Identifying local wild plants

[Mom5farmboys]

This summer I have been on a personal quest to learn the names of the plants I can readily identify, and to learn other common plants and their names. I also have been trying to learn which ones are edible and which are poisonous.

I really didn't think I had been making that much progress. Today my sons class from school went to a nature preserve for a hike. One of the little boys picked quite an assortment of plants as a bouquet for the teacher. He was walking with me for aways and we got to talking about what everything was that he had in his hand. I was quite suprised at myself to realize that I could identify everything he had picked! Wild mustard, timothy, chicory, daisy, mammoth clover, & queen anns lace (wild carrot). As well as being able to identify acorns, hickory nuts, and black walnuts.

I also learned that a tree with huge prickly thorns (more like spikes) that I had seen often but never identified with a name before was a "hawthorne tree".

I really feel like I have made some progress without even realizing it!

[nhlivefreeordie]

Congrats, the knowledge that you gain and impart to others, usually makes you yearn to learn more. It is a lifelong study for me. I try to learn a few new edibles every year, and have since I was in my teens, after you learn the wild edibles, it is just natural to move on to inedibles, so the learning never stops. Do someone a big favor and teach them, my kids frequently bring up past hunting or camping trips where they were taught to eat wild things. At the time I didn't realize how much it would mean to them in later years, they are now teaching their kids.
You will find that the REAL knowledge you possess is completely foreign to most people.

[TNDadx4]

Congratulations. That's great! I'm trying to grow in this area too, but you are far ahead of me right now :)

Check out eattheweeds.com. They also have a YouTube channel with some interesting videos.

It is very important to pass these things down to our children. A lot of these skills have become a lost art. Glad to see that you both are cultivating it (sorry for the pun) :)

[Oblio13]

We love foraging, it's a great family pastime.

Out of a whole shelf of books devoted to the subject, our favorite is:

The Forager's Harvest, Edible Wild Plants, Samuel Thayer.

[NCLee]

Congrats, the knowledge that you gain and impart to others, usually makes you yearn to learn more. It is a lifelong study for me. I try to learn a few new edibles every year, and have since I was in my teens, after you learn the wild edibles, it is just natural to move on to inedibles, so the learning never stops. Do someone a big favor and teach them, my kids frequently bring up past hunting or camping trips where they were taught to eat wild things. At the time I didn't realize how much it would mean to them in later years, they are now teaching their kids.
You will find that the REAL knowledge you possess is completely foreign to most people.

Congrats, from here, too.

And, I couldn't agree more!!! Do teach someone else what you've learned. Guarantee you, that someone will always treasure what you're able to show them.

Lee

[bookwormom]

good for you. I was lucky when I moved here to get aquainted with a young man from Tennessee who is a whiz with plants. when he travels through here he stops by. Having someone show you a life plant makes it easier than to look at a picture. I found a real good site on poisonous plants of Kentucky, but there are only drawings and they do not help me much,

here is the link, in case you are interested.
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/id/id2/id2.htm

[neparose]

The national audubon society feild guide to wildflowers has been a good source for me. I am mostly interested in wild medicinals and it was easier for me to identify them when they were flowering. Then I could easily match them to the colored photos. The book also tells you where each plant mostly grows, and when it flowers. Although I've found some plants that I couldnt identify with it, it hasnt been too often.

[Wildfyre]

I second the recommendation for The Forager's Harvest by Samuel Thayer
Another really good book for wild edibles is Discovering Wild Plants by Janice J Schofield. That one is best for North westerners though. She has some great recipes in there.

Some community colleges have classes in identifying wild plants as well. I took one back home in Alaska and loved it. :)

[nhlivefreeordie]

Some community colleges have classes in identifying wild plants as well. I took one back home in Alaska and loved it. :)

And the knowledge you now possess may save your own as well as many others lives someday, pass the knowledge on.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[Wildfyre]

And the knowledge you now possess may save your own as well as many others lives someday, pass the knowledge on.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

Thank you :-)

The knowledge comes in handy all the time. Last summer while hiking my husband stumbled into a bald faced hornet nest and received stings all over his arms and face. We were miles from the highway and the swelling stings on his temple were making him dizzy etc. I found plantain and mashed it up and applied it to the stings.. it was amazing how quickly it helped, and he was able to hike back out.

Now he actually takes my "plant stuff" somewhat seriously.. :wink:

[nhlivefreeordie]

Thank you :-)

The knowledge comes in handy all the time. Last summer while hiking my husband stumbled into a bald faced hornet nest and received stings all over his arms and face. We were miles from the highway and the swelling stings on his temple were making him dizzy etc. I found plantain and mashed it up and applied it to the stings.. it was amazing how quickly it helped, and he was able to hike back out.

Now he actually takes my "plant stuff" somewhat seriously.. :wink:

Superb, I bet he secretly tells everyone how awesome his wife is, and how much she knows about wild things...good for you!!

[AlchemyAcres]

I also learned that a tree with huge prickly thorns (more like spikes) that I had seen often but never identified with a name before was a "hawthorne tree".



The flower buds of hawthorne are a tasty treat.....a delicious nutty kind of flavor. Great right off the tree or in salads and the like.

I learned about them several years ago from one of my local homesteading friends, Mary, who grew up in England during the 2nd world war. Mary and her siblings feasted on the buds on the way back and forth to school....over there they're often called "bread and butter' or "bread and cheese".

~Martin

[Mom5farmboys]

The flower buds of hawthorne are a tasty treat.....a delicious nutty kind of flavor. Great right off the tree or in salads and the like.

I learned about them several years ago from one of my local homesteading friends, Mary, who grew up in England during the 2nd world war. Mary and her siblings feasted on the buds on the way back and forth to school....over there they're often called "bread and butter' or "bread and cheese".

~Martin

Thank you for sharing that! Its good information to have now that I know what it is called, I already can easily identify it. Next spring I will make it a point to try and find some. : )

[Pokeberry Mary]

We've moved around alot so I would no sooner learn the plants and animals in one place than I'd have to start over. I learned that I could go to a local book store and usually find some kind of field guide that would be much more helpful than the general regional field guides. I had one in N. Dakota that was just a guide for prairie in that part of the country. Another place I have found good books is in local library booksales. I have a great little book that is a guide to the best nature trails in South Carolina which I am using to plan some nice day trips with Hubby.
I LOVE to learn about my environment wherever I am. (I think this is our last move--hope, hope hope..)

Another thing I have done is kept nature journals for every place I've lived. I skech in them and write short entries about he birds at my feeder and etc. In more recent years I blog so I don't do as much in the journals as I used to.

Here's a favorite quote I found in a field guide--

"the surest road to contentment would be by gaining acquaintance with the new environment." ~Melvin Gilmore~1914;"Use of Plants by the Indians o the Missouri River Region'.

It gets to be quite addicting to learn the names and habits of wild plants and animals in your area!

[Mom5farmboys]

Mary,

Yes I agree it is addictive! I find that now whenever we are with other folks I am picking thier brains.....do you know what this plant is called? Is it edible? I crave to know. I have one friend that teases me now.....she askes me if the most ridiculous things are edible....."Is your van edible? Is the dog edible? How about your clothes??" But she does know some good stuff so I put up with her :)!