Back off pitdog, DOC-CANADA and kdg.

[Woods Walker]

The story so far……

First pitdog posted his wild edibles thread.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/844389-Wild-Edible-Hike-Today-!

A great read from a knowledgeable person. It inspired me to head out for a wild edibles hike of my own.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/845212-Afternoon-wild-edibles-hike.

A few days later this knowledge packed thread appeared. Good work kdg.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/845766-Scrumptious!

Surely the wild edibles storm has blown over. No the good times are rolling with this post from DOC-CANADA.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/845835-Back-off-pitdog!!

And pitdog is back with more good wild edibles info.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...at-smelling-edibles-and-foul-smelling-snakes-!

So what is left for me to do? A wild edibles overnighter/hike was the only thing that came to mind. I have been hiking some of my old hunts on the AT with my uncle. He has cancer but won’t let that keep him down. We drove to NY and hiked for maybe 12 miles total. Even got a good night hike in.

Sunset on the AT hiking in.

Caveman TV.

Late night salamander buddy showed up in camp to party.

Our shelters.

What the….. Luna moth!

The woods coming to life in spring.

Now the wild edibles. Once again I am no expert so do your own research. I found edibles covered before but these two are interesting.

Violets. I found these growing along the trail.

I like to snack on the flowers.

I think the heart/arrow shaped leaves are also edible but never tried them. Read someplace the roots are poisonous so avoid them.

These look like wild high growth blueberries in boom.

The low growth blueberries are very similar and bloom at about the same time. Found these not too far from the higher bushes. Not sure if they are the same plant or another variety. Somehow I think the later.

This is a knife forum so will show a few of my favorite UL trail knives.

Once again thanks for looking.

 

[Alan2442]

I'm loving the friendly competition. I can't wait to get home and get out side and get in on the fun.

 

[TheGame]

Another edibles post? That's quite a few comparing to recent times. Thanks for the post :thumbup:

 

[kgd]

Excellent pictures and information. Trust me on the don't eat the root of violet (I mistakenly did once and it does make you very nauseous). Love that sunset pic, the salamander and moth.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

OK, the gloves are coming off. On Sunday, it was a beautiful day in Southern Ontario, so I thought I would get out for awhile. I was going to post these pictures, but got side-tracked. But in view of the latest confrontation..............

Actually, it was a 2-part hike. I'll get to the first part, second (it's good to confuse your opponents )

First a shot of the trees starting to bud out - yes, it's still early here.

The first plant I came across was Bellwort (Uvularia), at least I think so. It's a plant I have seen very rarely, so I'm going to have to spend more time with it. An interesting flower.....................According to Peterson Field Guide of Edible Wild Plants, if it's Bellwort it is edible.

Some Trilliums in a Southern Ontario woods. (Another wild edible as mentioned by pitdog in an earlier thread.)

A close-up

How about a Wild Violet (Viola) and some Strawberry (Fragaria) leaves?

Here's a shrub whose fruit I enjoy when it's ripe - Serviceberry (Amelanchier). Apparently, it's called Serviceberry because in pioneer times, people who died during the winter couldn't be buried because the ground was frozen. In the Spring, when the ground had thawed out, the burial service could be completed. This coincided with the early flowering of Amelanchier.

(continued below)

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Thought I'd throw in a little knife porn at this time. I recently acquired an Izula II - What a great little knife! And you'd be surprised how much you can accomplish with a blade, this small.

A little bit later in the hike, I came across another wild edible - Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica). Sorry about the lousy picture. It's hard to tell how good the picture is until I get it on the computer. I usually solve this by taking several, which I did, but they were all pretty crappy.

Here's a plant that was very appropriate for Mother's Day - Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca). It's called that because it was used as a medicinal plant to aid childbirth. It also had other medicinal applications for women.

I'm going to finish off the second part with some Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)

The housekeeping skills of my fellow hikers:

And a Politician Tree (guess why it's called that)

(continued below)

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Now for the coup de grace - the first part. Earlier in the day, I drove to the other part of town to partake of some of Mother Nature's offerings:


The overview:

A little closer

Closer still

That's right - Leek, Ramps, or whatever you want to call them (Allium tricoccum)

This is last year's seed head. Sometimes it can be used to locate a Leek patch when the leaves have died back.

Be careful in your zeal to collect these beauties because sometimes you could gather non-Leek plants accidentally. In this case, it's Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) but it could be something more hazardous. This caution, of course, applies to all wild food gathering.

So that's it. I was going to include a picture of sauteed Leeks and a grilled cheese, but I haven't gotten around to it yet, and I'm getting tired of typing.

Hope you enjoyed.

Doc

 

[coote]

Thank you. I like threads like this.

 

[kgd]

Nice stuff Doc, we have one place around my parts with wild ginger but I usually seem to find it later in the summer. Nice composition on that trillium.

Here is some yarrow to use on cuts or as a tea it helps with bladder infection:

After stripping the leafy flesh containing the spikes, the stems of thistle taste like celery

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Excellent Photos

Keep em coming

 

[tknife]

The competition is mounting! Time to show more of the wild edibles around me :thumbup:

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Here is some yarrow to use on cuts or as a tea it helps with bladder infection:

I know that sometimes people think I'm being a bit pedantic, insisting on using binomials with plants. Personally, I think it's very important when discussing plants on an international forum, otherwise much confusion can exist.

Some people call Cattails (Typha spp.), Bulrushes (Scirpus spp.), when they are completely different plants. And there are many, many examples of the confusion caused by common names.

However, there is another interesting side to binomials. In the case of kgd's plant here, Yarrow, the binomial is Achillea millefolium.

The Achillea refers to Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War (no tonym, this doesn't refer to a condom comparison ), who, in the story, brought it with him in the war with Troy to help heal the wounds of his soldiers. For hundreds of years after that it was used as a styptic, to stop the flow of blood from cuts.

The specific name of yarrow, millefolium, means "thousand-leaved" and refers to the finely cut nature of the leaves, making them look fernlike.

So, not only do binomials make references accurate, they also can provide/suggest interesting information about the plant.

I find this useful. YMMV.

Doc

 

[Woods Walker]

Ramps….You guys don’t mess around do yea. Ok loaded up my pack for another hike today.

First thing up are red raspberry leaves. Some people dry them for a tea which is supposed to offer medical benefits. I just like the berries.

The leaf.

The bush.

Blackberry leaves are also used for the same purposes though once again I will be hitting them for the berries this summer.

The leaf.

The bush.

Both have thorns in my AO but the higher growth blackberries seem to excel at “Thou shall not pass.” Well not without scratches and damaged clothing/gear.

More Violets.

White Violets. These are less common so I kind of ignore them but tried a few flowers and they seemed very similar to the blue.

Strawberries are in bloom.

Very young grape leaves.

I headed up higher off trail. Bushwhacking is always fun.

These look like a few varieties of blueberry/huckleberry blossoms.

This looks like Reindeer moss. I think it needs to be soaked or boiled but never tried the stuff so could be wrong on all counts.

In New England you don't spend the day wandering around meadows and pushing though laurels without picking up unwanted guests. This is one of three ticks I beat to the punch.

That’s all for now.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

OK, swung a short hike this afternoon/evening, myself. Found some of last year's Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannibinum).

While it still has usable fibres, it is past its peak.

Some Red Osier Dogwood - edible berries as per Kochanski. They are supposedly pretty bitter, and, as I'm not a fan of bitter, I haven't tried them.

Other uses: baskets, medium spined arrow shafts. A Red Osier basket:

A little scenery shot:

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema tryphyllum) - an edible plant, but only under certain circumstances, unless you're Normark.

And some Wild Garlic (Allium canadense)

It's a little bit late for this. Better to collect it before the flower head appears.

Anyway, that's it for me. Posting pictures quickly becomes a pita. Good thing for you younger whippersnappers on the forum.

Doc

 

[pitdog]

At last we seem to be making headway with the interest in Wild Edibles !:thumbup:

Keep em coming guys but at the same time always make sure you are 100% sure before eating any !!!!

 

[Woods Walker]

Here is one I found today in the yard. As a kid I would chew on a little for the sour lemon like flavor. I believe the common name is wood sorrel but if wrong hope someone corrects me. Naturally as pitdog stated don’t eat anything unless you’re 100% certain of the identity.

 

[tonym]

Great thread gentlemen!

Woods Walker, what part of New England are you at if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Woods Walker]

tonym.

I live in CT.

 

[tonym]

Very cool! I wouldn't mind taking a plant walk with you some day..

 

[scruffuk]

Superb thread sir!

Really enjoyable.

This friendly competition has brought about some great wilderness wonderment!