Newsletter #606, 23 July 2024

Soon most Saw Palmetto Berries will be turning gold then black. Photo by Green Deane.

If you know where to look there’s plenty of “pickings” now. Ripening now and starting their several month run are Tallow plums. We collected many in Melbourne last week, as well as wild grapes. The single tendral species are a couple of weeks ahead of the usual season. And with green grapes also on the vine there is the promise of more to come. 

Unripe gopher apple fruit, photo by Green Deane

Not ripe yet are Gopher Apples though there’s plenty to be found. There is one precaution: Eating many gopher apples and tallow plums at the same time might temporarily affect one’s heart rhythm. I know of one such report, from years ago. What is  not known is was it the combination or eating a lot (12) of each species that triggered the temporary arrhythmia, or something else. Also seen on the bush profilically now are saw palmetto berries. They are mostly green now. They will turn golden in August and black by September, and will be at their best (if there is such a thing.) Strong-flavored, Chef Steven Carter tells me they can be used to make a false blue cheese dressing. In 1692 they were describe as tasting like “rotten cheese soaked in tobacco juice.” Java plums are also fruiting heavily, early for them. Podocarpus arils are also ripening. 

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

Foraging classes: First an apology. I missed last Saturday’s class because I spent most of Friday night in the Emergency Room. Explanation below. For the next two weekend we will be trying to avoid Big Rain

Saturday, July 27th, Spruce Creek Park, 6250 Ridgewood Ave. Port Orange. Meet at the pavilion , 9 a.m. to noon. 

Sunday, July 28th, Mead Garden: 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789.  Meet at the bathrooms. 9 a.m. to noon. 

Saturday, August 3rd John Chestnut County Park: 2200 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor, FL 34685. Meet at the trail head of the Peggy Park Nature Walk, pavilion 1 parking lot, 9 a.m. to noon.

Sunday August 4th, Red Bug Slough 5200 S. Beneva Road, Sarasota. 9 a.m. to noon, meet at the bathrooms.

No birds were harmed in production of this story. Photo by Green Deane.

Florida is not the lightning capital of the world but it gets my vote, eh… or volt. At quarter past 8 p.m. on Friday July 19th, I was involved with a lightning bolt. Despite what our eyes tell us most lightning goes from the ground up. I mention that because I cannot remember the bolt that struck me. I have a small chicken hut with an attached wire cage. It is located between a one-story house and two typical Florida Live Oak Trees. I lock the birds in every night because of predators, specifically bobcats, raccoons and possums. A strong overhead thunder storm had lessened and the rain lightened. Carrying an umbrella I went out to close up the birds, which requires me to bend over or get on my knees. Suddenly I felt the electricity traveling through both hands on the umbrella shaft, and my barefeet with the wet ground. As I grew up with electrical fences I recognized the feeling immediately though it felt like 220 volts not 120 and it lasted longer than a fence shock. I yelled “no” and thew the umbrella away. There was a light yellow glow in the area. And things were blurry. The juice stopped, I checked my pulse — still had one — then went to the emergency room to be sure leaving Saturday morning at 4 a.m., Which is why I missed the class as it was too late to leave and arrive on time and I stayed up all night. I had to wait for two blood tests. Apparently when there is a serious electrical injury certain heart proteins are affected and can be detected in the blood. I passed.

Magnolia blossom. Photo by Green Deane

Is it time to rethink Magnolias? The leaves of Magnolia grandiflora can be used like a bay leaf and the blossoms lacto-fermented into a condiment (quite popular in England.) M. grandiflora is not the best leaf in the wild for flavoring, however. That distinction goes to a relative, M. virginana, also known as the Sweet Bay. It’s among the easiest of trees to identify. As I have been making wine I pondered making a test gallon of Magnolia Blossom Mead… Magnolia scent and honey…  It temps the senses nicely in theory but… The first point is mead. It’s made from honey and takes a long time to ferment. What materials you have in the mead stay in there for a long time. So, if you are going to add cinnamon you only need to add a little because it all gets extracted over time. I am making some Juniper Berry Mead now. Maybe it will be ready next year. Wine can be much different. If you make a fruit wine the fruit is in the “must” for about a week only. It’s an overlay flavor not the total focus. Wine is today, mead is tomorrow. With Magnolia Blossom Mead in mind I picked 580 grams of M. grandiflora blossoms. As I didn’t want them sitting in the mead for months or years I brought them to boil in a gallon of water then let them cool. The resulting tea was exceptionally bitter and vegetative tasting. Not the best candidate for mead or wine. Plan B: Magnolia Blossoms sparingly might be a good hops replacement in making beer and give a nice nose, too. The bitterness of the M. grandiflora raised another possibility: The Sweet Bay blossoms might be a better choice. That is Plan C. I’ll collect some of those blossom and give them a go. 

Green Deane Forum

Tired of Facebook and want to identify a plant? The Green Dean Forum is up and running again. Have you come to dislike Facebook, then join us on the forum. 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. 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

You get the USB, not the key.

172-video USB would be a good end of spring present and is now $99. My nine-DVD set of 135 videos has been phased out. The USB videos are the same videos I have on You Tube. Some people like to have their own copy.  Most of the 172 USB videos have to be copied to your computer to play. If you want to order the USB go to the DVD/USB order button on the top right of this page. That will take you to an order form. 

Now in  second printing.

EAT THE WEEDS, the book, 274 plants, 367 pages, index, nutrition charts and color photos. It’s available in many locations including Amazon.  Most of the entries include a nutritional profile.  It can also be ordered through AdventureKeen Publishing.

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Part of a pond apple blossom. Be on the lookout for. Subsequent fruit is edible Photo by Green Deane