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Edible Plants

Broadleaf Arrowhead A Wetland Edible

Broadleaf Arrowhead A Wetland Edible

Introduction:

One of nature’s hidden treasures, the broadleaf arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia), is an interesting . This wetland plant not only captivates us with its distinctive appearance but also its edible tubers, seeds, and young shoots. Join me as we delve into the realm of this edible plant.

Common Names:

wapato - duck potatoThis versatile plant goes by several common names, each reflecting its various features and cultural significance. Among the most widely used names are “broadleaf arrowhead” and “duck-potato.” The term “arrowhead” is derived from the shape of its leaves, which resemble the tip of an arrowhead. Additionally, the name “duck-potato” is inspired by the fact that ducks and other waterfowl frequently feed on the plant’s tubers.


Description of the Plant:

The broadleaf arrowhead plant boasts a distinct appearance that makes it easy to identify and appreciate. Let’s dive into its key characteristics:
Foliage:
The arrowhead-shaped leaves, typically measuring 4” – 10” long, sprout on long stalks emerging from the water’s edge. The dark green leaves feature prominent veins and have a glossy texture. Their unique shape gives the plant its common name, “arrowhead.”
Flowers:
In the summer months, broadleaf arrowhead blooms with delicate white flowers that rise above the water’s surface on long, slender stems. These flowers exhibit three petals and a yellow center, adding a touch of elegance to the plant’s overall appearance. From August to October round clusters of seed casings develop.
Tubers:
Perhaps the most enticing feature of the broadleaf arrowhead lies beneath the water’s surface. The plant develops underground tubers, which are swollen, starchy structures that store nutrients and energy. These tubers can range in size from a few inches to over 5 inches in diameter. Their shape is elongated and somewhat reminiscent of a potato, hence the name “duck-potato.” These tubers serve as an excellent food source when foraging.

broadleaf arrowhead

Territory:

The broadleaf arrowhead, like the cattail, is native to North America, where it can be found in a wide range of locations, including Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It thrives in both temperate and subtropical climates, allowing it to occupy a vast territory.

Habitat:

This versatile plant is predominantly found in wetlands, including marshes, ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams where it can be found alongside pickerelweed. It demonstrates a remarkable adaptability to different water conditions, from shallow, still waters to those with a moderate current. The broadleaf arrowhead has even been known to establish itself in muddy or partially submerged areas, displaying its ability to colonize various habitats.

Edible Parts:

One of the most intriguing aspects of the broadleaf arrowhead is its edible nature. The plant offers several edible parts, including its tubers, young shoots, and seeds.
Tubers:
The tubers of the broadleaf arrowhead are the most harvested and consumed part. These underground, potato-like structures are rich in carbohydrates and offer a mild, nutty flavor. They can be harvested in late summer or early autumn when the plant’s energy is concentrated in the tubers.
Young Shoots:
The tender young shoots that emerge from the water are also edible. They can be harvested in spring and early summer and have a flavor like asparagus.
Seeds:
The seeds of the broadleaf arrowhead are small and can be ground into flour or used as a thickener in soups and stews. However, they are less commonly harvested compared to the tubers and shoots.

How to Harvest:

Harvesting broadleaf arrowhead requires some careful consideration to ensure sustainability and minimize ecological impact. Here are some guidelines to follow when harvesting:
Tubers:
To harvest tubers, gently loosen the soil around the base of the plant and carefully lift them from the mud. Select mature tubers, leave smaller ones for future plant growth and reproduction.
Young Shoots:
Harvest young shoots by cutting them close to the base of the plant. Choose shoots that are about 6 to 10 inches tall for optimal tenderness.
Seeds:
When collecting seeds, wait until the seed heads are mature and brown. Shake the seeds loose and separate them from the chaff by winnowing or using a sieve.

Cooking and Consumption:

Once harvested, the tubers can be cooked and enjoyed in various culinary applications. They can be boiled, roasted, mashed, or added to soups and stews, providing a nutritious and flavorful addition to your meals.
Young shoots can be eaten raw, added to salads, or steamed and boiled.
Seeds can be dried and ground into flour.

Conservation Status:

The conservation status of the broadleaf arrowhead is of concern in some regions due to habitat loss and degradation caused by human activities. Although it is not globally threatened, it is important to be mindful of the local regulations and guidelines regarding the harvesting of wild plants. It is advisable to obtain permission from landowners or consult with local conservation agencies before harvesting broadleaf arrowhead or any other wild edible plant.

Notes of Interest:

Indigenous peoples in North America historically relied on the broadleaf arrowhead as a food source and used it for medicinal purposes.

Some wildlife, such as waterfowl and beavers, also consume the broadleaf arrowhead, contributing to its ecological importance.

The Lewis and Clark expedition depended on the plant when they were in the Columbia River basin.

Know the Plant: Familiarize yourself with the characteristics of broadleaf arrowhead, paying special attention to its distinctive leaves and tubers, to ensure accurate identification.

The emergent foliage of this species provides cover for the same animals with the addition of fish and aquatic insects.

A single plant can annually yield up to 40 tubers.

Picture of plant: Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. 1992. Western wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. West Region, Sacramento.

Survival Guide

Becoming a Forager

Becoming a Forager

Becoming a Forager, it’s the words that bring out the five-year-old in me… A hazy faraway scene, maybe out in the plains, majestic snow-capped mountains – their peaks hidden by clouds frame the horizon, on nearby foothills, mammoths in the mist stalked by dire wolves. In the fore ground women and children, our ancestors, dig sunchoke roots and pick berries.  Nearby men with spears in hand stand ever vigilant. Returning hunters, animal skin quivers slung across their backs approach. They carry turkey and boar. In a nearby river clearing, smoldering fires, flames dancing in the breeze tended by elders await the feast to come.

Ok, back to adulthood.

Foraging, as defined by Cambridge dictionary, is “To go from place to place searching for things you can eat or use”.

Based on that definition, everyone engages in foraging. Think of the things found while out and about: an empty flowerpot on the side of the road, “free” pallets put out by a business, ripe blackberries alongside your favorite hiking trail or maybe freshly fallen walnuts you gather every autumn while on a walk. It is not complicated; foraging can be a simple afternoon stroll, or a deliberate endeavor designed to secure food or supplies for an extended period.

Foraging for Edibles

Let’s talk wild edibles. All geographic regions have possibilities. Abundance is all around if you know what to look for. Before beginning, reach out to your state’s Department of Natural Resources to first, understand if foraging is legal and second, what can be legally foraged. If the answer to the first is yes, then take stock of plants you already know and can identify that are legal. Do not skip the easy finds or the no-brainers. Where I live there are abandoned orchards of apple trees, butternut, elderberry, mulberry, besides wild dandelion and broadleaf plantain – the list goes on. Make sure all plants you can think of are listed. Don’t overlook outliers like oaks and maples. Their seeds can be eaten or turned into flour with a bit of effort. Walk about, find them, take pictures in various growth stages – sprouting, early growth, blooming, etc. Become familiar with the multitude of characteristics of each plant, from leaves to bark, stems, flowers and fruit.

Learning to Forage Edibles

Next, build your knowledge base. Commit to learning at least five new plants each month (60 plants per year). Don’t shy away from learning about poisonous plants, it is good to know and be able to identify what not to eat. Start a forager library – buy a field guide or two. Make sure the guide covers your region and has clear concise pictures. A good guide will include “look-alike” plants that are either not edible or downright poisonous and a good guide will describe the difference between “the good, the bad and the ugly”.

Thimbleberry, a new find when I started becoming a forager

Interact with like-minded people, go to a local garden club. Ask if anyone is versed in wild edibles and if so, are they willing to teach what they know. Look into social media, there are many foraging groups out there. Find one or two that have daily activity and join – avoid any groups that “harbor” bullies. Log on daily and read the activity and scroll through the pictures the group members share. Don’t shy away from asking questions, many members are more than happy to be “guides and mentors”. Look online for foraging classes you can sign-up for. They can be costly but a good class may prove invaluable. As you are learning and meeting people, build your own group with the new people you meet.

Get out and scout, take walks (they are healthy). Use what you know and have learned, go “afield”. When you find some edibles, takes pictures, jot down where you found them and then, harvest and take them home. Try them out raw and cooked. Do you like how they taste? If so great – you have found a “new” food source.

Don’t shy away from plants you don’t not know or are unsure of. Instead, take pictures, jot down their location, what the habitat is they are growing in, their size and any other attributes (leaves, stems, bark and fruits) that stand out. Show the pictures and notes to people in your foraging circle. What do they think? Can they hazard a guess or definite identification? APP’s like iNaturalist are fantastic (don’t forget about your social media groups), just upload pictures and any identifying facts you noticed. There are thousands of people that can help identify most any plant – edible or poisonous. Once identified, add your pictures and notes to your database so the next time you are afield you know you have an edible to harvest or a plant to avoid.

If you end up enjoying the forager lifestyle, you are following in the steps of your ancestors!! While becoming a forager just think, by adding natures bounty to your pantry your food bill will shrink, the food will be natural without being “highly processed” and filled with chemicals and preservatives.

Edible Plants

Hazelnut Plant Identification Guide

Hazelnut Plant Identification Guide

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General

The Hazelnut is a native shrub to North America. You should be able to, except for the US southwest and Gulf coast, find hazelnut plants growing. Once located, remember where they are since nuts are an important food source. Count yourself lucky if you can forage such a free food. Their leaves, twigs, and catkins (male flowers) are important for wildlife. They are browsed by rabbits, deer, and moose and are winter food for turkey and ruffed grouse to name just a few of the dependent animals. The dense shrub provides cover and nesting sites for many wildlife species.

This plant has separate male and female parts on the same branch. A single shrub will produce some nuts, but as a wind-pollinated species 3-5 shrubs are recommended for optimal nut production.

Common names

American hazelnut, American Filbert, American hazel, America hazelnut, beaked hazelnut, California hazelnut

Description

The shrub is deciduous and grows from 3’ – 15’ tall. Once established, it grows by its spreading rhizomes forming thickets.

The main stems are straight with spreading branches. The coloration is light brown with red-hairs. 

Leaves grow alternate and are broad oval with a heart-shaped or rounded base. They are approximately 3 inches – 6 inches long and 4 inches wide. The leaf edges are doubly serrate, hairy beneath, the petiole with stiff, glandular hairs. The leaves turn orange to red or purple in the fall.

Male and female flowers are separate, but both types grow on each plant. Male flowers, in small clusters – maybe 2 to 3 flowers per cluster, form as catkins that are 3 inches to 5 inches long in the fall. They will winter and open the next spring as yellow. Female flowers form and are tiny and inconspicuous with only bright red stigma and styles protruding from the gray-brown buds near the end of the twigs.

Clusters of 2 -6 of the acorn-like nuts about 1 inch long and a bit wider will grow after pollination. The nuts are enclosed in two toothed leafy husks

Location

Plants can grow in sun or partial shade in moist, well-drained soil.

Hazelnut map

They (several species) are widespread in North America, Maine west to Saskatchewan and North Dakota, south to eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Georgia, not found along the Gulf coast region or Southwest USA

When foraging, look in moist to dry woods and thickets, forest margins, roadsides, and fencerows and other disturbed areas. Also search streamside as long as the soil is not boggy.

Harvest

Hazelnut shrubs flower from March thru May before the plant leaf’s out. The nuts (fruits) form and ripen in the July – October time period. Late summer thru fall is the time to harvest. Be careful if you wait to long you will lose out to wildlife. Visa versa – if you get there first, make sure you leave a good amount for wildlife.

Edible

The nuts of hazelnuts are sweet and may be eaten raw, dried and roasted or ground into flour (gluten free).   

Interesting Notes

The nuts of American hazelnut, which have a higher nutritional value than acorns and beechnuts, also are eaten by squirrels, foxes, deer, northern bobwhite, ruffed grouse, turkey, woodpeckers, pheasants, and deer. 

Plants of American hazelnut may begin producing seed after the first year and produce good seed crops every 2-3 years. 

American hazelnut is not affected by any serious pests. 

Hazel flowers are wind-pollinated, so no bees or butterflies are needed for pollination.

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USDA plant guide

Edible Plants

Rose Plant Wild edible

Rose Plant Wild edible

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General

The wild rose plant found widely across North America, as well as many places around the world, is an overlooked forage food. Most people look at the plant and see flowers and thorns not thinking of the multitude of food choices the entire plant provides over an extended harvest period. For the semi-initiated into foraging, wasted comments such as, “You can make rose hip tea.”, is about all you will get. Yet this is a must if you want to forage wild food. Rose hips contains vitamins such as C and A as well as antioxidants, along with nutrients such as zinc. The seeds can contain vitamin E.

There are 35 or so species of the wild rose family in the USA. Some species were brought to North America and became naturalized over time (invasive).

Common Names

Pasture rose, Scotch briar, Prairie rose, Wood rose, Wild brier, Sweetbrier

Description

Roses grow on thick canes; the ends of old canes turn gray to tan. Newer growth is dark green in color; all stems and branches have thorns

Most truly wild roses have flowers with only five petals, usually pink to white. Most also bloom only once, in early summer. Any rose blooming later in the season may be a cultivated variety gone wild.

The plants, because there are so many varieties, can be anything from small bushes to large shrubs to vining plants growing upward. The most important visual characteristic will be the thorns on branches and the leaves that look very much like domestic rose plant leaves. In late summer to fall the hips developed from pollinated flowers are the dead give-away.

Location

As the map shows, wild roses can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They prefer partial shade and moist well-drained soil in dry fields to open woods.



Harvest

You can pick the ripe hips in the fall when it is full and, typically, red. The buds can be picked right into winter.

Harvest young shoots and peel off any thorns during spring and summer.

Pick flowers when they are in bloom. Make sure to take only healthy looking flowers. Cut the portion at the base as that may be bitter.

Leaves can be pick and used in teas.

Edible

Rose hips can be eaten raw or cooked. There are multiple ways to use them. You can bake rose hips into breads or pies, puddings, soups, jellies and their pectin has been used as a thickener. Remember, rose hips and leaves make a nutritious tea!!

The rose petals are edible. You can candy rose petals add to cakes for decoration and yes they can be eaten. Petals can also be made into jams, jellies, vinegars and syrups.

The young shoots peel and eat the young shoots raw or cooked with other vegetables.

Interesting Notes

The pollen and nectar of the wild rose is a valued food source for many beneficial insects, including many types of bees.

Rose hips are a winter food for birds and mammals such as waxwings, pine grosbeaks, grouse, squirrels and mice to name a few.

Native Americans used the roots as an ointment for sore eyes, and the wood of the plant for arrows as well as a food source.

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USDA plant guide

Edible Plants

Bunchberry Wild Edible

Bunchberry Wild Edible

General

Bunchberry Plants are perennials growing 4” – 8” tall. Because they spread by rhizome they generally form a carpet-like mat. They are not overly tasty but in a foraging situation they are edible. Additionally, they are widespread and hence can be found in many places if you are looking and know what you are looking for.

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Common Names

Bunchberry, dwarf cornel, creeping dogwood, crackerberry

Description

bunchberry drawing showing stem, leaves, flower heads and berries

As previously stated, bunchberry are small plants that form carpet like colonies. Each “individual” plant grows a singular stem with about six leaves positioned at the top. 

The elliptic, dark green leaves form as wheels at the nodes. Leaf veins follow the leaf margin as is seen in other dogwoods. In autumn, the leaves may develop red and yellow tones.

The plant generally puts forth four white leaves from the top center. These are not the flower. The true flowers are small white to purplish-white clusters in the center of the white leaves. The flowers are formed in late spring and early summer.

From the true flowers, clusters of red berry fruits grow beginning in mid-summer as the white leaves typically drop.  The fruit can stay viable into late autumn.



Location

Bunchberry can be found growing in forested areas and is native to Canada, parts of Alaska and the northern to Central portions of the contiguous United States. It can be found coast to coast. It grows best in acid soils that are not overly dry. The plant grows best in shade, (4 hours or less of light daily).

Edible

The red ripe berries are the edible parts of the plant. They can be eaten raw or cooked. They can be combined with other fruits even added to puddings and sauces.

Harvest

In late summer into late fall the red berries are picked. The berries can be rather dry and tasteless but are edible.

Interesting Notes

Bunchberries were collected and eaten by Native Americans raw, cooked, even put into sauces and puddings.

The berries are a source of food for deer, grouse and small mammals.

Birds are the main dispersal agents of the seeds, feeding on the fruit during their fall migration.

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USDA plant guide