Opuntias are blossoming now. They can also have pink blossoms. Photo by Green Deane
Cochineal bugs are used for natural red food dye. Photo by Green Deane
At one time there were just Opuntias. Then the Botanical Gods That Be decided there should be Opuntias and Nopales. One has a blossom resembling a rose, the other a shrimp. Both are edible when young or when commercially raised and mostly spineless. You can eat the pads, the fruit (called tunas) the seeds and blossoms. The seeds are very hard so they should be ether ground or roasted. What you must absolutely be careful about is white sap. If you break a pad, stem or the like and you see white sap you have a Euphorbia not a cactus and they are toxic. You want pads and no white sap. Those are the very important key points. That said, what you see on the right is not white sap. It is the spittle-made home of a little Cochineal bugs used for red dye. I have also had people tell me they eat cactus the roots but I haven’t tired that because all the roots I meet are woody and tough. I have an article on cactus here and a video here.
A Gopher Apple preparing to blossom. Photo by Green Deane
The Gopher Apples were blossoming abundantly this past weekend during a walk locally. Gopher apples don’t travel well. In fact, Gopher apples don’t look well, either. About the size and shape of a large olive they are pink, pasty, soft and best eaten right off the bush. Don’t put them in your pocket! It’s not unusual in most years to find edible Gopher Apple by May or as late as early summer. Gopher Apples are usualy six inches to perhaps a foot high, often very low growing looking like a patch of mowed young oaks. However I have seen Gopher Apples easily over two feet high. One of the more interesting aspect about Gopher Apples is that how they taste depends upon your genes. You can read more about Gopher Apples here.
Deerberries are crown berries and in ghe greater heath family. Photo by Green Deane
April is a transition month. Many of winter edibles are ending their season and some of the spring and summer plants are starting. There is overlap and that can vary depending which end of the state you are on. The blueberries, also mentioned in recent newsletters, were impressive. I think they were Vaccinium arboreum, also called Sparkleberry and Farkleberry (and mistakenly Tree Huckleberry because they are not huckleberries.) I’ve seen individual trees and a small hurst of them. V. arboreum is the only blueberry locally that gets to tree size. It has a flaking outer bark that reveals a reddish brown smooth inner bark. We also saw two Deerberry bushes, Vaccinium staminuem. That species is easy to identify because the blossoms have long stamens and the underside of the leaf is white. You can read about blueberries here. Incidentally, blueberries can have any number of seeds in them. Huckleberries, however, always have exactly 10 seeds. There can be bits of grit in a huckelberry but only 10 seeds. The leaves also have bright gold glands. You can read about Huckleberries here.
Foraging classes are not impossible now just more difficult to arrange. We are allowed outside if we practice physical distancing (I have a portable PA system) and aren’t a large group. The greater issue is what areas are open and are there bathrooms. There is one place, Sanlando Park, just north of Orlando and not in Orange County. I will have a class there this Saturday — April 25th — if anyone is interested. It will start at 9:30 a.m. as the park does not open until nine. It also has open bathrooms at two locations. The address is 401 West Highland Street, Altamonte Springs, Florida 32714 (at the intersection with Laura Avenue.) We meet in the first parking lot on your right immediately after the entrance. You can read more, sign up or prepay here.
Perhaps a relative of the “Train Wrecker” trying to advance the season. Photo by Green Deane
Is it mushroom season yet? Not really. We’ve had some rain but it takes more than rain to get the fungi flushing. Ground temperature is also important. Usually those condition are met in mid-to late May. We have been getting rain and there are some sightings in sunny spots but no seasonal flush yet. This is usually a transition time between edible mushrooms that grow on wood to edible terrestrial mushrooms. This and December are two low points of the year. On a three-mile walk I took this week through a mushrooming area I saw only three mushrooms, two of them toxic. The third was edible but tough. However a month to six weeks from now we should be seeing chanterelles and “milk caps.” Then the season will run to November or so. As a lot of rain is forecast for the months it might be a banner year for fungi foraging.
Foraging DVDs
Got time on your hands? I have over 150 videos on You Tube about foraging for wild edibles and related topics. Just type EatTheWeeds in the You Tube Search window. It should take you several days to watch them all. 135 of those same videos are also available in DVDs (which comes down to $1 per video.) You can order DVDs one at a time or as a set. Click on the link on the upper righthand side of this page or go here. I am hopeful that soon all of the videos will be available on a flash drive. We are in the process of making that possible now. At that point the DVDs will probably be phased out. If you want a set now is the time to order them.
Persimmon leaves vary in size. Photo by Green Deane
Persimmons won’t be ripe for at least a half a year from now. Definitely a fall fruit. But you can find the trees now. The species, which come in he’s and she’s, are fairly easy to identify. First they are a transition zone tree, that is, they like to grow along the edges of things like paths, roads, streams, edges of fields or forests. Most likely that is where animals drops their seeds. Also if you find a lot of small persimmon trees — particularly along a trail or path — there is usually a prolific female tree nearby. Stop and look around. Another identifying characteristic of the Persimmon is that it can have different sized leaves at the same time. Most of the leaves on most trees are the same size most of the time. The persimmon, as in the photo to the right, does not. You can read about the persimmon here. My video on them is here.
When avocados ripen is semi-predictable. Photo by Green Deane
Another fruiting tree to be looking for now is the Avocado. It’s not a wild tree per se but an escaped “cultivar.” There is a right-of-way near where I live that is basically two wheel ruts between housing developments. They were often created to allow emergency vehicles access to the back of houses. While wandering along it this week getting some sun-generated vitamin D I noticed a tree that I had passed many times before. But this time it was heavy with fruit, avocados. No doubt I will be visiting the tree later this year. Note I said later this year because when to harvest avocados is more art that science. Avocados do not ripen on the tree. They have to be picked to ripen and that means you have to know when to pick them. Some varieties are semi-predictable. The Brogdon matures from July to September. Winter Mexican ripens August to September. With a “wild” tree you have to pick a test fruit. Let it soften over a few days then taste it. If not tasty let it stay on the tree a while longer. When your ripe testing results in a tasty one mark your calendar. I have an article on the genus here.
Paper Mulberries are related to bread fruit. Photo by Green Deane
Also nearing fruit is the Paper Mulberry. For many years it was in the same genus as the other mulberries but was farmed out on it’s own. Oddly it is closely related to the Jackfruit, a resemblance that can be seen in the unripe fruit center that looks a small Jackfruit about the size as a large marble. As the name implies the bark of the species was used for thousands of years to make paper and also clothes. It, too, has young leaves that are edible cooked but, like Kudzu, they have a fuzzy texture issue that cooking does not moderate. The core of the mulberry fruit grows a covering of hair that eventually makes the fruit look like a small orange pompom. That’s the part that is edible. Another sidelight of the Paper Mulberry is that its native habitat is a temperate forest. Apparently if it doesn’t get enough chill hours it doesn’t fruit, particularly here in sub-temperate Florida. Indeed, I occasionally find Paper Mulberry fruit in the greater Orlando area. It depends on how cold the winter is. It does fruit in Ocala and further north. You can read about the Paper Mulberry here.
Pawpaws are blossoming. Photo by Green Deane
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 right 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 four-foot shrubs with cream-colored blossoms as you go by. You will see Pawpaws. To read more about Pawpaws go here.
Smartweed likes to grow in damp places. Photo by Green Deane
Smartweed is in blossom, and that’s a good thing because that almost helps with its identification. I say almost because there are a lot of variations within the species. This however does help botanists argue endlessly about the various species as well as changing names. There are three locally and all are peppery hence “smart” weed. It used to be called “arsesmart.” At least one of the peppery species grows nearly everywhere in North America except Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, too high or dry I presume as Smartweed likes to be damp. While we wouldn’t want to harvest Smartweed from a flooded roadside ditch that is one place it likes to grow and one place where we can study it conveniently. It likes wet spots; sides of rivers and ponds, in swamps, over-watered lawns, ruts in woodsroads and roadside ditches. The genus, Polygonum, means many knees and the plant does bend slightly at each joint. The lance shaped leaves can sometimes take on a red hue. But the most important element of identification is a peppery burn that takes a few seconds to register on the palate. Oddly the genus is in the Buckwheat family which includes such species at the Sea Grape tree and the Dove Plum tree. The leaves can be used as a seasoning though some people do have contact dermatitis with it. The blossoms are also peppery but bitter as well. To read more about the Smartweed go here. My video is here.
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. There’s also more than weeds. The reference section has information for foraging around the world. There are also articles on food preservation, forgotten skills from making bows to fermenting food. Several hard-to-find books are there page for page. Recent posts this week include Spring 2020 Plantings, Light Purple Flowers and Fuzzy Leaves, Red Blossoms Hanging Down, Edible Privacy Fence, Tendrilizing, Calculating COVID-19 Mortality Rate, Nettle Spanakopita, Pawpaws Starting Early? What are those White Blossoms, Brazilian Pepper Revisited, Palmer Amaranth, In The Loop, Tomatoes: A Fruit First, a Vegetable Second, and Butterweed: Annual Warning. You can join the Forum by going to the upper right hand top of this page.
Acorn grubs are tasty. Photo by Green Deane
YUCK! That word lands in my mailbox regularly, sprinkled through like spice on an entree. It reminds me of what a great language English is. English is not some frou-frou glot of genteel nuances or unique sounds. And while it might have started out as German Lite English has borrowed so much from other languages that it’s the largest and most predominate tongue on Earth. But beyond that English is fit. It’s muscular, punchy, to the point. English has brawn. It works out, demands attention, and gets things done. Yelling EXTINGUISH THE CONFLAGRATION will not stir anyone to action. PUT OUT THE FIRE will. Latin just can’t hold a candelabra to English. So yes, “yuck,” a taut, vigorous English word populates my emails. Why? The answer is the Acorn Grub video, the Bon Appetit video, articles on the edibility of dogs and cats, Guinea pigs, horses, alligator, armadillos, slugs and snails, earthworms, scorpions, spiders and some four dozen other insects such as the June Bug right. I know of a naturalist who starts each class on wild edibles by eating a live black beetle he finds in front of everyone. To him all black beetles are edible. “Yuck” you say. Perhaps. So powerful is that one word that several folks have sent just one word emails to me… Sometimes two words and they rhyme. Yuck is succinct. It tells me the writer’s mental state and their opinion, which is fine. In matters of taste there is no debate. Only matters of truth are worthy of debate. And just as some find these critters “yucky” so to do many find eating weeds “yucky.”
Do you recognize the Pie In The Sky Actor?
On a related theme there’s a quaint British detective series which involves an obese chef who is also a senior police detective. (Only the Brits can get away with funding and producing such a show theme.) In one program the main character’s job is to help protect and feed a rather nasty young woman who is to testify against her deadly husband. At the same time the detective-chef is having a difficult time getting quality herbs for his restaurant. The “safe” house where she is staying just happens to have fantastic herbs just growing wild out back which he discovers. There’s a wonderful exchange between the avuncular detective-chef and one of the young armed officers protecting the woman. It’s an attitude most of us foragers have heard before. To see the 42-second clip click here.
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All of your newsletters are great but this one was particularly educational for me, thanks!
Ramadan fasting month here in Doha, all doing well – thank God . Why don’t foragers contribute to cure the eped. Corona ?
No, the aril is the red part.