower Structure: Inconspicuous, small, greenish flowers are arranged in clusters.

Flower Size: Individual flowers are very small, around 1/8 inch in size and green-yellow in color.

Fruit (Drupe): The fruit is a small, rounded drupe, about 1/4 inch in diameter, typically reddish-brown when ripe.

Bark: Bark is gray to brown, with a rough texture consisting of small, flat platelets stacked one atop another.  These flat warts can grow together to make corky ridges in older trees.

Height: Common hackberry can grow to be a medium to large tree, reaching heights of 40 to 60 feet.

Hairs: Leaves have a sight roughness due to microscopic hairs

Branching Pattern: The branching pattern is irregular, and the tree may have a broad, spreading crown. Wood is weak and branches often break off in high winds.

Ripe hackberry fruit.



Unripe berries


Sugar Hackberry (Celtis laevigata) tree.


Sugar Hackberry (Celtis laevigata) tree trunk.


Another Hackberry tree.


Close-up of hackberry bark "scales/warts".


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.


Most of your ancestors owe their lives to the fruit of the hackberry tree. It is the oldest-know foraged food, going back over 600,000 years to the grave of Peking Man. Found on every continent except Antarctica, every culture that arose around hackberry trees utilized them as one of their main sources of calories...until us now. Now it is considered a "trash tree" and considered to be an annoyance. We have forgotten how it kept so many humans alive for tens of thousands of years.

The ripe fruit of hackberries are less than 1/4 inch in diameter and consist of a thin, sweet skin surrounding a large, hard seed. This edible seed is rich in protein and fats, but is extremely hard. Trying to crush the seed with your teeth can easily result in a broken tooth. You are better off crushing up the berries in a mortar & pestle to make a sweet, energizing paste. This paste can be toasted into a bar, making it nature's original "power bar". The seeds can also be crushed/blended with water, left over night and then strained to make "hackberry milk" which is similar to "almond milk". If you don't have a way to crush the seeds then just eat the skin/flesh off then spit out the seed. These berries ripen in the fall but will often remain on the trees and edible well into spring.

The wood of the hackberry tree is weak and brittle. It does not make good firewood, carving material or lumber. However, it did make acceptable archery bows. After a storm the ground beneath hackberry tree is usually littered with broken branches, making a mess. They can grow up to 80' tall in moist, sunny locations such as along lakes, ponds, or streams. Hackberries also seem to thrive in urban environments though they only live 20-30 years. Their gray bark is usually covered with lumpy, scaly wart-type growths that are made of layered sections.


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Heals All

Scientific Name(s): Prunella vulgaris
Abundance: uncommon
What: leaves
How: raw, tea, cooked
Where: borders, woods, fields, wastelands, full sun, light shade
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: medicinal compounds
Dangers: none

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Stems/Flowers - wound healer; antibacterial; antiviral; anti-cancer; colitis anti-inflammatory; hemostatic; appetite stimulant (tisane, poultice)

Leaf Arrangement: Leaves are arranged in an opposite-alternating pattern along the stem.

Leaf Shape: The leaves are broadly lanceolate to ovate, typically measuring about 1 to 3 inches in length and 0.5 to 1 inch in width.

Leaf Venation: Venation is pinnate, with a central vein and smaller branching veins.

Leaf Margin: The leaf margins are serrated or toothed, especially towards the tip.

Leaf Color: The color of the leaves is a deep green, often with a slightly lighter shade on the underside.

Flower Structure: Flowers are clustered in dense, pyramidal, spike-like inflorescences at the tips of stems or in the leaf axils.

Flower Color: The flowers are typically purple or violet, though they can also be pink or white. Each flower is tubular with a two-lipped appearance.

Fruit: The fruit is a small, dry nutlet.

Seed: Seeds are contained within the nutlets, small and hard.

Stem: Stems are square in cross-section, a characteristic of the mint family, and can be hairy or smooth.

Hairs: There may be fine hairs on the stems and the undersides of the leaves.

Height: The plant typically grows to a height of about 6 to 18 inches.

Bed of heal's all plants while flowering.


Heal's all bed before flowering.


Individual heal's all stalk.


Heal's all plant.


Close-up of heal's all flower stalk before flowering.


Close-up of heal's all flower.


Note the "beard" on the flower's lower lip petal.


Heal's All seedlings in January in Houston, before producing a stem or flowers.


Heal's All in the summer after going to seed.


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.


Usually found in somewhat moist, woody areas, Heal's All is a rather unassuming plant for most of it's life. Appearing in late winter, it's first call to attention occurs with the appearance of its unmistakable, pyramidal flower stalk in mid-spring. It isn't a solitary plant and so much prefers being surrounded by many of its fellow Heal's All plants.

Heal's all is often considered to be the best all-around medicinal plant. Other names for it include selfheal, heart-of-the-earth, and woundwort. According to legend and also Peterson's Guide to Medicinal Plants heal's all will take care of problems with lungs, liver, kidneys, blood, joints, cancers, ulcers, tumors, swellings, and back trouble. The usual method of ingestion is as a leaf tea or alcohol extraction. I also like chopping the leaves up and adding them to any rice I am cooking.

The plant can be air-dried for later use. as tea, but the alcohol extraction is best done with fresh leaves. The dried leaves & flowers can also be smoked as part of an herbal "tobacco" mixture.

Link to scientific papers on the medicinal properties of Heal's All (Prunella vulgaris).


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.

Henbit

Scientific Name(s): Lamium amplexicaule
Abundance: common
What: leaves, stem, and flowers
How: raw, cooked, or tea
Where: sunny yards, urban areas
When: late fall, winter (in Houston), spring
Nutritional Value: vitamins, iron, antioxidants

Medicinal Summary: antioxidant, antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer/cytoprotective. Study:  Lamium Plants—A Comprehensive Review on Health Benefits and Biological Activities

Henbit




Single Henbit plant.


Close-up of top portion of Henbit before flowers appear.


Close-up of top of Henbit when flowers are just beginning to appear.


Close-up of Henbit flowers. They're really odd-looking.


Closer close-up of Henbit flowers.


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.


Clumps of henbit begin showing up yards in mid-winter. Rarely standing over 10" tall, it's spindly form, odd-shaped leaves, and small, purple tubular flowers make it very noticeable against the brown, dead winter grass. Looking closely will reveal the oppositely-placed leaves and square, hollow stem of the mint family. It likes yards and other open, sunny areas where it can grow dense mats.

The whole plant is edible either raw or cooked though the stems can become stringy as the plant matures. It has a mild bitter/spinachy flavor. Chickens love this stuff so if you have backyard chickens start collecting Henbit from your neighbor's yard (after asking permission, of course). They'll love your chickens even more if you weed their yards.

Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum) is often mistaken for Henbit. The leaves of edible Dead Nettle's have longer petioles and are thicker than those of Henbit.

Dead Nettle stem and leaves.


Close-up of Dead Nettle head.


Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Flowers/Stems - antioxidant; anti-inflammatory; antimicrobial; antitumor; blood lipid reduction (tisane, tincture, poultice)


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.

Indigo Milk Cap Mushroom

Scientific Name(s): Lactarius indigo
Abundance: Uncommon
What: cap, stem
How: cooked
Where: shaded hard woods
When: summer
Nutritional Value: vitamins, minerals, fiber
Dangers: beware of poisonous mimic Golden Milk Cap (Lactarius alnicola)

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

Growth Form: Lactarius indigo grows solitarily or in groups, in a toadstool shape.

Cap Shape and Size: The cap is initially convex, becoming flat to depressed, with a diameter of 2 to 6 inches. It's characterized by its striking indigo blue color, which fades with age. Concentric, darker blue rings circle the top of the cap.

Gills or Pores: This species has gills that are attached or slightly decurrent. The gills are a similar indigo blue as the cap and may stain green when bruised.

Stipe Characteristics: The stipe is 1 to 2 inches long and 0.6 to 1.2 inches thick, colored indigo blue, and may have a slightly lighter shade than the cap.

Odor: Lactarius indigo typically does not have a distinctive odor.

Bruising: When bruised or cut, the mushroom's flesh and latex turn green.

Spore Color: The spore print of Lactarius indigo is a pale yellow/off-white.

Substrate and Habitat: It is commonly found in woodland settings, particularly under hardwoods and conifers.

Other Characteristics: This mushroom exudes a milky latex when the gills or flesh are damaged. The latex is indigo blue and slowly turns green upon exposure to air.

Indigo Milk Caps have distinctive, blue rings on a concave (slightly funnel shaped) cap.


The gills are closely packed, stop at the stem, and don't run the etire length from cap edge to stem.


The gills will turn dark when touched.


The interior of the cap and stem are blue.


The cap will weep a blue "milk" when cut or damaged.


The blue milk will stain things.


Older mushroom, having lost its circular shape.


Indigo Milk Cap mushrooms are a summertime treasure in the woods of Texas. Their distinctive blue color makes them stand out against the leaf litter below shaded, moist environs of hardwood forests of oak, hickory, and elm. It's rarer but not impossible to find them in heavy pine forests. They usually don't appear in large numbers close to one another, preferring a more solitary life rather than a plentiful colony. Also, they do not grow on dead or living wood.

Damage to the cap or stem will produce a copious bleeding of the blue milk from which the mushroom gets it's name. This milk will turn a dark green as it's exposed to air. The inner surface of the mushroom will change from blue to green in the same manner.

The cap is a silvery color with blue rings. When younger the cap is circular in shape and domed. The edge of the cap will curl under the mushroom, partially hiding the gills. As it matures the cap edge spreads out and lifts, creating a depression in the top center of the mushroom and it loses its circular shape, becoming wavy. Indigo Blue Milk Caps have true gills that are made of a different tissue than the cap itself. It produces a pure white spore print. These gills are "adnate" which means they stop at the stem. The stem (aka stipe) is bare, with no remains of a cover or volva.

Cook Indigo Milk Caps as you would any other fleshy mushroom. They do well in everything from simply sauteing in butter to deep frying. The milk won't color sauces blue, unfortunately.

Other members of the Lactarius family can be poisonous. One common one is the Golden Milk Cap (Lactarius alnicola). It has the same shape, rings, and size as the edible Lactarius indigo but it has a gold color and weeps white milk.

Poisonous Golden Milk Cap (Lactarius alnicola) has the same shape and structure as the Indigo Milk Cap but is yellow/gold instead of blue.


Underside view.


Side view of poisonous Golden Milk Cap.


Crosscut view of poisonous Golden Milk Cap.



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.

Tinder/Hoof Mushrooms

Scientific Name(s): Fomes fomentarius
Abundance: uncommon
What: mushroom
How: infusion medicinally, smoke to repel mosquitos, inner layer to catch a spark
Where: woods
When: winter, spring, summer, fall
Nutritional Value: not applicable
Dangers: not eaten, but infusion is used internally and externally to fight infections

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

Growth Form: Fomes fomentarius typically grows solitarily, forming perennial, woody growths on trees shaped somewhat like a horse's hoof.

Cap Shape and Size: The cap is hoof or fan-shaped, ranging from 2 to 20 inches across. It has a hard, woody texture and is gray to brown in color, often with concentric zones of color.

Gills or Pores: This species has pores on the underside, which are small and round. The pore surface is usually white to brown.

Stipe Characteristics: Fomes fomentarius lacks a distinct stipe; it attaches directly to the tree with a broad, lateral attachment.

Odor: This fungus may have a "mushroom" smell.

Bruising: The flesh is too tough and woody to show bruising.

Spore Color: The spore print is white to light brown.

Substrate and Habitat: Commonly found on hardwoods, particularly birch, but can also be found on other trees.

Other Characteristics: Can continue to grow over several years, resulting in growth bands with a darker strip at the base of each growth band.

Tinder (Hoof) mushrooms on a dying tree.


Side view. Note the layers and gray color.


Top-angled view. The greenish color near the top is from mildew.


Looking at the underside, note the tiny holes aka pores. This is in the class of polypore mushrooms.


Though oddly shaped, this is still a tinder/hoof mushroom.


Cut in half, the lower, dark section consists of hundreds of tightly packed tubes and the upper, brown section is called "amadou".


The amadou layer will catch a spark from flint and steel.



Tinder hoof mushrooms are one of several different shelf polypore mushrooms found on dead/dying trees. The distinguishing characteristics of these is the layers of grow that result in a thick/tall mushroom rather than a large fan shape. These can be found any time of the year on Texas trees, preferring hardwoods such as oaks, hickories, maples, elms, and sweet gums to pine, cedar, or cypress. The use of these mushrooms can be traced back thousands of years, even being part of Otzi, the Alps caveman corpse's kit.

Hoof mushrooms have several main uses, one of which is medicinal and the others are bushcraft. An infusing made from fresh or dried hoof mushrooms by boiling a tablespoon of chopped-up mushroom in a cup of water produces a strong broth with both antibacterial and antiviral properties. This broth can be drunk to fight internal infections as well as a wash for infected wounds.

This mushroom has some awesome bushcraft use, the first being it's one of the few natural products that will catch a spark, hence the name tinder mushroom. The inner, fibrous "amadou" layer, when dried can be used to start fires from any spark or ember generating source such as flint and steel, flint on quartz, firesteel, or fire-bows. The amadou is pounded into a flat fabric that has lots of fuzzy fiber ends to catch fire.

If you already have a fire going but want to transport the fire elsewhere, hoof/tinder mushrooms will smolder for a long time if ignited. Packed in so moss, you now have a hot coal you can carry with you to start a fire at the next campsite without the effort and uncertainty of making a fire from scratch.

The amadou also has a history of being pounded into a felt-like material used to make clothing and bags. It'll take a lot of mushrooms to get a decent-sized piece of fabric to cover yourself but fewer if you're okay with being indecent. If you look on Etsy.com you can find amadou hats and other gear, though I can't vouch they're made from real amadou.


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.