Plant of the week/month

[themoondancer811]

Just curious if anyone would find a wild edible plant of the month/week thread useful? Maybe pick out the most basic plants that are the most common throught the US, Canada and Alaska with the most nutritional value. Different ways of preparing, what parts to prepare and when (all that makes a huge difference) and basic medicinal uses.

There are a lot of edible plants, but I think in any survival situation (and it is a survival forum) there are certain plants and trees that you should focus on more than others, unless no other options are available. I mean, you can munch on blackberries and cattail stalks for so long before becoming malnourised and darn hungry. I know YCC has quite a database of plants for their area and a few others have great interest, think it would be worth it to do?

[crashdive123]

Any kind of info like that is great. YCC has done a few like that as well. Have you checked out our Edible and Medicinal Plant and Mushroom Database? There's a link to it a wee bit below this sub forum. http://www.wildcrafting.net/

[your_comforting_company]

I think it would be a lot of fun! Maybe we could start by showcasing some of the ones in the database, and maybe even expand it.
Sounds like a good idea to me, and it might even get others a little more educated about plant features and families.

When will we start? Many of the winter greens are in full force here now, and there will be lots more in a few more weeks.

[crashdive123]

Tying it to the database and expanding it is a great idea.

[Rick]

All knowledge is good. Bring it on. Snow is about the only thing visible here at the moment.

[r0ckhamm3r]

My vote is Yes. Learning about wild edible plants and other things of that nature is the reason I joined this forum. One of the problems with working from most field guides is the lack of quality photos. It is helpful to me, to see what a plant looks like at different growth stages and different seasons. Photos are a must. Field guides also rarely tell you other uses for a plant.

I am all for this idea. Thanks Moondancer.

[BENESSE]

Great Idea! Look forward to reading about it.

[themoondancer811]

Have you checked out our Edible and Medicinal Plant and Mushroom Database? There's a link to it a wee bit below this sub forum. http://www.wildcrafting.net/

I have, it's wonderful! That's actually how I found this forum, and after reading figured there was a whole lot of other things I could learn here as well. Plus, the banter is rather amusing.

I do this with the kids camp at every year, plant every other day in that situation, no idea how something like that would work on a forum but thought I'd throw it out there.

YCC- What do you have in your area right now? We still have 3ft of snow and another foot expected tomorrow. Not much around except watercress, pine, basswood, birch, spruce...I am sure by now you have all exahusted talking about Pine since it's so commonly used. This time of year mostly would rely on hunting and fishing in these parts. Any ideas?

[BENESSE]

The only thing that can be found in Central Park in the winter that I know of, is burdock. I've seen the leaves just before the big Christmas snow and know that the plant has a fairly large root that can be chopped & boiled and then sauteed in butter--pretty much like parsnips or carrots. I'll bet a casserole would be good too. Not sure if the leaves are any good.
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[rwc1969]

I would be interested if it was based solely on first hand knowledge of the plants uses if the poster could break it down in plain english and not fall into the trap of copying, pasting and/ or plagarizing someone elses work.

[themoondancer811]

The only thing that can be found in Central Park in the winter that I know of, is burdock. I've seen the leaves just before the big Christmas snow and know that the plant has a fairly large root that can be chopped & boiled and then sauteed in butter--pretty much like parsnips or carrots. I'll bet a casserole would be good too. Not sure if the leaves are any good.
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Oh my God Benisse, have you ever tried to dig a Burdock root? It's hard when the ground is soft and would be impossible if it were frozen. Plus, to hard to figure out what root is the 1 st year root or not. Might dig only to find it's rotten! Leaves are used primarily as wraps as bandages, roasting fish on a fire or heck, I even use them as a sun hat . BUT it is my top 2 choice for a medicinal plant! I looove burdock.

edit- yeah, the burdock in the photo is an example of an old man, the root will be gone this year, shrivel up and get hollow and turn brown. Don't bother when they look like that.

[themoondancer811]

I would be interested if it was based solely on first hand knowledge of the plants uses if the poster could break it down in plain english and not fall into the trap of copying, pasting and/ or plagarizing someone elses work.

I agree. I mean, I know there are a lot of pictures and info on the net but I think it would be more fun if members took their own pics and shared their thoughts from their experiences. That's how people learn, not by surfing the net. If you take your own pictures you have actually learned something by just finding the plant. (at least thats how it is with camp kids!)

Plain english is a language everyone can speak, so always a good one to use.

[Ted]

1stly....Welcome to the form Moondancer.

2ndly..... This sounds fun.

3rdly.....I would love to find more info on the nutritional values to wild edibles. I really can't seem to find much info on the web.

[BC-Dave]

I think this is a great idea.

[FarmGirl]

Yes go for it a plant a week or a plant a month.

I just did a quick walk of the farm the Dandelion greens are a good eating size right now. Only plant that looks like them I know of is the cats ear. I have eaten Cats ear and not got sick, but they tend to be really bitter So I try not to pick them. Cats ear looks like a dandelion but the leaves tend to be whiskery or or ruff, later in the season they get 2 flower heads instead of one per stem. Blanch the small dandelion greens drain and squeeze. Drizzle on a little sesame oil and maybe some sesame seeds makes a good side dish. Another way I eat them is fresh on a sandwich or a small amount tossed on a salad. Common Plantain should be in season next month, my favorite. F.G.

[Pocomoonskyeyes3]

Yes go for it a plant a week or a plant a month.

I just did a quick walk of the farm the Dandelion greens are a good eating size right now. Only plant that looks like them I know of is the cats ear. I have eaten Cats ear and not got sick, but they tend to be really bitter So I try not to pick them. Cats ear looks like a dandelion but the leaves tend to be whiskery or or ruff, later in the season they get 2 flower heads instead of one per stem. Blanch the small dandelion greens drain and squeeze. Drizzle on a little sesame oil and maybe some sesame seeds makes a good side dish. Another way I eat them is fresh on a sandwich or a small amount tossed on a salad. Common Plantain should be in season next month, my favorite. F.G.

LOL You must live South of Kentucky.... I think your growing season is starting before ours. We are just now doing our garden prep ,as last frost time hasn't passed yet.

[FarmGirl]

I live in the way North West. . Washington Puget sound area. F.G.

[EdD270]

Sounds like a great idea. Very useful to learn about edible and medicinal plants. Only advice I'd give is to include plants from the Western US as well as the East. Seems most guide books have Eastern plants and they don't all grow out here.

[Alaska Grandma]

Just curious if anyone would find a wild edible plant of the month/week thread useful? Maybe pick out the most basic plants that are the most common throught the US, Canada and Alaska with the most nutritional value. Different ways of preparing, what parts to prepare and when (all that makes a huge difference) and basic medicinal uses.

There are a lot of edible plants, but I think in any survival situation (and it is a survival forum) there are certain plants and trees that you should focus on more than others, unless no other options are available. I mean, you can munch on blackberries and cattail stalks for so long before becoming malnourised and darn hungry. I know YCC has quite a database of plants for their area and a few others have great interest, think it would be worth it to do?

This is a wonderful idea! We could all learn a lot from each other here!

Unfortunately in my part of Alaska, our snow won't go away until late April at the earliest and the first real greens will pop up around mid to late May or even June depending on the weather. We do have some edible tree buds, barks and things that can make flavorful and nutritious teas...that along with the wild greens I gathered from last summer is about all we got here for a while yet.

I am all ears on whats going on with the rest of you.
Grandma Lori

[your_comforting_company]

EVERYTHING is going on down here in my and Crash's area. Dandelions are everywhere, henbit is in full bloom, red and white clovers are popping out, rattlesnake root is spreading like madness but not in bloom yet so it's ideal right now for eating. Wild mustards are all going to seed, so it's gonna be hard to find any suitable small plants (but I don't mind the big leaves myself.. I like bitter greens), maples are all budding out, tulip trees are all in bloom, along with all our peach trees and pears and plums. My grapes have sprouted and I'll be setting up my vine rack next week in the front yard. Got jewelweed in soil, but not sprouting yet, and just about all the other weeds are sprouting, like sow thistles, lettuce, and the like. The trick is identifying them with no flowers!!

So who is gonna start this? Who is gonna do the write-ups, and double-checking? Should we make a "team" to collaborate info and as a check-system to make sure all info is included? I know a little bit about a lot of plants, but I really have only been studying them for a couple years (maybe 2) and am only starting to eat and experience the ones I'm extremely familiar with.

I'll volunteer to go first, if someone will assist me with checking info. Pick one of these and I'll do my best: stelaria media, portulaca oleracea, stachys floridana, oxalis spp., vitis spp. (and there might be one or two more that I KNOW are totally safe that I've been eating, that I can't think of this early in the morning..) Please keep in mind that I don't "prepare" any of the ones I've listed here, other than to rinse off the dirt. I eat all these straight from the ground.

I don't know if my schedule will allow me to do one per week right now. I have quite a few projects going.. got a demonstration next week, still gotta get foundations for my beehive, got 2 good sized chunks of cow-tan to finish, plus work.. Let's decide which plant is first, and I'll do my best to write it up this week (not making any promises tho). And someone needs to volunteer to check the info I post for errors, too.