Search: watercress

Vinegar mother can be colored by the liquid it’s in.

Making you own vinegar is not a complex process but following the process leads to success… eventually. Unfortunately many articles on the internet are high on praise and short on process.

Vinegar Flies are necessary to the making of your own vinegar.

I read one in the last few days that said get some fresh cider, put it in a container with a cloth over the top and in a couple of months you will have healthy, delicious vinegar. While that is not impossible it is not probable. I have made a lot of homemade vinegar and the process mentioned above always ended in smelly failure for me. It was only when I knew how to take control of the process did I actually make tasty vinegar of appropriate acid strength to be used for preserving and salads.

The two major steps are collecting an acid bactar that throws a good flavor and then putting it in some low-proof alcoholic beverage to turn it into vinegar. If you want to know the bare process yeast turns sugar to gas and alcohol, acid bactar turns the alcohol into acetic acid which is vinegar. Putting out a container of cider to ferment and turn to vinegar is letting nature choose the yeast and the bacteria. You could get two winners but even one loser turns the must into a mess. To read more about making vinegar go here.

Marlberries, Ardisia escallonioides

Marlberries and I don’t meet too often, about once or twice a year and then usually while I am conducting a class so I don’t have the time to get acquainted better. It’s just not an edible I have “inside” my head, yet. There is also a certain lack of motivation because even at it’s best marlberry is not a great trailside nibble. A complicating headache is there are several malberries of varying quality.

Reportedly found mid-Florida and south I have only seen them in coastal areas such as West Palm Beach on the east coast and near Sarasota on the west coast. The season can vary quite a bit between the coasts as well, as much as two or three months. Around the same time and in the same habitat you can also see Rapanea punctata, one of those mystery pants one finds in the woods this time of year. It looks like a drab cross between a mangrove and a beautyberry. There’s not a whole lot of literature on it so the berries are probably not edible. To read more about the Marlberry and its strange relative go here.

We have a thread on the feral wintercress on the Green Deane Forum.

Wintercress grew in a ditch behind an apartment complex I lived in near Sanford, Florida. How did the Eurasian native Nasturtium officinale, there? It came to North America with the Europeans, found a good home, and stayed. Alabama became the epicenter of cultivating it then later Central Florida. Sanford, by the way, is named for Henry Sanford one of Lincoln’s ambassadors. He is called “General Sanford” but be never served in the military. He got the title for donating a cannon to the Union effort. Sanford was, however, big on big farming and for a few decades made that Orlando suburb the place to go in Central Florida. When President Calvin Coolidge came here in 1929 it was to Sanford he went, not backwater Orlando. The city of Sanford had everything: River, rails and road. But it lacked leadership giving Orlando a chance to make its mousey mark. As Coolidge did so did watercress which is why it ended up in the ditch behind the apartment complex in Sanford. The entire area was truck farms and one of their winter crops was watercress. Peppery like nasturtiums it is edible raw or cooked but make sure you get it from wholesome water. Nasturtium by the way literally means “twisted nose.” Where I collect watercress to be eaten raw is about a half mile down stream from the Wekiva River boil (its main spring and headwater.) But there’s a lot of water hemlock around so I have to pick carefully. To read more about watercress go here.

Foraging class at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Upcoming classes:

Saturday, November 22nd Mead Garden,1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789, 9 a.m.

Sunday, November 23rd, Colby-Alderman Park: 1099 Massachusetts Street, Cassadaga. Fla. 32706. 9 a.m.

For more details click here.  You may wonder why I am taking a few weeks off for classes. Three answers, moving one house to another and a couple of surgeries scheduled before the end of the year. Age catches up to everyone. I should resume a full schedule in January.

These babies can bite and cry for help.

Eat The Weeds On DVD. My foraging videos do not include alligators but they do cover dozens of edible plants in North America. The set has nine DVD and make a good Christmas gift. Each DVD has 15 videos for 135 in all. 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 it. 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.

Green Deane Forum

On the Green Deane Forum we post messages and pictures about foraging all year-long. There’s also a UFO page, for Unidentified Flowering Objects so plants can be identified. Recent topics include: Winter Time Water Cress, Paleo Goodies, Survival Entertainment, An Annual Evening Primrose, Mushrooms, Acorns All Colors And Sizes, Turn On The Water, Nanoscopy, Puff on This, Lab To Determine Plant Composition, Orange Red Berry, Atlatl, Odd Trees, Grinder for Tough Roots, European Mountain Ash Edible? Curly Dock,  Goldenrod of Some Sort, Saffron Crocus Surprise, Cute Little Orange Thing, Indian Strawberry and Kousa Dogwood, and Top Ten Herbs. The link to join is on the right hand side of this page.

It is time to think about going to the Florida Herbal Conference in late February. I’ve taught there for the last three years and will be there again this year. In fact I plan to spend a lot of time there. It’s a must for all southern herbalists and well as those northern ones who want to escape the cold and study their craft in the dead of winter. It always has interesting speakers and great classes. For more information and to register go here.

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

As the European Plantago major invaded North American Plantago virginica is invading Asia.

Plantago lanceolata

While Plantagos are clearly seasonal in colder climates our native North American plantain, Plantago virginica, surprisingly has seasonal preferences here in Florida. We are about mid-season for the species that only vaguely resembles its more famous European relative, Plantago major. I have not seen any natives this season reach seeding stage but they will in a few weeks.  The majors are seeding or already have. Plantago virginica is now small to mid-side, or raw to pot-herb size if one thinks food. Older they are like other Plantagos, the more bitter and astringent they become. We have eight species of Plantagos locally if one counts native and non-natives together. A particulary distinctive one is the Strap or English Plantain, Plantago lanceolata. Though P. virginica has a hairy texture raw it yields readily when cooked and is a soft pleasant green. To read more about the Plantagos go here.

Some more changes are in the works for the newsletter. Recently reworked was the subscription policy. The next major step is below, adding articles from writers in other areas of the country and the world covering their edible wild plants. While that means less writing and more editing for me I think the change will help a greater readership of foragers. In keeping with that change the following article was written by Heather Pier who lives in California but also has foraging knowledge about such areas as Montana… not a small place. Next week will be the first part of an article by Dewayne Allday on getting up the courage to forage particularly for mushrooms.

Chickweed, by Heather Pier

Heather Pier

After spending so many years living in Montana, becoming a semi-exile in California has been painful in many ways.  The traffic, the crime, the air quality, combined with the lack of a white Christmas, has me thinking that shoveling a bit of snow wasn’t so bad.  ??OK, let’s not take this bit of homesickness too far.

One of the things that I have become quite fond of in California is the opportunity to gather spring greens almost year round here. While many in my family who are still stuck in the snowy mountains of Montana are eating canned vegetables, I’m out picking wild green things.  Granted, home-canned veggies are no comparison to those cans you get at the grocery store … but still, they’re just not fresh.  They don’t have the same texture, the same smell and certainly not the same taste.

Chickweed’s blossoms have five petals but they look like ten. Photo By Heather Pier

Today, I had a bit of cabin fever and was rattling about in the woods that are just outside my door.  I came across a beautiful chickweed bed (Stellaria media), soft and bright green, inviting me to sit for a while. It’s not blooming quite yet, but the growth was luxuriant and perfect for greens. ?It also makes a lovely spring tonic, a fabulous treatment for conjunctivitis (although I still prefer chamomile) and has a number of anti-inflammatory properties. Some folks say it makes a good bug repellent, but I’ve not had much success with that.  Oh, and my chickens love it.  ??I am not partial to any sort of ‘boiled green’.  I think it’s a texture thing.  So I’ll almost always use greens raw.  Another option for me is to disguise cooked greens in something else,  to hide the soft texture.

Chickweed has a line of hair on the stem that switches sides at nodes. Photo by Heather Pier

Chickweed is a powerhouse of vitamins but the levels (and flavor) drop drastically when dried.  Chickweed is one of those herbs to use and enjoy fresh.?? I also use chickweed in several salves.  Two of the compounds found in it are Genistein and Gamma-linolenic-acid.  Genistein works as an antioxident to help counteract the effects of free radicals in tissues. It also protects against pro-inflammatory factor-induced vascular endothelial barrier dysfunction and inhibits leukocyte-endothelium interaction, thereby modulating vascular inflammation.  GLA is also has anti-inflammatory properties lacking some of the common side of other anti-inflammatories.  Are your eyes glazed over yet?  Just remember that it’s a cooling, soothing herb, good for sore muscles and itchy skin.? Many of my friends are hesitant to try wild foods.  The trick to start using chickweed is to substitute the leaves into dishes that call for domestic greens, such as spinach.  After you get a feel for the flavor and how it behaves in recipes, you can branch out. The recipes that I’ve included here usually surprise wild food virgins.

??Chickweed Pesto??

In a blender or food processor, blend to a smooth paste: 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup of pine nuts, walnuts  or whatever nut you like, 2 packed cups fresh chickweed, 1 cup basil (optional) 1/2 cup parsley, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese and salt to taste. Serve over hot pasta or your favorite startchy ‘stuff.’

Chickweed Dip

1 large clove garlic, ?1/2 cup chopped green onions, ?1 cup blanched chickweed, ?1 cup sour cream, ?1/2 mayonnaise, ?1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves,  ?1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce , ?1 dash hot pepper sauce or more to taste,  ?salt and pepper to taste, ?paprika. ??Directions: ??Finely mince the garlic and scallions. Combine the remaining ingredients, except the paprika.  (A food processor is great for this.)  Refrigerate for 12 hours to let flavors blend.   Before sprinkle with paprika. Serve with bread, crackers or chips. Easy-peasey.

The red or blue arils are edible but the green seeds (here with a white bloom) are not edible.

Botany Builder #33: This issue’s word is “aril” (less often arillus) which is an appendage to a seed, often pulpy, brightly colored, and edible. Stickly speaking there are three kinds of arils (said AIR-rils or AIR-ree-uls.) One is an outgrowth of the seed, another the fruit wall. A third is from the pedicel, which is the stem attached to the seed. The edible aril of the Podocarpus macrophyllus is a pedicel aril.  Colorful arils attact wildlife which then disperse the seeds. It’s their reward for spreading the seeds around.

Mace and Nutmeg come from the same tree.

Perhaps the most commonly used aril is mace, which is made from the nutmeg aril. The word itself is from the Dead Latin. Armilla or armillatus means an ornamental bracelet. It lends itself to a local mushroom called Armillaria tabescens, or Ringless Honey Mushroom, which doesn’t look anything like a bracelet at all. But it does grow in a tight cluster which could be thought of as ornate. The most commonly eaten aril is from the cashew which can also be made into a juice. It does not travel well so is rarely seen outside of where it grows. Also note the cashew’s shell is toxic and related to poison ivy.

Some edibles fight back.

How safe is foraging? Excluding mushroom hunters, plant foragers have a good track record of staying alive. Plant foragers have about one accidental death every 20 years, and usually that’s from eating some member of the poison hemlock crowd.  That should be a word to the wise. Locally, the family representataive is the water hemlock and it grows exactly where watercress grows. When I collect watercress I look at every piece before I take it or cook it, every single piece.  Actually, there are several deadly local plants: Water hemlock, the Yew, Oleander, Castor Beans, and the Rosary Pea, the most toxic seed on earth. I have been asked to do a video on toxic plants but I am afraid some less-than-attentive person will not understand what the video is about and eat the wrong plant.

Most plant poisonings involve toddlers eating from the landscaping around their home, with the next highest incidence is toddlers eating the landscaping from their neighbor’s yard. Why we fill our yards with toxic plants rather than edible landscaping is beyond me. Excluding suicides, adult poisonings are extremely rare. So, don’t be afraid of foraging. Just be careful. Study. Take lessons. Go with a friend.  ITEMize! Identification, Time of Year, Environment, Method of Preparation.

Joanna Helms

A reminder the Florida Herbal Conference 2014 will be in Deland next month. Joanna Helms, RH (AHG), a sixth generation Floridian, will be among the teachers. She has been in clinical herbal practice for 16 years and is the founder of Mama Jo’s Sunshine Herbals in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. It’s a family run herbal store. And for the third year in a row I will be leading weed walks at the herbal conference, a challenge in winter on dry ground. The walks are usually first thing in the morning when the air is cool, camp fires warm, and the herbal tea hot. Although it is the Florida Herbal Conference it draws teachers and students from all over North America.

Goat Foraging in Crete

To Find a Foraging Instructor near you all you have to do is look on my foraging instructor page. Over 100 teachers are listed there. I think it is the most comprehensive list in the world and is updated regularly. Twice a year I also write to everyone on the list asking if there are any updates. It’s one of my January chores. If there isn’t a foraging teacher near you write to the ones nearest you and ask them if they know of any teachers near you.

That’s me sitting amongst poppies near the Acropolis in Athens.

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.

Upcoming classes:

Saturday, January 11th, Red Bug Slough Preserve, 5200 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL, 34233, 9 a.m.

Sunday, January 12th, Bayshore Live Oak Park, 23000 Bayshore Rd., Port Charlotte, FL 33980, 9 a.m.

Saturday, January 18th, Mead Garden: 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789, 9 a.m.

Sunday, January 19th, Florida State College,  south campus, 11901 Beach Blvd.,  Jacksonville, FL, 32246, 9 a.m..

Saturday, January 25th, Boulware Springs Park, 3420 SE 15th St. Gainesville, FL 32641, 9 a.m.

Sunday, January 26th, Jervey Gantt Recreation Complex, 2390 SE 36th Ave., Ocala, FL, 34471, 9 a.m.

A frozen cranberry, blueberry’s wet cousin, is still tart and tasty.

The thermometer was near zero one day when I was on ice skates collecting frozen cranberries.

Bonfires and hot beverage make skating fun

The cranberries were conveniently above the ice just waiting to be harvested. I was on the north end of “Gowen’s Pond” in Pownal, Maine. It was at that end where water seeped into the pond to make the couple of acres we skated on every winter. It was also there where I once went skating at 52 below zero… the things you do when you’re a kid and there’s a huge bonfire going. I got chilblained hands and feet that night. More than forty years later air conditioning still makes my hands and feet itch.  (Yes, I now live in Florida and no, I do not have air conditioning.)

The water on that end of the pond wasn’t deep but it was moving so the ice could be shallow. Locals told a story about the farm next door that lost a cow through that ice one winter. I never did ask why the cow was out on the ice to start with. Maybe hungry and looking for cranberries.

Many turtles stay active under the ice.

The pond had one little island. Very little. One person couldn’t stand on it… more like a stump. But it was always above the ice and had a bush on it. As I skated past it I saw a movement. It was a turtle swimming under the ice eating a little greenery from around the island. ‘Cranberries and turtle,’ I thought. Actually that turtle was spared but it did make me realize early on that one can forage in winter if you know where to look.

Of course, the real issue is what kind of winter? That can range from deep snow and rock-hard frozen ground to only occasional cool days. Finding wild food where there is no snow and little or no freezing is not difficult. It’s finding food in gawd-awful winters that is a challenge.

I am fond of saying food is where the water is. Whether you are referring to your yard, your county, state, region or country, the farther away from water you are the farther away from food you are. While that is true all year perhaps it is most critical in winter. Plants and creatures can be found near water in the winter.

Ice huts are portable man caves.

Everyone is familiar with or knows about ice fishing. In some northern areas it is not only a passion but a rite of passage. It can certainly put food on the table (as can hunting and trapping.)  But not everyone has an ice hut or other equipment to harvest food that can move. In that case look for shallow, open streams or with ice than can be easily broken They have fresh water clams in the shallows. They don’t move too fast. As a young man I fished the Royal River in southern Maine and was always bringing home the clams I found. They are a bit tougher than those from the bay and occasionally one would yield a black pearl. I usually had a well-deserving lass to give it to.

Freshwater clams are tougher than saltwater clams

Freshwater clams have to be handle carefully and cooked thoroughly but they are a good basis for a winter chowder. (The clams pick up parasites from land animal droppings requiring careful handling and cooking. Some clams are also federally protected so I’m sure you’ll check with local laws first.) Depending upon your stream or shallow pond you can also find crayfish and frogs (and turtles.) I should add that one of the advantage of aquatic turtles is that they do not eat toxic mushrooms. There is one instance where a person was sickened from eating a land turtle that had eaten mushrooms not toxic to it but toxic to humans.

Cattail shoots are edible raw or cooked.

Open streams  or those with little ice can also produce cattail shoots and roots in winter. The shoots look like large dog’s teeth coming off the main root (actually horizontal rhizomes.) You can snap them off  — and the end shoot — eating them raw or toss them into the clam chowder. The roots are also full of starch. Getting it out is labor intensive and I think overrated as a flour. However a more calorie positive way is just toss the roots on a fire. That burns off the covering and the muck they’re usually in. That also cooks the starch in the fibrous middle. Then you open up the root and pull the fibers through your teeth to get the cooked starch off. It tastes like chestnuts, and there are no pots to clean.

Groundnuts grow in a string in damp areas.

Also available stream side in winter are duck potatoes and groundnuts, the latter a good source of starch and protein. Duck potatoes grow deeper than groundnuts so they probably won’t be in any frozen banks but you do have to fish through cold water. Groundnuts are closer to the surface but still should be below the frost line or protected by water.  That’s a toss up. The good thing about groundnuts is they are unmistakable. Nothing else looks like them. While stream side also look for watercress, a plant that likes cold water. It’s a peppery member of the mustard family. Often found in winter streams, it can be a flavoring and/or a green to put into that clam chowder.

Mussels were prime kid food when foraging 50 years ago.

If you live near the ocean there’s a lot of food available in winter. The natives used to say that when the tide was out dinner was on. Not only are there a wide variety of creatures to be had but sea weed as well. Most seaweed in northern climates is edible except for one variety in the pacific northwest that has sulfuric acid. If you mistakenly bite into Desmarestia ligulata you will know it. The problem with seaweed is most of it is not tasty but semi-drying and frying can help. If the weather is not too cold edibles can also be found hiding in the seaweed or on the rocks, such as crabs. One of the more odd things is that 50 years ago mussel at low tide were ignored except by us hungry latchkey kids. Now they are gourmet fare.

Chickweed thrives in cold weather.

Depending on how cold and how much snow there are quite a few other edibles possible in winter.  Sorrel can often last through a mild winter. Some radishes and wild mustards can take quite a freeze and stay alive and green as can any cabbage left over in your garden. Oyster mushrooms can be found anytime of the year even after warm weather has past. They don’t take freezing, however. Dandelions can survive the winter in snow but they undergo some chemical changes that make them more a famine food than a tasty find. Hardy little chickweed can germinate under snow so when the spring melt comes it is among the first green plants. Wild garlic and garlic mustard can can also be found in winter especially on south facing hills with little or no snow (so can some of the little mustards.)  If there been no snow plantagos (plantains) can also be found in winter along with clover.  But you have to be careful with clover. It can be a blood thinner. In some areas  Stork’s Bill, (Alfilaria) is edible in winter. Just as a matter of routine south facing hills are always worth investigating for edibles particularly in the winter. Don’t forget to (carefully) roll over logs to find wintering lizards and or snakes. Colorful salamanders usually are NOT on the menu.

Cheery red and green makes Wintergreen easy to spot.

Just as I collected frozen cranberries don’t forget to look for rose hips, dried grapes and frozen wild apples (which are often better after freezing and cooking.) Hawthorn berries can persist into the winter as can persimmons,  mountain ash, wild plums (sloes) various edible Viburnum berries and Rumex seeds still on the stalk.  Partridgeberries are a common winter find as is wintergreen, which has edible berries and leaves for tea.  Where I grew up I always found wintergreen with berries in the spring snow. It was years before I learned the berries over wintered. The little plant is also medicinal. Most persistent grass seeds are also edible. There are no toxic native North American grasses.

Birches offer several edibles.

Finding Burdock in Winter is Easy

There are more winter edibles but much depends upon the conditions. Acorns can be food but if they are covered with snow that doesn’t help much, and they will be frozen, and they need to be shelled, and they need to be leached and… well, you get the idea: Labor intensive in the best of times. The long skinny  Burdock Root is edible but if the ground is frozen it can be a challenge to dig up as are Jerusalem Artichokes. Thistles, the kind that produces a large basal rosette with thorns that prick you like needles, also have an edible root raw or cooked. But the issue is whether the edible is buried in snow, and or is the ground granite hard?

In northern climates juniper berries can be used for flavoring… but not in the clam chowder. Juniper berries are used for bigger, gamey game… Elk and Moose come to mind…

Collection of all of Green Deane’s videos on one USB stick!

Whether you lack a stable internet connection or you just want Green Deane on USB, this will be a valuable resource to add to your foraging collection. Every video that Green Deane has created for Eat The Weeds is included in this set!

Over the years, Deane has created 171 short videos, describing natural plants and other foliage around the area to help you identify those that are edible and what to do with it.

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Would you like to know what topics are covered in the USB set? Keep reading …

Volume 11                                                                                                        Volume 12

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Classic simple Greek Meal of “horta”

Dear Reader: I started this list years ago and have never had the time to finish it, that is, make separate entries with photos. But it has good information so I am going to post the work thus far:

Below is a complete ethnobotanical survey of wild plants people eat on Cyprus, or at least the Greek portion of the island. Many of these are also found in other countries around the world.

Greeks have a long history of foraging. A plate of cooked greens dressed with olive oil and lemon and accompanied with heavy bread is considered a proper meal. Another problem is an extreme proliferation of common names. Not only can different villages have different names for the same plant but different families within a village can have different names for the same plant, and have been using those different names for generations. Put three Greeks in a room and you have seven opinions. Perhaps no where was the binomial naming system more needed for plants than among those who speak Greek. I have extracted a list of the edibles mentioned in the study which follows.

Allium neapolitanum, Ammi majus, Apium nodiflorum, Asparagus acutifolius, Asparagus stipularis, Capparis spinosa, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Carduus argentatus ssp. acicularis, Carlina involucrata ssp. cyprica, Centaurea calcitrapa ssp. angusticeps, Centaurea hyalolepis, Ceratonia siliqua, Cichorium intybus, Crataegus azarolus, Crataegus monogyna, Crithmum maritimum, Cynara cardunculus, Cynara cornigera, Cynara scolymus, Echinops spinosissimus, Eruca sativa, Eryngium creticum, Eryngium glomeratum, Ficus carica, Foeniculum vulgare, Gundelia turnefortii, Laurus nobilis, Limonium sinuatum, Malva parviflora, Mentha pulegium, Mentha spicata, Muscari comosum, Myrtus communis, Nasturtium officinale, Notobasis syriaca, Onopordum bracteatum, Onopordum cyprium, Origanum dubium, Origanum majorana var. tenuifolium, Portulaca oleracea, Pistacia lentiscus, Pyrus syriaca, Rosmarinus officinalis, Scolymus hispanicus, Scolymus maculatus,  Silene vulgaris, Silybum marianum, Sinapis alba, Sinapis arvensis, Sonchus oleraceus, Taraxacum cyprium, Taraxacum hellenicum, Thymus capitatus,  Ziziphus lotus

Allium neapolitanum

Allium neapolitanum is also called the Naples Garlic, Daffodil Garlic, False Garlic, Flowering Onion, Naples Onion, Guernsey Star-of-Bethlehem, Neapolitan Garlic, Star, White Garlic, and the Wood Garlic. Native to the area it is considered an invasive species in California, Texas, Louisiana and Florida. It usually grows one to 1.5 feet high and has a large head of flowers.

Ammi majus

Ammi majus, has edible leaves and is used in salads. It is native to the Nile River basin and is also called Bishop’s Flower, Bishop’s Weed, False Bishop’s wWed, Bullwort, Greater Ammi, Lady’s Lace, Queen Anne’s Lace (dont’ donfuse with a Daucus carota) and Laceflower.

Apium nodiflorum

Apium nodiflorum, also called Helosciadium nodiflorum and Fool’s-water-cress is a flowering plant found in ditches or streams in western Europe. It’s a low-growing perennial with five-petaled blossoms and pinnate leaves that some think resembles watercress. It is not toxic but is easily confused with the Lesser Water Parsnip, Berula eracta, which is toxic.

Asparagus acutifolius

  Asparagus acutifolius and Asparagus stipularis, young leaves and shoots are cut, fried then mixed with eggs in an omelette.  The stems have much-branched feathery foliage which are actually needle-like modified stems. Flowers are bell-shaped in small clusters, greenish-white to yellowish, flowering in August through September, often after storms. It’s green berries are not edible.

Capparis spinosa

Capparis spinosa is quite familiar as its punget fruit are capers. Both the blossom  and the berry is used, the latter often pickled. Over the last 40 years the caper bush has been planted in other areas of Europe to increase commercial productions. The caper bush is a rupicolous species. Got to admit, I had to look that one up. It means growing on rocks quite understandable as many areas of the Mediterranean area are nothing but rock.

Capsella-bursa pastoris

Capsella bursa-pastoris grows not only on Cyprus but most of the rest of the world as well. Better know as Shepher’s Purse because of the seed shape it can be found in such places as Ocala, Florida where it is more common than its close cousin, Poor Man’s Pepper Grass. The entire plant is edible, the seeds as a pepper substitute, the leaves as a green, even the root has a ginger-like pepper flavor. Usually a cool-weather annual, it can grow nearly year round in some areas. Locally it shows up about Christmas and is gone by St. Patrick’s Day.

Carduus argentatus

 Carduus argentatus ssp. acicularis, or the Silver Thistle has laternating leaves and a basil roset with toothed or serrated leave and spines. Flowers are pink in April through May in distrubed habitats. It is found i Mediterranean woodlands, shrublamds, semi-steppe shrublands, desert and mountains. It is one of the flowers tentatively identified on the Shroud of Turin.

An Ethnobotanical Survey of Wild Edible Plants of
Paphos and Larnaca countrside of Cyprus

 Athena Della, Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi and Andreas Ch Hadjichambis

Corresponding author: Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi d.chadjihambi@cytanet.com.cy

Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. Box 22016, 1516 Nicosia, Cyprus

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2006, 2:34 doi:10.1186/1746-4269-2-34

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/2/1/34

Published: 4 September 2006

Abstract

An ethnobotanical survey of wild edible plants of Cyprus was carried out in two sites. Paphos vine zone and Larnaca mixed farming zone. These are among the areas in Cyprus whose inhabitants subsisted primarily on pastoralism and agriculture and therefore still preserve the traditional knowledge on wild edible plants.

The information was collected for three-year period, in the framework of the EU-funded RUBIA Project. Four hundred and thirteen interviews have been administered to 89 informants of various ages and background categories in 29 villages of Paphos site, and 8 in Larnaca site. A total of 78 species were recorded. Ethnographic data related to vernacular names, traditional tools and recipes have also been recorded. A comparison of the data collected from the two sites is undertaken. During this ethnobotanical research it was verified that wild edibles play an important role in Cyprus in rural people, however, it was realized that the transmission of folk uses of plants decreased in the last generations. The research of ethnobotany should be extended to other areas of Cyprus in order not only to preserve the traditional knowledge related to plants but to make it available to future generations as well.

Background

Even though covering only 9251 square kilometres, Cyprus is a country diverse in geography, climate, flora and fauna and rich in history and culture. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean with a climate of wet, changeable winter and hot dry summers, separated by short spring and autumn seasons of rapidly changing weather. The vegetation of Cyprus is formed by typical Mediterranean types: the coniferous forest, the maquis, the garigue and the batha vegetation, whilst more localized communities occur around salt marshes, sand dunes, stone walls and mountain streams [1–4].

In Cyprus, about 2000 taxa were recorded as native or naturalized. From the native taxa, 143 were recorded as endemics [5–8]. References to the Cyprus flora and in particular to plants of economic importance go back as far as Homer. Cyprus’ plants are mentioned in the works of ancient authors such as Theophrast, Dioscourides and Pliny. Among Cyprus natural vegetation, a number of aromatic, medicinal and other useful plants are being exploited in their wild form [9].

The Cyprus diverse topography has permitted the survival of traditional knowledge related to vegetable resources used by locals as food. Even though, the consumption of plants gathered from the wild represented an important part of human nutrition in Cyprus, however, there are few ethnobotanical studies focused on wild edibles [10–13].

The present research was performed in the framework of the EU-funded RUBIA Ethnobotanical Project (Contract Number ICA3–2002–10023, 2003–2006). The perspectives of this research project were to record ethnobotanical knowledge related to traditional plant uses of wild and neglected cultivated plants for food, medicine, textiles, dyeing, handicrafts, and basketry, as well as to identify and evaluate the socio-economic and anthropological context in which these plants have been gathered and processed.

As a part of this broad study, wild food plants have been recorded in Cyprus and therefore the aim of this paper, is to present and analyze the wild food data gathered in the study areas of Cyprus during the years 2003–2005.

Methodology

Location and study area

Within Cyprus, two areas of study have been selected for this research project, according to the Agro-economic zones of Cyprus [14]. The decision was made in order to fulfil the criteria set by the EU-RUBIA Consortium for rural areas administratively, geographically and ecologically homogeneous with similar socio-economic context (Figure 1).

In both sites man transformed the natural landscape, in order to create opportunities for agriculture and stock raising. The floral diversity of the territories (especially in Paphos area) and the different ways in which their inhabitants have exploited the natural resources available have engendered a rich popular knowledge of the use of plants. Not ethnobotanical studies have been carried out in these regions until now.

Site one belongs to the 4^th phytogeographical zone of Cyprus, which has mostly cultivated or heavily grazed land in the North and numerous barren, eroded chalk or limestone hills in the South [3]. Is a part of Larnaca mixed farming zone and is an area of 155 km² consisting of 8 relatively big villages: Athienou, Avdhellero, Kellia, Livadhia, Petrophani, Pyla, Troulli, Voroklini, with in total 9545 inhabitants all of whom are autochthonous Greek-Cypriots, Greek speaking with Cypriot dialect. Cereals are the main crops planted, however the low irrigation of the area and the limited profitability of cereals compelled the farmers to concentrate mostly to livestock production.

Site two belongs to the 1^st phytogeographical zone of Cyprus, which is an area heterogeneous topographically, geologically and floristically, with much natural vegetation. It is mostly hilly, with deep narrow gorges, limestone or sandstone and with interesting areas of serpentine [3]. Site two is a part of the Paphos vine zone and is an area of 375 km² comprising 29 small villages: Axylou, Amargeti, Agios Demetrianos, Dhrinia, Dhrousia, Eledhio, Inia, Kallepia, Kannaviou, Kathikas, Kato Akourdhalia, Kelokedara, Pano Arodes, Panayia, Choulou, Kritou Marottou, Lemba, Letymbou, Melemiou, Miliou, Pano Akourdhalia, Phiti, Polemi, Psathi, Stroumbi, Theletra, Tsada, Yiolou, Pitagrou, with 9540 inhabitants all of whom are autochthonous Greek-Cypriots, Greek speaking with Cypriot dialect and Paphian idiom. Even though the region extends over a large area with many villages, there is a small number of inhabitants in each village and it is considered the less densely populated region of the country. The major crop planted is the grape vine followed by cereals [14]. Part of the western site of this territory has been suggested for inclusion in the Akamas Natura 2000 site.

These two sites are among the few areas in Cyprus whose inhabitants subsisted primarily on pastoralism and agriculture and therefore the older people of these areas still preserve the traditional knowledge on wild edible plants. The intensity of farming and the unavailability of off-farm job opportunities were closely related to the population engaged in agriculture. Today, most of the young people of both sites work in Paphos or Larnaca towns, leaving the agricultural and pastoral activities to be carried out by the middle-aged and older generations.

The interest of the present study was focused on wild food botanicals in the two sites. Attempts have been made to correlate and compare the plants recorded between the two sites as well as with other research work carried out in Cyprus and abroad.

A further aim of this research was to develop an ethnobotanical framework which could be the basis for further studies.

Methods

The present research was performed in the framework of the EU-funded RUBIA Ethnobotanical Project. The aim of this research project was the recording of ethnographical field data in order to develop a model for the re-evaluation of tools and technologies related to traditional uses of wild and neglected cultivated plants for food, medicine, textiles, dyeing, handicrafts, and basketry, as well as to identify and evaluate the socio-economic and anthropological context in which these plants have been gathered and processed. Eight study areas from the following countries were participated: Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Holland, Italy, Morocco and Spain.

The field methodological framework chosen for this research was that used in ethnobiology [15–17]. Field research was conducted by collecting ethnobotanical information during structured and semi-structured interviews with knowledgeable people native in each site territory. For each plant recorded one questionnaire was filled. Even though a structured questionnaire had to be filled direct questions were avoided. The basic information needed was taken during the conversation. Whenever possible the conversation was recorded on cassettes.

No special selection criteria were used in the choice of the informants because one of the aims of this work was to assess the breadth of popular heritage in the field of wild edible plants, knowledge which is widespread among locals. However, most of the interviewees were more than 60 years old, and belong mainly to families which have a strong connection with traditional agricultural activities.

Plant data and their related information were entered into a data base. The data acquired for each plant comprise the common local name, its uses, the part of the plant used and its preparation and administration processes. The way plants were collected, preserved, stored, prepared and used and the most relevant processes were photographed and video recorded.

Most of the mentioned plants were recognised by the villagers in-situ during short field walks and collected for scientific identification. Nomenclature followed mainly the Flora of Cyprus [3,4] and in some cases the Flora Europaea [18]. Herbarium specimens of most of the taxa cited were prepared and deposited in the National herbarium of Cyprus at the Agricultural Research Institute, Nicosia. Seed samples were also collected in the appropriate season for the most representative wild plants and deposited in the Cyprus National Genebank, at the Agricultural Research Institute.

Results/discussion

Four hundred and two interviews have been administered to 89 informants, of which 38 (43%) were women and 51 (57%) were men. Informants were between the ages of 48–82, with the average age of 66.

A total of 78 plants have been recorded. All these species are native and are gathered from the wild whilst 11 of them are cultivated as well (Ceratonia siliqua, Eruca sativa, Mentha spicata, Origanum dubium, Rosmarinus officinalis, Thymus capitatus, Laurus nobilis, Ficus carica, Myrtus communis, Portulaca oleracea, Crataegus azarolus). Comparing the plants recorded in the two sites it can be seen that 40 plants are common in both sites, 5 of the edible plants are used exclusively in Larnaca site and 33 plants are used exclusively in Paphos site. Within the two sites the dependency of rural people on agriculture was much greater in the Paphos vine zone than in Larnaca site. According to studies of 1983 [14] in Paphos site 71% of rural people were gainfully employed in agriculture and 29% in other occupation whilst in Larnaca site 43% of people employed in agriculture and 57% in other occupation. The closer relation of the indigenous people with their land probably resulted to the higher degree of usage of the natural plant resources in Paphos site. Additionally, many villages in Paphos site are near or within the Akamas Nature Reserve, a big area with many natural habitats and rich vegetation and therefore many of the wild edibles are gathered from the undisturbed shrublands of the area. Furthermore, the middle-aged generation of the Paphos vine zone, even though working in the town, they have relation with the countryside, still gaining profits from their grapes, and therefore still preserve some of the TK of their parents.

The survey of wild edible plants of Paphos and Larnaca countryside is the first study in Cyprus which has followed ethnobotanical methodology, recording not only a species list but ways of gathering, storage, preservation, preparation processes, common and traditional recipes and therefore the comparison of our data with previous studies is not possible. However, an attempt was made in order to compare only the species list of wild edibles recorded in our two study areas with the list of edible wild plants of the Cyprus Flora published in 2000 which enlisted 57 edible species from all around the island [13]. From the comparison was revealed that 47 plants were recorded in both species lists, 29 wild edibles were reported for the first time in our ethnobotanical study and 10 species were recorded only in Savvides’ list and not in ours.

All the plants recorded are presented in Table 1 with the indication of scientific name, vernacular name, family, plant part used, type of preparation, site recorded, number of records and herbarium specimen number.

Most used plants

The recorded plants belong to 31 different families. Asteraceae was with difference the most frequently encountered botanical family with 20 taxa, whilst Apiaceae and Brassicaceae follow with seven taxa, Lamiaceae with six and Boraginaceae is represented by four taxa. The other 26 families have less representation between one to three taxa each. Most of them are big families with many representatives in the Mediterranean region, some of which are very common plants. The data of this study confirm that people tend to use preferably the plants that are easily available to them excluding of course, those that are toxic or noxious. As was affirmed by other publications as well [19–22], the more common a plant (family or species) is in an area, the greater is the probability of its popular use. As for the most known and used species 13 of them were cited 10 times or more. The food utilization of Centaurea hyalolepis, has been reported by 18 informants, followed by Silene vulgaris (17 citations), Capparis spinosa (16 citations), Thymus capitatus (16 citations), Asparagus acutifolius (15 citations), Malva parviflora (14 citations), Scolymus hispanicus (13 citations), Eryngium creticum (12 citations), Foeniculum vulgare (11 citations), Onopordum cyprium, Carlina involucrata ssp. cyprica and Portulaca oleracea with 10 citations each. A high number of plants (49 out of 78) have been recorded by at least three independent informants, so that they follow the reliability criterion of Le Grand and Wondergem [23] and would be particularly interesting in view of further studies [22].

At this point it should be noted that 40 of the edible plants recorded are used exclusively for food. Some other plants have two or more uses and they appear in different categories as well. As can be seen in figure 2, 37 (30+4+3) plants have been recorded to be used for food as well as for medicine.

This overlap indicates the close relationship between health and food. A good example to this is Origanum dubium. The origan, locally called “rigani”, is one of the most commonly edible plants used and many traditional recipes were recorded for its use as a condiment such as in recipes of roasted meat, as a scent in kebab, and is added as a scent in a traditional recipe, called “tsamarella” which is made from salted goat meat. It is also considered one of the most commonly used medicinal with about six different recipes, against flu, cold, as antipyretic, anti-stress, for stomach-ache and good digestion. These plants (Origanum dubium, Thymus capitatus, Laurus nobilis, among others) are often used in folk medicine as digestive, so it may be that their presence in these often heavy dishes is not only a culinary but medicinal, to increase the digestibility of the cooked food [19]. Overlapping between foods and medicines is quite well known in traditional societies [24–26] and represents an often neglected field in ethnopharmaceutical research.

Plant supply/availability throughout a year

Most of the plants are collected in wild populations nearby the places where the informants live. Occasionally there is a small-scale cultivation in their home gardens (Origanum dubium, Myrtus communis, Crataegus azarolus). Some plants which were very much appreciated and frequently consumed in the past are now considered as weeds and even though have been mentioned they are only rarely eaten; in the territories studied this is the case of Sinapis alba and Sinapis arvensis. Sinapis spp. are still eaten in other areas of Cyprus [13].

Among all the edibles, four endemic species of Cyprus were recorded. The presence of endemic species illustrates the fact that the informants have a deep knowledge of their environment, since the three of them are not very abundant and can be found only in certain areas. For example, the endemic subspecies Carlina involucrata ssp. cyprica and Centaurea calcitrapa ssp. angusticeps are used only from the inhabitants of specific villages in Paphos area whilst the endemic Origanum majorana var. tenuifolium, which is used like common oregano, can be found only in a shrubland area of the Akamas National Park. The endemic species Onopordum cyprium, is used both in Paphos and Larnaca site and is a very common plant (Figures 6 and 7).

One of the favourite edibles of the recent past, Gundelia tournefortii, known by locals in Paphos area as “silifa”, is under threat since it has become rare and it can not easily be found. This plant has been included in the Red data book of Cyprus Flora as Endangered because its populations have been eliminated [27].

Most wild species are gathered from waste and uncultivated land (48%) or from shrubland (17%) and by the roadside (12%). Eight percent (8%) of wild edibles are grown within or around the cultivations and therefore can be collected from the cultivated land of grape vines in Paphos and Cereals in Larnaca,

In the local Cyprus cuisine, greens and wild plants in general, have an important role. According to this study during winter, it is possible to use 49 wild plants, and this number can increase to 56 during spring. The number then decreases and in May many edible greens have bloomed and the leaves have become tough, leaving only about 16 still edible. During summer some fruits of wild trees are edible.

From these plants only 15 can be purchased throughout a year from local markets and stores (Capparis spinosa, Ceratonia siliqua, Cynara cornigera, Eruca sativa, Mentha spicata, Origanum dubium, Rosmarinus officinalis, Pistacia lentiscus, Silene vulgaris, Thymus capitatus, Laurus nobilis, Ficus carica, Myrtus communis, Portulaca oleracea, Crataegus azarolus). These plants are partly collected from the wild and partly coming from small scale cultivation. Some of them are used as a condiment, some others are consumed as greens in salads or they are used for the preparation of cooked recipes. The other 66 taxa people should gather only from the wild by themselves (Figure 3).

As regards the tools used for gathering, 44% of the plants are gathered simply by hand while 37 % are gathered by a knife. Other tools such as a big knife (9%), a traditional big curved knife called “skylloua” (7%) and scissors (3%) are also used.

4.3 Plant parts

Within the edible plants, leaves (29%) and stems (25%) are the plant parts most widely used. Fruits and aerial part follow with 16% and 15% respectively (Figure 4).

Among the recorded plants thistles are very popular as wild edibles of Cyprus. The young stems of 16 wild plants are used. Eight of them are used in both sites (Centaurea hyalolepis, Scolymus hispanicus, Scolymus maculatus, Onopordum cyprium, Eryngium creticum, Cynara scolymus, Echinops spinosissimus, Notobasis syriaca, while seven of them are used exclusively in Paphos site (Centaurea calcitrapa ssp. angusticeps, Silybum marianum, Cynara cardunculus, Carlina involucrata ssp. cyprica, Carduus argentatus ssp. acicularis, Gundelia turnefortii, Onopordum bracteatum) and one of them is used exclusively in Larnaca site (Cynara cornigera). These plants can be gathered from January to March, and their young stems, cleaned of spines, are used in most cases boiled with legumes or fried.

Models of consumption

The edible plants are consumed in many different ways. Some of them need only the washing of the part of the plant to be eaten, and some others imply a more or less complex preparation process (Figure 5).

Raw

Many plants (26%) with edible leaves, roots or fruits are eaten raw. Many of them are used in salads. This is the case of Portulaca oleracea, Ammi majus, Apium nodiflorum, Taraxacum cyprium, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha pulegium which are usually dressed with oil, and vinegar or lemon. Some others like Sinapis alba, Sinapis arvensis, Taraxacum hellenicum, Cichorium intybus, Nasturtium officinale, Sonchus oleraceus, Allium neapolitanum are eaten fresh with olives, onions and bread. On the other hand, many edible fruits are directly consumed as desserts, in fresh form (Pyrus syriaca, Crataegus azarolus, Crataegus monogyna, Ziziphus lotus). The existence of Limonium sinuatum in this group is remarkable, because it is the first time that this plant is cited as a food plant in Cyprus [13] even though has been listed as an edible for the Mediterranean in Bodrum area of Turkey [29].

Cooked plants

A number of wild plants (59%) are eaten cooked. Most of them, 27 %, are eaten boiled, 17% are eaten boiled alone and 10% are eaten boiled with legumes, especially with broad beans. In both cases they are garnished with olive-oil and lemon. The most popular plants used as boiled are: Centaurea hyalolepis, Scolymus hispanicus, Carlina involucrata ssp. cyprica, Malva parviflora. However, some more elaborated preparations were recorded. Some plants are consumed fried (9%) and especially in an omelette. The young shoots of Asparagus acutifolius, Asparagus stipularis and the young leaves of Silene vulgaris, which are the most typical examples in both sites studied, are cut, fried and mixed with the eggs to make the omelette. Asparagus acutifolius is prepared in the same way in some parts of Italy [28] the Iberian Peninsula [19] and in Bodrum area of Turkey [29].

A number of wild edibles (17%) is used in traditional recipes. It is worth mentioning that very popular among traditional recipes in Cyprus are home made pies, called in general “pittes”. Eleven plants are used for making traditional pies. First, dough is made from flour, water and salt and then it is used for making small pies. Some times the pies are filled with the boiled or fried leaves (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima, Papaver rhoeas, Silene vulgaris, Rumex pulcher) along with rice or “pourgouri” (like couscous) and spices. Some other plants are used as a scent in the pie (Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha spicata). In other cases fruits raw or preserved are used as the main filling of the pie (Pistacia lentiscus, Pistacia terebinthus, Ficus carica). Pies are cooked in the oven. Wild plants can also be a basis for a soup, the most famous of which is the so-called “molochosoupa” (malva soup), made with Malva parviflora. Some plants are often cooked in a traditional recipe called “yiachni” meaning, fried with onions and then tomato juice is added. Finally, plants are sparsely a condiment or the complement of meat stews as occurs with Cynara cardunculus, Cynara cornigera and Gundelia tournefortii.

Preserved plants

A number of plants are gathered and preserved to be stored and consumed all year round. Many plants which are used as a scent are dried and stored in plastic bags, plastic bottles or glass vessels and therefore used all year round. Nine plants (10%) are used to condiment stews, soups, pies or other dishes and traditional recipes. The most popular aromatic plants are Origanum dubium, Mentha spicata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Laurus nobilis, Thymus capitatus, Origanum majorana var. tenuifolium, Foeniculum vulgare. These plants add a distinct flavour and aroma to pies as well as to meat stews. Rosmarinus officinalis is used in a traditional fish recipe called savoro.

Some other plants such as Capparis spinosa, Crithmum maritimum, Eryngium creticum, Eryngium glomeratum and Muscari comosum, are preserved in vinegar and eaten like appetizer with several kind of food. Fruits of several wild trees are used for the preparation of jams and marmalades such as Pyrus syriaca, Crataegus azarolus and Crataegus monogyna.

Many tools used in processing were recorded. The five tools more often recorded are: “Madratzi”, a traditional wooden long tool for opening pies, “Chti and Chtocheri”, a traditional copper pot used for pounding, “Chartzi”, a traditional copper pot used for boiling, “Satzi”, a metal hot plate used for cooking pies, “Koumna”, a traditional jar used for storage and “Gastra”, an earthen vessel used for storage.

Conclusion

This study carried out in two sites of Cyprus showed that the habit of using edible wild plants is still alive, but is “ageing”. The consumption of wild plants is done as an addition or a complement to a diet of cultivated food plants. During this ethnobotanical research it was verified that even though wild edibles has been playing an important role in Cyprus since ancient times, it was realized that the transmission of folk uses of plants decreased in the last generations and surely in urban areas the knowledge is very much delimited. Almost all the interviewees, were past retirement age, and agreed that today far fewer wild plants are consumed than in previous decades. The people of the younger generation we met during the field survey declared that “it is much easier and less time and effort consuming to buying greens, fruits or spices from the markets, no matter if they are cultivated or even imported, instead of running to the fields. Since even though, going to the wild it is not easy to recognise the edible plants and in case can identify some of them they are not familiar with the way plants should be processed”. It is obvious that the younger generation has all but lost the TK necessary to identify, gather and process these species, while many middle-aged informants perceive the consumption of non-cultivated vegetables in a negative way, often as a symbol of poverty of the past.

The data of this study agree with those from other authors [30,31,19], and confirm that non cultivated edible plants deserve to be more thoroughly surveyed from an ethnobotanical and economic-botanical viewpoint, as a basis for agricultural, nutritional and other studies which may lead to the use of some new or renewed food plants. When studying wild food plants from this point of view, we must give recognition to the contribution of rural societies to the diversification of the sources of human nutrition and work for the reappraisal of folk knowledge on plants and their uses [32,33,19].

Our study, as well as other studies in a Circum-Mediterranean level [34,35], demonstrated that there is an urgent need for documentation of TK related to the intangible cultural heritage concerning traditional plant uses, and that such a heritage is much more complex that we may think. The ethnobotanical research should be extended to other areas of Cyprus in order not only to preserve the traditional knowledge related to plants but to make it available to future generations as well, showing the way for authenticity, simplicity and revival of that which is genuine.

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the European Commission-Research Directorate General, for financing this project and the Agricultural Research Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus, for the overall support. Thanks are also due to all the informants who contributed to this study with their valuable traditional knowledge. Special thanks are addressed to the scientists Ms Natasa Pappouli as well as to the technical staff of the Agricultural Research Institute for their assistance.

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35. Rivera D, Obón C, Heinrich M, Inocencio C, Verde A, Fajardo J: Gatherd Mediterranean Food Plants-Ethnobotanical Investigations and Historical Development. In Local Mediterranean Food Plants and Nutraceuticals. Volume 59. Edited by Heinrich M, Müler WE, Galli C. Forum Nutr. Basel, Kanger; 2006:18-74.

Soft growing tips are edible

Salsola kali: Noxious Weed, Nibble & Green

When you first encounter a Russian Thistle it is the very last plant you would consider edible. Wiry, tough, sharp, pin prickly, irritating.  In fact, it kind of reminds you of a green sand spur on steroids.

However, the young shoots and tips of the growing plant are edible raw and actually quite palatable and pickable. Cooked like greens they’re even better. As the plant ages, though, it grows tough and formidable. Also called Tumbleweed and Windwitch, dried ones tumbling across the HD screen are now classic visual cues of desolation in Western-type movies.

Growing in beach sand at Daytona Beach, Fla.

The most reliable to eat is the Salsola kali  (SAL-so-la KAH-lee) which is believed to have arrived in the United States in the early 1870s in southern South Dakota. Some Russian immigrants moved to the town of Scotland in Bon Homme County. They had some Salsola seed in with their flax seed. By 1873 local botanists identified the new weed in town. By 1895 it had reached from the remote north middle of the country to New Jersey and California. That’s remarkable distribution in 30 years considering the plant had only summers to move.

Professor Lyster Hoxie Dewey, who worked for the US Department of Agriculture, said in two reports in 1893 and 1894 he knew how the plant was spreading: The trains. That may seem obvious to us now but back then it was hard work and good insight.  In Illinois he documented Salsola along railroad tracks and gave specific locations. The plant was not yet an “obnoxious weed” but Dewey saw the potential problem. He recommend railroad get rid of the plant wherever they found it and he theorized that by using the railroad and the wind the plant could be come a severe problem. Right man, right place, right observation, right idea, and completely ignored.

In fact, let’s give Dewey his due. People who got it right should be given some recognition. Lyster Hoxie Dewey (1865–1944) was an American botanist born in Cambridge, Michigan. In 1888 he graduated from Michigan Agricultural College where he went on to teach botany for two years. He was an assistant botanist for the United States Department of Agriculture from 1890 to 1902 and then botanist in charge of fibre investigations. By 1911 he was the U.S. representative to the International Fibre Congress in Surabaya, Java. Nice work if you can get it. His publications were mostly bulletins for the USDA on the production of fibre from flax, hemp, sisal, manila plants,  on the classification and origin of the varieties of cotton, and what brought him to our attention, investigations on grasses and troublesome weeds.

Some 117 years after Dewey’s Salsola report the current and perpetually out-of-date USDA distribution map shows Salsola to be in coastal areas only. However, it has been reported throughout the United States and Canada, particularly in dry and or salty areas including along northern (salted) roads, along fences/gullies in the plains states, and southwest deserts. Millions are spent each to get rid of it especially along highway right-of-ways. It can rapidly take over open land via up to 200,000 seeds per plant, the wind, and …yeph… the trains.

If your Tumbleweed is a Salsola but not the kali, you will need to verify its edibility with a local expert.  Elias and Dykeman (2008) say related species in the desert southwest of the United States are edible. This is where botanists let foragers down. They can’t quite decide if there is one species of Salsola ( the kali ) and a lot of varieties of that one species, or, if there are several species of Salsola. (Note: Edibility is usually not on the botanical radar either.)  If that’s not bad enough then one botanist thinks he can improve upon the name so we get different names for the same plant, or plants, or variety, or varieties. That turns it all into a linguistic morass meaning it’s tough to figure out if the plant you are looking is the plant they are talking about. Again, all the more reason to check with a local expert. You don’t need to know the name but you do need to know if it is edible….  Let me put it this way…. whatever the name is the one that grows on the sandy beach due east of me IS edible. Which species is it? Probably Salsola kali var. pontica. Three other Salsola that are known to be edible are S. australis, S. komarovi and S. soda.

Globally, Salsola kali et al is found in Afghanistan, Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, Greece, Hawaii, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa, Turkey, Western Siberia and Russia, where it is native to the southlands. In fact, more than a century ago Russia had to give up several development projects because the Salsola kali just plain got in the way.

Salsola is from the Latin salsa, and means “salted.” Kali (KAH-lee) has many meanings but the one that makes sense to me is Black because the plant was in high demand for soda ash and for that the plant had to be burned. The word also means “good” in Greek. In Hindu mythology, the goddess of destruction and creation is Kali. The English the word “alkali”  comes from the Arabic “al qaly” or “from Kali.” Oh, and here is brilliant botanical naming: Pontica (PON-ti-kah) means from Asia Minor, north of the Black Sea, where the plant is native. Talk about redundant….

Young plants make good fodder and grows well in low-water areas. In fact, when dry Salsola is a good source of fuel. It also has been used to make soap since Biblical times. Salsola soap can still be purchased around the Mediterranean.

Now some warnings: The plant, a relative of the Chenopodium, can contain as much as 5% oxalic acid thus folks who are sensitive to oxalic acid should avoid the genus.  It is also a severe allergen for some people. And if you eat it when it is too old the shape of the leaves — fat and pointed — will irritate your throat. Lastly, Salsola kali is a host plant of the Sugar Beet Leafhopper. This insect carries curly-top virus, a disease affecting sugar beets, tomatoes, and beans. This puts it on the farmers’ hit list.

Steamed Russian Thistle

Take two cups of shoots or tips (hint, they easily break off when bent.) Rinse and steam as is or cut them up and steam. Season with butter

Russian Thistle Broth

Five cups chicken broth

Two cups Russian Thistle tips or shoots

One potato or Jerusalem artichokes

One onion

Half cup parsley chopped

Half cup watercress chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

One bay leaf

Simmer the potato or Jerusalem artichoke in the broth. Add chopped onion and garlic. Cut Russian Thistle into one inch pieces (this is to assure you have edible pieces and makes it easier to eat.) Chop parsley and watercress, add with the whole bay leaf. Simmer 20 minutes or until the potato et al is done.

Tumbled Rice and Russian Thistle

Four cups Russian Thistle

One cup rice

One cup mustard or radish leaves or any mild green

One teaspoon pepper

One teaspoon garlic powder

A third of a cup of jack or similar cheese shredded.

Cook rice. Steam Russian Thistle tips or shoots. After a few minutes add the rest of the greens to the thistle tips. When greens are cooked, mix with the rice, season, sprinkle with the cheese.  Serve hot.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile

IDENTIFICATION: Herb to five feet usually less than three, bushy, branching from base; upright or almost prostrate .Leaves and bracts fleshy, flatish, short,  tipped with sharp spines.  Flowers with 5 narrow whitish petals, solitary, unstalked. Older branches serpentine, purplish

TIME OF YEAR: Early summer locally, varies with local, can be late summer to fall in other areas, some nearly year round.

ENVIRONMENT: Sandy areas, seashores, some desert environments, salty areas, beside northern roads because of salt, or western roads because of open space, railroad tracks.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Young shoots raw or cooked, tips of growing plants raw or cooked. Its seeds are reportedly edible but I don’t personally know that.

Sometimes a toxic plant can give even an experienced forager reason to pause.

Nasturtium officinale

When I was making a video last week I saw a beautiful growth of watercress, Nasturtium officinale (though names can vary.)  Like all the wild plants in the mustard family, it is a short-lived resident here in Florida, one to two months under the best of cool conditions. It lasts longer father north. As I write this is late February and the water cress is starting to blossom so it will soon be gone.

Cicuta maculata

The cause for the pause was… it was growing in and among Water Hemlock, Cicuta maculata, which is about as close to sudden death as a plant can get. How sudden? You have 40 minutes to get your stomach pumped out. The last death on record from eating Water Hemlock — based on non-identification — was only last year. One brother died and another sickened in the 90s, and two died in 1975, a forest ranger who should have known better and a boy who made a whistle out of the stem. Three people avoided death that same year via a bystander who came upon them eating the hemlock. A high-speed 45-mile drive to the hospital and stomach pumping saved them all.

Water Hemlock and Watercress grow in similar environments.  I like watercress. Cooked it’s a delicious and wholesome green. It does not look like Water Hemlock and does not have the same growth pattern. The Water Hemlock tends to be a yellow green and tall, the Watercress is a deep green — rare for Florida — and low growing. The leaves are different et cetera but… when one is picking Watercress in and among Water Hemlock one picks carefully because you are only one leaf away from death. One leaf. And, when it comes time to cook, inspecting every stalk of Watercress is imperative.

Now … all of that seems quite reasonable. Eat the right plant and avoid the deadly one.  Yet, one of the hardest aspects of foraging is having good judgment and trusting your judgment. Desire is a strong drive and there is a tendency even among experienced foragers to make a plant “fit” a description.  “Arriving” as a forager is, in my opinion, the ability to want that plant to be what you think it is but being able to admit it is not.

So when one is picking Watercress among Water Hemlock it is an act of judgment and caution that puts your life on the line. Whenever a life is on the line by a judgment — your own or others — it is indeed time to pause for the cause and be certain.

(Incidentally, the deadly Water Hemlock is the only member of its family whose veins on the top side of the leaves go to the notches between leaf teeth rather than to the end of the teeth.)

Ramalina and Usnea over rag lichen. Photo by Dan Dowling

Usnea stringosa, photo by William Weber

Chef and forager Dan Dowling sent me an excellent picture of lichen (above.) The reason why he took it is the photo shows two common lichen people get confused, Ramalina near the center, and Usnea on our upper right (above some rag lichen.) Almost all lichen are edible once leached of their bitter acids. The flavor ranges from bad to almost palatable. But, they are high in calories, have saved many a stranded hunter or downed pilot, and are found nearly worldwide. Lichens have been used in dyes, deodorants, laxatives, expectorants, tonics, and as one monograph put it, “healing pastes.” They are also an indicator of clean air. We’re more interested in Usnea than Ramalina for its medicinal qualities. Usnea is basically an antiseptic. While Ramalina and Usnea resemble each other there are three main differences: The Ramalina’s stems are flatish, Usnea is round; Ramalina does not appear to be hairy, Usnea looks hairy; and only Usnea — among all the many genus of  lichen, has an elastic, white inner core. If you want to read more about lichen (Yes, the rag lichen is edible but it tastes like dirty tree bark.)

This week saw me in and about Gainesville and attending the Florida Earthskills gathering. I’d like to thank Mycol Stevens for having me back for a second year to teach foraging classes. Having learned last year that the weeds there can vary with the amount of rain I collected seasonal edibles from local areas as well as on site. Next year I will have to remember to take camphor seedlings with me. I was going to camp out in my newly resurrected van but unusually cold nights and a visiting a friend recovering from major surgery prevented that. Three wild edibles stood out from the many ones we find this time of year. First were Silverthorn berries.

The jelly-bean size Silverthorn berry. Photo by Floridata

Related to the Russian and Autumn olives the Silverthorn is an escaped ornamental. Thus eating as many ripe berries as one can is a civic duty to reduce its naturalization. The shrub escapes from hedge rows. The largest and longest planting of Silverthorn I have ever seen in just north of Ocala, Florida, while on the way to Gainesville. There is well over a half-a-mile of unattended hedge about eight feet high and eight feet wide heavily ladened with sweet fruit. (For you local residents it is on the north side of 326 one half mile east of where 326 intersections with 301/441.) Silverthorn is atypical in that it fruits in January and February, depending where you are. And it can be found farther north than just Florida. If I remember correctly no plant produces more lycopene than the Silverthorn and the seeds are high in omega 3 fatty acids. To read more about the Silverthorn go here.

Wild Garlic, photo Prairiemoon

The second find was during a class in Gainesville. Wild Garlic is difficult to find in Central Florida. I’ve been wanting to do a video about it for several years but the old haunts where I used to collect it are now parking lots or housing developments. I knew it grew in Gainesville because I saw it once at a private class I taught there a few years ago. But, it’s never been apparent in my other classes there until this week. Because of my first cold in seven years my nose wasn’t working well but one of the students ask where the garlic aroma was coming from: Wild garlic under our feet was the answer. It was not yet putting on cloves so it was not easy to see visually. But it is always a delightful find; pungent, sharp, tasty. You just know it was a welcomed winter green and flavored many an ancient meal. Wild garlic, wrongly called wild onion, is unusual in that it puts cloves on the top of its stem, not underground on the bottom. (Onions put on a bulb, garlic puts on cloves.) To read more about the wild garlic, click here.   Where we found it in Gainesville was in the ditch across the street and slightly northeast from the four parking spots on Palm Point Park on Lakeshore Drive off SE Hawthorne road. (Take it home and transplant it to a more wholesome environment.)

Watercress, photo by Max Licher

The other mentionable was found by curiosity.  Just before reaching the Florida Earthskills site I wondered if a mound of green in a ditch was young deadly Water Hemlock. A closer look proved it to be Watercress, an esteemed edible (if in wholesome water.) Central Florida is the Watercress capital of North America and has escaped from cultivation. From the back of a motorcycle going 65 Water Hemlock and Watercress bear some resemblance. Up close they do not. However, they do grow in the same environment and can do so at the same time of year, intermixing. Thus one harvests Watercress carefully checking twice just to make sure no stray Water hemlock leaves gets in the mix. Usually when folks die from eating wild food if it isn’t a mushroom it’s Water Hemlock. When I say they don’t look alike that depends on how closely one looks, or can look. They have qualities in common but so do people. Even twins have some differences if you look close enough. Watercress is very seasonal and should be harvested when you find it if you find it in wholesome areas. To read about Watercress go here. To read about the deadly Water Hemlock go here.

Thistle Epistle: Sorting out true thistles for food is on par with identifying true pines and oaks. If it is a Quercus the acorns are edible (after necessary leaching.) The particular species is usually not relevant.  If it is a Pinus it has parts you can eat. Again the particular species is usually not relevant. And all Cirsiums — true thistles — are edible though the flavor and texture will vary from species to species. Thus telling true thistles from each other is matter of form than necessity but here is how to tell a couple of common ones apart:

Canada Thistle, photo by the Univ. of Iran

Cirsium arvense: The Canadian thistle grows from one to five feet tall. Its main stems is ridged, slightly spiny, and branches near the top. The leaves are lance-shaped, spiny and deeply cut whereas the flower heads are smooth and occur in small clusters. The upright flowers are NOT spiny and can be white, purple or light lavender. Its one-eighth inch seeds are smooth, brown and pointed. This member of the sunflower family has fleshy, creeping roots.

Bull thistle, photo by Walter Obermayer

Cirsium vulgare, the Bull Thistle, looks similar to the Canadian Thistle. They grow to similar heights and have prickly stems. The Bull thistle also has white to purple to pale lavender upright blossoms but they are spiny and solitary, NOT in clusters. In both species the blossom resembles a shaving brush. Bull thistle leaves are larger and more spiny than the Canadian Thistle and have prickly hairs on the upper surface.

A third similar thistle, Cirsium edule, the so called “Edible Thistle” has a drooping flower head and only grows from Oregon and Idaho north in western North America. To read more about true thistles go here.

The ice keeps the citrus from freezing

Frostbites:  Our last average frost date in central Florida is Valentine’s Day, if we have a frost or freeze at all. Some winters we don’t dip into freezing. But, there is a full moon on the 25th of February. That usually brings cold weather — said the gardener — as will the full moon on March 27th. There is a full moon on April 25th, too, but a frost in April is rare though the latest one on record locally is April 24th.  I mention frost and cold weather because my mulberry is putting on fruit and a frost could ruin the crop. There is also the odd fact that I get frost in my front yard more often than my back yard, which is geographically the opposite of what one would expect. Mother Nature plays by her own rules.

Mulberry in Blossom, photo by James Baker

I don’t think plants can think but their behavior can echo historical experience. In that regard my mulberry tree — a native — is far more experienced than my peach or nectarine, man-crafted hybrids. At the slightest hint of warm weather the peach and nectarine will blissfully blossom only to get slapped with a cold snap. This has happened for several years in a row. Blossoms fall like freezing rain. The mulberry is more restrained. It doesn’t get all blossomy unless it thinks warm weather is really here. So my mulberry is putting on fruit, but we have at least two more full moons to go. We’ll see what happens.

Ripening Mulberries, photo by Missouri Permaculture

Almost all of the mulberries locally are red mulberries, native and cultivated. They usually take a rest a month or two around Christmas. Early January is a good time to trim them. With February just here new leaves and blossoms are appearing. What you may not know is that young mulberry leaves are edible cooked. Quite mild. The green fruit is also slightly mind-altering. To read more about the mulberries go here.

Don’t forget the The Florida Herbal Conference less than two weeks away, still plenty of time to sign up. This year it is held in Deleon Springs February 15-17.  For more information go to: Florida Herbal Conference.

Upcoming classes:  My schedule appears light this month because I’m teaching at two conferences.

Saturday, February 9th, Highwoods Preserve, 8401 New Tampa Blvd., Tampa FL, 33647., 9 a.m.

Sunday, February 10th, Mead Garden, 1500 S. Denning Dr., Winter Park, FL 32789. 9 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 16th, Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, 2045 Mud Lake Road, DeLeon Springs, FL . 32706, 10 a.m.

Sunday, February 24th, Florida State College, south campus, 11901 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville, 32246.  9 a.m.

Note the starting times vary. For more information on my February classes go to my main website and click on classes.

To donate to the Green Deane Newsletter click here.

Green Deane
Newsletter, June 2010

WHY FORAGE?

Often I am asked “why forage for wild food?” Why that question is asked is probably worthy of an article unto itself. But here let’s focus on one answer (out of several.) Let’s look at cost.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released recently their March (2010) number crunching. Food prices in March rose 2.4%, the sixth month in a row food prices have gone up, and the largest jump since 1984. But that’s counting everything. If you look at specific categories the numbers are more revealing.

Fresh and dry vegetables went up up 56.1%, fresh fruits and melons 28.8%, fresh eggs 33.6%, pork 19.1%, beef and veal up 10.7% and dairy products up 9.7%.  All of that makes the Bidens pilosa growing in my yard all the more attractive, maybe even that pesky squirrel. Some think “food inflation” will continue even if the economy improves. Apparently that is what is happening in India now. Some investment gurus are talking about investing in, literally, food, and others like Warren Buffet are recommending investiment in agriculture or countries with a lot of agriculture.
It’s interesting the price of plant products rose more than animal products, though animal products are also dependent on plants, however not necessarily plants that man grows. The difference is commercial plants for people need chemicals and tending whereas many plants for animals — range grass for example — do not nor do most of the weeds we eat. However, contrary to what most folks think foraging is not free. There are costs. Discounting time, one has to get to a place to forage. One has to transport the collected food and the food has to be cleaned. That requires some cost, from calories to bike tires to gasoline to clean water.

One also needs to know which plants to pick. That knowledge can come free, and/or from lessons, books, and internet services. My personal plant library of some six dozen books cost me about $1,000. You may never own more than one foraging book but my point is wild food is not totally free. But, it is the next thing to free, and the cost a lot less than store-bought food and is less subject to inflation and taxes.  Once you have foraging knowledge inside your head any cost gets prorated over time to the point of being negligible.  A $20 course and a $30 book totals up to $50 but if you and yours can eat for a lifetime it’s a good investment. It’s also a certain measure of independence and security.

I’m not suggesting foraging an answer to the growing food problem.  With unemployment hovering near 17% (depending who’s counting and how they count) there are nearly 40 million Americans on food stamps, up 22.4% over this time last year. The government is now paying out more in benefits than it is taking in. At some point entitlement programs will be cut back.  However, 40 million people can’t go out and forage even if they knew how. The impact on the environment would be devastating. The realty is not even one percent of them (400,000) are interested in foraging. I doubt that even one tenth of one percent (40,000) are interested. Maybe one hundredth of one percent might be interested, 4,000, which is close to my number of subscribers. See how uncommon you are?

This we know: Food prices are rising, sharply. There is some cost associated with learning how to forage, and most people are not interested in foraging — at least not now. I think that adds up to a strong argument that not only is it economical to forage but that it will be a steady food supply because others don’t see the value it represents, and even if they did they are far behind you in the learning curve. Learning to forage can mean you have something to eat when they don’t. You certainly have more variety and better nutrition.

When you learn to forage you are doing more than identifying edible wild plants. You are also developing a skill and confidence. No matter how dire the need, those cannot be learned overnight. Foraging is like rigging, you learn mostly by doing and that cannot be rushed. You’re already way ahead of millions.
A NEW VEGETABLE

If you could choose one wild plant to become a commercial product, what would it be? Many people have tried to make poke weed (Phytolacca americana) a green in your local grocery but toxicity and the required two-boilings has always plagued its commercialization. The ground nut (Apios americana) was one of the original exports from colonial America but it has at least a two-year growth cycle. Louisiana State University (1984-96) developed a commercial variety but the program disappeared when the professor-in-charge, Bill Blackmon, changed colleges. In 1962 Professor Julia Morton of the University of Miami recommended Spanish Needles (Bidens pilosa) become a commercial product. Nearly a half a century later that hasn’t happened, perhaps because of flavor or the fact it can grow almost anywhere as a weed.  My candidate would be Suaeda linearis, Sea Blite, and if I could figure out how to do it I would.

Sea Blite has everything going for it except perhaps for its name. It’s mild but tasty, has excellent texture, can be eaten raw or cooked though cooked is the usual way. It’s nutritious, stores well, looks good, easily grows in salty ground (read unused land) and even feels good to handle.  About the only downside, for me, is that I have to drive about 55 miles to get some. I need to introduce it to my garden.

Think of Sea Blite as a Chinopodium that likes to grow in salty places, either near the ocean or salt licks. It has a high sodium content but boiling reduces that significantly.  If you live anywhere near the ocean or inland salty areas, now and the next few months is the time to go looking for seablight and seepweeds. To read more about Sea Blite click here.

HOW SAFE IS FORAGING?

Excluding mushroom hunters, plant foragers have a good track record of staying alive. Plant foragers have about one accidental death every 20 years, and usually that’s from eating some member of the poison hemlock crowd.  That should be a word to the wise. Locally, the nemesis is the water hemlock and it grows exactly where watercress grows. When I collect watercress I look at every piece before I collect or cook it, every single piece.  Actually, there are several deadly local plants: Water hemlock, the Yew, Oleander, Castor Beans, and the Rosary Pea, the most toxic seed on earth. I have been asked to do a video on toxic plants but I am afraid some idiot will not understand what the video is about and eat the wrong plant.

Most plant poisonings involve toddlers eating from the landscaping around their home, with the next highest incidence is toddlers eating the landscaping from their neighbor’s yard. Why we fill our home space with toxic plants rather than edible landscaping is beyond me.

Excluding suicides, adult poisonings are extremely rare. So, don’t be afraid of foraging. Just be careful. Study. Take lessons. Go with a friend.  ITEMize!

CAN A FORAGER FIND TRUE LOVE?

According to the Timberland Company they can. The New Hampshire-based outfitting company has released the results of their 2010 eco-love survey. Oddly, it was male-centric. Apparently men are looking for love in all the green places. (Don’t shoot this messenger.)

Must Love the Earth. Fifty-four percent of men would question whether to start a relationship with a woman someone who litters. Others would ponder if a woman was worth dating if she doesn’t recycle (25%), leaves the lights on when not at home (23%) or drives a gas-guzzler (21%).

Guys Dig Green. One-quarter of men think “green” women make better life partners (24%) or friends (27%) than those who aren’t so environmentally responsible.

Plan an Eco-date. 41% of men would be more interested in an “adventure” date like hiking or rock climbing or a charity or service-focused date like tree planting, rather than the traditional “dinner and a movie” date.

Green eco-lebrities. Men say Cameron Diaz (27%) and Kate Hudson (26%) would inspire them to go green. Feelings are mixed on eco-celeb Jessica Biel. Twenty-one percent of men say she’s an inspiring green celeb, but only 13 percent of women agree.

Going Green. Almost a third of Americans (30%) feel they need to make more of an effort to purchase eco-friendly clothing over the next year. And, before you set out on your eco-date, consider eating locally grown food. More than half (53%) of Americans think that eating locally grown foods should be a priority in the next year. Almost three-quarters (72%) think Americans need to switch to energy-efficient light bulbs, 57 percent think Americans need to green their daily commutes by carpooling, walking or biking to work and 47 percent want others to take showers instead of baths to save water (showering with someone even saves more water.)

SALT SELLER

There’s less salt in your future but not less salt flavor, so it is claimed. PepsiCO did some research and found that only 20% of the salt on their products contributed to taste whereas 80% got swallowed undissolved, read untasted. So the company successfully set out to reshape salt crystals to melted faster on the tongue thus giving the same salty flavor but using 25% less salt.  That would clearly cut costs for them in the future but the question is how will that be positioned on the label? 25% LESS SALT! LESS SALT MORE FLAVOR! Heck they might make an extra salty tasting product but claim it has normal salt levels. Quite a few possibilities. The new salt needs no approval, says PepsiCo, because it is just reshaped salt.

SPROUTS

The Weeping Holly (Ilex vomitoria “pendula”) has more caffein in its leaves than any plant in North America.