Something found online that I had to share. Great doc if your interested in Sugar Maples and the tradition of creating the syrup…
40 Gallons – Part one
40 Gallons – Part two
Re-name this blog
The blog has changed considerably over the past few months and I would like to change the blog title to reflect the content.
Content includes wild food/edibles, foraging, wildcrafting, plant identification and to a lesser degree, a bit about herbs.
Wanna help?
Leave your name choice in the comments below and i’ll choose within the next week or so.
Wild Arkansas: How to Eat A Tree
P. Occidentalis/American Sycamore
We know about the edibility of nut and fruit trees. Most of us are familiar with plucking the ripe fruit from the branch or harvesting the nuts fallen from the tree, but what if we could eat the tree?
Yes, I do mean (literally) the tree bark, branch and other aerial parts that are usually overlooked when considering the tree for food.
“The name “Adirondacks” is an Anglicized version of the Mohawk ratirontaks, meaning “they eat trees”, a derogatory name which the Mohawk historically applied to neighboring Algonquian-speaking tribes; when food was scarce, the Algonquians would eat the buds and bark of trees.” Wikipedia, [Donaldson, Alfred, L., History of the Adirondacks].
The Algonquin recognized the value of tree bark during hard times; stripping, drying and preparing different species of tree for the winter months. According to the literature, balsam fir was used and pounded into flour to make bread and the White Pine was used in dried sheets that would be stored for winter months as a famine food. If not needed, the dried sheets would be given to the dogs for chewing.
Euell Gibbons wrote about his experience with the Eastern White Pine (P. strobus), and though he didn’t find that species palatable, he noted the tree had nutritional value. He dried, boiled, roasted and baked the pine bark (after grinding) into bread and still found the taste unpleasant. There are some things that may be edible, but better left uneaten.
It turns out there are other trees that can be eaten and are a bit more savory than pine. The new shoots, inner bark, leaves and buds are edible in several trees, but the American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is not one of them. I assumed that because it is closely related to the Maple (Acer) it would taste similar.
The inner bark of the sycamore is stringy, tough and bland. I also tasted the buds from one of the twigs and at first there is a hint of spice, similar to pepper, but it soon left an aftertaste in my mouth that was difficult to get rid of. The burning sensation on my lips and tongue lingered for approximately twenty minutes and I did have a bit of fear that this could lead to more dire consequences, but alas, I am here and no worse for the wear.
Like Pinus, there are many trees that have edible inner bark, but few palatable enough that you would want to cut a piece off and munch on.
With the exception of Cherry Birch, Birch (Betula) twigs can be chewed for a taste of wintergreen. The twigs and leaves of yellow birch are preferred for a sweet minty tea and the inner bark of the Sugar Maple can be dried and mixed with flour for bread or used in soups as a thickening agent. Because of the high sugar content of the Maple, more likely than not, chewing the inner bark would be more preferable than to that of the sycamore or pine.
The American Basswood can also be chewed on, though this is more often done not for taste, but for its medicinal properties. Tilia americana has been used for several different ailments, but the raw wood (inner bark) is consumed for liver and gallbladder ailments.
Sassafras. Edible and palatable.
Sassafras (S. albidum) leaves, twigs, new shoots and buds can be chewed for the pleasant root-beer like taste. There have been some warnings about the use of safrole oil, but unless you’re allergic or consuming the root, the amount of oil contained in aerial parts is not of any real consequence.
The leaves and inner bark of the Slippery Elm can be eaten raw or cooked. The bark contains a high amount of water so twigs and bark can be chewed as a thirst quencher.
The Chinese Mahogany (Toona sinensis), is not native to the area. In China the young leaves and shoots of the tree are common as a vegetable and highly esteemed imparting the taste of onion. The Toona, used primarily as an ornamental in the states is not typically harvested for its edibility as a vegetable.
How do you skin a tree?
I’m not sure how others do it, but I broke off a small, lower (secondary) branch from the sycamore I wanted to try, then used a sharp knife and began peeling until I got to the cadmium (of which there was very little).
On larger branches, I’ve been told that you must use a larger knife and try to peel in long, strokes rather than scraping small pieces at a time.
For other uses of tree bark, you may want to also check these articles:
The African chewing stick (for dental purposes)
The Khat (Qat) tree (as stimulant)
For more information about the edibility rating of trees and inner bark, the Plants For A Future database has a great reference area.
Wild Arkansas: Season End?
Now that we’ve settled into late fall the foraging season is nearly over. Despite this, the Wild Arkansas column will continue with information about trees, weeds and other useful botanic life in Arkansas during the winter months.
In January, I also hope to incorporate a weekly podcast that will supplement each article.
The next couple of weeks I’ll be posting about local trees, whether they’re edible and if so, how to prepare them.
Ever eat a tree? We’ll be attempting this over the next few weeks, providing we can find edible bark.
Also, take a look at University of Arkansas professor, Tamara Walkingstick’s paper on trees and other wild edibles. A very informative paper that discusses oaks/acorns, the walnut family of trees, sumac and other species.
What can you grow?
Amazing what people can grow in such small places. If you’ve thought about sustainability and freedom, take a look at this video.
Wild Arkansas: Wild Allium
A. schoenoprasum
The cultivated market garlic and onion most familiar to us range in color and size and come by different names: Shallot, scallion, leek, red, yellow and white onion. Garlic we know and love includes the elephant and common white garlic.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could find onion, garlic and chives in our backyards?
Well… Wild allium does not share the same diversity as cultivated varieties, but there are at least three varieties of uncultivated allium that can be found growing in Arkansas and Missouri.
Crow Garlic or wild onion (Allium vineale) is found in pastures and on disturbed ground throughout the states and is on the USDA invasive weed list. All parts of the plant have a strong garlic odor. At full size, vineale’s aerial parts look like many other allium with a tall stalk topped with an inflorescence of white, reddish or pink color that are replaced by bulblets or corms. The root bulb usually forms several smaller bulbs and is enclosed in a thin, papery covering.
Unlike many alliums the Canadense is native to the states and common in wooded areas or near waterways of NW Arkansas. The Canadense can grow to more than a foot tall, topped with a white or pink inflorescence that is replaced by small bulbs.
Chive bulbs and roots
All parts of these plants are edible and contain the same chemical constituents of other members of the allium genus and can be used as substitutes for market onion and garlic in most recipes.
Harvesting wild allium is fairly easy; the species I found for this article is most likely A. schoenoprasum or Chives. Chives grow in small patches of lawn in NW Arkansas and if it survives the mower the whole bunch can be taken at once. The young ones I dug for this article are small, but tasty. They are sweet and a little more pungent than the common green onion (Allium fistulosum) found in stores.
Chive seed bulb
Wild chives also contain small seed bulbs within bunches. The bulbs look like any other bulb, but are not attached to a stalk or leaf and have a thin brown covering that can be wiped off fairly easy and used as the rest of the allium.
Other info:
· The allium genus of plants is one of the largest plant genera in the world and one of the oldest cultivated vegetables with earliest uses of the plant recorded from Mesopotamia and the Chinese Steppes more than five-thousand years ago.
· The first known use of the word we know for onion today comes from the 12th century use of the French word, “union” and goes through several changes including the Latin, “unionem” and old French “oignon.”
· According to the USDA annual consumption of allium has been on the rise over the past three decades. Onion consumption in 2000 was approximately 20.7 pounds per person and 2.6 lbs of garlic per person in 2004.
Universal Healthcare: What do you think?
Can the U.S. learn something from other developed nations that have switched to universal healthcare?
Watch the sneak peek of Sick Around the World below or watch the whole program from PBS at the Frontline site.
Also… watch Sick in America by John Stossel of 20/20.
Wild Arkansas: Pine Needle Tea
T. occidentalis. The leaf used by Cartier.
During the winter of 1536, Jacque Cartier and his men were stranded in a make-shift fort at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in Canada. All were sick with scurvy and twenty-five had already perished from the illness when Domagaya, a friendly Iroquois man told the explorer about Anneda, a local cure for the disease.
The Cypress or Northern White Cedar tree (Thuja occidentalis) leaf was used as a tea and provided enough vitamin C to knock out the illness.
Though the Cypress is not endemic or native to Arkansas, it does grow here, as do several variety of conifer. The conifers that are dominant in this area of the country are of the Pinus genus.
The Loblolly and Long leaf pine are found more often than their bretheren, the Slash pine and the Pinyon trees.
The difference between the Thuja and Pinus conifers is obvious once you start looking at the morphology, but prior to study, I think one just lumps them all together as pine trees of some sort.
The cypress (Thuja) do not have needles as the Pinus do. The pine needle tea that is predominant on the web is most likely not the pine needle tea that Cartier and his men used.
I made some pine needle tea recently, but wasn’t sure the tea was safe to drink. After washing and brewing the needles clipped from one of the P. taeda (Loblolly) there was a light colored film along the inside of the pan and floating atop the brew.
P. taeda needle and cone
I skimmed the film off the top, tasted a bit of the clear liquid and felt no ill effects afterward, but didn’t feel secure enough with the brew to drink a full cup. I did have a few tablespoons full and the tea is bland to my taste.
There is so much written about pine needle tea with not much background information available. I didn’t find much anecdotal evidence in which authors actually drank the tea, however, Euell Gibbons experimented with the white pine (P. strobus) extensively and documents the experience in his book, Stalking the Healthful Herbs (1974).
Here’s an excerpt from the book that includes a recipe for Pine Needle Tea.
So though I may not find the pine needle all that palatable, it seems it is safe for consumption and quite healthy.
There is evidence that pine does contain constituents that boosts immunity. In one article written by Marsha Walton for CNN in 2006 shikimic acid, a main ingredient in Tamiflu was found in high concentrations in pine, spruce and fir needles.
If you do want to try the pine needle tea, be sure to collect from trees that have not been sprayed and are not in a high traffic area.
There are many variety of pine available in Arkansas, make sure you have identified your specimen correctly.
The Thuja genus of conifer is contraindicated as containing thujone and may be harmful to some people.
Ready for Flu Season?
Megan Witt, R.D. shares her insights on how to avoid and cut symptoms and length of illness in half.
From Ozark Natural Health…
“Fall’s cooling temperatures and changing colors signal the start of cold and flu season which also happens to coincide with the return of school. All of that togetherness and close contact means kids will be bringing home more than just their homework. No need to despair, just be prepared. …” Read more.
Wild Arkansas: Wapato Stomping
As a traditional native food and a choice tuber among foragers the wapato held a special place in my imagination.
The Sagittaria latifolia a.k.a. duck or Indian potato is an aqueous plant growing in water or very wet soil throughout North America. According to literature the plant was a primary food source for natives, before the coming of the more popular tuber, Solanum tuberosum, or the common potato.
After spotting a stand of the arrow-shaped foilage in a nearby pond, I attempted a bit of online research. There is very little in the way of telling one how to harvest the tuber, but I was guided to one article by a fellow forager written by John Kallas in which he tells of a wapato gathering experience on Wapato Island in Oregon.
The article is an excellent reference, because it tells how the tuber was gathered traditionally and how the author managed to uproot it.
I envisioned native women stomping around in small circular motions, smiling, conversing about family while little tubers popped up everywhere around them. With barely a wink, they would pop the tubers into backpacks while tending to small children and making stamping motions in the wet clay beneath their feet.
Traditionally the tuber was gathered by wading into shallow water and displaced by stomping. Kallas explains that the continual stomping loosens the root (which is naturally buoyant) and once it becomes loosened, the continual stomping breaks it free from whatever else is holding it down.
The first day Jack and I went out, I mistakenly held the notion that a little stomping would pay off with great bounty. I could stomp, maybe wiggle my feet a bit and tubers would begin to rise and I would have a tasty side-dish for the evening meal.
Instead, the water was freezing and it took some time and courage wondering if there were water snakes (possibly cottonmouths) in this particular pond. I used a broken limb to poke around in the water a bit and thought that maybe I could get something that way, but quickly realized if the tubers floated upward, I would still have to wade in to obtain them.
Finally I did wade in just barely above my ankle and Jack reacted immediately. I’m not sure what he thought I was doing, but he began barking in a high screeched tone that made me think (initially) that he knew something I didn’t. I came back out of the water and sharpened my eye, looking for the cottonmouth.
After I assured myself there were no such creatures in the muck, I went back in again. I was not barefoot. I didn’t know what was in the pond, so decided to keep the shoes. It didn’t take long for the shoes to accumulate gravel and in combination with my stomping activity, there was an uncomfortable feeling of small pebbles nicking at my tender feet.
I first stomped about a foot away from where the plant was emerging from the water in a circular motion for approximately twenty minutes with no results. I then decided to expand the area I was working in and started depth testing with a fallen stick I had found.
In an area approximately three feet wide and three feet in length I stomped. An hour passed and resulted in nothing but pressed clay under my feet.
I quit for the day, resolving to find another way.
The second day was much of the same, but I didn’t stay quite as long. And since then, I’ve read that an easier harvesting method, and one probably much preferred, is to dig the darn things out.
I will get the wapato. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon.
