Went hunting this weekend. On our way back from town, we drove through some state land and saw a good amount of chicken growing on a dead oak right on the other side of the guardrail, at the top of the hill going down to the river. Someone had already been there and taken the easy to reach pieces. I grabbed my machete and a few zip ties, and cut down a long thin sapling. Tied the knife off and went to work. The parts we wanted were 10-12' up. I cut down whole chunks as my buddy waited below to catch them before they hit the ground and were ruined. Ended up with probably 20lbs.
Blue Dicks. Yup, that’s what they’re known as locally (yes, I’ve heard and made every joke you can think of already). But this wild edible is just popping up all over the Sonoran desert currently. It’s edible from root to shoot. The corms (root) are high in starches and were a prime food source for native tribes in the southwest after their winter food stores had been depleted.
Late summer in the delta is American lotus season. We get acres upon acres of there gorgeous flowers popping up in shallow open water where they make the air smell like a cross between magnolia flowers and lemons. Once the petals fall off , the “shower head” expands as the seeds develop until they look this. When they’re dried they’re pretty commonly used in floral arrangements The acorn looking seeds/nuts are delicious raw when they’re green, they taste like a mixture of edamame and sweet corn. These along with the tubers and new growth leaves and stems were supposed to have been a major staple in the diets of Native Americans. Once the seeds dry out and the shell hardens they can be roasted and eaten once shelled. I still haven’t tried that myself or baking a tuber. Those are supposed to similar to sweet potato from what I’ve read so I’m wanting to try it, but they grow in some pretty nasty sheeit mud and I’m not looking forward to harvesting any. But these are plentiful, easy to grab when driving through them and easy to process.
@IW17 @Delkancott @The Marsh Gorilla Can anybody identify this cluster fungus that popped in my back yard? Can I eat it? It’s growing on the root of a sweetgum tree that was removed 4-5 years ago…
Man I’m very inexperienced with fungi, I know oyster mushrooms and the psilly ones from cow pastures.
You'll either get very nourished... throw up... or have one fun afternoon.. just take a little nibble... for science ofcourse !
I’m going to agree . Ringless Honey Fungus. Definitely a white spore print. I’m going to see if I can get further clarification but it definitely needs to be in the recognize file.
I was just out pilfering around this morning and noted these. Spring has sprung down here. There’s also ramps, spring onions, thistle, wild garlic, and common dewberry just a few steps away.
So here’s a fun one… I’ve been moving compost/field dirt into my very uneven yard. From this sprouted 2 very similar looking plants. Both flat leaf from a singular bulb root structure. Only a slight variation in color difference. (There’s also a nice Cleaver growing directly behind them.) The one on the Left is definitely Wild Garlic. A pinched leaf and a smell gives it away. The one on the Right has no discernible odor other than “grass” from the same test. Careful feeling at the base says it has the same bulb root as the other though. I suspect it might be a lily type, Jonquil perhaps, but not edible. My standing rule is if it doesn’t smell like onion or garlic, don’t eat it. It has worked thus far anyway.
A few more? Common Chickweed. A low soft trailing growth. Good in salads or chopped for soups or stews. Small distinctive white flowers that will be numerous as the plant matures. Stem are covered in fine hairs and very easy to cut. My usual tool is a pair of 25 year old EMT shears. ( They still work great too. ) Wild Onions. Your could harvest 75% of these and the remaining 25% will produce millions of tiny black sees insuring they come back year after year.
Dock. This could be Curly or Yellow Dock but I tend to lump them all as just Dock. Usually found in moist soils and very prolific in spring and early summer. I could fill 2 bushel baskets in this location. Best chopped as a stew addition. Prickly Lettuce. Emits a sticky white sap when cut or torn. A bitter green too unpalatable for salads but cooking it removes the bitterness. A single long stalk grows from the center thru the summer. Common in the disturbed soil of right of ways on country roads in the south. Yaupon Holly. The only native N American tea plant. Indians identified it to settlers in the first colonies in the 1600’s. It can be purchased as a transplantable ornamental in almost any gardening or horticulture store. Said to be very good for liver and kidney health. Very common here as birds have helped spread the seeds. You can purchase it prepackaged from multiple sources if you can’t start some growing where you are.
Picked some Purple Deadnettle, dandelion greens and wild onions for a salad last night. With some parmesan, pecans and vinegarette it was pretty good. Still a little bitter. Could have used some fruit to lighten it up.
This one my Dad called “Dammed Bloodweed” and I’d bet I’ve cut 4 billion cubic feet of it in my lifetime with a machete. I suspect I don’t have a violent reaction to it because of a lifetime of close exposure. Its proper name is Ragweed. The bane of allergy sufferers. Hated and reviled by the masses, but… The young tender growth is edible when cooked. It’s a source of graze for foraging animals. The seeds can be collected and dried and added to foods to get essential oils that aid in digestion. The older leaves can be dried and boiled for a tea, said to be good for the liver and kidneys. Large amounts can be boiled off to make a slightly astringent wash for the body. There was a link to paleontology that reported finding the seeds and genetic traces in human waste dump sites from thousands of years ago. The data suggests that in ancient times as the transition from nomadic to agrarian societies was happening this despised plant was being cultivated on purpose. The stems and leaf underneath are covered in a slightly scratchy white hair. In my research I read reports of the dried stems being used as hand drill spindles. There was also crushing, stripping, and braiding to make primitive cordage.
snacked on briar tips while hunting morels last weekend. only found a couple dozen, but they were tasty. maybe more tomorrow. definitely more briar tomorrow.
Adding to the knowledge tome. I had hung up some Bloodweed/Ragweed to dry and sort of forgot about it until now. Having no previous experience with this one I just went with the standard water amount and my usual 1 sugar. Come to think of it…carrying this around in a bag or jar might cause you to have to answer some questions. I boiled the tea ball for 3 minutes and left it to steep for about 15. It smells faintly like black tea and low quality “homegrown” that the cool kids toked up back in the 70’s. (Which is about the last I was even close to being cool. ) It’s not bitter or unpleasant. It could probably benefit from a bit of orange peel or a couple of crushed blackberries but…. Adding it to the survival file in my head.
collected a few handfuls of plantain leaves and dried them last weekend. they're soaking in olive oil for a few weeks now to make a salve for scrapes/stings/etc.