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Thread: Odd plant ID difficulty

  1. #1
    Senior Member gryffynklm's Avatar
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    Default Odd plant ID difficulty

    Here is an odd plant I found while hiking in George Washington National forrest.

    Location Augusta County Virginia,

    Season mid April

    Poplar Wooded location, damp, Mayapple, bloodroot, trillium were also found near by.

    Nothing left of last years growth. I didn't want to dig up to revel roots however the way it was growing would make me think it was a rhizome.

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    Karl

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    Senior Member Sparky93's Avatar
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    I actually may know one of these for once! I think it is called bear corn, but it has a number of different names.
    http://www.thenaturalcapital.com/201...er-rootor.html
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    Senior Member Sparky93's Avatar
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    The latin name is Conopholis Americana and I know I read somewhere that it is edible. But after a lot of googling I can't seem to find much info on it. I guess in one of the man woman wild episodes they ate some but other than that I can't find anything...
    "Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing."
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    Minimalist Camping: Enjoy nature, don't be tortured by it. Take as little as you need to be safe and comfortable.

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Nice job, Sparky. I've never seen it before either.
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    I remember it from that episode as well.

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    Senior Member Skinner's Avatar
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    I Wonder If you Could Dry It and Seal It Into a Resin and Make some Knife Scales From It . ??? May Look Cool When Cut .
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    Senior Member gryffynklm's Avatar
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    Last seasons dried structure looked like a chewed pinecone. The structure is hollow and fibrous. Its hard to say if it would work or not.

    Here is a link Crash posted a while back, it has some photos of its life cycle.

    http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=196

    Here is the thread it was posted in. Still no answers regarding to any preparation as a edible. http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=196
    Last edited by gryffynklm; 04-18-2012 at 09:06 AM. Reason: additional info
    Karl

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion the the effort he puts into whatever field of endeavor he chooses. Vincent T Lombardi

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  8. #8
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
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    What a strange plant. I do a lot of woods-walking and I've never seen anything like that. I'm pretty sure it doesn't grow here.

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    Looks like you were hiking about an hour west of here.

    Google bear corn edible:
    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...9224059AAQ7XJp
    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-aka-squawroot
    http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63493
    http://eattheweeds.com/forum/index.php?topic=262.0

    Can be found in any state east of the Mississippi river but somewhat endangered/threatened in New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Islland. It has been sighted in most counties of WV and VA. But it may be invisible much of the year as it only pokes its head above ground to reproduce and may get eaten by bears when it does.
    http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=coam

    There is another plant also called bear corn which is rather toxic and possibly medicinal but which you would never mistake other than by name.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veratrum_viride

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