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Milkweed Vine, Araujia odorata

 Araujia odorata.: Menace or Manna?

One spring I was looking for poke weed when I spied a liana I had not seen before. It had a large fruit that looked like a chayote, but it wasn’t a chayote. I took it home, but was doubtful. It was clearly in the milkweed family and local vines in that family aren’t edible.

Araujia odorata’s blossoms

A couple of hours of researching and I identified the plant, a horrible weed of no redeeming value. It was first spotted in an Orange grove owned by Donald. J. Nicholson near Orlando (Florida) in 1957, apparently an escaped ornamental though the original plant was never found so how can they say it was an escaped ornamental? I suspect it was for food. I subsequently found a 1971 report that said it was cultivated in Pasco County Florida in 1939 and escaped from there and was first seen in a citrus grove in 1957. That’s when it came to the state’s attention and why it was “discovered” in 1957.  Whether 1939 or 1957 it started showing up in the lower two-thirds of the state threatening citrus groves. It climbs on the trees and reduces their production, can even kill them via shade. There was no mention of it in Cornucopia II or Edible Plants of North America or any other of the five dozen books I had.  So I disposed of it and deleted my pictures.

A few months later someone on a forum wondered what it was called. I couldn’t remember and I couldn’t find it again on the Internet. About a year after I first found it I was still irritated that I hadn’t found it again. I worked on it for several hours one day until I hit pay dirt.  This time I also found one reference to it as being edible.  That opened the door. The report was in the Journal Economic Botany, and they wanted some $38 to download the article. As I as going to Tarpon Spring for the annual Greek epiphany event — 132 miles away — I dropped by the University of South Florida on my way back (USF was named when Tampa WAS south Florida.) I rummaged around the bound copies of the journal and found the article. It said the Morrenia odorata ( now called Araujia odorata) was very edible. Highly esteemed in South America. I wonder how that was missed all these years in Florida?  A January 2007 report on the plant by the state does not mention edibility.

In the Journal of Economic Botany Professor Pastor Arenas says all of the “Morrenia” species are edible. To quote the researcher:

“The fruit is the plant part most commonly eaten, but, with the exceptions of the roots, all the other organs are consumed, though the different ethnic groups vary in their preferences… The resource is prepared in various ways: Either raw, in salads, boiled, or roasted. Non-indigenous settlers use only the fruit and seeds, with which they prepare several dishes, including “doca jam,” a regional dessert made with the fruit…. The indigenous population considers it to be a very wholesome food and, despite the loss of many elements of their traditional diet, this plant continues to be highly valued. Although it is a wild plant, it is protected and even cultivated by several ethnic groups….”

According to Arenas’ monograph three native tribes eat the flowers raw. Sometimes they boil the vanilla-scented flowers, squeeze out the extra water, then mix them with oil. One group pounds the flowers and young leaves in a mortar with a little water and salt, making a salad.  Three groups eat the leaves raw, another takes the leaves and the young shoot ends and make them into a crown shape. They boil it in a pan. Then the ring is drained and eaten dipped in oil. Two groups form the raw leaves, stalks and flowers into a bunch to use to absorb a preparation made of salt, wild pepper (Capsicum chacoense) and water. The bunch is dipped in the liquid and sucked until the liquid is gone.

Charles Morren, 1807-1858

Arenas reports the tender, immature fruits, (which I will call a vegetable) are eaten without preparation. They are consumed whole and raw. Sometimes they are mashed in a mortar, seasoned with salt and pepper. One group mixes the mashed fruit with cactus (Opuntia chakensis) which resembles bitter lemon.  Not that much raw fruit can be eaten at one time because the latex in the vegetable can irritate the mouth. The seed and hairs (coma) of mature vegetable are not eaten. Depending upon the age of the vegetable it is boiled or roasted (30 minutes or so) and usually eaten with oil.

The soft stems and the ends of young shoots are often eaten with the leaves and flowers. The adult stem is a famine food, boiled until soft, the outside removed, and then eaten with oil. No fibrous or woody parts are consumed. The vine bears continuously so there can be young and mature pods on the same vine. They are collected with a long pole with a hook on the end, similar to how Ear Tree pods are collected. Extra vegetables are roasted then split in two, dried over heat or in the sun then stored once desiccated. They are reconstituted by a brief boiling then eaten with oil.

The A. odorata has other uses besides culinary. The sap can be used to curdle milk for cheese making, and there are numerous medicinal applications as well.  A decoction of the plant plus roots was used to induce lactation. The latex is used to remove warts, calm toothaches and used against snake bite. The plant, interestingly, is toxic to cows and usually fatal. The sap can be used as a glue.  Nutritionally the vegetable is close to squash but has a Vitamin C content closer to citrus. In fact, it has more Vitamin C than oranges.

While a staple food in Brazil and Argentina (first described in 1838) in the United States it is a “weed,” that is, on nearly every possible weed list, federal to state to local. It’s a costly vine to the citrus industry and efforts continue to find ways to kill it off. Incidentally, monarch butterflies like it but it is also a breeding ground for flies that ruin papaya.

Edmond Albius

Odorata means sweet-smelling or fragrant. Morrenia was a bit of a challenge. It was named for Belgian botanist Charles Morren, (1807-58) a professor at the University of Liege. Morren discovered how to artificially pollination vanilla. Folks had tried for 300 years to do it. His method is still the one used, per se. What he did was watch the flower. A tiny sociable bee without a stinger — the  Melipona Bee– came along, lifted a little flap and went into the flower. It is the only insect that does that.  But it took a 12-year-old slave, Edmond Albius, to figure out a simple way to do it with a little stick and his thumb.  So the genus should be called Albiusa but instead it is now Araujia. Why? Who knows  but its new name is after Portuguese botanist António de Araújo e Azevedo, 1st Count of Barca (1754–1817). 

My friend, Marabou Thomas, says cooked the vegetable tastes “like some crazy combination of potato and zucchini marinated in honey.”  My older pallet doesn’t pick up the honey notes but it is delicious. I am convinced that if folks knew how tasty the Araujia odorata is the state would not have to spend millions to keep it in check.

In extreme southern Florida or farther south you might confuse the Morrenia odorata with Cynanchum cubense. The blossoms of  the C. cubense do not have star-like sepals.  Also north of Florida don’t confuse it with the Cynanchum laeve, which has similar leaves and vine but smooth milkweed-like pods. I get a huge amount of mail from folks finding the Cynanchum laeve thinking it is the  Araujia odorata. They read “milkweed” and “vine” and don’t bother to learn that A. odorata fruit looks like a roundish squash, and C. laeve is a smooth pod.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile: Milkweed Vine

IDENTIFICATION: Araujia odorata: A perennial, leaves grow in pairs on stems, grey-green, slight fuzzy texture.  New leaves on new growth heart-shaped to 5 inches, older vines pointy, broad base, smaller. Flowers greenish-white,  small, five small petals, fragrance reminds some of vanilla. Fruit large seed pod, resembles a chayote, or a papaya, or an avocado in shape, mature pods 5 to 6 inches long, 3 to 4 inches wide, green until ripe then yellow, tan, or brown, will split open.

TIME OF YEAR: Blooms heavily in mid-spring, fruits continuously, can over winter if no frosts or freezes.

ENVIRONMENT: Rain forests to dry forests, groves, anything it can climb on, bushes, trees, fences, wires.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Numerous: Young leaves, fruit, flowers and shoot tips raw, older fruits boiled or roasted in embers (usually 30 minutes)  Older stalk boiled and peeled.  Older green fruit can be dried and preserved.  Unripe seeds and coma are edible. Ripe seeds and coma are not edible.  When roasted the inner rind flavor is similar to squash. When boiled it is more like zucchini/potatoes.

There used to be a video on You Tube of  women collecting, preparing and eating the Araujia odorata in Argentina. Apparently that has been deleted. Here is my video about it. 

Wild horses do it, deer do, perhaps wild bees don’t do it but most creatures forage in the winter and so can you. Photo by the Wild Horses of Alberta Society

It’s rather obvious that wintertime foraging varies where you live. In moderate Florida we can forage all year and the wintertime provides some of the best opportunities. But what of northern climates?

An edible turtle under ice. Photo by Richard Due.

I grew up where winter night temperatures easily dropped into the 30-plus below zero (-38 celsius.) Sometimes the schools had to close for several days because they could not be kept warm. And once we went skating at 50 below just to say we did. (Chilblains from that night some 60 years ago still bother me in air conditioned buildings. It’s wasn’t the skating with a bonfire that did permanent damage but rather the arctic one-mile walk home.) That was on Gowen’s Pond, our local natural skating rink. It had one tree-stump island, probably had been a water-tolerant hackmatack. That speck of protrusion through the ice was perhaps six square feet in total area. The ice was thinner there and one winter I saw a turtle under the ice feeding some some green pond plant. That generated several thoughts. One was that it was warm enough for the turtle to go looking for food. Two that the turtle found food, and, three that the turtle was food even in the winter.  Like the turtle or the horses I grew up with you can find food in hostile winter climates if you know where to dig or browse. You can read more about that here. 

Chickweed have five petals that look like ten Photo by Green Deane.

Chickweed stole the show this weekend. In well-watered spots chickweed was in green glory, lush, full, blossoming, happy to be alive. With such healthy plants it was easy to find the identifying characteristics: stretchy inner core, a single line of hair on the main stem that switches 90 degrees at the nodes, a five-petal blossom that looks like 10 petals, and uncooked chickweed tastes like raw corn. Also sprouting patches of green on the monoculture brown park were stinging nettles. It’s still early in the season for nettles with most of them no higher than four inches, just about the same height as our winter henbit also available for the picking. A private forage later on produced, surprisingly, some native mint and a lot of true thistles. Lot’s of food and flavor there. There were also ticks-a-plenty.

Foraging classes are held rain or shine, heat or cold. Photo by Nermina Krenata.

I’m teaching at a Mensa regional gathering in Cocoa Beach this Saturday afternoon so I am having a class in Melbourne Saturday morning. Sunday we are squeaking in a class in Jacksonville before really cold weather sets in next week.

Saturday, January 18th, Wickham Park, 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne, FL. 9 a.m. to noon.  Meet at the Dog Park inside the park.  

Sunday, January 19th, Florida State College,  south campus, 11901 Beach Blvd.,  Jacksonville, 32246.  9 a.m. to noon. We will meet at building “D”  next to the administration parking lot.

For more information, to sign up for a class, or to pre-pay go here. 

The spate of warm weather recently increased our wanderings. Here are some of the bounty we found in foraging classes:   natal plum, swinecress (which we later found there) some and a couple of Milkweed Vine fruit. While we nibbled on many things among them were Turks Cap, Oxalis,  Black Nightshade (see below), Violets, False Hawk’s Beard, Plantagos, Fireweed, and Hairy Bittercress which is barely hairy at all. Also noticed during the forage was a tasty False Roselle not yet done in by the cool weather. And although the Eastern Red Bud won’t flower in profusion for couple of months we found a couple of winter-daring blossoms to look at.

Use sublimed sulfur to thwart tick attacks.

Before the state of Florida went on the Internet most of the information it thought fit for its citizens to know was produced in pamphlet form. When the shift was made to the Internet some information got lost or was dropped. One useful bit of advice was using sublimed sulfur to keep ticks off.  Available online or through local pharmacies or chemical supply stores you put it in an old sock or the like and dust your cuffs and collar with it before entering tick habitat. It either repels them or vastly slows them down from finding a place to grab on, giving you more time to find the hardy ones (to reduces chances of disease you should remove them within 24-hours. After that the chances of disease goes up exponentially with each passing hour.) I used sublimed for many years very successfully finding a tick or two on me now and then but not attached. That’s the good news. Now the bad news, for me at least. While I am not a biochemist I would suspect this would not be something you would do if you had a sulfur allergy. Indeed, after I used it for many years I developed an allergy to it (severe nasal congestion and eye watering.) So be careful. That’s said it did work well while I used it. 

Weeds of Southern Turf Grasses

If you didn’t find a weed book you wanted under the Christmas tree here’s one you can pick up locally or order. The University of Florida has put out an unintentional edible weed book, Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses. What I mean is the book is not designed for foragers but rather land managers. However, the majority of the plants in the book are edible. It has 437 color photographs of 193 weed species found in the south usually on lawns and the like. As you can see by the link I have a list of the edibles and what pages they are on. Many of my students just print the list then paste each entry on the appropriate page or make notes on that page. There is also a link on the page to order it through the state of Florida. DO NOT ORDER IT THROUGH AMAZON OR OTHER BOOKSELLERS. Why? Because they will charge you from $38.67 to $59.66 for a book you can buy at a local extension office for $8. If you order it through the link I provide it is $14 plus shipping. (I actually found one bookseller in the past asking over $800 for it.) As it says on the link I do not get any money for recommending this book. It is just an inexpensive, handy book to have.

The Black Nightshade has berries.

I had a friend who thought of himself as an outdoorsman thus beyond needing to study edible plants. Many years ago he called me one day asking “how do I get the seeds out of the pigweed berries.”  I knew there was a problem immediately. Our local “pigweed” does not have berries but our local nightshade does. Our “pigweed” is an Amaranth and has seed spikes. About the size of fingers or more they are covered with tiny flowers that produce a multitude eye-of-the needle seeds, tan to black.  No berries involved at all. Conversely the nightshade (Solanum americanum) produces an umbrella-like spread of black shiny berries on one small stalk (photo to left.) It does have a lot of seeds inside the berries. So I thought I had better ask him why he wanted the seeds before I told him him the Amaranth didn’t have berries but the nightshade did. He wanted to grow some in his yard. They had been steaming the leaves and eating them like spinach! When I got done explaining he said “then that’s why we’ve all been getting headaches after eating the leaves.” Indeed. The leaves of this particular nightshade are edible but they must be boiled in one or two changes of water, not steamed.

The American Nightshade can have totally ripe and unripe berries at the same time. Photo by Green Deane.

My friend had skipped many details. The wrong identification also led to the wrong preparation compounding the error. Admittedly the plants did have a few things in common. They were both green, grew in Florida and had leaves that can vaguely be the same rough shape, diamondish. But the difference between a seed spike of small green flowers vs. a cluster of shiny black berries is not paying attention to details. Fortunately no great harm was done. No matter how much Details are important (even though it is my personality to dislike them.) Locally two plants you will commonly encounter that you need to know about are the edible elderberry and the deadly water hemlock. To the beginner they can look similar. To learn important details about them and how they differ click here.

Oyster Mushrooms. Photo by Green Deane

Most local edible mushrooms are in winter recess. Our Ringless Honey Mushroom season ended several weeks ago. Most of our terrestrial species will stay hidden until heavy spring rains. However during a foraging class this weekend we did see some Amanitas, of which there is no shortage of in the southeast. It was three examples of the same species, A. citrina. But the big find but not a winter surprise was were logs of Oyster Mushrooms, of the Pleurotus ostreatus complex. They say “complex” because the mushrooms can vary enough for mycologists to notice but not enough to be called a different species.  I’ve seen them on Oaks in the winter as well as Sweet Bays and Sycamores. In warmer weather I see a related smaller species on palms.  Oyster Mushrooms — which do not taste like oysters but can smell like anise — are considered one of the safer mushrooms to harvest because none of the possible look-a-likes are deadly… just sickening. And here’s a reminder that several facebook mushroom pages are associated with EatTheWeeds. They are Florida Mushroom Identification Forum, Southeastern U.S. Mushroom Identification, Edible Mushrooms: Florida, Edible Wild Mushrooms, and the Orlando Mushroom Group.  

The Nine DVD set includes 135 videos.

Though your foraging may drop off  during the winter it’s a great time to study wild edibles with my nine DVD set. Each  DVDs has 15 videos for 135 in all. They make a great gift. Order today. Some of these videos are of better quality than my free ones on the Internet. They are the same videos but many people like to have their own copy. I burn and compile the sets myself so if you have any issues I handle them personally. There are no middle foragers. And I’m working on adding a tenth DVD.  To learn more about the DVDs or to order them click here.

Donations to upgrade EatTheWeeds.com have gone well. Thank you to all who have contributed to either via the Go Fund Me link, the PayPal donation link or by writing to Green Deane POB 941793 Maitland FL, 32794.  There are many needs left such as expanding the foraging teacher page, the page on monotypic edibles and the Plant Archive page. There’s always something and such things get more complex and expensive every year. 

Do you know this tree with edible parts? You would if you read the Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Perhaps you’re looking for a foraging reference? You might have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane and others from around the world — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about, such as the one to the left. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. Recent topics include: Asystasia gangetica aka Chinese Violet or Ganges Primrose, Armillaria mellea Ringed Honeys, Acorn Treatment Question, Acorn Questions Any Poisons? A Cure For The Common Cold, Lactifluus piperatus, Elderberry Capers?  You can join the forum by clicking on the button on the upper right hand side of this page.

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 To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.

If you are in the habit of eating wild mushroom then you’re waiting for the spring rains. Local this usually happens in latter April or early May. That and warmer ground temperature tells mushrooms to grow. As a prelude I had my first edible wild mushroom find of the season this week.

Old Man of the Woods, Strobilomyces sp.  is a rather distinct mushroom. There are a few variations  — a microscope helps to sort them out — but they are all edible. There are at least three species in North America and are in a group of mushrooms called Boletes. These mushrooms do not have gills but rather pores on the underside. The saving grace is none of them cause lasting organ damage if you eat a toxic one. There is a short check list one can use to tell if a Bolete is a potential edible.  In Europe most of the Boletes are edible, in North America most are not, and in The South if not Florida many are unidentified. Opinions vary on the Old Men. Some cook and eat the entire mushroom. Others just the cap with pores throwing away the stems, others just the cap throwing away the pores, and some not liking the texture dry the pore-less cap, powder it, and use it for flavoring. I like the cap with pores fried which is how I cooked the one at the top of the newsletter. To me they taste like Porcini mushroom. The only drawback is you find only one or two at a time.

One local trio of edible mushroom we are waiting for are called “Milk Caps.” When broken or scraped all three weep a liquid, often white. It is not a latex but is called that. The liquid, however, can also be light yellow or watery. That the mushroom is the weeping helps you identify the genus, sometimes the species. Common locally is the Lactifluus hygrophorides, L. corrugis, L. volemus var. volemus and L. luteolus. The latter is edible but smells strongly like a dead fish.  I picked some twelve pounds of them last year. They’re a substantial mushroom with a good flavor and texture. They are also fairly easy to identify. It has a ruddy cap, slightly felt-like to touch, wide-space gills, and bleeds a white fluid that does not stain the mushroom. 

Perhaps the most coveted wild mushroom locally is the Chanterelle. We have several species and sometimes they are difficult to sort out. That is not just in the field. The genus is, as they say, is under revision and the names are changing. Experts can’t agree exactly how many species there are and how many of them are found locally. It’s fairly easy to tell if one has a Chanterelle. It’s a bit more of a challenge to figure out which Chanterelle you have. I collected some 22 pounds of them last year. They are distinct enough in flavor and texture to hold their own in recipes. I like them sautéed with scrambled eggs.

Perhaps no ornamental was championed as much as the Pineapple Guava. However the perfect shrub for many places never really caught on. There could be several reasons for that. It probably didn’t help that a close relative, the Strawberry Guava, is a severe invasive species in some locations.  The shrub also does not get showy. It’s almost always drab. And while the blossoms are extroverted you have to hunt for them. While the entire blossom is edible most people only eat the petals. Five or six months from now they will be dark green fruit that stay green as they ripen. They just get softer. The shrub is easy to identify when in blossom. To read more about both guavas, go here.

Let us revisit what is blossoming this time of year: The Eastern Coral Bean. It is also sometimes called the Cherokee Bean. What is odd about this plant is the edible flowers produce toxic beans.  So we do not eat the red and black beans. A few of the red blossoms are edible raw but they are usually boiled then mixed with other foods notably scrambled eggs. When you cook the blossoms they turn light green. The distinctive shape of the leaves makes the shrub easy to identify. Young leaves are edible cooked but are marginal fare. Like the Pawpaws above they prefer dry, sunny places. A few raw red blossoms seem okay but if eaten in larger amounts they can be mind altering and approaching dangerous. Boiled they are fine. (Juice from the shrub’s stems, by the way, has been used to treat scorpion stings.)  You can read more about the Eastern Coral Bean here.

What’s the old saying? Close but no cigar. That might be the case with Foresteria segregata. Also called Florida Privet and Swamp Privet, you can find it anywhere from brackish waterways to an intentional ornamental in landscaping. The straight limbs were used for arrows and the blue berries possibly used for ink. I suspect the species has never worked its way into ethnobotanical literature because the berries taste bad. I’m not sure, however, if the story ends there. Yes, the berries are not considered edible. That said I have not found any references to toxicity but that might be because they are too foul to eat. However, it is in the Olive family and olives don’t taste good unless “cured.” What I wonder is 1) if the fruit are edible if 2) they are treated (meaning cured)  like olives?  It’s pure speculation on my part. They could be toxic for all I know. But it’s an idea.

Foraging classes: Saturday’s class is in my own backyard, so to speak, Orlando, Blanchard Park. The rain should be past but it might be a little chilly. Sunday’s class is in Eagle Park Lake in Largo, a site we haven’t visited for several months.

Saturday, April 20th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet next to the tennis courts by the YMCA building.

Sunday, April 21st, Eagle Park Lake, 1800 Keene Road, Largo, FL 33771. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the pavilion near the dog park. Arrive earlier than later as it is Easter and the park can fill fast.

Saturday, April 27th,  Red Bug Slough Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL, 34233.  9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the parking lot. 

Saturday, May 4th, Colby-Alderman Park: 1099 Massachusetts Street, Cassadaga. Fla. 32706. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet by the bathrooms. 

Sunday, May 5th: Ft. Meade Outdoor Recreation Area, 1639 Frostproof Highway, Fort Meade, FL 33841. (Frostproof Highway is also Route 98.)  9 a.m to noon. Meet at the brown bathrooms in the middle of the park which is due south from the highway. 

Saturday, May 11th,  Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405. 9 a.m to noon. Meet just north of the science center in the north section of the park. 

Sunday, May 12th, Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, 2045 Mud Lake Road, DeLeon Springs, FL. 9 a.m. to noon. A few hundred feet after crossing the railroad tracks on Mudlake Road there in the parking lot on your right.  We meet there. This is a hike of approximately four miles, two out and back mostly native species, very few ornamentals. While the walking is easy we are exposed to the elements, sun on a clear day, wind on a cold day. Check the weather, dress appropriately. Bring water, wear suitable footwear. Know that as it is federal land it can be closed anytime for any reason without notice. 

Saturday, May 18th, Florida State College,  south campus, 11901 Beach Blvd.,  Jacksonville, 32246.  9 a.m. to noon. We will meet at building “D”  next to the administration parking lot.

Sunday, May 19th, Boulware Springs Park, 3420 SE 15th St.,  Gainesville, FL 32641. 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the picnic tables next to the pump house.

For more information or to sign up for a class go here.

Foraging is more than identifying edible wild plants. It also involves knowing how to cook them, when they are prime to harvest, and subject of this review, where to find them. In real estate the mantra is “location, location, location.” We could use that with plants but a refinement would be “environment, environment, environment.”

We know not to look for swamp plants in a desert, unless there is an isolated spring there such as an oasis. Likewise, few cactus grow in swamps though there are exceptions. We also usually find salt tolerant plants near the shore or inland near salt licks (and sometimes along northern roads salted every winter.) But some of those salt-tolerant plants will grow in your garden and do not need to be in a salty environment. Sea Purslane is found on the shore or near brackish water where its job is to build soil by forcing the wind to slow down and drop sand. But, it will also grow in your garden, no salt or wind needed. Other plants are more picky and won’t grow well if not in their preferred location.

For example, one species I am long-familiar with is Blueberries. They like soil on the acidic side, a pH below 7 on a 14-point scale. I grew up in poor-soil Maine where one could find 120-acre fields of nothing but Blueberries. Yet where I live in Florida Blueberries are found in small colonies in isolated pockets. Why? One answer is Florida is a limestone plate (alkaline not acidic) so it is a waste of time to look for Blueberries unless there are acid-producing pines, oaks or perhaps cypress nearby. I planted Blueberries specifically bred for Florida but one has to amend the soil — the amount of acid — nearly as much as one has to work daily to keep a pool from turning green. They eventually died, one of my few failures.

Another example is Dandelions. I have observed for several decades that Dandelions don’t like Florida, or at least the areas of Florida I visit. They like acidic soil. It might be it is not Florida’s heat they don’t like but rather the alkaline (“sweet”) soil. The few places I have seen Dandelions growing have been areas of acidic soil again near pines and often oaks. Dreher Park in West Palm Beach is a good example. What Dandelions there are there can be found growing in lawn grass amongst oaks. While I have also found Dandelions year round they tend to favor the winter months such as November through February.

Some plants can do well in nearly any soil. Henbit, Dead Nettle and Shepard’s Purse are good examples. However, a close relative of Shepard’s Purse, Poor Man’s Pepper Grass, likes soil on the alkaline side. This means you probably won’t find Pepper Grass near Pines and Oaks. Plants that like acidic soil (below a pH of 7.0) that you can find near Oaks and Pines include Eastern Bracken Fern, Curly Dock, Mullein, Nettles, Violets, Pineapple Weed, Plantagos, Wild Radish, Sheep Sorrel, Sow Thistle, and wild Strawberries. Plants that like it on the “sweet” or alkaline side besides Pepper Grass? Wild Carrots, Lamb’s Quarters, Amaranth, Pokeweed, White Mustard, and Purslane. Don’t look for those in an oak scrub or with a lot pines around.

Besides the pH of soil the kind of soil can make a difference. Chicory likes “heavy” soil meaning lots of clay, or rocks. Also liking heavy soil is Broadleaf Dock, Daisies, Milkweed, Plantains, true Thistles, and Wild Garlic. Plants that can endure hard packed soil include Field Mustard, Morning Glories — some of which are edible — and Pineapple Weed (it used to grow in our gravel driveway.) Going the other directions, plants that like sandy soil include Goldenrods, Sandspurs , Horsemint, and Spurge Nettle. Plants too look for in agricultural soil include chickweed, Dandelions, Lambs Quarters, Plantains, Amaranth and Purslane. And while Florida Betony can grow edible roots in rich loam or sand it tends to grow larger and easier to harvest roots in sand.

By their very presence some plants can tell you about what’s in or not in the soil. Burdock likes soil very high in iron and sulfate but low in calcium and manganese. Chickweed and Dandelions like low-calcium low-phosphorus soils. Crabgrass likes very low levels of calcium, phosphorus but high levels of chlorine, magnesium and potassium. Oxalis and Hop Cover, however, prefer low levels of calcium but high levels of magnesium. Purslane and Mustard like high phosphorus levels.

If you see a healthy patch of White Clover you know the soil is lacking in nitrogen. Or said another way, you won’t find happy White Clover in nitrogen-rich soil. I suspect that holds true for other members of the pea family as well. Because of preferences you will usually not find amaranth and clover growing together. Red Clover, however, prefers to grow in areas of soil high in potassium. Wild Garlic also likes high potassium as well along with chlorine, magnesium, and sodium.

All My Videos are available for free on You Tube. They do have ads on them so every time you watch a Green Deane video I get a quarter of one cent. Four views, one cent. Not exactly a large money-maker but it helps pays for this newsletter. If you want to see the videos without ads and some in slightly better quality you can order the DVD set. It is nine DVDs with 15 videos on each for a total of 135 videos.  Many people want their own copy of the videos or they have a slow service and its easier to order then to watch them on-line. The DVDs make a good gift for that forager you know especially as spring is … springing. Individual DVDs can also be ordered or you can pick and choose. You can order them by clicking on the button on the top right hand side of this page (if your window is open wide enough.)  Or you can go here.

Want to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Do you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object you want identified? On the Green Deane Forum we chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations around the world share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. One special section is “From the Frightening Mail Bag” where we learn from people who eat first then ask questions later. You can join the forum by clicking on “forum” in the menu.

Donations to upgrade EatTheWeeds.com have gone well. Thank you to all who have contributed to either via the Go Fund Me link, the PayPal donation link or by writing to Green Deane POB 941793 Maitland FL, 32794.

This is weekly issue 351.  

Young and old fruit of the Latex Strangler Vine. Photo by Green Deane

Millions of dollars and many decades have been spent trying to eradicate the edible pictured above. I do my part by eating as much as I can. The Latex Strangler Vine, also known as the Milkweed Vine, is on the state’s noxious weed list because it shades citrus trees to death especially in southern end of Florida. The seed pod is a staple food in its native South America and is more nutritious than the citrus it kills. We saw it during our foraging class Sunday in Largo. 

The vine’s blossoms are quite distinctive. Photo by Green Deane

In warm climates the vine will fruit all year making it a reliable source of food but also hard to control. As a tropical it does not like winter or even cool weather. But, I’ve harvested this vegetable for many years even in comparatively chilly Ocala. Even though Ocala is a “northern” location the vine — actually a liana — has picked the perfect spot to grow. There’s a large cement-block building nearby that can radiate heat at night if needed. And the vine is under a huge Live Oak, the kind that has graceful branches touching the ground great distances from the trunk. Where the branches touch the ground doesn’t get mowed well. So the vine escapes getting mowed, is protected during most freezes, and has a large tree to climb on (it can wend its way up 100 feet.) From the top of the tree it gets all the sun it needs, develops pods then drops them under the tree to reseed and repeat the cycle every year. In Largo, were it can get chilly, the vine is growing lakeside which moderates temperatures. Besides the cooked pods the fragrant flowers and leaves are also edible. To read more about the Latex Strangler Vine, go here.

Beefsteak Polypore, Fistulina hepatica.

The Beefsteak Polypore should have been called the Raw Liver Polypore. “Polypore” means many pores and this edible mushroom has many slightly strange pores: They are all separate, little tubes, not holes as many polypores are but a huge bunch of little tubes (think small straws tied in a bundle.) The mushroom can giggle like raw liver and even spills a red juice when cut. But there the comparisons end, almost. It’s white streaked flesh can be cut like liver but it does not taste like liver. Its flavor is more on the acidic side and blends in well with dishes made with lemons. And while current advice is no to eat any mushrooms raw — including those you buy in the grocery store — this is one fungus that is consumed raw, with or without pores. The prohibition against raw mushrooms arises from two characteristics. One is the polysaccharide chitin or in this case mycochitin. Some people have the enzyme to digest it, some don’t. Undigested chitin can cause unpleasant digestive upset. The other issue is many raw mushrooms tend to have hydrazines, a class of chemicals known to cause cancer. Cooking drives off the hydrazines. And more than a few mushroom … ah… hunters have gotten nematodes from eating raw mild-altering mushrooms growing in manure. Cook your mushrooms. Indeed, some of the most prized of wild mushrooms will make you ill if consumed raw including Morels, Chanterelles, Oysters, and King Boletes.  

Hackberries, or sugarberries, are usually burnt orange in color.

This is a good time to identify sugarberry trees, also called hackberries. They have four fairly easy characteristics to look for. Sugarberries can be large trees usually growing near water but not in it. This is not a species you will find on the top of a hill unless there is a lake or spring there or good irrigation. It’s usually found in the company of sweet gums, pecans, ash, cedars and what is left of elms (whose family it is in.) The bark of older trees is very warty but no thorns. Sugarberry leaves usually have uneven shoulders and if you flip the leaf over there are thee main veins at the base. And this time of year you will see small pea-sized green berries on the branches. These will turn yellow to burnt orange in color in a couple of months, sometimes even darker towards purple. They are sweet with a large seed. The entire fruit is edible though the seed is on the hard side. Natives often mashed the entire fruit making them into small cakes to be eaten raw or cooked. You can read about the sugarberry here. 

Foraging classes are held rain or shine, heat or cold.

Last Sunday’s class in Largo, Florida, what quite productive. We saw ripe wild grapes along with ripe Peppervine berries. Peppervine fruit is generally considered not edible but they were conveniently place to contrast and compare with edible grapes.  This coming Saturday’s foraging class is in Port Charlotte, always a pleasure because it’s where the Peace River meets the Gulf of Mexico. Sunday’s class in in Lake Woodruff Preserve in Deleon Springs, FL. That’s a long hot class with one port-o-lt for a bathroom. Dress for the occasion and bring drinking water. We’ll do a loop around the wetlands then look at some upland plants. 

Also notice in the foraging class line up a class in South Carolina the end of August. I’m in the Carolinas that week studying plants. Putney Farm has offered to let me hold a class there. Fee for the class is a donation to the farm in the amount of your choice.  

Saturday, July 21st, Bayshore Live Oak  Park, Port Charlotte, Fl. 9 a.m. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bayshore Road and Ganyard Street.

Sunday July 22nd, Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, 2045 Mud Lake Road, DeLeon Springs, FL. 9 a.m. Meet at the parking lot on right after crossing the railroad tracks. It will be a long, and hot class. Bring water. Bathrooms are port-O-lets. 

Saturday, July 28th, Florida State College,  south campus, 11901 Beach Blvd.,  Jacksonville, 32246.  We will meet at building “D”  next to the administration parking lot. 9 a.m.

Sunday, July 29th, Venetian Gardens, 201 E. Dixie Ave, Leesburg, FL 34748. 9 a.m. Meet at the parking lot near the pool. 

Saturday, August 4th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. Meet at the pavilion east of the tennis courts near the YMCA.

Sunday, August 5th, Boulware Springs Park, 3420 SE 15th St., Gainesville, FL 32641. Meet at the picnic tables next to the pump house. 9 a.m.

Saturday, August 11th, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405. As this is the hot summer time do you want to meet at 8 a.m.? Just north of the science center.

Monday, August 27th, 1624 Taylor Road, Honea Path, South Carolina. Ever want to meet Green Deane but he never seems to come to your neck of the woods? Then mark Monday, August 27th, on your calendar. Green Deane will have a free foraging class in Honea Path, South Carolina, at the Putney Farm, 1624 Taylor Road. The foraging begins at 10 a.m., rain or shine (except hurricanes.) All of Green Deane’s classes are hands on, walking outside. Wild edible plants, medicinals and perhaps a mushroom or two will be on the agenda (as Green Deane is in the Carolinas that week studying local mushrooms.) Donations to Putney Farm are appreciated as they are hosting the event. For more information you can contact Putney Farm on Facebook or Green Deane at GreenDeane@gmail.com. 

For more information about the classes go here.

Eastern Gammagrass in blossom.

Grass and ice cream are usually not considered at the same time unless it is Eastern Gamagrass. Why? Because livestock like the clumping Tripsacinae so much cattlemen call in Ice Cream Grass. While it can be used like wheat it’s a distant relative of corn. Eastern Gamagrass is sod forming and can reach up to eight-feet tall.  Though it is pollinating now locally the grass can seed from June to September.  As you can tell from photo to the right the male flowers occupy the top three-fourths of the spike and the female flowers the bottom fourth. In this species the girls are brown, hair-like structures. Besides fodder Eastern Gamagrass is a common ornamental found in parks and residential areas. A bunch can live to be 50 years old or more To read more about Eastern Gamagrass go here.

From one point of view Purslane is a very easy topic: It’s edible, nutritious, and fairly easy to identify. It is sold in supermarkets around the world except the United States, so you have to find your own which is easy because it grows everywhere. From there things get complicated.

Common Edible Purslane

What about ornamental purslanes, the kind you find for bedding plants in home improvement stores? They often have colors other than yellow, such as orange and flamingo and the like. Their blossoms can be doubled or frilly. Then there are native members of the genus, Portulaca: Are they edible? Somewhere back in the early 90’s I asked Forager Emeritus Dick Deuerling if ornamental purslanes were edible. He said he didn’t know and wasn’t interested in finding out. Some 20 years later that is my answer. I don’t know. My suspicion is if they are not they are not severely toxic. That leads me to our local native Portulaca pilosa. I have tried it. The leaves burn my mouth a little and upset my stomach some. Nothing horrible but nothing I want to repeat. I’ve had some beginning foragers tell me they eat it but I have not had any experienced foragers tell me that. You can read about purslane here. Also do not eat any plant that looks like purslane but has white sap. They are not edible.

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Need to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Maybe you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object, you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we — including Green Deane — chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. Topics have included: Tea, Salt and Amla, Small Bush and Flower, Ragweed? Pine Cough Drops and Needles, Odd Vine? Hunting and Trapping Ethics. Knife Accidents. Some Kind of Lespendeza and Survival Garden. You can join the forum by clicking on the button in the menu line.

Green Deane DVD set of 135 videos

All of Green Deane’s videos available for free on You Tube. They do have ads on them so every time you watch a Green Deane video I get a quarter of one cent. Four views, one cent. Not exactly a large money-maker but it helps pays for this newsletter. If you want to see the videos without ads and some in slightly better quality you can order the DVD set. It is nine DVDs with 15 videos on each.  Many people want their own copy of the videos or they have a slow service and its easier to order then to watch them on-line. They make a good gift for that forager you know. Individual DVDs can also be ordered. You can order them by clicking on the button on the top right of this page or you can go here.

This is weekly issue 313.

If you would like to donate to Eat The Weeds please click here. Or you can use my Go Fund Me  link, or by writing to Green Deane POB 941793 Maitland FL, 32794.  

Lawns Aren’t Green 

I saw two advertising headlines on trucks that caught my attention. One was a flat bed for a company that paves driveways in Tampa. The clever sign said: “If your driveway’s crack it’s not our asphalt.” Good marketing but one suspects driveway stones that let rainwater though and don’t leach bad chemicals would be a better choice. The other truck was lawn maintenance. Its sign was more to the point: “If you grow it we mow it.”

The first thought that crossed my mind was why do people grow lawns? I might even go as far as to ask why do men grow so much grass since they do most of the home lawn keeping in the United States. Historically men have been the tamers of the wilderness which lawns might represent. When you add power tools and things you can ride, we might have part of an answer: Lawns are modern wilderness men have to tame. One friend said that when he’s done taking care of his lawn he feels a sense of accomplishment. He can see a difference, a job well done. He can see and measure his success. I have a neighbor who has at best a thousand square feet of lawn total. He has a huge riding mower, a chipper, blower, hedge trimmer, edge trimmer and lawn vacuum. Nearly every Sunday his entire day is spent manicuring his small patch of grass. Another neighbor is trying to keep a lawn like a putting green. Indeed, I know two people who mow their lawn every day: Every day! Maybe lawns are maintained because they are there. As I have said before, trees earn their keep, lawns have to be kept. Perhaps the key to change is stop building new homes with lawns.

Lawn grass is the second-largest crop in the United States after another grass, corn (and I suspect if corn was not subsidized by the government lawn grass would be the largest crop.) Sixty percent of drinkable water in suburbia goes to watering lawns. Home owners also use 10 times more pesticides and fertilizer than they need to maintain their lawn (and far more than farmers use.) A lot of folks worry about the impact of Big Agriculture on the environment. What about the environmental impact of Big Lawn? Besides excess use of pesticides and fertilizer millions of gallons of gasoline and oil are accidentally spilt every year while working with those lawn-related power tools. Lawns just aren’t green. One can envision a transition over many years: First new homes without lawns being added then a lawn tax for those who must keep them. That will happen when politicians realize it is a new source of income.

Pineapple Guava blossoms are edible and peppery. Photo by Green Deane

Perhaps no ornamental was championed as much as the Pineapple Guava. However the perfect shrub for many places never really caught on. There could be several reasons. It probably didn’t help that a close relative, the Strawberry Guava, is a severe invasive species in some locations.  The shrub also does not get showy. You have to hunt for the extroverted blossoms. While the entire blossom is edible most people only eat the petals. Five or six months from now they will be dark green fruit that stay green as they ripen. They just get softer. The shrub is easy to identify when in blossom. To read more about both guavas, go here.

Surinam Cherries, which are not really cherries, can have a wide fruiting period. So far this season I have found shrubs with tiny green fruit to a large tree-shaped specimen already dropping ripe fruit. I think the latter has jumped the season significantly.  There are two varieties, black fruited and deep red fruited. Surinam Cherries taste awful until totally ripe. Even then many folks do not like the flavor. Your pallet will either say this is food or this is not. No in betweens. Seriously. You either will eat them again or never again. But if you are going to eat them make sure they are very ripe. In the black/dark purple variety they are indeed black when totally ripe. With the red-fruiting variety you want a deep fire-truck red (with blue tones) not an orange Ferrari red.  To read more about Surinam Cherries go here.

Pawpaws are easy to spot now.

Once you’re done reading this newsletter turn off the computer and go find some Pawpaws. Now is the time locally to identify one of the more common species we have. The photo to the left is from a pasture in Volusia County near Gemini Springs. There are hundreds of Pawpaw blossoming there now and all along the bike trail through the area (as well as true thistles and Maypops.) In a few months there will be a lot of fruit here if the woodland creatures don’t get to them first. It is, after all, their grocery store. We have Pawpaws with cream-colored blossoms and some dwarf versions with purple blossoms. While you can find them in nearly any dry location pastures are a good place to look because pastures are easy to find and livestock tend to not eat them.  This is one species you can also find while driving. Just look for five-foot shrubs with cream-colored blossoms as you go by. You will see Pawpaws. To read more about Pawpaws go here.

Humming birds like the Eastern Coral Bean

Also blossoming this time of year is the Eastern Coral Bean, sometimes called the Cherokee Bean. What is odd about this plant is the edible flowers produce toxic beans.  So we do not eat the red and black beans. A few of the red blossoms are edible raw — with precautions — but they are usually boiled then mixed with other foods notably scrambled eggs. When you cook the blossoms they turn light green. The distinctive shape of the leaves makes the shrub easy to identify. Young leaves are edible cooked but are marginal fare. Like the Pawpaws above they prefer dry, sunny places. A few raw red blossoms seem okay but if eaten in larger amounts they can be mind altering and approaching dangerous. Boiled they are fine. (Juice from the shrub’s stems, by the way, has been used to treat scorpion stings.)  You can read more about the Eastern Coral Bean here.

Partridgeberry. Photo by Green Deane

In the Carolinas in August I see a lot of Partridgeberries, also called Twin Berries because the separate blossoms fuse into one berry. They are edible but mild. That said  partridgeberries are attractive with striking red berries and deep green leaves. They  are not extroverted but if you see them the little fruit are attractive. I have seen them Gainesville and Wekiva State Park just north of Orlando. According to the USDA chart the species is not in the county but U.S.D.A. maps are often quite out of date. Seasonally Florida and the mountains of North Carolina are — as far as the Partridgeberries are concerned — about five months apart. As with the Carolinas these were spotted in damp but not inundated soil. You can read more about them here. 

Foresteria segregata

Odds and ends of the weekend: What’s the old saying? Close but no cigar. This weekend I saw two plants, one I had never seen and one I had not seen in many years. The latter was Foresteria segregata, in Largo, Florida. Also called Florida Privet and Swamp Privet, you can find it anywhere from brackish waterways to an intentional ornamental in landscaping. The straight limbs were used for arrows and the blue berries possibly used for ink. I suspect the species has never worked its way into ethnobotanical literature because the berries taste bad. I’m not sure, however, if the story ends there. Yes, the berries are not considered edible. That said I have not found any references to toxicity but that might be because they are too foul to eat. However, it is in the Olive family and olives don’t taste good unless “cured.” What I wonder is 1) if the fruit are edible if 2) they are treated (meaning cured)  like olives?  It’s pure speculation on my part. They could be toxic for all I know. But it’s an idea.

Rumex paraguayensis 

The other plant looked like a “dock” to me, also called Rumex. There’s about a dozen and a half Rumex in North America, many of them native while several imported. Merritt Fernald, who was the main botany Ph.D. at Harvard for half a century, said they were all edible but most of them bitter. We have several locally: R. hastatulus and R. acetosella are tart, the latter not native. R. verticillatus, the Swamp Dock, is also commonly seen and bitter. Two other introduced species locally — and in the rest of North America — are Rumex obtusifolius and Rumex Crispus, the latter also know as edible Curly Dock.  The “dock” we saw in Cassadaga, Fl, didn’t seem to be any of those. Because there were a lot of small leaves on the flower spike it could be R. paraguayensis, which is reported in the state but in limited locations. If it is R. paraguayensis is it edible? That took a bit of digging. I found an article called “Wild Food Plants and Fungi Used By The Polish Community in Misiones, Argentia” published in the Journal of Human Ecology, December 2015.  The fifth entry on Table One says R. paraguayensis leaves were eaten raw in salads and cooked in soups. It was also not listed as a famine food. You can read the full article here.

And another reminder that loquats are in full fruit now and wild garlic is in season. In fact at our Largo class were were taken to a wild garlic location. Thanks Carolyn! Oh yes, in last week’s top photo the edibles were Dandelions, Oxalis, Commelina, and False Hawk’s Beard. There’s also a young nightshade that if allowed to grow probably would have been Solanum americanum.  I say been because the lawn has since been mowed. 

Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Do you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object you want identified? On the Green Deane Forum we chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations around the world share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. One special section is “From the Frightening Mail Bag” where we learn from people’s mistakes. You can join the forum by clicking on the button on the upper right hand side of this page.

Green Deane DVD Set

Spring orders have started their annual  increase. All of Green Dane’s videos available for free on You Tube. They do have ads on them so every time you watch a Green Deane video I get a quarter of one cent. Four views, one cent. Not exactly a large money-maker but it helps pays for this newsletter. If you want to see the videos without ads and some in slightly better quality you can order the DVD set. It is nine DVDs with 15 videos on each.  Many people want their own copy of the videos or they have a slow service and its easier to order then to watch them on-line. They make a good gift for that forager you know. Individual DVDs can also be ordered. You can order them by clicking on the button on the top right of this page or you can go here.

Classes are held rain or shine or cold.

Foraging Classes: Foraging classes this week range from mid-state in Orlando to the southwest side and Sarasota. While some winter plants remain the spring edible are making their seasonal run so there’s plenty to see and taste.

Saturday, April 14th, Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. Meet at the pavilion east of the tennis courts near the YMCA.

Sunday, April 15th, Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL, 34233, 9 a.m. 

Saturday, April 22nd, Spruce Creek, 6250 Ridgewood Ave. Port Orange, 32127, 9 a.m., meet at the pavilion. 

Saturday, May 5th, Florida State College,  south campus, 11901 Beach Blvd.,  Jacksonville, 32246.  9 a.m. We will meet at building “D”  next to the administration parking lot.

 To read more about the classes or to pre-pay go here. 

Donations to upgrade EatTheWeeds.com and fund a book are going well and has made the half way mark. Thank you to all who have contributed to either via the Go Fund Me link, the PayPal donation link or by writing to Green Deane POB 941793 Maitland FL, 32794.  Recent upgrades have been paid now the Forum needs work and several function problems need to be fixed specifically the search and categories.  A new server also being considered.  The other issue is finding  an indexing program or function for a real book. Writing programs used to do it automatically if you designated a term for indexing. Now that most books are ebooks most writing programs do not provide and indexing function. 

Foraging is more than identifying edible wild plants. It also involves knowing how to cook them, when they are prime to harvest, and subject of this review, where to find them. In real estate the mantra is “location, location, location.” We could use that with plants but a refinement would be “environment, environment, environment.”

Sea Purslane tolerates salty ground.

We know not to look for swamp plants in a desert, unless there is an isolated spring there such as an oasis. Likewise, few cactus grow in swamps though there are exceptions. We also usually find salt tolerant plants near the shore or inland near salt licks (and sometimes along northern roads salted every winter.) But some of those salt-tolerant plants will grow in your garden and do not need to be in a salty environment. Sea Purslane is found on the shore or near brackish water where its job is to build soil by forcing the wind to slow down and drop sand. But, it will also grow in your garden, no salt or wind needed. Other plants are more picky and won’t grow well if not in their preferred location.

Blueberries, Roan Mt. North Carolina.

For example, one species I am long-familiar with is Blueberries. They like soil on the acidic side, a pH below 7 on a 14-point scale. I grew up in poor-soil Maine where one could find 120-acre fields of nothing but Blueberries. Yet where I live now, in Florida, Blueberries are found in small colonies in isolated pockets. Why? One answer is Florida is a limestone plate (alkaline not acidic) so it is a waste of time to look for Blueberries unless there are acid-producing pines, oaks or perhaps cypress nearby. I planted Blueberries specifically bred for Florida but one has to amend the soil — the amount of acid — nearly as much as one has to work daily to keep a pool from turning green. They eventually died, one of my few failures.

Dandelions like acidic soil.

Another example is Dandelions. I have observed for several decades that Dandelions don’t like Florida, or at least the areas of Florida I visit. They like acidic soil. It might be it is not Florida’s heat they don’t like but rather the alkaline (“sweet”) soil. The few places I have seen Dandelions growing have been areas of acidic soil again near pines and often oaks. Dreher Park in West Palm Beach is a good example. What Dandelions there are there can be found growing in lawn grass amongst oaks. While I have also found Dandelions around the year they tend to favor the winter months such as November through February. With environment in mind let’s survey some plants and what soils and conditions they like. 

Henbit, one of the few “sweet” springtime greens. Photo by Green Deane

Some plants can do well in nearly any soil. Henbit, Dead Nettle and Shepard’s Purse are good examples. However, a close relative of Shepard’s Purse, Poor Man’s Pepper Grass, likes soil on the alkaline side. This means you probably won’t find Pepper Grass near Pines and Oaks. Plants that like acidic soil (below a pH of 7.0) that you can find near Oaks and Pines include Eastern Bracken Fern, Curly Dock, Mullein, Nettles, Violets, Pineapple Weed, Plantagos, Wild Radish, Sheep Sorrel, Sow Thistle, and wild Strawberries. Plants that like it on the “sweet” or alkaline side besides Pepper Grass? Wild Carrots, Lamb’s Quarters, Amaranth, Pokeweed, White Mustard, and Purslane. Don’t look for those in an oak scrub or with a lot pines around.

Wild Garlic likes thick soil.

Besides the pH of soil the kind of soil can make a difference. Chicory likes “heavy” soil meaning lots of clay, or rocks. Also liking heavy soil is Broadleaf Dock, Daisies, Milkweed, Plantains, true Thistles, and Wild Garlic. Plants that can endure hard packed soil include Field Mustard, Morning Glories — some of which are edible — and Pineapple Weed (it used to grow in our gravel driveway.) Going the other directions, plants that like sandy soil include Goldenrods, Sandspurs and Spurge Nettle. Plants too look for in agricultural soil include chickweed, Dandelions, Lambs Quarters, Plantains, Amaranth and Purslane. And while Florida Betony can grow edible roots in rich loam or sand it tends to grow larger and easier to harvest roots in sand.

Crab Grass likes low calcium soil.

By their very presence some plants can tell you about what’s in or not in the soil. Burdock likes soil very high in iron and sulfate but low in calcium and manganese. Chickweed and Dandelions like low-calcium low-phosphorus soils. Crabgrass likes very low levels of calcium, phosphorus but high levels of chlorine, magnesium and potassium. Oxalis and Hop Cover, however, prefer low levels of calcium but high levels of magnesium. Purslane and Mustard like high phosphorus levels.

Clover prefers low nitrogen soil.

If you see a healthy patch of White Clover you know the soil is lacking in nitrogen. Or said another way, you won’t find happy White Clover in nitrogen-rich soil. I suspect that holds true for other members of the pea family as well. Because of preferences you will usually not find amaranth and clover growing together. Red Clover, however, prefers to grow in areas of soil high in potassium. Wild Garlic also likes high potassium as well along with chlorine, magnesium, and sodium.

This is weekly issue 299.  

If you would like to donate to Eat The Weeds please click here.

• 475
• His name was Will Endres and he was a North Carolina herbalist…Poison ivy, foraging classes, horse mint, ground cherries, foraging USBs, the Green Deane Forum, Southern Wax Myrtle, https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-475-september-21-2021/474

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-474-september-14-2021/

  Chance happens in foraging. 

  Coralwood, Kudzu, Foraging Classes, Favolus Mushrooms, learning edibles,  foraging USB, the Green Deane forum, aroma and cyanide

  473

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-473-september-7th-2021/

  It would be convenient if Pindo Palms fruited regularly. 

  Pindo palms seeds, Canna, Foraging classes, Ghost Pipes, Labor Day, Tallow Plums

  472

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-472-august-31-2021/

  Are there any Shiitake mushrooms locally? 

  Train Wrecker, Chicken of the Woods, Foraging Classes, Dogwood, Hackberries, Kudzu, foraging DVDs and the Green Deane Forum 

  471

  A white Water Hyacinth was seen recently in the Little Econ River east of Orlando. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-471-august-24th-2021/

  Water hyacinth, Foraging Classes, Wild grapes, Tumble Weed, Goldenrod, Swamp Mallow, Foraging USBs, the Green Deane forum, Donations  

  470

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-470-august-17th-2021/

  One way northern and southern climates differ is the greater array of non-native species that are constantly being imported and or found in southern climates.

  Torell’s Eucalyptus, Chaya, Guavas, Java Plum, Ground Cherries, Coco-plums, Natal Plum, Dragon Fruit, Podocarpus, Persimmons, Foraging USBs, Green Deane Forum, Donations, the Two-Leaf Nightshade 

  469

  Plants remind one that weather is less dependable than we might think. 

  Jambul, Chanterelles, Cactus Fruit, Sugarberry, Doveweed, Foraging Classes, Isabelline, Foraging USBs, the Green Deane Forum, and Donations

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-469-august-10-2021/

  468

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-468-august-3-2021/

  Yes, there are land crabs in Florida and the rest of the gulf coast.

  Land crabs, Foraging classes, Grapes, Podocarpus, Horsemint, Saw Palmetto, Goldenrod, Russian thistle, USBs, Green Deane Forum, donations. 

  467

  Candyroot, Foraging Classes, Wild Grapes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Donations, Saw Palmetto, Barnyard Grass, Brookweed 

  Is it the season or is it the rain?

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-467-july-27th-2021/

  466

  This summer’s foraging classes at Putney Farm in Honea Path South Carolina are now history

  Foraging in South Carolina, American Beech, Sourwood, Birches, Moringa, foraging Classes, Sumac, Country Wine, Saw Palmetto, foraging USB, Green Deane Forum, and Donations

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-466-july-20th-2021/ 

  465

  Newsletter #465, July 13th, 2021

  Kousa Dogwood, Sassafras, Wild Carrots, Birches Apples

  Apples, Mushrooms, Podocarpus, Foraging Classes, Knotweed, Cactus, Peppervine, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, donations, 

  464 

  In real estate it is location, location, location. 

  Blue Indigos, Milk Caps, Jelly Fungus, Strawberry Guava, Foraging Classes, Pandamus Grass, Smilax, Foraging DVDs, Green Deane Forum and Donations

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-464-july-6th-2021/

  463

  Podocarpus are not fickle but they are slightly unpredictable. 

  Podocarpus, Java Plum, Stillwater Canoe, Mushrooms, Foraging classes, Atamasco Lily, foraging USBs, the Green Deane Forum, and donations  

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-463-june-29th-2021/

  462

  If you think you are not allergic to poison Ivy …

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-462-june-22-2021/

  Poison Ivy, Socks and Pythons, Black Cherries, Pokeweed, Yuck, Foraging Classes, Cashews, USBs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations.  

  461

  Sycamores, bacteria, Foraging Classes, Beautyberries, USBs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations, Sweet Acacia

  Sugar maples are famous for their syrup but how many species of trees can you actually tap?

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-461-june-15th-2021/

  460

  What can be said about the Jambul Tree?

  Jambul, Foraging Classes, Maypops, Pindo Palms, Chaya, Foraging USBs, Green Deane Forum, Donations, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-460-june-8th-2021/

  459

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-459-june-1st-2021/

  For more than 60 years I have associated Lilacs with June.

  Lilacs, American Lotus, Foraging Classes, Chinese Tallow Tree, Eastern Hemlock, foraging USBs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations, toxic Atamaso Lilies. 

  This week’s debatable question is “can you eat elderberries raw?”

  Elderberries, Two-leaf Nightshade, Foraging Classes, Morning Glories, foraging USBs, the Green Deane forum, donations, Jack in the Pulpit 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-458-may-25th-2021/

  457

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-457-may-18th-2021/

  Acres of wild blackberries….

  Blackberries, foraging is illegal, Sea Blite, Foraging classes, Sea Purslane, foraging videos on USBs, the Green Deane Forum, 

  456

  The Bunya Bunya and Norfolk Pine are closely related.

  Bunya Bunya, Norfolk Pine, Allergic reactions, foraging classes, Chickasaw Plums, Blue Mushrooms, cattails, foraging videos on USBs, and the Green Deane Forum, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-456-may-4th-2021/

  455

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-455-april-27th-2021/

  Is it edible? 

  Evening Primrose, False dandelions, Yucca, Foraging classes, foraging videos on USBs, the Ghreen Deane Forum, 

  454 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-454-april-20-2021/

  Pineapple Guava, Hercule’s Club, Usnea, Miner’s Lettuce, Foraging Classes, Paper Mulberry, Where do you forage, Foraging Videos, the Green Deane Forum, Brookweed, 

  Perhaps no ornamental has been championed as much as the Pineapple Guava

  453

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-453-april-13-2021/

  It’s about time to make a prediction.

  Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Eastern Coral Bean, Foraging Classes, Watercress, Marlberries, Foraging Videos, Green Deane Forum, Donations, 

  452

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-452-april-6th-2021/

  On the east coast of my native state of Maine about seven miles south of Portland is the Town of Scarbrough.

  Paper Mulberries, Foraging Classes, Deer Mushrooms, Hercules Club, USB Videos, Green Deane Forum, Donations.

  451 

  Which tree has more life, the Mulberry or the Moringa? 

  Mulberry, Atamasco lily, Foraging Classes, Blueberries, Huckleberries, Watercress, Foraging USBs,  the Green Deane Forum, Smilax, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-451-march-30th-2021/

  450

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-450-march-23-2021/

  wisteria, Cherokee Rose, Deer Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Hydrilla, Garlic, video USBs, Green Deane Forum, Donations

  The weather may be chilly still it’s a hot time of year for foraging. 

  449 

  It’s not June that’s busting out all over but rather Vacciniums, mostly blueberries.

  Vacciniums, groundnuts, evening primroses, foraging classes, video USBs, Pawpaws, Florida Pennyroyal,

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-449-march-16-2021/

  448

  The Greeks were perhaps the first people to call things what they were such as “yoke mate” for spouse or “shiny leather” for the Reishi mushroom.

  Bottlebrush tree, Candyroot, Loquats, Mulberries, Foraging classes. USB, the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-448-march-09-2021/

  447

  Fireweed, Latex Strangler Vine, Foraging Classes, Clover, Bacopa, Violets, USBs, Cashews 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-447-02-march-2021/

  Fireweed/burnweed has a flavor chefs love. 

  446

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-446-feb-23-2021/

  Loquats, Loquat wine, Wild Garlic, Foraging Classes, Chickweed, Lamb’s Quarters,  Toxic Butterweed, Bulrush, USBs, and the Green Deane Forum, 

  While driving around have you seen a tree with large, dark green leaves and yellow fruit?

  445

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-445-feb-16-2021/

  Can you eat red mangroves?

  Mangroves, foraging classes, plantagos, Passion Flowers, Black Medic, USBs&DVDs, Alligator pendent, and the Green Deane Forum  

  444

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-444-february-9th-2021/

  Young and tender describes them best: Elm leaves we nibbled during our foraging class in Gainesville Saturday.

  Elms, Eastern Red Bud, Foraging Classes, Ragweed, Cattails, Coquina, Mole Crabs, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, nickerbeans, alligator tooth. 

  443

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-443-february-2-2021/

  If you look across local lakes now you will see ruby red splotches on the horizon. 

  Maples, Drymaria, Foraging Classes, Seaweed, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Jabuticaba, 

  442

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-442-january-26-2021/

  Violets, False Hawk’s Beard, Foraging Classes, Stink Horns, Weed Seeds, USB & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  A common blossom that’s easy to identify is the wild violet. 

  441

  Our mighty stinging nettles are up.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-441-january-19-2021/

  Stinging nettles, Sow Thistle, Foraging Classes, Chickweed, Wild Geraniums, Silverthorn, USBs & DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum 

  440

  The Western Tansy Mustard is one of our shortest-lived wintertime forageables. 

  Western Tansy Mustard, Eastern Gamagrass, Begonias, Foraging Classes, Spiderworts, USBs&DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-440-january-12th-2021/

  439

  Our tasty winter green chickweed is in its glory. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-439-january-05-2021/

  Chickweed, Sheep Sorrel, Oxalis, Latex Strangler Vine, Pellitory, Black Medic, Geranium, Horsemint, Henbit, Shepherd’s Purse, Plantain, Wild Mustard Radish, Canna, Cattails, Foraging Classes, Botany Builder #12, USB & DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum

  438

  What difference can 172.4 miles make?

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-438-december-29th-2020/

  Goji berry, Sea Rocket, Black Medic, Harlequin Glorybower, Foraging Classes, Nagi Tree, Glasswort, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

   

  437

  At what point does a “wild” plant become an edible plant?

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-437-december-22-2020/

  Florida Thatch Palm, Sleepy Hibiscus, Cereus, Bauhinia, Foraging Classes, Cockroach Berry, Silverthorn, USBs and DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  436 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-436-december-15th-2020/

  Usually we see Christmas Berries about April. 

  Christmas Berries. Foraging Classes, Sow Thistle, Mustards & Radishes, Black Calabash, USBs & DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum  

  435

  Our first sighting of one of our winter comestibles happened Saturday

  Chickweed, Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Henbit, Wild Geraniums, Peltate, Is this Plant Edible? foraging USB & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum,  

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-435-december-08-2020/

  434 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-434-december-01-2020/

  Winter Podocarpus, Acerola, Foraging Classes, Chufa, Redflower Ragweed, Weeds of Southern Turf Grasses, foraging USBs &DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.

  Actually there’s nothing wrong with the photo per se, it’s the time of year that’s different.

  433

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-433-november-24-2020/

  Every April of so we go looking for Wild Garlic…

  Wild Garlic, Big Caltrop, Foraging Classes, Ghost Pipes, Balm of Gilead, USBs & DVDs, Green Deane Forum 

  432 

  We are shifting mushrooms seasons from terrestrial to trees or ground to wood.

  Lion’s Mane, Gooseberries, Foraging classes, Sea Purslane, Foraging in urban areas, USB and DVDs, the Green Deane forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-432-november-17th-2020/

  431

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-431-november-10-2020/

  While looking for the yellow-blossomed Dandelions…

  Dandelions, Mustard and radishes, Plantains, Foraging Classes, Brazilian Pepper,Skunk Vine, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  430

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-430-november-3-2020/

  During our foraging class in West Palm Beach Sunday we saw inch-high sprouts of the winter edible Pellitory.

  Pellitory, Poor Man’s Peppergrass, Foraging classes, Seaweed, Jelly Fish, Southern Wax Myrtle, Stinkhorns, Jack Ol Lanterns, USBs & DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  429

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-429-october-27-2020/

  During our foraging class Sunday in Gainesville we dug up a couple of Winged Yams. 

  Winged Yams. Tropical Almond, Foraging Classes, Roses, Bay Leaves, Citron Melon, the Honeycomb Mushroom, USBs and DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.

  428

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-428-october-20-2020/

  Country Wine, Foraging Classes, Chinese Tallow Tree, Caesarweed, Cambium, USBs and DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, and Ceibas

  Three reasons prompted me to resurrect my wine-making past. 

  427

  Mother Nature has her own schedule.

  Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Golden Rain Tree, Foraging Classes, Dragon Fruit, Partridgeberry, DVDs & USB, the Green Deane Forum

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-427-october-13-2020/

  426

  Fall is a good time to write about Yellow Pond Lilys.

  Yellow Pond Lilys, Persimmons, Monstera deliciosa, Turkey Tails, Foraging Classes, Sida, sumacs, two sages and a pusley, USBs and DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-426-october-6-2020/ 

  425

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-425-september-29th-2020/

  The question isn’t whether Reishi mushrooms grow in North America. 

  Reishi mushrooms, Wax Myrtle Berries, Foraging Classes, American Beautyberries, Sea and Wood Oats, Ground Cherries, Anoles, Chestnut Bolete, DVDs and USB, the Green Deane Forum. 

  424

  Horsemint is in season and easy to find. 

  Horsemint, Crowfoot Grass, Foraging Classes, Apples, the aroma of wild food, plant pronunciations, foraging DVDs and USB, the Green Deane Forum,  

  423

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-423-september-15th-2020/

  No one told the Ringless Honey Mushrooms it isn’t November.

  Ringless Honey Mushrooms, the Syzygiums, Foraging Classes, Heartwing Sorrel, Bacopa, Groundnuts, USB and DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum 

  422

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-422-september-8th-2020/

  Pindo and Queen Palms, Canna, Indian Pipes, Foraging Classes, Scrumping, USBs and DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  421

  In the backwoods of Maine where I grew up Dogwoods were small.

  Perennial Peanut, Kousa Dogwood, Sugarberry/Hackberry, Foraging Classes, Ground Cherries, foraging DVDsUSBs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-421-september-01-2020/

  420

  Gracie gets the prize. 

  Black Trumpets, Persimmons, foraging classes, Kudzu, Wild Apples, the toxic False Parasol, foraging USBs and DVDs, and the Green Deane forum. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-420-august-25th-2020/

  419

  Last Sunday’s foraging class — Haulover Canal — was a hot one with a lot of walking.

  Tallow Plums, Foraging Classes, Goldenrod, Saw Palmettos, White Spiderling, Sumac, foraging DVDS & USBs, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-419-august-18th-2020/

  418

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-418-august-11-2020/

  There is probably some Syzygium in your kitchen.

  Bunya Bunyas, Syzygiums, Chanterelles,  Cactus Tuna, Sugarberry, Doveweed, Isabelline, foraging DVDs and USB, the Green Deane Forum…

  417

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-417-august-04-2020/

  Wild mints can be prima donnas.

  Horsemint, Russian Thistle, Foraging Classes, Goldenrod, Swamp Mallow, foraging videos, Green Deane Forum, Pindo Palms 

  416

  With apologies this newsletter is starting with the foraging class schedule.

  Wild Grapes, foraging class schedule, Pepper Vine, Podocarpus, Country Wine Update, Sumacs, Saw Palmettos, Foraging Videos, Green Deane Forum, Black Gum

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-416-july-29th-2020/

  415

  July is passing and that means many different things to foragers depending upon your location on the rotation.

  Forked-tendril grapes, pindo palms, cactus, foraging classes, the false roselle, barnyard grass, strawberry guava, foraging DVDs & USB, the green Deane Forum, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-415-july-21-2020/

  414

  It’s called Pandanus and Screw Pine and a lot of other names as well.

  Pandanus Grass, Smilax walteri, Foraging Classes, Knotweed, Pineapple Weed, Tamarind, Toe Biters, foraging videos on USB, and the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-414-july-14th-2020/

  413

  Is it time to rethink Magnolias? 

  Magnolias, Foraging Classes, Podocarpus, Florida Wine, Bread and Beer, Foraging Videos on USB, Green Deane Forum, Strawberry Guavas

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-413-july-7-2020/

  412

  First an apology to those who showed up for a class last Sunday at Haul Over Canal to find, like me, the road closed.

  Chamberbitters, foraging classes, Grapes, Magnolias, videos on USB, Green Deane Forum, and Bacopa 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-412-june-30th-2020/

  411

  What can be said about the Jambul Tree? 

  Jambul Tree, Foraging Classes, Morning Glories, Boletes, Poke Sallet, Tindora, Foraging Videos on USBs, and the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-411-june-23-2020/

  410

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-410-june-16th-2020/

  Sugar maples are famous for their syrup but how many species of trees can you actually tap?

  Tapping trees, grapes, foraging classes, American Beautyberries, Creeping Fig, Richardia, videos on USBs and the Green Deane Forum 

  409

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-409-june-9-2020/

  There’s an old song “what a difference a day makes.”

  Mushroom class, foraging classes, Natal Plum, Surinam Cherries, Foraging videos on USBs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  408

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-408-june-2-2020/

  Yellow ponds, that’s how I think of it, or in some places, yellow rivers.

  American Lotus, Jack in the Pulpit, Black Cherries, a toxic lily, Chinese Tallow Tree, Foraging Classes, Maypops, Videos on USBs, and the Green Deane Forum.

  407

  In the realm of plant populations there is endangered, threatened then rare. 

  Candyroot, American Lotus, Foraging Classes, Eggs, USBs and the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-407-may-26-2020/

  406

  This was a “Prunus” foraging week. 

  Chickasaw Plums, Indigo Milk Cap, Black Medic, Foraging Classes, Cattails, Foraging Videos, Podocarpus, Wine Making, Blue Porter Weed, Green Deane Forum, Wild Pineapple. 

   https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-406-may-19-2020/

  405

  We are in between mushroom seasons, so to speak.

  Boletes, Society Garlic, Gopher Apples, Foraging Classes, Foraging DVDs/USBs, Botany Builder #28, Maypops, Toxic Cherry Laurel, Cochineal Dye, and the Green Deane Forum. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-12-may-2020/

  404

  This week’s debatable question is “can you eat elderberries raw?”

  Elderberries, Grapes, Common Plant Names, Redflower Ragweed, Fakahatchee Grass, Ground Nuts, Foraging Classes, Foraging videos, Wild Coffee and Coralberry, the Green Deane Forum. 

   

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-05-may-2020/

  403

  Now is a good time to go looking for blackberries. 

  Blackberries, Pineapple Guava, the Bacopas, Foraging Classes, Foraging Videos now on USB drives, Eastern Coral Bean, Coquina, Green Deane Forum, and Cotton 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-28-april-2020/

  401-402 

  At one time there were just Opuntias.

  Cactus, Gopher Apples,  Deerberries, Foraging Classes, Mushrooms, Foraging DVDs, Persimmons, Avocados, Paper Mulberry, Pawpaw, Smartweed, Green Deane Forum and YUCK!, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-april-14-21-2020/

  400

  Watercress grew in a ditch behind an apartment complex I lived in near Sanford, Florida…

  Watercress, Wild Garlic, Marlberries, Chokeberries, American Nightshade, Chamberbitter, Green Deane Forum, Donations, DVDs 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-7-april-2020/

  399

  Blossoming this time of year is the Eastern Coral Bean, sometimes called the Cherokee Bean.

  Eastern Coral Bean, Sea Blite, Foraging Classes, Pineapple Guava, Foraging DVDs, Variegated Mahoe, Australian Pine, Bananas, Green Deane Forum, Donations, Making Wine 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-31-march-2020/

  398

  If you have an established ivy gourd…

  Ivy Gourd, Swinecress, Foraging Classes, Cashews, Henbit, Purslane, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Donations, Basswood, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-march-2020/

  397

  A common blossom that’s easy to identify is the wild violet.

  Violets, Seablite, Loquats, foraging classes, Redflower Ragweed,  Latex Strangler Vine, Green Deane Forum, Donations, DVDs, Ivy Gourd 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-17-march-2020/

  396

  Fireweed/Burnweed has a flavor chefs love.

  Fireweed/Burnweed, Clover, Foraging Classes, Waning Weeds, Fungi, Creeping Cucumber, Bacopa, Pennyroyal, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Donations 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-10-march-2020/

  395

  A few newsletters ago it was mentioned the Mulberries were in blossom.

  Mulberries, foraging classes, Pawpaws, Time Change, Dandelions and False Dandelions, Winter Plants and Wintergreen, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Donating, and foraging photo #19 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-3-march-2020/ 

  394

  Species in the Rumex genus can be difficult.

  Rumex, Foraging Classes, Citron Melons, Loquat, Clover, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDS, Donations, 

   https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-25-february-2020/

  393

  What are those white blossoms?

  Plums, Hawthorns, Pawpaw, Foraging Classes, Blewit, Wild Garlic,  Plantagos, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Donations, Botany Builder #38.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-18-february-2020/

  392

  It’s time for my annual warning about Butterweed

  Butterweed, Bulrush, Foraging Classes, Wild Pineapple, Red Powder Puff, DVDs, Creeping Indigo warning, Green Deane forum, donations, 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-11-february-2020/

  391

  Most trees in the Pea Family are toxic but not all of them.

  Eastern redbud, Cattails, Pines, Foraging Classes, Coquina and Mole Crabs, Acorns, Plantagos, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-04-february-2020/

  390

  While driving through the middle of the peninsula this week I noticed Lambsquarters in their most common seasonal place: Citrus groves.

  Lambsquarters, Foraging Classes, Passifloras, Doveweed, Axils, Jelly Fish, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-28-january-2020/

  389

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-21-january-2020/

  Cladonia is a large genus of edible but not tasty lichen.

  Lichen, foraging classes, Botany Builder 28, Wild Lettuce, Removing Invasive Species, Botanical Names, Black Medic, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Donations

  388

  It’s rather obvious that wintertime foraging varies where you live.

  Winter Foraging, Chickweed and edible friends, Foraging classes, Sublimed sulfur, A cheap foraging book, Details and Solanum Americanum, Oyster Mushrooms, DVDs, Donations and the Green Deane Forum. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-14-january-2020/

  387

  Eastern Gamagrass, aka Fakahatchee Grass, is an edible you don’t see and then you do.

  Eastern Gamagrass, Ivy Gourd, Foraging Classes, Teas, Botany Builder #10, Carpetweed, Donations, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-7-january-2020/

  386

  There’s no reason to buy mustard greens now.

  Wild mustard and radish, Butter and Ruby Boletes, Foraging Classes, Edible Blossoms, Surinam Cherries, toxic Creeping Indigo. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-31-december-2019/

  385

  It’s a good time to mention the toxic Butterweed and Rattlebox.

  Butterweed, Foraging Classes, Roses, Hawthorns, Euell Gibbons and Nutrition, Rattlebox 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-december-2019/

  384

  Plants give you something to look forward to especially if you know where and when to look.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-17-december-2019/

  Wild Garlic, Chickweed, Goosegrass, Sow Thistle, Stinging Nettles, Dandelions, Sycamore, Foraging Classes, Tar Vine, Desert Horse Purslane, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, Urban Crawl

  383

  Mother Nature can be fickle and it’s almost always tied to weather.

  Grapes, Swinecress, Silverthorn, Foraging Classes, False Hawk’s Beard, Jelly Ears, Botany Builder #31,  Cactus, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-10-december-2019/

  382

  Pyracanthas are furious in the fall.

  Pyrachanthas Chinese and Siberian Elms, Silverthorn, Foraging Classes, Drymaria, Botany Builder #30, Magnolia Blossoms, Ginkgo, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, Pollination in a word, and Remembering Nefertiti

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-3-december-2019/

  381

  This time of year two wintertime foragables come up, one quite esteemed the other barely edible.

  Henbit, Wild  Geraniums, Foraging Classes, Chickweed, Horse Nettle & Tropical Soda Apple,  Bananas

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-26-november-2019/

  380

  wild Mustards and radishes, Toxic Water Hemlock, Smartweed, Foraging Classes, Golden Rain Tree, Skunk Vine, Scat Contamination, Lady Bugs, and Lion’s Mane 

  Many foraging books are what I call “Ohio-centric.”

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-19-november-2019/

  379

  Dandelions, Seaweed, Foraging classes, Jellyfish, Wax Myrtle Berries, the Stinkhorn and Jack O’Lanterns, Mustards and Radishes, the Green Deane Forum, Donations, and foraging DVDs  

  Dandelion blossoms, ten pounds of sugar, and two cakes of bread yeast became my first batch of wine.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-05-november-2019/

  378

  Edible Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Tie Change, Blue and Red Sages and Oakleaf Flea Bane, Chinese Elm, Christmasberries, Wild Mustards, donations, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  Unusual rains last week coaxed more life out of several edible mushroom species that were seasonally put to bed a month ago.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-29-october-2019/

  377

  Cucumber Tree, Paul Dreher, Sida, Turkey Tails, Foraging Classes, Palmate Leaves, Richardia, Perennial Peanut, Caesarweed, Botanical Names, Donations, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  Foraging is treasure hunting for adults

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-22-october-2019/

  376

  As is often the case one can walk past edible species many times and not notice them.

  Cinnamon, Dragon Fruit, Foraging Classes, Sumac, Persimmons, Yellow Pond Lily, Donations, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-15-october-2019/

  375

  The fruiting of species can be a mystery. 

  Cocoplums, Simpson Stopper, Coconut borer, Southern Wax Myrtle, Foraging Classes, Ringless Honey Mushrooms, White American Beautyberries, Wood Oats, Donations, foraging DVDs,  the Green Deane Forum 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-08-october-2019/

  skipped a week, wordpress down

  374

  Panicum is a very common group of edible native and non-native grasses in Florida and North America.

  Panic Grass, Aromas, Plant Pronunciations, Foraging Classes, Purslane, Pindo Palm Wine, Donations, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-september-2019/(opens in a new tab)

  373

  It’s the time of year to talk about Saw Palmetto berries.

  Saw Palmettos, Tallow Plum, Foraging Classes, Wild Apples, Elevation, Donations, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum

  Newsletter 17 September 2019

  372

  Seagrapes are coming into season.

  Seagrapes, Doveweed, Foraging near roads. Foraging Classes this week, Black & Sweet Gums, Isabelline and Mushrooms of the Gulf South. 

  Newsletter 10 September 2019

  371

  Newsletter 03 September 2019

  Labor Day used to mean more than hurricanes threatening the east coast from Florida to Maine.

  Labor Day, Creeping Fig, Foraging Classes in spite of Hurricane Dorian, Liatris, Poke Weed, Yellow Pond Lilly,  Poke Weed, Mosquitos & Beer, Lawns Aren’t Green, donations, 

  370

  It’s the time of year when Horsemint is easy to find. 

  Horsemint, Cocoplums, Natal Plumbs; Mushroom, Chitin, Arsenic and Insects; Stevia and Ragweed, Foraging Classes, Railroad Tracks, Goldenrod, Go Fund Me

  Newsletter 27 August 2019

  369

  I never receive mail about Lion’s Ear.

  Newsletter 20 August 2019

  Lion’s Ear, Brazilian Nightshade, Foraging Classes, Sida, Gopher Apples and Tallow Plums, White Chicken of the Woods, Go Fund Me, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum. 

  368

  The Water Hyacinth is blooming and no doubt many people are irritated by that.

  Newsletter 13 August 2019

  Water Hyacinth, Milk Cap Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Kudzu, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, and I need a webmaster. 

  367

  Bunya Bunya get no respect 

  Bunya Bunya, Red Spiderling, Goldenrod, Sugarberry, Foraging Classes, Horsemint, Sweet Gum/Black Gum, The False Parasol: A mushroom to avoid, Green Deane Forum, Russian Thistle and railroad tracks, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund me, and I need a webmaster.

  Newsletter 6 August 2019

  366

  What’s in season to forage? Many species now perhaps because of unusual weather pattens this year.

  What plants can you forage for now, what mushrooms can you forage now, foraging classes, Blue Porter Weed, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me 

  365

  It’s common yet uncommon, that is, not rare but you don’t notice it too often. 

  Hawthorns, American Lotus, Upcoming foraging class schedule, Chanterelles, Burgoo and Loblollies, Donations, the Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs 

  Newsletter 23 July 2019

  364

  One more abbreviated newsletter with schedule because I have been teaching out-of-state. 

  Newsletter 16 July 2019

  Newsletter 23 July 2019

  363

  Newsletter 9 July 2019

  This and next week’s newsletters (July 9 & 16, 2019) are abbreviated because…

  362

  One would think that with a name like “Barnyard Grass” one would find the species in barnyards. 

  Barnyard Grass, Strawberry Guava, Seaside Gentian, Spanish Needles, Toxic polypore, Foraging Classes, Teaching in South Carolina, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs 

  Newsletter 2 July 2019

  361

  Yes it is edible but….

  The other White Chicken-of-the-Woods, Two-Leaf Solanum, Norfolk Pines and the Bunya Bunya, Foraging Classes Florida,  Foraging Classes South Carolina. Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, and foraging DVDs 

  Newsletter 25 June 2019

  360

  Ground cherries locally tend to have two seasons, spring and fall. 

  Ground Cherries, South Carolina Foraging Classes, new food crops, Florida Foraging Classes, the Winged Yam, Passion Flower, the toxic Cherry Laurel, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs

  Newsletter 18 June 2019

  359

  Yellow ponds, that’s how I think of it, or in some places, yellow rivers.

  American Lotus, South Carolina Foraging Classes, Local Foraging Classes, the toxic Atamasco Lily, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Juniper Berries, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, the Chinese Tallow tree 

  Newsletter 11 June 2019

  358

  From a foraging point of view it was a very berry weekend starting with Coastal Ground Cherries, Physalis angustifolia in Port Charlotte.

  Ground Cherries, Cassine, Marco Island, Classes in South Carolina, Foraging Classes Florida, How Safe Is Foraging, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, DVDs  

  Newsletter 4 June 2019

  357

  The first time I ever saw red poppies growing was in Athens on my first visit to Greece

  Corn Poppies, Impatiens, Smartweed, Mushroom Update, Foraging Classes, Botany Builder #28 Echinate, Blue Porterweed, Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, DVDs, and Wild Pineapple 

  Newsletter 28 May 2019

  356

  If you were starving and came upon a patch of cattails you would have great cause for celebration.

  Cattails, Kudzu, Acorns, Lantana, Foraging Classes, Gopher Apples, Go Fund Me, and foraging DVDs 

  Newsletter 21 May 2019

  355

  The American Nightshade is a much-maligned plant

  American Nightshade, Ground Cherry, Blueberries et cetera, Carolina Bristle Mallow, Foraging Classes, Juniper Berries, Donations, the Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs

  Newsletter 14 May 2019

  354

  There’s an odd kind of mulberry here in Florida. 

  Basswood (The Linden/Lime Tree) Chestnut Bolete, Foraging Classes, Kudzu, Wild Pineapple, Winged Yam, Foraging DVDs, Ivy Gourd, Donations, Gamagrass/Fakahatchee Grass, the Green Deane Forum 

  Newsletter 7 May 2019

  353

  There’s still time to look for Sea Blite, a seasonal salt-tolerant species that’s here this month, gone next month

  Sea Blite, Sugarberry, Foraging Classes, the Mahoe, Partridgeberry, Marlberries Revisited, DVDs, Donations and the Green Deane Forum. 

  Newsletter 30 April 2019

  352

  By April Stinging Nettles are usually gone for the season.

  Newsletter 23 April 2019

  Stinging nettles, Green Mushrooms,  Suriname Cherries, Wild Garlic, Foraging Classes, Miner’s Lettuce, Confederate Jasmine, Florida Pennyroyal, Redvein Abutilon, DVDs, Go Fund Me, and the Green Deane Forum 

  351

  If you are in the habit of eating wild mushrooms

  Newsletter 16 April 2019

  Five Edible Wild Mushrooms, Pineapple Guava, Eastern Coral Bean, Forestiera segregata the Florida Privet, Weekly Foraging Classes, Wild Edibles and locations they like, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, and Go Fund Me 

  350

  Watercress/Wintercress grew in a ditch behind an apartment complex I lived in…

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-09-april-2019/

  Watercress, Wild Garlic, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Marlberries, Chokeberry, Making You Own Vinegar, Usnea, DVDS, Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, A Leafing Hickory 

  349

  Tallow Plums are something of a botanical mystery.

  Newsletter 2 April 2019

  Tallow Plums, Wild Garlic, Blueberries and relatives, Toothache Tree as a source of pepper, Foraging Classes, Eastern Coral Bean, American Nightshade, Soon it will be mushroom season, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me. 

  348

  A few newsletters ago it was mentioned Mulberries were in blossom…

  Newsletter 26 March 2019

  Mulberries, Creeping Cucumber, Coco-plums, Foraging Classes and a new location, toxic Butterweed, Suriname Cherries, Green Deane Forum DVDS, Fermenting Spiderwort, Go Fund Me…  

  347

  Pawpaws can be among the most difficult and easy wild fruits to find.

  Newsletter 19 March 2019

  Pawpaws, Eating Grass, Foraging Classes, sickening Tropical Sage, Wisteria, Gladiolus, Raceme vs Spike, the Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me. 

  346

  With an impossible scientific name and strong aroma Fireweed is often over looked by the foraging community.

  Fireweed, Mayflowers, Lilacs, Pussy Willows, Foraging Classes, Mistetoe, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, Drying Loquats

  Newsletter 12 March 2019

  345

  Most foragers know Smilax tips are edible.

  Newsletter 5 March 2019

  Smilax berries, Marlberries, Daylight Saving Time, True Thistles, Coquina & Mole Crabs, Botanical Names, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum, DVDs, and Go Fund Me 

  344

  Heads up, literally: Loquats are ripening.

  Newsletter 26 February 2019

  Loquats, Blackberries, Mulberries. Maypops, Creeping Cucumbers, Dollarweed, Strange Time of Year, Foraging Classes,  Eau de Rodent, Turkey Berry,  Toxic Tomatoes, the Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, 

  343

  Lamb’s Quarters… Fat Hen… and where to find it.

  Newsletter 19 February 2019

  Lamb’s Quarters, Citron Melons, Last Average Frost Date,  Maple Seeds, Eastern Red Bud, Pink Tabebuia, Loquats, Pawpaws, Surinam Cherries, Cocoplum, Wild Mustard, Wild Radish, Blackberries. Agaricus campestris, Foraging Classes, Go Fund Me, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Plantago rugelii  

  342

  The Western Tansy Mustard is one of our shortest-lived winter-time forageables.

  Newsletter 12 February 2019

  Western Tansy Mustard, Bittercress, Micro-Mustards, Black Medic, Foraging Classes, Florida Herbal Conference, Doveweed, the Larch, Tulips, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, DVDs,  

  341

  Going north to forage is always pleasant this time of year. 

  Newsletter 5 February 2019

  Wild Garlic, Black Cherry vs Laurel Cherry, Elderberries, Foraging Classes, Lawns Aren’t Green, Florida Herbal Conference, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs 

  340

  Yeah… that’s a mouthful…

  Male Pine Cones, Poorman’s Pepper Grass and Maca, Perennial Peanut, Foraging Classes, Seaweeds, Dandelions, Nicker Beans, Florida Herbal Conference, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, and Trametes lactinea.

  Newsletter 29 January 2019

  339

  An often overlooked wild edible is Bulrush.

  Newsletter 22 January 2019

  Bulrushes, Candyroot, Florida Pennyroyal, Sow Thistle, Wild Pineapple, Florida Herbal Conference, Calliandra, Foraging Classes, Blewits, Magnesium Deficiencies, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, Spanish Cherries 

  338

  Newsletter 15 January 2019

  A common blossom that’s easy to identify is the wild violet. It’s cultivated brethren is the pansy.

  Violets, foraging mistakes, upcoming foraging classes, the Florida Herbal Conference, Bauhinias, False Hawks Beard, Green Eyes, Florida Privet, foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, Swinecress, Stink Horns, and Lawns Aren’t Green. 

  337

  Newsletter 08 January 2019

  There are Plantains that look like tough bananas and there are Plantains that are low and leafy plants. 

  Plantains/Plantagos, Fleabane, Goji Berry, Sycamore tree, Sublimed Sulfur, Richardia, Foraging Classes, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me.  

  336

  Newsletter, 01 January 2019

  Newsletter, 01 January 2019

  Making their winter debut are our stinging nettles and they might have the second-worst nettle sting on earth.

  Stinging nettles, Sow Thistles, Chickweed, Foraging Classes, Podocarpus Mystery, Hen Bit, the “Bills”, Wax Myrtle Berries, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me

  335

  Newsletter 18-25 December 2018

  Newsletter 18-25 December 2018

  Newsletter 18-25 December 2018

  A winter edible you should be scouting for is Galium aparine, or Goosegrass…

  Goosegrass, Jelly Ears, False Hawk’s Beard, Roses, Nickerbeans, Christmasberry, Dandelion, Lemon Bacopa and it’s evil bitter sister Water Hyssop, Foraging Classes, Pinellas County, Foraging Videos, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, Thistle Seeds, 8th Annual Urban Crawl 

  334

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-11-december-2018/

  Pyracanthas are furious in the fall. Their brilliant red berries stand out in every landscape 

  Pyracanthas, Gingko, Chickweed, Hibiscus, Bauhinia, Foraging Classes, Death By Apple Seeds, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me, can you ID the edibles? 

  333

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-04-december-2018/

  Both the Chinese and Siberian elms have several edible parts.

  Chinese and Siberian elms, if an animal can eat it, West Indian Chickweed, upcoming Foraging Classes, Passiflora lutea, the Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, Foraging videos, and oaks   

  332

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-27-november-2018/

  Foragers benefit from bad ideas. 

  Silverthorn, Little Mustards, Creeping Cucumber, Foraging Classes, Go Fund Me, Wax Myrtle, Green Deane Forum, Indian Pipes, Foraging Videos, 

  331

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-20-november-2018/

  The seasons are changing and so is the foraging with a shift into not only fall but winter plants.

  Christmasberry, Sugarberry, Foraging Classes, Carpetweed, Beefsteak Polypore, Go Fund Me. Green Deane Forum, Foraging videos

  330

  Common plant names can be so misleading. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-13-november-2018/

  Silk Floss Tree, Pandanus Grass, Sand Spurs, Stinging Nettle, Foraging Classes, Chicken of the Woods, Go Fund Me, Foraging DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum  

  329

  We don’t have the opportunity to often use the word “windfall”…

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-november-06-2018/

  Chinese elm, pines and inner bark, jellyfish, wild oaks and sea purslane, foraging classes, personal notes, donations, DVD and the Green Deane Forum 

  328

  The tree is easy to find but is it edible? 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-30-october-2018/

  Golden Rain Tree, Daylight Saving Time, Back Yard Foraging and Pets, Foraging Classes, Smartweed, Go Fund Me, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum

  327

  Learning about edible wild plants seem intimidating at first.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-23-october-2018/

  Ringless Honey Mushroom, Foraging Class Schedule,  Morning Glories, Go Fund Me, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum, 

  326

  Our Sumacs are happy. 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-16-october-2018/

  Sumacs, Persimmons, What is Edible? Foraging Classes, Perennial Peanut, Sea Grapes, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs, 

  325 

  This might be a good time to write about Yellow Pond Lilys.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-09-october-2018/

  Yellow Pond Lily, Papaya and Castor Beans, Sida, Turkey Tails, False Turkey Tails, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum. 

  324

  Is it edible? Yes, no, maybe…

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-2-october-2018/

  Chinese Tallow Tree, Caesarweed, Horsemint, Oyster Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum. 

  323

  Seasons can be subtle

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-25-september-2018/

  Seasons, Jambul Tree, Mushrooming, Saw Palmaettos, Foraging Classes. Toxic Caterpillars, Foraging Videos, and the Green Deane Forum. 

  322

  It was on the side of the bike trail, half squished.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-18-september-2018/

  Persimmons, Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Bananas, Foraging Classes, Peppervine, Foraging Videos, Green Deane Forum, 

  321

  In the backwoods of Maine where I grew up Dogwoods were small.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-11-september-2018/

  Kousa Dogwood, Canna, Ground Cherries, Cocoplums, Foraging Classes, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum, OMG!, Carpetweed, Indian Pipes 

  320

  In the olden BC days… before computers…

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-04-september-2018/

  Fall foraging, foraging classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum,  Go Fund me, Creeping Fig 

  319

  Still unpacking from my road trip (which is my excuse for this shorter-than-usual weekly newsletter.)

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-28-august-2018/

  Mushroom class, foraging class in South Carolina, Foraging Classes, Kudzu, Radium Weed, DVDs, Go Fund Me, the Green Deane Forum  

  318

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-21-august-2018/

  This is an abbreviated newsletter

  Foraging class schedule for August and September 2018

  317

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-14-august-2018/

  Bunya Bunya get no respect in countries where people have plenty of food.

  Bunya Bunya, Norfolk Pine,  Black Gum, Sugarberry, Erect Spiderling, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Foraging Classes, Go Fund Me, 

  316

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-08-august-2018/

  There’s an old phrase: “Sometimes you have to bow to the absurd”

  Chanterelles, Black Trumpet, Sumac, Foraging Classes, Horsemint, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Go Fund Me, 

  315

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-31-july-2018/

  Putting on black fruit now is the much-debated Peppervine, Ampelopsis arborea.

  Peppervine, Pindo Palms, Foraging Classes, Americaln Lotus, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Where the wild food is.  

  314

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-july-2018/

  Our foraging class in Port Charlotte this past week was above and beyond if you like fruit.

  Cocoplums,  Jambul Tree, Mangos, Ground Cherries, Foraging Classes, Fermenting Mushrooms, Blue Porterweed, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, 

  313 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-17-july-2018/

  Millions of dollars and many decades have been spent trying to eradicate the edible pictured above.

  Latex Strangler Vine, Beefstake Polypore, Sugarberry, Foraging Classes, Eastern Gammagrass, Purslane, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Lawns Aren’t Green, 

  312

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-10-july-2018/

  Lobsters… no, not the kind from the sea but the woods: Lobster mushrooms. 

  Magnolias, Lobster Mushrooms, Foraging Classes, Carpetweed, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Bacterial Considerations, 

  311

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-3-july-2018/

  There’s a wonderfully aromatic plant that prefers to hide most of the year.

  Horsemint, Tallow Plum, Orlando Mushroom Group, Pecan Truffles, Foraging Classes, and DVDs 

  310

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-26-june-2018/

  Podocarpus does not, as they used to say, have an attitude.

  Podocarpus, Simpson Stopper, Orlando Mushroom Group, Foraging Classes, Jack In The Pulpit, Green Deane Forum, and foraging DVDs. 

  309

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-19-june-2018/

  Paper Mulberries are related to bread fruit. 

  Paper Mulberries, St. John’s Mint, Black Gum, Podocarpus, Poison Sumac, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Blue Porterweed

  308

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-12-june-2018/

  Sorting out Morning Glories, Maypops and plants with cyanide, a Bolete with no name, Foraging Classes, Eating Little Red Bugs, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs,  

  307

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-05-june-2018/

  Yellow ponds, that’s how I think of it…

  American Lotus, Black Cherry,  Foraging Classes, Toxic Atamasco,  Milk Caps. The Old Man of the Woods, Green Deane Forum, Chinese Tallow tree, foraging DVDs, 

  306

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-29-may-2018/

  Yucca is not Yuca. Or said another way: YOU-ka is not YUK-ka.

  Yucca, Matchhead, Oaxaca Lemon Verbena, Doveweed, Ficus Racemosa, American Nightshade, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Eastern Hemlock 

  305 

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-22-may-2018/

  The Orlando Mushroom Group (OMG!) met Sunday for their first fungal foray of the year. 

  Orlando Mushroom Group, Pawpaws, Foraging Classes, Pregnancy and Plants,  Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me, and Chanterelles. 

  304

  Spiderworts got me in trouble once

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-15-may-2018/

  Spiderworts, Pond Apples, Sea Oxeye, Foraging Classes, OMG mushroom hunt, Go Fund Me, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Botany Builder 26,   

  303

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-08-may-2018/

  Not all of botany is settled.

  Grapes, Ivy Gourd, Eastern Gamagrass, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Go Fund Me, the Orlando Mushroom Group, 

  302 

  Sea Purslane and Purslane are not the same species

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-01-may-2018/

  Sea Purslane, Sargassum, Morning Glories, Foraging Classes,  Foraging DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Orlando Mushroom Group, Go Fund Me, Jack in the Pulpits, 

  301

  The American Nightshade is poised to fruit heavily.

  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-24-april-2018/

  American Nightshade, Blackberries, Orlando Mushroom Group, Common Fungi of South Florida, Foraging Classes, Ivy Gourd, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Go Fund Me, 

  Newsletters in chronological order

•  29 November2016:  https://www.eattheweeds.com/newsletter-6-december-2016/ Issue 235: What do you see #25, Beautyberries, Simpson Stoppers, Wild Pineapples, Where To Find Wild Edibles. Foraging Classes, A possible edible shrub? Bananas, Foraging DVDs and the Green Deane Forum
• 22 November 2016:  Issue 234 Dandelions, Goji Berries, Wapato, Foraging Classes, Foraging DVDs, the Green Deane Forum
• 15 November 2016: Issue 233: Chinese Elm, Wild Lettuce, Horsemint, Smartweed, Beautyberry, Brazilian Pepper, Winged Sumac, Foraging Classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum,
• 08 November 2016:  Issue 232. Cucumber Weed, Honey Mushrooms, Creeping Cucumber, Tallow Plum, Christmasberry, Foraging Classes, Green Deane DVD, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 01 November 2016: Issue 231: Edible Wild Radish, Deadly Water Hemlock, Peppery Smartweed, Crushed Acorns, Foraging Classes, DVDs and the Green Deane Forum
• 25 October   2016: Issue 230: Tropical Almond, How Kids Learn, Foraging Classes, Dove Plums, the Green Deane Forum and foraging DVDs.
• 18 October 2016: Issue 229: Do you need to know the botanical names? Morning Glories, Persimmons, Yam A, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum, DVDs, Acorn Bread.
• 11 October 2016: Issue 228: Harvesting windfall, is the ground polluted? the Green Deane Forum and foraging DVDs
• 04 October 2016: Issue 227: Carpetweed, foraging and bacteria, foraging classes, the Green Deane Forum, and foraging DVDs.
• 27 September 2016: Issue 226: Acorns, Creeping Fig, Jewels of Opar, Foraging Classes, Ft. Desoto, Chaya, Green Deane Forum, foraging DVDs.
•  20 September 2016: Issue 225: Hackberry – Sugarberry, Kudzu, Skunk Vine, Foraging Classes, Persimmons, Green Deane DVDs and the Green Deane Forum.
• 13 September 2016: Issue 224: Water Hyacinth, Panic Grass, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Pindo Wine, the Green Deane Forum
• 06 September 2016: Issue 223: Learning how to forage, what’s in season now, foraging classes, Green Deane DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.
• 30 August 2016 was a fifth Tuesday. No newsletter was published.
• 23 August 2016: Issue 222: Beautyberries, grapes, Pindo Palm, Simpson Stopper, Horsemint, Saw Palmetto, Persimmons, Maine Blueberries, milkweed pods, foraging classes., DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, medicinal and edible mushrooms.
• 16 August 2016: Issue 221: Horsemint, Pindo Wine, Begonias, Goldenrod, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, Beautyberries,
• 09 August 2016: Issue 220: Black Cherry, Black Gum, Black Pepper Vine Fruit, the North American Ebony, persimmon, foraging classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 02 August 2016: Issue 219: Pindo Palms, White Boerhavia, Water Hyssop and memory, Hackberries, Foraging Classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, and Wild Grpaes
• 26 July 2016: Issue 218: The Jambul Tree, Norfolk Pine, Hairy Cow Pea, Magnifying Glass, Foraging classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum, and Simpson Stoppers.
• All data on site between April 16 and June 8th were lost because of Hostgator’s incompetence. That included many newsletters.
• 12 April 2016: Issue 203: Finding Pawpaws, blossoming Eastern Coral Bean, fruiting Mulberries, the Mahoe, Partridgeberries in Florida! Upcoming foraging classes and ForageFest, the Green Deane Forum and DVDs.
• 5 April 2016: No newsletter because of hacking attempt.
• 29 March 2016: Issue 202: Ivy Gourd or Tindora, Bidens alba, Fermenting, Loquats, Foraging Classes and DVDs.
• 22 March 2016:  Issue 201: Linden Tree, Fermenting Spiderwort, Avocado Seeds, Foraging Classes, DVDs
• 15 March 2016: Issue 200: Identifying Garden Weeds, Loquats, Butterweed, New Class Location, Upcoming Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging DVDs, 200th Newsletter!
• 8 March 2016: Issue 199: Garden weeds, finding edible weeds, Western Tansy Mustard, Foraging Classes, Sow thistles, Green Deane Forum and  DVDs.
• 1 March 2016: Issue 198: Florida Herbal Conference 2016, Poor Man’s Pepper Grass and Maca, Foraging Classes, Seaweed, Free Mustard Seeds, Green Deane DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 23 February 2016: Issue 197: The Eastern Redbud and Chickasaw Plum, Wild Radishes and Mustards, Earthskills and Florida Herbal Conference 2016, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Free Mustard Seeds, Green Deane DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 16 February 2016: Issue 196: Sow Thistles, Thorns, Spines and Prickles, the Green Deane Forum, Foraging Classes. Florida Herbal Conference, Free Mustard Seeds, Green Deane’s DVDs.
• 9 February 2016: Issue 195: Silverthorns, Plantagos, Foraging Classes, Florida Herbal Conference, Foraging DVDs, free Red Mustard seeds.
• 2 February 2016: Issue 194: Tulips, Mustards, Dandelions, Doveweed, Florida Herbal Conference, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Videos, Free Mustard seeds, and the Green Deane Forum: Did you ever eat a larch?”
• 26 January 2016: Issue 193: Eastern Gamagrass, Florida Herbal Conference, Sea Blite, Queen and Pindo Palms, Opuntia and Nopales, Foraging Classes, Green Deane DVDs.
• 19 January 2016: Issue 192: Silverthorn, Sheep’s Sorrel, Free Red Mustard Seeds, Stinging Nettles, Henbit, Chickweed, Foraging Classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum
• 12 January 2016: Issue 191: Roots revisited: Ivy Gourd. Wild Teas. Foraging Classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.
• 5 January 2016: Issue 190:Stinging nettles, Purslane, Oxalis, Mystery Root, Foraging classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum.
• 29 December 2015: Issue 189:Goosegrass, Christmasberry, Natal Plum, Yaupon Holly, Bananas, Nicker Bean, Ground Cherry, Sea Purslane, Sea Blite, Coral Berry, Gracilaria, CLasses, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum
• 22 December 2015: Issue 188: Ringless Honey mushrooms, Deer Mushrooms, Tamarind, Mahoe, Tropical Almond, Fifth Urban Crawl, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum,
• 15 December 2015: Issue 187: Silverthorn, Peppergrass, Chickweed, Foraging Classes Green Deane Videos, the Green Deane Forum, fifth annual Urban Crawl.
• 8 December 2015: Issue 186: Wild lettuce, Osage Orange, Ginkgos, Cashew Trees, Pineapple Guava, Turk’s Cap, Foraging Classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 1 December 2015: Issue 185: Tropical Soda Apple aka Horse Nettle, Henbit,  Stork’s Bill and Cranesbill,
• 24 November 2015: Issue 184; Chickweed, pomegranate peelings, pines, homemade mustard, foraging classes, the Green Deane Forum, and DVDs
• 17 November 2015: Issue 183; Seaweed and Lichen, where to forage, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum.
• 10 November 2015: Issue 182:Wild Drinks, a book review; Wax Myrtle Berries, Wild Radish, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum, and DVDs
• 3 November 2015: Issue 181:Black gum, Seagrapes, Doveweed, Foraging near Roads, Classes, Green Deane Forum, and Videos.
• 27 October 2015: Issue 180:Foot fruit: Podocarpus and Cashews, Sandspurs, Pony Foot, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum and Videos
• 20 October 2015: Issue 179:What is a Ceiba and how do you say it? Partridgeberry, Ringless Honey Mushrooms, Red Bays and Magnolias, Laurel Wilt, Pellitory aka Cucumberweed, Foraging Classes, and the Green Deane Forum
• 7 October 2015 no  newsletter published because site had to be backed up because of hackers.
• 6 October 2015: Issue 178:Tallow plum, White Beautyberries, Sumac, Sea and Wood Oats, Cactus and Nopales, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum,
• 29 September was a fifth Tuesday, no news letter published then.
• 22 September 2015: Issue 177: Frost, and ripening vegetables and fruit, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum
• 15 September 2015: Issue 176:Purslane and a look-alike, Pepper Vine, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Heartwing Sorrel, Green Deane Forum,
• 8 September 2015: Issue 175: 18 edibles along the Seminole-Wekiva Trial, Foraging Class Schedule, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 1 September 2015: Issue 174: Kudzu, wild apples, mountain foraging, upcoming classes, the Green Deane Forum
• 18 and 25 August, no newsletters as Green Deane was on vacation hiking in the Carolinas.
• 11 August 2015: Issue 173:Horsemint, Foraging along railroad tracks, Goldenrod, Swamp Rose Mallow, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum.
• 4 August 2015:   Issue 172:Ripening grapes, saw palmetto fruit, Yellow Anise, Green Maypops, Large Boletes, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum.
• 28 July 2015: Issue 171:Citron Melons, three edible mushrooms; Blue Lactarius, the Old Man of the Woods, and Chanterelles. Lone Star Ticks and Armadillos in the news, Foraging Classes and the Green Deane Forum
• 21 July 2015: Issue 170:Tasty Tamarind, Tropical Almonds, the lesser-known Silk Bay, Foraging Classes, The Green Deane Forum, Are the Seasons Changing?
• 14 July 2015: Issue 169: Are all Portulacas edible? Which yam is it? Elderberries. Foraging Classes. Taking a Bee Hive Home, and The Green Deane Forum.
• 7 July 2015:  Issue 168: Paper Mulberries, Pindo Palm, Yaupon Holly, The Timucua, Pawpaws, plant books, upcoming foraging classes, the Green Deane Forum.
• 30 June 2015: Fifth Tuesday, no newsletter.
• 23 June 2015: Issue 167: Sea Blite, Glasswort, Creeping Fig, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum.
• 16 June 2105: Issue 166:Laco-fermenting, toxic Atamasco Lily, Smilax, Sword Ferns, Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum,
• 9 June 2015: Issue 165: Latex Strangler Vine, American Lotus, Dock Seeds, foraging mistakes, early season Podocarpus, Reishi mushrooms, foraging classes, Green Deane Forum
• 2 June 2015: Issue 164: Ivy gourd, Honey Mushrooms, Wild Food Plants of Hawaii, Classes, Green Deane Forum.
•  26 May 2015, no newsletter because of hackers. 
• 19 May 2015: Issue 163:Gopher Apples are blossoming as are Groundnuts. Candyroot is getting showy, Blueberries are ripening. The Simpson Stopper has three kinds of leaves. Wild Coffee and Coralberry Confusion, Upcoming Classes, and the Green Deane Forum,
• 12 May 2015: Issue 162: Watercress, Wild Garlic, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum, Botany Builder 28, Does anyone want to guess?
• 5 May 2015: Issue 161:Wild Pineapple, Ground Cherries, Horsemint, Three kinds of wild grapes, upcoming foraging classes, Botany Builder 27, edible Pluteus petasatus, the Green Deane Forum
• 28 April 2015: Issue 160:Blackberries, Pickling Betony roots, Elderberry, Smilax, Juniper Berries, Upcoming Classes, Green Deane Forum, What Do You See #24.
• 21 April 2015: Issue 159: Distance and Elevation, Paper Mulberry, Red Mulberry, Basswood, False Hawk’s Beard, Upcoming Foraging Classes, Green Deane Forum, Botany Builder #26,
• 14 April, 2015: Issue 158: Pineapple Guava, the Tallow Plum, where to look for edible plants, upcoming foraging classes. the Green Deane Forum, and What Do You See #23
• 7 April 2015: Issue 157: ForageFest 2015, Lantanas, Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, A Beginner’s Guide of Edible Florida, foraging in Port Charlotte, non-edible Nicker Beans, foraging classes, the Green Deane Forum, and What Do You See #22
• 31 March 2015: Issue 156: Is it time to reassess Nuphar roots? Identifying the Simpson Stopper. Foraging Instructors. What ’s in Season, Foraging Class Schedule, Green Deane Forum, What do you see #21.
• 24 March 2015: Issue 155: Mulberries, Wild Cucumbers, Edible Palms, Sea Rocket, Which Blueberry? Green Deane Forum. Upcoming Foraging Classes, What Do You See #20.
• 17 March 2015: There was no newsletter.
• 10 March 2015: Issue 154:Paw paws, Pennyroyal, Dandelions, Green Deane Forum, Foraging Classes, Daylight Saving time, What Do You See #19
• 3 March 2015, Issue 153: Florida Herbal Conference 2015, Turpentine Pines, Banning Mulberries, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forums, Bird Peppers, and What Do You See #18
• 24 February 2015: Issue 152: Eastern Redbud, Plums, Limequat, Foraging Classes, Seasonal changes and Mulberries, Florida Herbal Conference, Green Deane Forum, and What Do You See #17.
• 17 February 2015: Issue 151: Pepper Grass, Wild Geraniums, Paper Mulberry, Foraging Classes, Guest article: Bees, Butterflies, and Moths, Florida Herbal Conference 2015, the Green Deane Forum, and Winter Buds10 February 2015: Mystery diced root,  Florida Earthskills 2015 is history, Florida Herbal Conference 2015 is next,  foraging classes, Green Deane Forum, the 150th newsletter.
• 27 January 2015: The Wax Myrtle, Mustards & Radishes, Hairy Cowpea, Green Deane Forum, Earthskills 2015, Florida Herbal Conferece 2015, How Ungreen of Us.
•  20 January 2015: Goji berries, Plantagos, Black Medic, Green Deane Forum, Earthskills 2015, Florida Herbal Conference 2015, and Chain of Contamination
• 13 January 2015: Poorman’s Pepper Grass, Creeping Cucumber, Bulrush, Green Deane Forum, Earthskills 2015, Florida Herbal Conference 2015, classes, Wild Pineapple, Creeping Indigo warning, Calliandra haematocephala, What Do You See #16. 
• 6 January 2015: False Hawk’s Beard, Roses, Earthskills gathering, 2015 Florida Herbal Conference, Foraging Classes, Pellitory, Goosegrass, Less Money More Weeds
• 30 December 2014: New Year Leaves, Bauhinias, Pansies, Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, Earthskills Conference, Florida Herbal Conference, Janus, the Roman God who looks both ways, 4th Annual Urban Crawl.
• 23 December 2014: Are cattails really that good? Is the Moss Rose edible? FORAGER! Classes, DVDS and the Green Deane Forum.
• 16 December 2014: Sycamores, Wild Mustards, When a Description Doesn’t Fit, Upcoming Classes, Green Deane DVDs, The Green Deane Forum, Florida Herbal Conference
• 9 December 2014: Wild edibles in downtown Savannah, Georgia, Pyracanthas, Ginkgop, Swinecress, Henbit, herbalism vs foraging, upcoming foraging classes, Green Deane DVDs, and the Florida Herbal Conference.
• 2 December 2014: The Cabbage Palm, Sow Thistle, Weeds vs. Cultivated Crops, DVDs, Green Deane Forum, and the Florida Herbal Conference.
• 25 November 2014: Pellitory, Usnea, Thanksgiving, foraging classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum and the herbal conference.
• 18 November 2014: Persimmons, Indian Pipes, Cactus fruit, Lantana, foraging classes, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum and the herbal conference.
• 11 November 2014, no newsletter as Green Deane had dental surgery.
• 4 November 2014:    Making Vinegar, Marlberries, Wintercress, Florida Herbal Conference, Upcoming Classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 28 October 2014: Ground Cherries, Cocoplums, Simpson Stopper, Elderberries, Lemon Bacopa, Bananas, Lactarius Indigo, Upcoming Classes, DVDs, The fourth Florida Herbal Conference, and Florida Gulf Coast University.
• 21 October 2014: Roses, Book Review: The Wild Wisdom of the Weeds, upcoming foraging season, classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane forum.
• Oct 7and 14 no newsletter because Green Deane attended an out-of-state memorial service.
• 30 September 2014: Date Palms, Mushroom Season, Red Tide, Foraging Classes, DVDs, Green Deane Forum.
• 23 September 2014: Is Portulaca pilosa edible? Gopher Apples, What’s in Season, Class Schedule, DVDs, the Green Deane Forum.
• 16 September 2014: The Tallow Plum, a neat way to clean tunas, looking for yams, the beautyberry is happy, upcoming classes, DVDs, and the Green Deane Forum
• 9 September 2014: The passion fruit, where is it safe to forage, the Jambul Fruit, Puss Moth Caterpillar, Classes, DVD, and the Green Deane Forum.
• 2 September 2014: Sumac, Bananas, Cana, Old Man of The Woods, Podocarpus, Answer to What Do You See #16, Green Deane Forum, DVDs.
• 26 August 2014: Pine nuts, wild cucumbers, hiking in North Carolina, foraging classes, What Do You See #16, Green Deane Forum and DVDs.
• 19 August 2014: No newsletter, Green Deane hiking in the Carolinas.
• 12 August 2014: No newsletter, Green Deane hiking in the Carolinas.
• 5 August 2014: No newsletter, Green Deane hiking in the Carolinas.
• 29 July 2014: Bunya Bunya, Ganoderma mushrooms, upcoming classes, where to find the strangler latex vine, the Green Deane Forum and DVDs.
• 22 July 2014, American lotus, Fifth Annual Mushroom Intensive, Portulacas, Foraging Classes, The Green Deane Forum, and Podocarpus
• 15 July 2014, Black Cherries, Strawberry Guava, Horsemint, Basswood, Mushroom Workshop, White Indigoberry
• July 1st and 8th, no newsletter as Green Deane was on vacation.
• 24 June 2014: Drehear Park, Jambul, Purslane, Classes, DVDs, changing servers.
• 17 June 2014: Chickasaw Plums, the deadly Water Hemlock, a Monsoon of Mushrooms, the answer the What Do You See #15, upcoming classes, the Green Deane Forum and DVDs.
• 10 June 2014: Jack In The Pulpits, Seasonal Changed, Podocarpus, Junipers, What Do You See 15, Answer to What Do You See 14, Foraging Classes, the Green Deane Forum, and DVDs.
• 3 June 2014: No newsletter because of attempted hacking.
• 27 May 2014: Memorial Day and the Corn Poppy. Where do you forage? What Do You See #14.
•  2o May 2014: Discovering Chaya; a new loop; Florida’s Wild Edibles, a book review; classes and DVDs.
• 13 May 2014: Caloric staples: Cattails, Kudzu, Acorns; Seasonal Changes; “Giant Hog Weed” on the Green Deane Forum; Upcoming Foraging Classes; DVDs; What Do You See 13 Answers, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 6 May 2014: Blackberries, the Water Hyacinth, Of Butterflies and Bees, What Do You See #12 and 13, Green Deane Forum and DVDS.
• 29 April 2014: Fifth Tuesday of the month. No newsletter published that date.
• 22 April 2014: Wild Garlic and Onions, Fleabane, Surinam Cherries and Mulberries, What Do You See 12, the answer to What Do You See 11, the Green Deane Forum, Classes and DVDs.
• 15 April 2014:  Florida pennyroyal, Pawpaws, A new edible Redvein Abutilon, Birds and Loquats, What Do You See #11, answer to What Do You See #10, upcoming classes, DVDs
• 8 April 2014: Mulberries, Magnolia Vinegar, Surinam Cherries, What Do You See 10, answer to What Do You See 09, Upcoming Foraging classes, Book Review: Foraging With Kids, DVDs.
• 1 April 2014: The Tropical Chestnut, the Eastern Redbud, Miner’s Lettuce, Upcoming Foraging Classes, What do You See #09, answers to What Do You See 08, Book Review: Guide To Wild Foods And Useful Plants, DVDs, Barbie…
• 25 March 2014: Finding “wild” edibles, Wild Cucumber, Basswood, Black Medic and Hop Clover, Upcoming Classes,  Brevard Botanical Garden Plant sale, What Do You See 08, answer for What Do You See 07, and DVDs.
• 18 March 2014:  Golf courses revisited, rain brings the mushrooms, spring greens are putting on, got an article for the newsletter? Classes, DVDs, What Do You See #07, answers to #06,  Birmingham Plant Sale, Book Review: Foraging & Feasting.
• 11 March 2014:  Finding wild edibles, Dandelions, False Dandelions, Time Change, What Do You See #06, Spring is Here, Upcoming Classes, DVDs, Guest Articles Request.
• 4 March, 2014: Winging it with maple seeds, Turk’s Caps, Florida Herbal Conference 2014 is history, how to avoid the toxic Cherry Laurel, What Do You See? #05 and the answers to #04, looking for a travel trailer and holding classes in west Florida and beyond.
• 25 February, 2014: Sheep Sorrel, mystery mushroom, upcoming classes, Botany Builder 39, What Do You See? #04, Answer to What Do You See 03,  DVDs and close encounters of the slithering kind.
• 18 February 2014: Nettle season, the evergreen Water Hyssop, White Clover, Boletes, our guest article: Plant Nutrition, upcoming classes, the Florida Herbal Conference nears, What Do You See #3 and the answer to What Do You See #2,
• 11 February 2014: Blewit Mushroom, Wild Garlic, Botany Builder #38, Plantago Power, Guest Article: Is it really Global Warming?  What Do You See #2 and last week’s answer and more all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 4 February 2014: What is White Snow? The Silverthorns are fruiting. Which Ganoderma is it? Botany Builder #37. What Do You See #1, and new feature. EarthSkills gathering Florida is this week, Florida Herbal Conference is this month, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 28 January, 2014: Cooking up mustard roots, Botany Builder #36, why doesn’t epazote freeze? Class Schedule, EarthSkills 2014, Florida Herbal Conference, DVDs, looking for Mr. Good Transportation, and guest writers.
• 21 January 2014: Tansy Mustard, Swine Cress, Botany Builder #35, Part II of  guest writer Dewayne Allday’s To Shroom or not to Shroom, EarthSkills 2014 gathering, Florida Herbal Conference 2014, and upcoming foraging classes.
• 14 January 2014: Start looking for Silverthorn fruit, Henbit, Amaranth and Bitter Cress in local garden, Botany Builder #34, guest writer Dewayne Allday, To Shroom or not to Shroom, EarthSkills 2014 gathering, Florida Herbal Conference 2014, and upcoming foraging classes,
• 7 January 2014:   Plantagos are ready for harvesting, Chickweed by Heather Pierce with recipes, Botany Builder 33, How safe is foraging? Class schedule, the Florida Herbal Conference, and Green Deane’s DVDs.
• 31 December 2013: No newsletter published that date.
• 24 December 2013: Vibrant chickweed, abundant pellitory, eat your Christmas tree? The Third Annual Urban Crawl with violet recipe, the common sow thistle, Botany Builder #32, Bottled scallions and the Green Deane Forum, what is foraging? upcoming classes and DVDs,
• 17 December 2013: The Green Deane Forum, the Tropical Almond, Botany Builder 31, Over Foraging, ETWs Archive, Mushrooms to be found, three thefts, Green Deane DVDs.
• 10 December 2013: Wild Radishes and Mustards, Juniper Berries, Amelia Island, Egan Creek Greenway, The Blue Heron Inn, and Botany Builder #30: Peltate. From the Archive: Is this Plant Edible?
• 3 December 2013: Sow thistles are sprouting, the wild lettuce is up. How many raw elderberries should you eat? The Silverthorn is in blossom, swinecress will soon be here, and Botany Builder #29.
• 26 November 2013: Strangler Latex Vine still fruiting, seasonal Little Mustards, Stinging Nettles, Forest Kindergarten, a dear visitor, Florida Herbal Conference, Foraging DVDs, and Botany Builder #28: Lianas.
• 19 November 2013: Chickweed is back! Along with stinkhorns, train wreckers, making dandelion wine, walnuts in the news, Florida Herbal Conference, DVDs, and foraging instructor updates.
• 12 November 2013: Sargassum, other sea veteables, eating jellyfish, cooking with sea purslane, the wood oats alternative, classes, DVDs, Florida Herbal Conference and an insect invasion.
• 5 November 2013: The seasonal change is upon us and winter foraging should be picking up. There’s acorns to be collected, a yam blossom to see, and a luffa surprise. The Florida Herbal Conference is coming up, and shoveling snow all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 29 October 2013: No newsletter published that date.
• 22 October 2013: The Tropical Almond, Smartweed, Dudaim Melon, Polyporus Tenuiculus, Florida Herbal Conference, and Green Deane’s DVDs.
• 15 October 2013: A new edible, Perennial Pea; early-season cucumber weed; going out of season sea-grapes, persimmons, coco-plums, simpson stopper; begonias-hemlock, honey mushrooms, a calculating cat, Florida Herbal Conference, and DVDs.
• 8 October 2013: Black Gum, eating Anoles, the Green Deane Forum, Chestnut Bolete, 2014 Florida herbal conference, Green Deane’s DVDs, and 2000-year old seed sprouts.
• 1 October 2013: Sumac’s in season, persimmons, saw palmettos, creeping cucumbers, three iffy edibles, trust, the genus Lactarius, language and grazing.
  24 Septemner 2013: Ever eat a Norfolk Pine? Snacking on Hairy Cowpeas blossoms. Dare you eat a Saw Palmetto berry? Persimmons are coming into season. Sign up early for the Florida Herbal Conference. Recent rains will stimulate mushroom sightings. Change in the newsletter policy. DVDs as selling.
• 17 September 2013: Cereus fruit, ground nuts, 5,000 questions, upcoming classes, herbal conference, my mystery mushroom, DVDS.
• 10 September 2013: Remembering wild apples, the aroma of wild plants, coming to terms with botanical names, a purslane recipe, the Florida Herbal Conference and DVDs,
• 3 September 2013: Blooming horsemint, Kudzu, classes, Ganoderma curtisii, make a berry picking bucket, upcoming conferences and DVDs.
• 27 August, 2013: Blossoming Coral Vine, Eastern Gamagrass, Grapes, Foraging Classes, Rattlesnakes, Poison Sumac, and Puffballs
• 20 August 2013: Podocarpus and fruit wines, thank you cards, class schedule, DVDs, and for what it’s worth.
• 13 August 2013: Fireweed is gourmet?  Pindo Palms, Bitter Gourd, native grapes, Mt. Washington, Blueberries, persimmons, upcoming foraging classes and a common toxic mushroom the Green Parasol.
• 6 August 2013: Osage Orange, Saw Palmettos, foraging teachers, upcoming foraging classes, seasonal mushrooms, and how we love our pets.
• 30 July 2013: Getting Cereus about blooming cactus, the Monadas for medicine and spice, DVDs, our native Anise trees and remembering Dick Deuerling.
• 23 July 2013, Where to look for weeds, Pineapple weed, Toe Biters, 2 million views, DVDs, and a tribute to mom, Mae Lydia Putney Jordan.
• 9 July and 16 July 2013 no newsletter due to a death in the family.
• 2 July 2013: The tasty Bunya Pine Cone, natal plums, willows, botany builder, classes and your pick for a new vegetable.
• 25 June 2013: The orange Paper Mulberry, the orange Hackberry, Green Deane’s DVDs, Environmentalism, upcoming classes, and the Tree of Heaven all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green
• 18 June 2013: Chickasaw plums, ivy gourd, the false roselle, toxic daturas, hand lenses, classes, and who’s manipulating whom?
• 11 June 2013:  Getting food out of the Chinese Tallow Tree, harvesting young wild yams, pickled Betony root, the deer are raining what? And upcoming classes.
• 4 June 2013: The maypops and pawpaws are putting on fruit, yucca are blossoming, black cherries are ripe and the black nightshade berries are ripening. That and a new class location, Seminole-Wekiva.
• 28 May 2013: Sea purslane, sea oats and wood oats, a profusion of coco-plums,  easterngammagrass and how to eat cicadas
• 21 May 2013: The Prunus are a fruiting, the winged yam, where to find sea blite, should you eat Black Medic, Smilax are in blossom, and new video about Wild garlic/Onions.
• 14 May 2013: No newsletter that week
• 7 May 2013: Blackberries, Lemon Bacopa, Surinam Cherries, Basswood, Linden Tree, recent articles and the city of Winter Park spraying cattails because they are not aestheticallypleasing in the park.
• 30 April 2013: How to tell sow thistles apart, creeping fig, lawns, and why can’t I eat this?
• 23 April 2013: The sweet aroma of the candyroot, the surprising relative of the Hairy Cowpea, Barnyard Grass, the Rose Apple and releasing bio-controls.
• 16 April 2013: St. Nicholas Monastery and Tropical Almonds, Pellitory Itch, Vacant Lots, Bamboo Cove, Botany Builder #26, and the calming effects of nature.
• 9 April 2013:  Pawpaws are blossoming, are there any poisonous look alikes, the bugs are coming, cold weather, and $1.6 million for a frog phobia.
• 2 April 2013: The wild onions/garlic are fruiting, how to tell the edible Black Cherry from the toxic Laurel Cherry, toxicity in Elderberries, and more Grass is God rebellion.
• 26 March 2013: Finding fireweed, digging up betony roots, drying loquats, Botany Builder #25, Coppicing, Road Kill, and spreading seeds.
• 19 March 2013:  The Queen Palm, changing weeds from edible to noxious, velvet leaf, crabgrass, Botany Builder #24, Samaras, New Articles, House Calls, Suriname Cherries, Nopales, and The Drunken Botanist all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 12 March 2013: Mulberries, Creeping Cucumber, Coco-plums, Smartgrass, Botany Builder 23, pinna, winter plant facts, time change, GD videos coming.
• 5 March 2013:    Goosegrass, pawpaws, Christmasberry, Botany Builder 22 stipules, cultivating wild plants, Apps, Scrub jays.
• 26 February 2013: Sheep’s Sorrel, White Snow, new articles, shocking news about bees, the Australian Pine, hydrilla, and worms
• 19 February 2013: Loquats, poison hemlock, turkey berries, toxic tomatoes, conferences, Lake Woodruff, osage orange and turtle travails.
• 12 February 2013: The ever elusive chickweed, solar oven and nut sheller, the tale of two nettles, wild lettuce, more hard-headed government, new mushroom book, the Maslin technique, ragweed, upcoming classes and loss of habitat
• 5 February 2013: A close up of usnea, a likeable lichen. The silverthorn is in full fruit, find aromatic wild garlic, identify watercress. There’s also the Thistle Epistle, Frostbites, Mulberries, the herbal conference and up coming classes, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 29 January 2013: Smilax, non-edible nicker beans, seasonal eating, naughty knotweed, front yard gardening and decapitated grass, pool fish pond, and upcoming class schedule in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green
• 22 January 2013:  What you can do with a wild wing yam, Florida Pennyroyal, a special Hawthorn you should know about, my latest videos and articles, is eating nutrition good for you? Don’t eat the rattlebox. Sugar Cane and winning environmental bar bets.
• 15 January 2013:  Haulover Canal, Seablite, classifing plants, clovers, thistles, sow thistles, wild lettuce, Florida Herbal Conference, rising wheat prices.
• 8 January 2013: Maples are beginning to seed, find local Goosefoots, where the wild food is, the taste test, Florida Herbal Conference, microscopes, and Eugene Handsacker’s shell game

• 1 January 2013: Chickweed, sublimed sulfur, herbal conference, Green Deane’s DVDs, Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, Turks Cap, Oxalis, Violets, Plantagos, and the prime mistake foragers make.

• 25 December 2012: Christmas in Florida, identifying chestnuts, what about ground cherries, winter vines, the toxic Mexican Poppy, the annual urban crawl and natal plums, Canada’s maple syrup much-to-do,

• 18 December, 2012: How to tell a mustard from a radish. Which cactus pad should you pick? The February Florida Herbal Conference, a traditional urban crawl

• 11 December 2012: Finding sumacs, magnolia blossoms as spice, the Florida Herbal Conference, follow ups on pollination and Featherstonehaugh, fertilizer, Maygyver and Nefertiti.

• 4 December  2012: Finding Winged Yams, our little winter mustards, pollenating creatures, Florida Herbal Conference, the Green Deane Forum, Mushrooms a la David Spahr and Dr. Kimbrough, Alligators with marijuana and Featherstonehaugh, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 27 November 2012: The mustards of wintertime, how to sort out hollies, learning about mushrooms, growing weeds from seeds, dandelions, and the fate of Edward Archboldall all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.
• 20 November 2012:  It’s holly season, and wild mustard time along with seasonal little mustards. Also in the newsletter: The Pond Apple, Florida’s Herbal Conference, Thanksgiving lore, wild pumpkins, Botany Builder 21 and faded underwear, all From The Village Green.

• 13 November 2012: Going nuts with hickories and acorns;, Spanish Needle tea, good for some of what ails you, why bumble bees can’t fly, and the Florida Herbal Conference,

• 6 November 2012: Hackberries (Sugarberries) Fireweed, “bad” landscape trees, weighty issues, bikes, time and the 2013 Florida Herbal Conference, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 30 October 2012:   Which came first, grains or tubers? Groundnuts, wild rice, armadillos, clouds, a follow up on snails and Oh Deer, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 23 October 2012:  Oak trees are masting (dropping acorns) new articles, mushrooms, snails, turtles, False Hawk’s Beard, and more in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 16 October 2012:  The winter greens of chickweed, bittercress and poor man’s pepper grass; Solanum americanum, when not to eat; solar oven update, Halloween rant, the impact of weeds, updated articles, the Untouchables, and ginkgo gastronomics.

• 9 October 2012:    A new crop of sandspurs, confusing Poke berries and Elderberries, nettles for clothes, blue honey, new article about Pandanus, preserving fall foliage, cooking with pine needles and a cockroach eating contest.

• 2 October 2012:  Pandanus and Ivy Gourd, digging sticks, growing zones and recording setting pumpkin.

• 25 September 2012:  Chaya, confusing nettles, winter weeds, new articles, yams, the dangers of foraging, tales of a city lot.

• 18 September 2012: Fuzzy marbles, sweet and sour maypops, food and medicine, recently added articles, sumac hiar, vultures and belladona.

• 11 September 2012:  Finding tart food, a look at sumac and the false roselle, a new herbalism book and resource, the Green Deane Forum, Sea-Grapes, and scorpions

• 4 September 2012:   Get Gopher Apples while you can, Getting High, the effect of elevation on plant seasons, a yam for colder weather, a bike with no pedals, and is you cat making you ill?

• 14 August 2012: Maypops are coming into season; what do you know about cyanide; how to get rid of chiggers; Man of the Earth big root deep down; sorting out wild grapes, and earthworms.

• 7 August 2012: Eastern Gamagrass, Asian Clams, new articles posted, Creeping Cucumbers, Upcoming classes, Chinese Tallow Tree, Green Dean Forum, What’s the Buzz.

• 31 July 2012:    Sea Purslane on the grill, when is a clover not a clover? What to do about spices. Archiving newsletters. Class schedule. Growing Patio Potatoes and yams. Fined for growing food and holding birthday party
  all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 24 July 2012 : The Podocarpus is coming into season, grapes are early this year, where to hold a foraging class. my class schedule, making friction fire, is that really a strawberry and sonar sex… all in this week’s newsletter, From The Village Green by Green Deane

• 17 July 2012 :  Coco-plums are in season, as is Silverhead. Why is Black Point in Maine called that and where does Bidens grow in Brazil? American Holly, scorpions, armadillos and how to make your own sourdough bread, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 10 July 2012:  A flower that tastes like a mushroom, fear of foraging, nutrition, what is a pirogue, and my class schedule, all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 3 July 2012: Sorting out ground cherries, hairs on plants and why we need to know them, Class Schedule, an upcoming road trip, a great garden party, and Lichen In Space, all in this week’s Green Deane’s Newsletter, From The  Village Green.

• 26 June 2012: Sorting out blueberries, or, how to figure out what the plant is. Is This Plant Edible and changing views on edibility. And upcoming classes all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 19 June 2012:   What to eat strawberry guavas, which wild edibles should pregnant women avoid, are you collecting seaweed for supper? Lawn grass and code enforcement. Upcoming classes all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 29 May 2012:  Surinam Cherries are ripening but they aren’t cherries. Firethorn berries are green but wait a few weeks. Botany builder #20. What’s barnyard grass? Visit the Green Deane Forum. Bicycles in the news. How to tattoo a banana, all in this week’s Green Deane newsletter From The Village Green.

• 21 May 2012:  Pineapples that don’t exist, Guerrilla Gardening, upcoming classes and exactly what is the meristem stage? All in this week’s newsletter “From The Village Green” by Green Deane.

• 7 May 2012:  Can Rescuegrass rescue you? Why forage and what are “naked” seeds? This an more in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green by Green Deane.

• 23 April 2012: Wild Garlic is heading, spurge nettles are rooting, sea blite is ready for picking, and eastern coral beans are showing you where they are. Did Green Deane actually get poison sumac and what did the spam filter catch? That and more in this weeks newsletter From The Village Green.

• 9 April 2012: Peppery smartweed, the “yuck” factor, kudzu, the winged yam, pennyroyal, budget cut benefits, and more in this week’s From The Village Green, Green Deane’s Newsletter.

• 2 April 2012: Where the weeds are. Going to a gym. Compound leaves. Rumex, Topi mambo, Water Lettuce, Duckweed, Edible Flowers Part 19, Classes, Green Deane Forum and “For What It’s worth” all in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 26 March 2012:  What’s in and out of season? The Florida Herbal Conference. How do you find edible plants? Pictures or drawings? Upcoming Classes, and more in From the Village Green, Green Deane’s newsletter.

• 19 March 2012: Where to find papaws. Can you eat grass? Four new articles: Sida, False Roselle, Edible Flowers Part 18, Gout Weed. Can you eat tropical sage? Botany Builder #14, that and more in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green.

• 5 March 2012: The Eastern Redbuds are confused. A 30,000 year old flower? What might you do if you catch the flu. Sorting out the Perseas. Five new articles.  Arrest made in burning down the world’s oldest Cypress. Class schedule. Green Deane Forum update, all in From the Village Green, Green Deane’s Newsletter

• 20 February 2012: Wild Radish is turning fields yellow, harvesting nopales, milkweed vine and the evolution of the garden, two new articles, a forum update, this week’s classes, and ducks, all in “From the Village Green” this week’s Green Deane Newsletter.

• 6 February 2012: The Green Deane Forum, a place to meet other foragers and share questions and successes,  Brazilian Pepper, a staple that grows in teh shade, Botany Builder 14, Herbal Conferencem, Cliamate change. All in this Green Deane’s newsletter this week, From The Village Green.

• 23 January 2012:  What to do with Brazilian Pepper. Tapping Trees a new way. What’s the difference between a tree and a shrub? Herbal Conference, and I didn’t know that all in this weeks newsletter From The Village Green.

• 16 January 2012:  Persimmons and frost, saving weed seeds, Botany Builder #12, an herbal invitation, African bees and more in this weeks newsletter from Green Deane.

• 9 January 2012: The stinging dwarf is back, who is Sunny Savage? Passiflora, epiphany and manatees; new articles, what’s the difference between roots and rhizomes? Wild cucumbers, upcoming classes and the newsletter.

• 2 January 2012: Pigging out on swinecress. A prescription for walnuts? Snow. New articles on reeds, dahlias, nutrias and edible flowers part nine; Botany builder #10, classes, and how many wild edibles should you know, in Green Deane’s newsletter this week From The Village Green

• 26 December 2011:   A yam what am a yam; peppergrass; Janus the god of gates; Did you know? New articles; Urban Crawl and upcoming classes; Botany Builder; a Christmas memory and more in Green Deane’s newsletter this week, From The Village Green.

• 19 December 2011: Chickweed is up locally. Here’s another good reason to forage. What does -ifera mean? Turtle Mound. Canna Island update. Wild Radishes, and more in Green Deane’s newsletter this week, From The Village Green

• 12 December 2011: Pellitory’s in season. How many apple seeds can you really eat? Botany Builder #7, monocots and dicots. Classes this week. Why are two wheels not part of the green movement? All in Green Deane’s newsletter this week From The Village Green.

• 6 December 2011:  The controversy over Palmer Amaranth, Tools of the Trail, Poison Plant Handbook, Botany Builder, Did You Know, and upcoming classes, in this week’s newsletter From The Village Green

• 28 November 2011:  Crowfoot Grass, A grass dictionary, Botany Builder: blade and margin; Thanksgiving.

• 21 November 2011:  The Chinese Elms are fruiting, what about what the animals eat, a chickweed relative, what is a pappus, a look at a yellow passion flower and a bit of reminiscing in Green Deane’s latest newsletter, From The Village Green.

• 14 November 2011:  Telling the difference between a wild radish and a wild mustard. How many wild edibles are there? What do you need to know to get started? Why cook bamboo shoots? Botany Builder and this week’s classes, all in Green Deane’s latest newsletter.

• 8 November 2011:  Look alikes, tell the difference between edible elderberry and toxic water hemlock, discoveries found during this week’s class, what’s peltate?

• 31 October 2011:  The Halloween and foraging connection…. Seedlings… I.T.E.M.-izing. Battery Acid and pokeweed. Rev7, the Botany Builder and more in Green Deane’s newsletter this week, From The Village Green.

• 24 October 2011:   Fresh this week:  The new website is up. Are you harvesting sumac berries now or young sow thistles? A “new” edible was found during our foraging class. What about genetically modified foods?  What every runner or    bicyclist should hear about. And did Green Deane really get poison ivy and how you can avoid it. All in Green Deane’s latest newsletter.

• 1 September 2010 Cost of food, paper mulberry, liatris, pokeweed, wasabi

• 1 August 2010 Watervine, Smilax, Does’t Grow Here, Pomegranates

• 1 July 2010  Jelly Palm, Cactus, Clockwise, Birch Allergies

• 1 June 2010  Why forage, How safe is foraging, Sea Blite, Ilex vomitoria

Hairy Bitter Cress growing along a wall in Savannah Georgia in December. Photo by Green Deane

Hairy Bitter Cress had “tooth pick” seed pods. Photo by Green Deane

Members of the mustard family usually like cooler weather. They are a spring and summer plant in northern places like Canada. They’re a fall and winter plant in southern climates. There are big mustards and little mustards, some three or four feet tall, others that barely break a foot. One good thing about the managerie is that there are no toxic mustards. No matter where you are in the world, if it is in the mustard family it’s edible. This is not to say there are no warnings even if edible. Some mustards are strong flavored thus better cooked than eaten raw. Indeed when I made my life move from Maine to Florida I left behind a mild mustard I could eat raw. What I found here was a strong wild radish that I must cook or the stomach aches. Farm animals also have varying responses to the mustard clan. That can range from irritated digestive systems to mustard-tasting milk. So while mustards are comestibles some caution is reasonable for you and your livestock.

Locally the big mustards, such as Wild Mustard and Wild Radish, don’t sprout for another month or so and can be found around Christmas into the new year.  Some of the Little Mustards can be found now. During a foraging class this past weekend in Orlando we found Hairy Bitter Cress. It’s a mustard member one can find for seven or eight months or all but the hottest time of the year. Botanically Cardamine hirsuta (which means Hairy Cress) it’s a nice addition to salads and the like. The entire plant’s edible. It likes disturbed soil, and in warmer months close to water and drying stream beds. Unlike Swine Cress, it is not a common lawn plant. It’s extremely common in pots and around plant nurseries. You can read about it here.

Horses don’t like plants in the mustard family — it’s toxic to them — so the seeds collected in the chaff in the hay barn. (That’s my mother on Ginger, left, Lois Curit on Bonny, center, and me on Chico.  The dog is Rex. Photo by Robert Hartley Jordan

(If I may continue  the mustards as an aside: Way back in the late 50s and early 60s my father built our house and barn in Pownal, Maine. For modern folks that’s about five miles west of L.L. Bean. Pownal, which has only 400 more citizens today than it did 160 years ago, has some king-decreed untaxable land that has been passed down eldest son to eldest son since the 1600s. It has caused centuries of legal problems. No taxes no services such as fire or electricity… Anyway, our place had no “lawn” for several years as lawns aren’t a priority out in the country. Early one spring my father took wheel barrows full of chaff from the hay barn and spread it out where the lawn was supposed to be. By the time school let out the lawn was a jungle of tall mustard plants that gave away over the summer to tall lambs quarters, all edible. It took many years to convince grass to grow there. Grass has to be coaxed and pampered to survive, weeds take care of themselves I have a video about large mustards here.)

Younger fruit is preferable than older fruit. Photo by Green Deane

Now is also a good time to look for last-of-the-season fruit that sounds like it was the star of a 1950’s sci-fi film: Latex strangler Vine. The fruit — which is used like a vegetable — is easy to describe: It looks like a smaller, greener chayote. That only helps if you know what a chayote looks like. It’s a light green vegetable usually found in the grocery store with the squashes. It has an unmistakeable butt crack, a fold along the entire bottom. Does one have to say the state of Florida and native plant societies loathe the vine? Its main horror was to cover citrus trees with shade until the tree died. That might become a moot point as greening removes citrus from the peninsula’s landscape. Millions was spent trying to eradicate the vine without success. Indeed, the best place to find Latex Strangler Vine is in or around citrus groves. And as there are thousands of acres of untended citrus groves it is a relatively easy vine to spot. You can also locate it readily on fences. The vine does have latex so it is one of the few plants with a milky sap that we do eat. And nearly all of the plant is edible one way or another except the root. There are two warning of sorts. The fruits get tough as they age and in time will dry, break open, and spread milkweed-like seeds. At some point it becomes too dry and tough — mature — for us to eat. That is when we don’t eat the seeds or coma. And the entire plant is toxic to cows. I have a video about it here.   To can read about go the vine here.

Perhaps it is time to revisit Bacopa. This weekend from Sarasota to Orlando the species was happy, abundant and blossoming. We actually have two Bacopas locally. The one we are interested in is very common. The other, which actually tastes better, is harder to find but may not have the proven beneficial affects.

Bacopa monnieri resembles purslane. Photo by Green Deane

Bacopa monnieri, aka Water Hyssop but known universally in health food stores as Bacopa, is bitter. It is not a wild edible most will like. But, as a medicine it is a wonder drug so to speak. What does it do? It coaxes the brain into making new memory cells. A double-blind study — the gold standard — showed 12 weeks of supplementation with Bacopa monnieri improved the memory and executive functions dramatically and permanently in 65-year olds who were having such problems. However as one does not lose function overnight recovery is not overnight. It took at least three months of daily supplementation to improve those functions. Bacopa is also anti-inflammatory. I personally know four people who took Bacopa monnieri for memory issues and had significant improvement. Best of all if it works for you it grows wild here. Its relative, Bacopa caroliniana, is called Lemon Bacopa. That Bacopa makes a nice tea that tastes like lime and is probably not good for you at all. I have video on the Bacopas here. You can read about Bacopa monnieri here.

Foraging classes are held rain or shine. Photo by Nermina Krenata

Foraging Classes: This weekend classes are on both sides of the state,  Melbourne and Port Charlotte. Each location has its own particular uniqueness.

Saturday, October 28th, Wickham Park, Wickham Park: 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne, FL 32935-2335.  9 a.m. Meet at the “dog park” inside the park.

Sunday, October 29th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, Bayshore Drive. Port Charlotte.  9 a.m. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bayshore Road and Ganyard Street.

Saturday, November 4th,  Blanchard Park, 10501 Jay Blanchard Trail, Orlando, FL 32817. 9 a.m. Meet at the covered picnic table by the tennis courts near the WMCA building.

The read more about the classes go here.

Foraging DVDs

All of Green Deane’s videos available for free on You Tube. They do have ads on them so every time you watch a Green Deane video I get a quarter of one cent. Four views, one cent. Not exactly a large money-maker but it helps pays for this newsletter. If you want to see the videos without ads and some in slightly better quality you can order the DVD set. It is nine DVDs with 15 videos on each for a total of 135 videos.  Many people want their own copy of the videos or they have a slow service and its easier to order then to watch them on-line. The DVDs make a good gift for that forager you know especially on long, cold winter months. Individual DVDs can also be ordered or you can pick and choose. You can order them by clicking on the button on the top right of this page. If it is not working — the site is under construction and being updated — you can go here.

Do you know this plant? You would if you read the Green Deane Forum

Want to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Do you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object you want identified? On the Green Deane Forum we chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations around the world share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. One special section is “From the Frightening Mail Bag” where we learn from people who eat first then ask questions later. You can join the forum by clicking on the button on the upper right hand side of this page.

This is issue 275.

If you would like to donate to Eat The Weeds please click here.

Smaller fruits are more edible as older fruits become dry and get milkweed fluffy inside.

It doesn’t have the best pubic relations name: Latex Strangler Vine. But you have to realize it was named decades ago by citrus growers. The vine, which can easily grow over 100-feet long, happily covered low-growing citrus trees shading out the sun and killing the tree. The state of Florida has spent millions of dollars trying to control and eradicate it. In tropical American it’s what’s for dinner.

Aromatic blossoms are distinct and edible raw.

The vine has been in the state about 78 years. Under cultivation in 1939 in Pasco County, by the mid-1950s it was showing up in citrus groves in Orange County about 100 miles due east. That’s when it came to the state’s attention and became an official problem. While it might have made it onto the state’s noxious weed list it did not make its way into wild foraging books.  Perhaps that’s because in other parts of the word it’s a staple. The plant highlights two different mentalities. To one population it is daily food, to another it’s not food but a threat to income.

The vine flourishes on fences and walls.

While it was one of the plants banned by citrus industry one doesn’t hear about it much now. It has greener issues to contend with. I find the Latex Strangler Vine not in groves but on the land around them. It also likes to grow on hedges and fences. In Blanchard Park it is on ornamentals by the tennis courts, in Winter Park it is near a dentist’s office on a hedge, on the West Orange Bike Trail it is on a pond fence and many miles away on the same trail on a subdivision fence. I see it on chain link fences driving in to Winter Garden and on junk yard fences in west Orlando. It is even in one protected site in Ocala in Jervey Gantt Park. If you look for the vine you will find it. To read more about the Latex Strangler Vine go here.

Ripe Podocarpus arils can be dark red to deep purple.  Photo by Green Deane

Podocarpus is afoot which makes sense as its name means Foot Fruit. Locally August is ripening time for the plant’s arils which we eat. We do not eat the seed on the end. Just the aril. They resemble grapes in taste and texture and can be used like them as well. Podocarpus macrophyllus is almost impossible not to find. It is an extremely common hedge plant in suburbia. Hardly a subdivision or a shopping center is not without a row of podocarpus. They are usually heavy with fruit but trimming at the wrong time can leave them fruitless. If left on their own — that is not trimmed into a perpetual hedge — them make nice trees similar to pines. And while August is their ripening time locally that only holds true if they are a hedge. I know where there are four podocarpus trees and they fruit in December. I don’t know why and I can’t explain it. They just do. To read more about the podocarpus go here.

The Black Nightshade produces edible berries.

There’s much confusion about the American Nightshade. For some the name alone conjures up death. There are several reason why this is so. First is European prejudice. Settlers assumed nightshades in the Americas were toxic like nightshades in Europe (I know someone now who still thinks tomatoes are poisonous, not allergenic but actually poisonous like Belladonna.) Botanists didn’t help foraging things by changing the names and getting various species widely confused. And lastly indeed the unripe berries of the American Nightshade are toxic, how toxic depends on how many and how old you are. A few can sicken a child, it takes more to bring down an adult. However, totally ripe berries are, as they, say sub-acid and edible. The flavor ranges from nice and perfumey to uninteresting. I’ve also found some in Ocala — always in the same place — that are bitter even when ripe. I don’t eat those. To read more about this maligned edible go here.

Orlando Mushroom Group

OMG is now official. Nearly four years ago I created several Facebook pages about mushroom because I wanted to know more about them. Two pages I worked on and two I did not. Since then Florida Mushroom Identification Forum and the Southeastern U.S. Mushroom Identification page have done well. I kept Edible Mushrooms: Florida kind of a secret but folks found it anyway and this year it grew. So it was time to populate and promote Orlando Mushroom Group. Besides, I wanted OMG. The goal is to also have mushroom forages and start a group that actually meets in person. There are nearly none of those in Florida like there are in most places around the country. So OMG is open for fungal business and we will have our first hunt and class next month!

Classes are held in sunshine and rain.

Because I am attending a fungal fair on Saturday I have only one foraging class this week, in Jacksonville. The class size is currently small which usually means more personal attention and a class under four hours because of less questions and smaller groups move faster.

Sunday, August 27th, Florida State College,  Jacksonville, this class will be rescheduled later in September.

Saturday, September 2nd, Boulware Springs Park, 3420 SE 15th St.,  Gainesville, FL 32641. 9 a.m.

Sunday, September 10th, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, 33405, 9 a.m.

Sunday, September 17th, John Chestnut County Park: 2200 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor, FL 34685. 9 a.m.

For more information go here. 

The Nine-DVD set includes 135 videos.

All of Green Deane’s videos available for free on You Tube. They do have ads on them so every time you watch a Green Deane video I get a quarter of one cent. Four views, one cent. Not exactly a large money-maker but it helps pays for this newsletter. If you want to see the videos without ads and some in slightly better quality you can order the DVD set. It is nine DVDs with 15 videos on each.  Many people want their own copy of the videos or they have a slow service and its easier to order then to watch them on-line. They make a good gift for that forager you know. Individual DVDs can also be ordered. You can order them by clicking on the button on the top right of this page or you can go here.

Do you know what these edibles are? You would if you read the Green Deane Forum.

Want to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Do you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object you want identified? On the Green Deane Forum we chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations around the world share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. One special section is “From the Frightening Mail Bag” where we learn from people’s mistakes. You can join the forum by clicking on the button on the upper right hand side of this page.

This is issue 271.

If you would like to donate to Eat The Weeds please click here.

Beautyberries have little flavor but make an excellent jelly. Photo by Green Deane

August is a hot month. Foraging falls off, class attendance is down, folks are on vacation in cooler climes. I usually spend a couple of weeks in North Carolina rummaging around. But August can be an extremely productive foraging month. Locally you should be able to find many things during your foraging treasure hunt. Grapes are ripening, both single tendril and forked tendril. Simpson Stoppers are still fruiting here and there as are Pindo Palms (the wine started two weeks ago is coming along nicely.)  The American Beautyberry is happily coming into it’s own with bunches of magenta berries, and, as mentioned in last week’s newsletter, be on the look out for Horsemint, its pink bracts and preference for sandy, dry locations makes it an easy find.

Unripe Saw Palmetto Berries

And while they are not yet ripe it’s easy to spot Saw Palmetto berries and Persimmons (both are still green.) The Saw Palmetto berries will go from green to gold (see photo right) then to black though they will probably be poached before they turn black because they can be used medicinally when green. The Persimmons won’t be edible until around mid-October or so and then the best ones are those you have to fight the ants for.  No frost is needed. Now is also a time to be looking for Hackberries aka Sugarberries, some are almost ripe but September is their better season. The tree’s green pea-sized fruit will turn to burnt orange in color. Crunchy. Black Gum fruit — currently green — won’t be ripen ’til fall and even then it is gawd-awful bad. But Black Gum fruit is edible but you’re hungry, desperate and have a lot of sugar.

Harold Grandholm emptying raked blueberries in a blueberry field on the Merrill Road in Pownal Maine about 1969.  It earned back-to-school money. To the north is the Bradbury Farm.

In my native state of Maine grapes and apples were  still unripe in August but blueberries were abundant. Because of wide-spread acidic soil one could easily find 120- acres blueberry fields like the one at left. They were “lined off” with string into rows for blueberry rakers. Like digging clams blueberrying was backbreaking work and they always missed a few. So after the fields were raked we’d go pick our fill. We also had high bush blueberries, wonderful 12-foot high spreading shrubs that liked to grow among ledges and rock fences. It was also a time to find Milkweed pods in the pastures. Unfortunately our various species of milkweed pods here in Florida are not edible.

Classes are held rain or shine.

Upcoming Foraging Classes: 

Saturday, Aug 27th, George LeStrange Preserve, 4911 Ralls Road, Fort Pierce, FL, 34981. 9 a.m.  (This class is cancelled because of a tropical rainy weather this weekend.)

Sunday, Aug. 28th, Dreher Park, 1200 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, FL, 33405. 9 a.m.  (This class is cancelled because of a tropical rainy weather this weekend.) 

Saturday, Sept 10th, Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL, 34233. 9 a.m.

Sunday, Sept. 11th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, 2200 East Lake Road, Port Charlotte, FL. 9 a.m.

For more information about the foraging classes go here. 

The Nine-DVD set includes 135 videos.

All of Green Deane’s videos are available for free on You Tube. They do have ads on them so every time you watch a Green Deane video I get a quarter of one cent. Four views, one cent. Not exactly a large money-maker but it helps pays for the newsletter. If you want to see the videos without ads and some in lightly better quality you can order the DVD set. It is nine DVDs with 15 videos on each. Many people want their own copy of the videos or they have a slow service and its easier to order then to watch them on-line. They make a good gift for that forager you know. Individual videos can also be ordered. You can order them by clicking on the button on the top right of this page or you can go here.

Do you know what these poisonous berries are? You would if you read the Green Deane Forum.

Want to identify a plant? Looking for a foraging reference? Do you have a UFO, an Unidentified Flowering Object you want identified. On the Green Deane Forum we chat about foraging all year. And it’s not just about warm-weather plants or just North American flora. Many nations share common weeds so there’s a lot to talk about, such as the one to the left. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, and forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food.  You can join the forum by clicking on the button on the upper right hand side of this page.

Ganoderma growing over a pine needle. Photo by Green Deane

If you are interested in edible or medicinal mushrooms there have been reports of Chanterelles (I harvested some of those myself) and quite a few edible Lactarius. Boletes are also producing but their edibility is more trial and error but fortunately there are no deadly members of the group. From the medicinal point of view I have also been seeing a lot of Ganoderma zonatum, our local Reishis that likes to kill palms. Whether are various species of Ganodermas are as good as the ones sold in herbal shops is a hot debate.

This is Newsletter 222. As next Tuesday is the fifth Tuesday of the month the newsletter will take a week off and resume in September.  

If you would like to donate to Eat The Weeds please click here.