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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

Burdock Plant wild edible

Burdock Plant Wild Edible

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Burdock General Comments

Burdock plant wild edible, a member of the aster family, is a native plant to Europe and Northern Asia. It was brought into North America by colonists and is now widespread throughout the United States. Like the dandelion, it is an invasive species that competes with native plants.

Burdock plant stems, leaves and root picture

Burdock is a biennial. In its first year it has no large central stem or flowers. It grows only as a basal of rosette leaves that stay close to the ground.

The burdock plant contains minerals and vitamins. This should be considered an important year-round forage plant since most parts can be eaten and different parts can harvested year-round.

Common Names

Common Burdock, Gobo, bur weed, clotburbeggar’s buttons

Description

burdock plant in mid-summer

Burdock is a tall, about 3’ – 7’ in height, weed with burrs that stick to clothing. The basal rosette of leaves stays close to the ground the first year and the beginning of the second. These basal rosettes can grow over 3 feet wide.

The plant has purple flowers on tips of a prickly ball of bracts (Velcro like) on long stalks that bloom between June and October. Flower heads are ½” – 1 ½” across.

The lower leaves are broad and lightly lobed and can grow almost 2’ long and about half as wide – as a comparison, they are somewhat rhubarb like. They are dark green and egg shaped.   

Location

Burdock, like many such plants, thrive along riverbanks, disturbed habitats, roadsides, edges of forest, vacant lots, and fields. Except for the southern areas, it grows throughout North America.



Edible

Leaf stems can be peeled and cooked by boiling for about 20 minutes.

Young leaves can be boiled or steamed and eaten like spinach.

Roots should be scrubbed to remove the skin. Chop off and discard the top few inches of root, which can be tough. The root should be boiled until tender.

Immature flower stalks may be eaten raw or boiled, their taste resembles that of artichoke.

Harvest

Immature flower stalks may be harvested in late spring before flowers appear.

The root can be rather long (up to 3’). The best parts are fragile. Dig carefully.  

Leaves and stems are best when picked young.

Grow Your Own

Burdock plant territory map of locations in North America

Sow seeds directly outdoors in spring as soon as the soil can be worked and when the danger of frost is over. Cover the seeds with light soil and lightly tamp down. Because it is a biennial, the first year growth only forms a cluster of large leaves. The large leaves grow from a long tap root that can grow over two feet down. In year 2 a branched stalk with smaller leaves will grow out of the plant and, in the late summer, purple-pink flowers will form. In autumn, these flowers are replaced by round brown burrs that persist into the winter.

Notes of Interest

Cultivated in China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and in various countries in Europe as a vegetable.

The inspiration for Velcro came from the burdock bur. The inventor, a Swiss electrical engineer named Georges de Mestral, was walking along one day in the mountains and saw burs sticking on his wool socks and his dog’s fur.

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USDA plant guide:

Edible Plants, Survival Guide

Partridgeberry

Partridgeberry Facts and Information

Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) also known as twinberry is a low growing perennial woodland plant of the eastern United States. It is in fact an evergreen non-climbing vine, no taller than 6 ½ inches with Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) also known as twinberrycreeping stems 16 inches long. It blooms from late spring to mid-summer and sets berries that typically turn red when mature. Partridgeberry is highly ornamental and is used in gardens and landscaping. It is easy to find on online nursery shops. It grows typically by its spreading vines setting roots. The seeds will sprout, but only after a period of dormancy, called stratification.

The berries are a food source for many native animals – deer, birds, small mammals, etc. Native Americans made partridgeberry leaf tea as well as using the berries medicinally and for food.

Description

As noted above, Partridgeberry is a low trailing evergreen vining plant. Its flowers are fuzzy white, each having four petals, and as the picture indicates, grow in pairs. What is interesting is that the flower pairs generally create one red berry.

The stems are mostly light green to light brown and either glabrous or hairy; old stems become brown, smooth, and woody.

As the first picture indicates, pairs of opposite leaves occur along the stems and are ½ inch to 2 inches long and similarly across; they are oval in shape and smooth to slightly undulate along their margins. The upper leaf surface is shiny, and usually dark green. The glossy green leaves are small and broad with a conspicuous white midvein.

Habitat

Partridgeberry grows in both dry and moist wooded areas. The upper most picture was taken streamside in a mature deciduous Adirondack forest. Habitats include rocky woodlands, sandy savannas, slopes of wooded sand dunes, sandstone ledges along ravines, mossy boulders in wooded ravines as well as edges of swamps and bogs.

Range

This plant has a territory somewhat similar to mayapple and is found across a wide area of eastern North America. Partridgeberry is found from south Eastern Canada south to Florida and Texas all the way to Central America into to Guatemala.

Edible

Both leaves and berries are edible. Leaves are typically made into a tea.

The berries can be eaten raw, dried and cooked. They are basically bland tasting. The berries can be mixed with other forest berries. They are reported to be high in vitamin C, tannin, anthocyanins and antioxidants

Survival Pages

Guns for SHTF

Guns for SHTF

There are a lot of articles regarding the 10 must have Guns for SHTF. People that push ownership of many different guns are, in my opinion, not realistic. For one, unless you like collecting firearms, thinking you need a plethora of guns to handle normal life or SHTF situations is expensive and overkill. Second, in a SHTF situation, if you need to move / bug-out you need to carry light and enough supplies and weapons are only a piece – what to do with the ones left behind??? Third, supplying enough ammo and spare parts for all those guns would be too expensive – costs that might be better used for life maintaining supplies such as food, medicines, shelter, etc. What is really needed are firearms that will support and protect you, your family and possessions, something I refer to as “necessary” firearms.

Firearms, in my mind, can be broken into three simple categories:

Rifles

Everything from a .22 caliber up to monster killing 50 caliber. Kill everything from vermin to… monsters. Shoot the squirrel 50 feet away for a quick meal or 500 yards for the much needed deer to feed your family. You can choose everything from a single shot (traditional perfection), a lever action (good gun with good second shot follow-up), bolt action (slower second shot follow-up but many say most accurate) or semiauto (fast second shot follow-up without moving the rifle off shoulder – AR platforms, AK platforms as well as traditional hunting platforms). My favorite here is the semiauto gun.

Shotguns

The “everything” in one gun. Kill birds on the wing, hunt big game and stop intruders in their tracks. If you need a long range arm – shotguns are not them. Single shot shotguns are inexpensive but it’s 1 shot then reload. Pump shotguns are easier to maintain than semiautomatics and like semiauto’s will carry multiple rounds (typically 5 shells).

Pistols

The “personal” arm. Carried at your side. Used to rid your house of vermin, quick protection from a bear or draw down on a bad guy. A big consideration is whether you want a semi-auto (more work to maintain) or a revolver – less trouble to keep clean and operational (double action is better). If the pistol is your protection arm, go with the semi, the follow-up shots are fast and loading a second magazine is quick. Personally, I lean toward the revolver.

Now, Pick a Bullet:,

Each person needs to choose a firearm based on their specific needs, their abilities, available funds, job, etc. A big part of that is bullet. I would not suggest a .44 mag for my 5’5” daughter – a .380ACP would be better. What I believe, after determining gun type (pistol, rifle, shotgun), to be important is to choose a “common caliber” gun you can easily handle. What do I mean? In SHTF situations people with exotic caliber firearms, such as a .454 Casull pistol, may be able to kill zombies but may not have enough ammo to protect themselves over the long term. Run out of ammo such as a .454 and only a few other people may have extra. Run out of common caliber ammo and there will be several thousand other people who could have spare. Additionally, building a stock pile is easier and cheaper if you stay with common calibers. Just what are common calibers?

According to the NRA – the most common pistol calibers are:

1 – .22 Long Rifle – all around caliber for pistol & rifle – Really for small game. You may just piss off an intruder
2 – .38 Special/.357 Magnum – there are a few rifles that chamber this round
3 – 9 mm Parabellum – there are rifles that chamber this round
4 – .44 Special/.44 Magnum – Bear killers – there are rifles that also chamber this round
5 – .45 ACP – stop the Moros in their tracks (figure that one out) – there are rifles that also chamber this round

The most common centerfire rifle calibers are:

1 – .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO – AR round – light for deer but will do the job if accurate
2 – .308 Winchester/7.62x51mm NATO – great all around hunting round. Several rifles will take both sizes
3 – .30-‘06 Springfield – fantastic all around hunting round. Anything on the continent can be taken.
4 – .30-30 Winchester – 10’s of thousands of rifles out there. Almost all are lever action.
5 – .270 Winchester
6 – .243 Winchester
7 – .300 Winchester Magnum
8 – 7mm Remington Magnum
9 – 7.62×39 – AK round – can be used on medium sized game.
10 – .300 Winchester Short Magnum
11 – .22-250 Remington – I own one. Light weight bullet but long range if you can handle it.

Shotguns are easy, stay with 12 or 20 gauge – enough said.

The Gun:

Should you buy multiple guns? The answer could be maybe or not necessary. What do you need a weapon for? Guns for SHTF should be chosen well. A homeowner in a rural area will have much different needs than an urban dweller. First, if lucky, suburban & rural people may be able to stay put. Their stockpile of whatever is safer. Additionally, the suburban/rural person has the ability to hunt for food as well as protect themselves from intruders. If an urban dweller is in a real SHTF scenario, bugout may be the only hope, while an urban dweller’s food hunting may be squirrels, pigeons and rats (the 2 legged kind here are the most dangerous).

Urban Dweller:

I hate to say this but in an urban area you probably need firepower and a close quarter arm more for protection than anything else. Semiauto pistols or (grab them while you can) an AR / AK rifle with a short barrel and multiple magazines probably are the best choice.

Do you need both a pistol and a rifle, probably not? Guns for SHTF are specific. I would opt for one light weight small arm and stock parts that are prone to ware out or possibly brake – based on the gun you buy, your gunsmith can instruct you on what parts if any should be stocked. If it is decided two guns are needed (desired), seriously think about staying with one caliber. Look into a 9 mm semiauto pistol and a semiauto rifle chambered in same. This way you only need to focus on one type of bullet. The 9 mm is extremely common, not overly heavy and you could actually use the rifle for medium sized game.

Suburban & Rural

This is where I truly believe a few guns could be appropriate (fun) especially if you will not “bug-out” – but please keep the “collection” limited, remember for Guns for SHTF you will need to learn how to maintain each as well as stock extra parts and ammo. Pick a workable pistol from the list of common calibers above. For a rifle, a small caliber .22 will be a workhorse gun for small game and vermin (Seriously consider a Ruger 10-22, they are fast, accurate and there are thousands out there. They also come in a breakdown model!!). 1 or 2 larger caliber guns (a shotgun would be one of those) for food and heavy protection. The shotgun is able to handle birdshot, buckshot and slugs (I would choose a 12 gauge pump – Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500. There are thousands out there for cannibalizing parts if necessary). Get both a rifle barrel as well as a smooth barrel for the shotgun. The 2nd long gun should be for distance protection and large game hunting. To me the ultimate here is the .308 Winchester/7.62x51mm NATO. If you are a good marksman, you could get away with the .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO. I would choose an AR platform for either caliber.

If you decide that you want to own a gun or multiple guns for SHTF you should learn about them, learn how to handle them and learn how to maintain them. In that light join a gun club and visit local gun shows.