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rebel
04-30-2008, 09:23 AM
Is it edible?

If it is edible, how would you prepare it?

rebel
04-30-2008, 10:12 AM
Hint: This plant is in it's infancy stage.

Rick
04-30-2008, 10:15 AM
I'm tempted to say Fiddle Fern (Ostrich Fern) but frankly I've never seen the fuzzy stuff on them.

Chuck
04-30-2008, 10:18 AM
Fiddleheads, they are fern frond. We put up close to 100 lbs a year. As far as I know all fiddleheads are OK to eat although some are not as good as others. You do have to get most of the brown papery stuff off and they have to be cooked to to destroy something in them(don't remember what the stuff is called). We steam them and eat them with vinaigrette sauce. We also dry a lot for winter greens. Fiddleheads are the first green of the season for many Alaskans. If you are in doubt check with the local Extension Service.

Sourdough
04-30-2008, 10:20 AM
Put me down for Fiddle Back Fern, good battered and fried. I too have never seen it with that white mold looking stuff.

rebel
04-30-2008, 10:20 AM
Your right, fiddlehead and I don't know about the fuzz. You win the prize. Would you like to post the next plant picture? I can as I have time.

Rick
04-30-2008, 03:59 PM
Okay. I went out today looking for Morels (skunked on those by the way) and took the camera. This one is a bit tougher but pretty common in the Midwest. I thought I had taken a better pic of the flower but it has five petals and is white. You can find these as solitary plants or spread out, almost carpet like. They only bloom in this time of year. The third pic is a large area of them.

grundle
04-30-2008, 04:06 PM
The leaves look like wild grapes, but I never seen em flower like that before

rebel
04-30-2008, 05:07 PM
My initial guess is a berry plant. I'll try Thimbleberry.

tfisher
04-30-2008, 05:18 PM
now I was hoping for a pic of those big shrooms you guys have over in Indiana.
I used to be a Hoosier

Rick
04-30-2008, 05:29 PM
Not grapes and not berries. In fact, it's not even a fruit.

If it's big shrooms you want, it's big shrooms you'll get. What kind are they? Here's a hint. They are growing on an old elm.

crashdive123
04-30-2008, 05:44 PM
Speaking of large fungi - I had to inspect an old abandoned home a while back. This was growing through a seam in the kitchen floor.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii67/crashdive123/287CrystalSt004.jpg

Rick
04-30-2008, 06:29 PM
I would bet your life that it's a shell.:D Panus Conchatus.

rebel
04-30-2008, 06:41 PM
Okay. I went out today looking for Morels (skunked on those by the way) and took the camera. This one is a bit tougher but pretty common in the Midwest. I thought I had taken a better pic of the flower but it has five petals and is white. You can find these as solitary plants or spread out, almost carpet like. They only bloom in this time of year. The third pic is a large area of them.

A nettle???

Rick
04-30-2008, 06:42 PM
Nope. Think condiment. That's the use. (it's not something in your kitchen but something you can use in the wild).

Rick
04-30-2008, 06:46 PM
While you work on that plant AND the mushroom, I'll give you an easy one.

MMonette
04-30-2008, 06:48 PM
only thing i can think of is mint but mint dosent flower dose it......

Rick
04-30-2008, 06:52 PM
Not mint for the first one.

I'm going to put you out of your misery. As I said, it's a bit tougher. It's Toothwart. These guys grow everywhere in the Midwest. You can find lower woodlands just covered in it. The roots can be grated and prepared like horseradish.

MMonette
04-30-2008, 06:53 PM
Chives for the third

rebel
04-30-2008, 06:57 PM
Not mint for the first one.

I'm going to put you out of your misery. As I said, it's a bit tougher. It's Toothwart. These guys grow everywhere in the Midwest. You can find lower woodlands just covered in it. The roots can be grated and prepared like horseradish.

That was my next answer...yea right! Toothwart? I've never heard of it and maybe now I will not forget.

Rick
04-30-2008, 07:45 PM
Close enough. It's either wild onion or wild garlic. In this case, wild onion. The only way I can tell them apart is by smell. Any takers on the mushroom?

rebel
04-30-2008, 07:46 PM
TOOTHWART! I can't get over it. The name doesn't make it appetizing.

Rick
04-30-2008, 07:47 PM
And Nettles sound good? Or Spiderwort?

canid
04-30-2008, 11:41 PM
rick; your mushroom is Polyporus squamosus. your plant i must say looks like a mustard of some variety to my eyes.

crash's mushroom looks to be a Pleurotus species, such as P. oystreatus.

i wish i had markets like this around here:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/49/138588154_529a2629d7.jpg

Rick
05-03-2008, 09:00 AM
Canid - You are right on the money. Some folks call them scales or scaleys. Edible but not very tasty. That's why they are still on the tree.:D

Okay - Here's another one for you. This one is a lot easier than the toothwort. This one is a very handy plant. Just provide the general name. You don't have to be specific.

Stealth
05-03-2008, 09:56 AM
i agree with candid, that looks more like mustard than toothwort to me. and the last picture is a violet

Rick
05-03-2008, 10:19 AM
Excellent! It is a violet. There are three types of wild violets in the Midwest. Marsh Blue Violet, Common Blue Violet and Birdfoot Violet. This is most likely a Common Blue Violet. The difference between the Marsh and Common Violet is the distance the flower rises above the leaves.

There are lots of uses for wild violets. You can use the young leaves as a salad. They are bit bland but would go well with dandelions for instance. They can also be boiled for 10 or 15 minutes to make nice greens. The leaves can also be added to stews as a thickener. The flowers can be candied and the leaves dried and used as a tea.

Rick
05-03-2008, 10:38 AM
A note on the earlier pic of the toothwart. My bad!! I said the flower had five petals and meant to say four. I just caught that. If I threw anyone off, my apologies.

One of the differences between mustard and toothwart is mustard has yellow flowers and toothwart is white or pink. At least it is around here.

canid
05-03-2008, 05:58 PM
there are pink and purple flowered mustartd, but my comment was on the foliar appearance. the flower structure is different for sure.

i think i've fixed the problem i had with statically linking those images:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/concretefeet/SBzn5z7wMHI/AAAAAAAAAko/I5QlcKgEDIA/s144/031523498-B.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/concretefeet/Pub_random/photo#5196283050458099826)

and:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/concretefeet/SBzn5z7wMII/AAAAAAAAAkw/bie4ncNWnuI/s144/031569629-D.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/concretefeet/Pub_random/photo#5196283050458099842)

i chose both of these images from my archives because all the details needed to identify them to species are visible.

Rick
05-03-2008, 06:02 PM
I think it's the very rare triple blue mushroom. I think it's Latin name is Triplus Bluish Mushroominus.

nell67
05-03-2008, 06:08 PM
I agree Rick,it has that distinct blue hue that sets it apart from all the rest.

rebel
05-03-2008, 11:00 PM
What do you think?

Stealth
05-03-2008, 11:02 PM
that ones too easy, ill let someone else have it:-P

rebel
05-03-2008, 11:02 PM
How about this little guy?

canid
05-03-2008, 11:12 PM
we're supposed to identify that Rubus to species from that picture?

rebel
05-03-2008, 11:16 PM
we're supposed to identify that Rubus to species from that picture?

Which one did you not like?

canid
05-03-2008, 11:23 PM
the one where neither of them give me enough detail, from my amount of experience, to tell which species of Rubus bramble that is...

don't worry, somebody else will get it, but i'm gonna go with R. idaeus, the european/red raspberry, from the stature of the spines and the general morphology of the leaves. this is a guess.

rebel
05-03-2008, 11:27 PM
Sorry about the picture quality.

First is Dandelion. Second is poison ivy.

canid
05-03-2008, 11:35 PM
the foliage looked to have been comming from a thorny bramble, which i took to be one plant. do you know what that was?

the picture also gives the impression of thorns on the axil of the the leaf group on the right but to be honest, i'm drinking.

rebel
05-03-2008, 11:38 PM
Now I see what you are referencing. I don't know what the thorny stick is in relation to.

canid
05-03-2008, 11:40 PM
meh. if it's just a vine on it's own, and not connected to the trifolate leaves above it's probably either a Rubus or a Rosa, or something else alltogether.

you really got me with that one. cheers.

rebel
05-04-2008, 08:20 AM
My mistake on the ivy. I took pictures of several plants and put the wrong one on. Good catch Canid! It sure is nice having the depth of experience that is present in this forum.

rebel
05-04-2008, 09:12 AM
Let's see...

Omid
05-04-2008, 09:29 AM
It is ferns covered with a white moss or fungi or something. It sorta looks like this thing that destroyed one of my tomato plants (I forgot what it was called).

crashdive123
05-04-2008, 09:32 AM
More poison ivy with freshly budding leaves.

Rick
05-04-2008, 09:33 AM
Canid - That's exactly why I only stick to a couple of mushrooms. I have no idea. I can't even offer a guess. Neither look like anything in my guide. I'll be interested know what they are so I can go back and look them up and see why they don't look the same.

Rick
05-04-2008, 09:36 AM
I don't have a non-edible guide for Rebel's last post. I don't think it's an ivy based on the leaf cluster to the far right. It looks like five in the cluster. Without flowers, my edible guide is useless.

If that's actually two leaves together then I'll go with an ivy. Everything else looks right.

crashdive123
05-04-2008, 09:37 AM
Oops. Right you are - not a three cluster.

canid
05-04-2008, 07:13 PM
that is Hydnum [= Dentinum ] repandum, the hedgehog fungus and Boletus barrowsii, the white king bolet.

Rick
05-05-2008, 07:24 AM
Well, no wonder I can't identify it. Neither one is in my guide. I have a number of Hydnum and Boletus listed but not those specific ones. Good pics by the way.

canid
05-05-2008, 08:40 PM
the white king bolete is almost identical to B. edulis, except for the white color, and was once considered a subspecies of the same. is is a bit less common, but easier to spot in the woods :D

the Hyndum repandum is the classic hedgehog mushroom, though it is only well known and popular in some regions. it is incredible. it will be listed in older [and even some newer] field guides as Dentinum repandum.

catfishrivers
05-12-2008, 09:20 PM
Not mint for the first one.

I'm going to put you out of your misery. As I said, it's a bit tougher. It's Toothwart. These guys grow everywhere in the Midwest. You can find lower woodlands just covered in it. The roots can be grated and prepared like horseradish.

I was going to guess garlic mustard...

Leon
05-14-2008, 05:03 PM
Heres one for you, commonly found in the UK and N. America.

What it commonly known as, is it edible and on what tree is it often found?

Rick
05-14-2008, 07:28 PM
I'll take a shot at Ganoderma Tsugae. Yes, it's edible when it first forms. It will be found on Eastern Hemlock and some other conifers.

Close?

It could be also be a Fistulina Heptica

Leon
05-15-2008, 03:45 AM
No to the the first guess but it is edible.

Your second guess is correct i think, im not 100% on the Latin name but over here we call it beefsteak fungus on account of it appearing like a slab of meat especially when its young (it even bleeds red when you cut it!). I don't know about the Eastern Hemlock to be honest, but over here its most frequently found on oaks (dead or alive).

grundle
05-15-2008, 10:30 AM
Wow, I think I saw some of that the other day. How do you prepare it for edibility?

Leon
05-15-2008, 02:24 PM
I haven't eaten those myself, i just used to find them and sell them to my mothers boyfriend (50p each which seemed like a good deal in my early teens!). What i do know is that you need to remove the hard base first and that its probably best to soak them in water for a while, i have found a recipe for you here - http://www.foodiesite.com/recipes/2002-10:bfsteakfungus

That follows the idea of soaking but suggests white wine in order to marinade it.

The appearance varies greatly depending on age, the young ones can look very moist and fleshy, and any found on moss are quite an amazing red colour.

Rick
05-15-2008, 04:28 PM
Okay, here's an important question. Is your mother's boyfriend still with us?

Leon
05-16-2008, 04:11 AM
Yes and very fit and healthy he is for a guy his age (he works outdoors - aboricultural work). Hes a big fan of mushrooms, when we went picking we usually after boletus as they are his favourites and had to of course be careful as theres a very poisonous variety that can be hard to identify as it can only have a subtle blue tinge to the flesh sometimes.

grazer
05-16-2008, 09:13 PM
Okay. I went out today looking for Morels (skunked on those by the way) and took the camera. This one is a bit tougher but pretty common in the Midwest. I thought I had taken a better pic of the flower but it has five petals and is white. You can find these as solitary plants or spread out, almost carpet like. They only bloom in this time of year. The third pic is a large area of them.
I've always called it garlic mustard. Basal leaves are edible and palatable in early spring.