Atriplex cristata: Pigweed by the Sea

Beach Orache Crested Salt Bush

Anyone familiar with the Goosefoot family will see the Beach Orache and presume it is probably edible, and it is.

A distant cousin to the Chenopodium, the Atriplex is an Old and New World plant that wasn’t used much by the Natives Americans though elsewhere in the world it has a long history of feeding folks. The east coast Indians apparently ignored it for the most part, though the west coast Indians used it.

Atriplex cristata, said AT-ree-plex kriss-STAY-tuh, is one of a large genus whose leaves and seeds are eaten around the world. More than two dozen Atriplex are edible, and probably more. Atriplex is the ancient named used by Pliny for the orache, also know as A. hortensis. Cristata means crested. It has also been called A. pentandra (pen-TAN-druh) which means with five antlers, or in this case five stamens.

A. cristata can be found on the coast from Texas to New Hampshire. But Mainers don’t fear, A. glabriuscula runs from your coast north to Greenland. It’s also in the Great Lakes area down through Indiana to Kentucky. It is also found in Alberta, Canada. An import no doubt. In fact, an Atriplex can be found in all areas of North America except Arkansas, Tennessee and Nunavut Territory in Canada. The leaves and seeds of the following species have been used in North America: A. argentea, A. californica, A. canescens, A. confertifolia, A. coronata, A. elegans, A. lentiformis, A. nuttalii, A. patula, A. serenana, and A. truncata. Locally we also have A. pentandra. Also eaten is A. halimus and A. semibaccata, the latter common in Australia but naturalized in North America. The Hopi Indians used the ashes of the A. canescens as baking powder, and the roots of the A. californica can used as a substitute for soap.

Closely related to the beet and spinach, there are no member of the Atriplex genus that toxic, but, not all are palatable. And in the “I didn’t know that” category meat from sheep that graze on Beach Orache has high levels of vitamin E.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile

Beach Orach Crested Salt Bush

IDENTIFICATION:

An annual or perennial, sprawling to erect, much branched and clump-forming, six inches to 1.5 feet tall. Stems obtusely angled, leaves attach to the main stem or have a short stem, alternate or opposite, oblong, oval or slender-elliptic .5 to 1.5 inches long, silvery scurfy underneath; often curling upward. flowers in short, dense, naked terminal spikes, usually yellow, seeds reddish brown.

TIME OF YEAR:

In warmer climes nearly year round, in northern climes summer into the fall.

ENVIRONMENT:

Sandy beaches, keys, mainland Florida, a costal plant for most of its range.

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

Leaves cooked like a green (reduces), minute seeds cooked, added to soups and stews or ground. Some say the leaves and seeds can be eaten raw. The seeds perhaps but I find the leaves too bitter to eat raw.

Fagus grandifolia: The All-American Beech

beechnuts

Tree trivia: Beechnut chewing gum had nothing to do with the Beech tree or the seeds it produces. It was, however, the name and logo of a company that made candy, and was my favorite chewing gum as a kid.

The American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) is found from Nova Scotia, southwest to northern Florida (down to Alachua County) and over to the Mississippi River and into eastern Texas,  eastern oklahoma,  and northwest Arkansas. Paleobiologists tell us that at one time the beech was found through most of North America and could grow there now. But, because of the ice ages they disappeared from the western two-thirds of the continent save for some in the mountains of Northeastern Mexico. Environmentally beech is found with maples, birches, the basswood, black cherry, southern magnolia, eastern white pine, red spruce, several hickories and oaks.

American Beech

Beech trees begin producing seeds around 40-years old, and by 60 can be producing huge amounts. They don’t produce every year and can cycle anywhere from two to eight years. In northern and central states the beech flowers in late April or early may when the new leaves are about one-third grown. They are quite vulnerable to spring frosts. The seeds ripen between September and November. Two to four nuts are usually found in one bur. Heavy frost can cause the bur to open and drop its seeds. There are about 1,600 seeds to a pound.

Beech seeds, also called mast, are sought after by a large variety of birds and mammals, including mice, squirrels, chipmunks, black bear, deer, foxes, ruffed grouse, ducks, and bluejays. Beech wood is used for flooring, furniture, turned products, veneer, plywood, railroad ties, baskets, pulp, charcoal, rough lumber, shoe lasts, buttons, bowls and barrels for aging beer. It is also preferred by those with wood burning stoves because of its high density and good burning qualities. Creosote made from beech wood is used internally and externally as a medicine for people and animals.

Cultivated Beech tree and bee hives in Banner Elk North Carolina

From the human point of view, the American Beech provides quite a few edibles. The inner bark is edible, young leaves are quite tasty while they are soft. The sweet seeds are very edible and can be crushed into a butter. The nuts have a low amount of fagin which is slightly toxic and is found in the skin of the kernel (roasting allows that skin to be easily rubbed off.)  The European beech, F. sylvatica, has more fagin and has to be used more carefully. Beechnut oil does not have any fagin and was used in Europe for centuries for cooking (and as a hair tonic.)  Seeds have been crushed, boiled, and the nourishing liquid drank. They were also ground up and added to cornmeal and berries to make a bread.  Beech sawdust has also been mixed with flour to extend it when making bread in times of scarcity. Raw nuts should not be eaten to excess.

Fagus grandifolia means “edible large leaves. “Fagus” comes from the Greek verb Fagito, which means to eat and was the name of the European beech, F. sylvatica (edible of the woods.)  The species name is Latin.  To go back a little further “fagito” came from Akkadian “paglu” meaning strong.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile

IDENTIFICATION:

Leaves alternate, simple, elliptical to oblong-ovate, 2 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches long, pinnately-veined, 11-14 pairs of veins, with each vein ending in a sharp distinct tooth, shiny green above, very waxy and smooth, slightly paler below. Male flowers borne on globose heads hanging from a slender 1 inch stalk, female flowers borne on shorter spikes, appearing just after leaves in the spring.  Nuts are irregularly triangular, shiny brown, found in pairs within a woody husk covered with recurved spines,

TIME OF YEAR:

Nuts ripen in fall, young leaves in spring while tender.

ENVIRONMENT:

Old forests, neither dry nor wet, found with maples, birches and oaks.

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

Inner bark is edible, young leaves edible, mature seeds (best to remove their brown covering.) Can be roasted and or made into a nut butter. The oil is good for cooking.

American Beautyberries cluster around the stem

Beautyberry: Callicarpa Americana

The Beautyberry is squirrel’s version of take out.

Squirrels will often break off a branch a foot or two long and carry it to an oak tree penthouse to enjoy.  Mockingbirds and other birds are also exceptionally fond of the Beauty Berry. Humans are not as enthusiastic.

“Insipid” is the word usually used to describe its gustatory qualities.  The truth is the berries of the Beauty Berry, or Beautyberry  (Callicarpa americana, (kar-lee-KAR-pa a-mair-ee-KAY-na) while an attractive magenta, are mealy and almost flavorless. Their only immediate palate character is a little texture from a tiny seed.  But, this is not to say the Beautyberry– also called the Beautybush — is worthless to man nor beast. While this writer knows of no nutritional analysis of the Beautyberry, it might have similar antioxidant and vitamin properties as other colored, edible fruit. Many web sites warn not to eat the berries, and some call them poisonous. They are not poisonous but I suppose if one is going to make a mistake it is better to say something is poisonous when it is not than edible when it is poisonous. And for the record, worldwide there are about 140 different species of Callicarpa. The leaves of this one, incidentally, make an excellent fish poison for stunning them.

Berries ready to be made into jelly

Blooming pink in spring and fall, the Beautyberry has fruit clustered along the stem. The berries are slightly astringent and best eaten raw only a few at a time. Where Beautyberries excels is in making jelly. Beautyberry jelly is exceptionally good.  (See recipe below.) Perhaps drying or cooking eliminates any astringency. I make Beautyberry jelly nearly every weekend it is in season as well as Pyracantha jelly (see my blog Firethorn and Santa Claus.)

Dr. Julia Morton, a famed research professor of biology at the University of Miami said this about the Beauty Berry in her book ‘Wild Plants for Survival in South Florida:”  “The rank odor of the plant makes nibbling of [berry] bunches on the stem unpleasant.”

Her point was well taken: There are three chemicals in the leaves scientists are trying to replicate for mosquito repellent. They may be as effective as DEET, according to researchers with the USDA. The chemicals, particularly one called callicarpenal, showed significant bite-deterring activity against the yellow-fever mosquito and the mosquito that spreads malaria. Callicarpenal and other compounds isolated from the plant also repelled fire ants and ticks.

Native Indians had many uses for the Beautyberry, among them: A decoction of the root bark as a diuretic; the leaves for dropsy; a tea from the roots for dysentery and stomach aches; a tea made from the roots and berries for colic; and, the leaves and roots in sweat baths for the treatment of malaria, rheumatism and fevers. This author can only speak to the use of berries in jelly, and leaves as an external mosquito repellent.  However, a study published 6 Feb 2007 Journal of Natural Products suggests the C. Americana has anti-cancer potential.

The Japanese Beautyberry’s fruit is on stems away from the main stem.

A fairly common Beautyberry that is an ornamental is the Callicarpa japonica. It is easy to identify from the American Beautyberry because its fruit are on long stems away from the main branch. American Beautyberries wrap around the main stem. More so, the C. japonica is long branched, slim, skinny-leafed and weeping, the C. americana is not. While there are no reports of edibility of the C. japonica’s berries that I know of (in English) the leaves are dried and used to make a tea. I do know of one person, however, who tells me she makes jelly out of C. japonica berries. There are also a few other Asian Callicarpas that have edible or medicinal parts. Callicarpa dichotoma berries are too bitter to consume.

The Beautyberry is a cousin of the smelly Lantana and the Oaxaca Lemon Verbena, which I also have in my yard. I got the Oaxaca from a Greek friend of mine who got it from a Hispanic neighbor. How this supposedly exceptionally rare plant got from one particular isolated spot in southern Mexico to Central Florida I do not know. It doesn’t even have an established common name, but it makes a nice lemon-flavored herbal tea. (See my article on Oaxaca lemon verbena.)

The following jelly recipe is from “Florida’s Incredible Wild Edibles” by Richard Deuerling and Peggy Lantz. The book is for sale on Amazon. Many years ago I used to wander through the Florida landscape with Dick and Peggy and others on outings with the Native Plant Society. They taught me a lot. The only problem with going into the wilds with such folks is it takes about an hour to go a hundred feet because there is so much to be said about the plants one knows, and debates, usually over some unidentifiable “dirty little composite.”  Here is a link to their book: http://www.amazon.com/Floridas-Incredible-Edibles-Richard-Deuerling/dp/188525802X

 Beautyberry Jelly

1 ½ qts. of Beautyberries, washed and clean of green stems and leaves. Cover with 2 qts. water.Boil 20 minutes and strain to make infusion. Use 3 cups of the infusion, bring to boil, add 1 envelope Sure-Jell and 4 ½ cups sugar. Bring to second boiland boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand until foam forms. Skim off foam, pour into sterilized jars, cap.

UPDATE: One of my students, Fred, does a lot of foraging and has lived his life in mosquito-ladened Florida. He reports: [Beautyberry’s]  “jelly is awesome but I really love the beautyberry for its insect repellent properties. After learning about this from a Green Deane class and being an avid forager myself I decided to use the beautyberry as a bug repellent so it wouldn’t slow down my summer foraging (Florida summer mosquitoes can be horrible). I pretty much chopped up a plant(leaves and stems) and boiled it in a pot and let it cool and strained the brown liquid into my blender, about 1 1/2 cups. In a separate pot I warmed some organic neem oil (1 cup) with 1 ounce of beeswax until melted. Then you turn the blender on and pour in the oil mixture very slowly and it becomes a cream. I have to say hands down the best insect repellent ever! Because its a creme on july/august days one application is all you need for the entire day even when your sweating.”

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile

IDENTIFICATION: A small, deciduous shrubs 1 to 2 m in height, leaves opposite, elliptical to ovate, large, with saw-toothed edges.  Flowers cluster around stem, funnel-shaped with four clefs.  Fruit magenta 2 to 4 seeds, White fruited ones are an escaped cultivar and edibility is unknown.

TIME OF YEAR: Spring and fall in Florida, late summer to fall in northern climes

ENVIRONMENT: Dry,open woods, moist woods, thickets and hammocks, adapted to climates with hot, humid summers and moderate winters

METHOD OF PREPARATION: A few berries can be eaten raw, depending upon your agreeing with the flavor, otherwise makes a great jelly. The berries can be used to make a tea with antioxidants.

 HERB BLURB

Native American Indians used the roots and leaves to make a tea to treat fever, dysentery, malaria and rheumatism

The flavor of Begonia blossoms and leaves changes with their color. Photo by Green Deane

Waxing about Edible Begonias

It was on Rock Springs Run, some 33 years ago here in Florida, when I first saw them, just above the variable water line. I couldn’t believe it: Wax Begonias, the most common houseplant in the world, in the middle of the swamp, and edible. I next saw them some 17 crow-fly miles away on a damp bike trail.  And most recently they were in another county by a stream some 30 miles off to the southwest. The Wax Begonia is just one of many “invasive weeds” in central and southern Florida, spreading by seed. But, you can also find it in cemeteries in the summertime, on front porches, flower beds and in south-facing windows everywhere in the winter.

Begonias are naturalized in Florida. Photo by Green Deane

Known as Begonia cucullata  [Beg-GOH-nee-uh kuk-yoo-LAY-tuh or kew-kew-LAY-uh) (previously B. semperflorens, sem-per-FLOR-enz) the fleshy leaves and flowers are edible raw or cooked.  They can have a slight bitter after taste and if in water most of the time, a hint of swamp in their flavor. Sauteed alligator with Begonia sauce might be a musty challenge to the pallet.  (See recipes below.) The B. cucullata is not the only edible Begonia. The popular Begonia X tuberhybrida (too-bur-HY-brid-uh) also has edible leaves and flowers. Very delicate and also very colorful, the B.X. tuberhybrida does not grow in the wild but that does not mean you can’t find them for nibbling. There are two cautions, however: Begonias contain that overrated tart threat, oxalic acid, and since they are primarily only found under cultivation make sure they haven’t been treated with pesticides and the like. While the escaped Wax Begonia has but a few colors  (red, pink, or white) and simple flowers, the tuberhybrida comes in many colors and the flavor varies with the color. Its blossoms are also more complex, often doubled.

Wax Begonia Blossoms

The Journal of Economic Botany has mentioned edible Begonias several times since the 1940’s including an article on them in 1992, pp.114-115. There are at least a baker’s dozen plus more edible species of Begonia than those already mentioned making at least 15: B. annulata (aka B. hatacoa)  B. auriculata, B. barbata, B. gracilis, B. grandis var evansiana (sparingly), B. hernandioides, B. malabarica, B. mannii, B. picta, B. palmata, B. plebeja (stems peeled, sap is used to make a drink) B. Semperflorens,  B. rex and B. roxburghii (cooked.) B. fimbristipula is used to make a tea. Among those are tuberous, non-tuberous, hybrid and non-hybrid begonias. There are also reports of numerous other Begonias being consumed in several countries, from Mexico to India. Wherever they grow they have been important to people. They are a good source of food and medicine and vitamin C, long eaten to prevent scurvy. Begonias have been cooked up as potherbs in Japan, India, Indonesia and Myanmar (Burma.) They are used to make a sauce for meat and fish in Indonesia, salads in China, Indonesia and Brazil. In Java, the Philippines and Brazil they are also a flavoring ingredients. In northern Mexico and China they are a favorite wild snack for children. In fact, some rural people use the tart sap to curdle milk for cheese making.

Begonias are a common bedding plant. Make sure they have not been sprayed.

In Paraguay the leaves of the B. cucullata are eaten fried or in soup or salads while the sap is used to treat sore throats. As just mentioned, Begonias have had numerous medicinal applications. One of them, using B. malabarica to affect glucose levels, has been shown to be effective in diabetic rats, echoing its folk use in people. In the West Indies those under the weather use Begonia leaves as a tea for colds. Roots and tubers of Begonias have been a mainstay of folk medicine for centuries. They have been used as emetics, purgatives and cathartics. The sap has been put on wounds, and concoctions used for cough, consumption, and fever. Shoots have been used to treat upset stomachs and enlarged spleens. The acid-based sap has been used to treat toothaches and gum aliments. It is anti-bacterial.  Elements in the Begonia have been proven to have anti-tumor activity and it is commonly used in the West Indies by herbalists to treat cancer. A few websites say Wax Begonias are cancer-causing but I cannot find any research to support that assertion. In fact, I found just the opposite with a related species. A study reported in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 124, Issue 1, 6 July 2009, found: “Cucurbitacin B, E, I and dihydrocucurbitacin isolated from Begonia nantoensis were reported to have cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines.” The assertion that wax begonias can be carcinogenic can be traced back to at least a 2007 Public Broadcasting Service webpage recipe quoting two chefs from a 2003 copyrighted work. The chefs also say only the petals of the tuberous begonia are edible. I think they got that from an older and equally wrong book on edible blossoms. Many non-tuberous Begonias are edible. Numerous “edible flower” websites, cut and pasting each other and not doing any homework, have perpetuated the errors. Let’s set the record straight: Begonias other than tuberous have edible leaves and blossoms.

Wax Begonia blossoms

The most common house plant in the world — the Wax Begonia — came from Brazil’s Atlantic Coastal Forest (where it is used like spinach and a diuretic.) Begonias are native to South America, Central America, South Africa and Asia though most of the hybrids come from the Wax Begonia. The genus name Begonia comes from Michel Begon, a 17th-century governor of Santo Domingo, and amateur botanist. Naming the genus after Begon was a good idea but not without some politics. Begon was governor of the French Antilles from 1682 to 1685. Botanist Charles Plumier had been recommended by Begon to King Louis XIV to be the official plant collector in the French Caribbean. Plumier got the job and he rewarded Bergon by naming the plant after him.  A symbiotic relationship, it would seem. Cucullata means hooded, a reference to the shape of the flowers.  Semperflorens means ever flowering, and, tuberhybrida is tuberous hybrid. Begonias have been cultivated for at least 1,400 years starting with B. grandis in China.  It was used in herbal medicine as an astringent to clean wounds, reduce swelling and to treat a number of diseases. B. fimbristipula (fim-bree-STEE–pou-la) is made into a bitter, purple tea, and can sometimes be found in your local Chinese market. Begonias got to Japan in 1641 and then England in 1777. By 1847 there were between 70 and 80 species of Begonias growing in Europe. They were in the United States by 1850 but really took off after World War I. There are now some 1,600 species and at least as many cultivars. Besides the Wax Begonia, the American Begonia Society recognizes seven other horticultural types: Cane-like, Shrub-like, Thick-stemmed, Rhizomatous, Rex-hybrids, Tuberous and Trailing-Scandent. Yet, the humble Wax Begonia is the most popular, selling in excess of $60 million dollars worth a year in the US. But let us not fault those who like the other varieties the genus can offer. Begonia are a common bedding plant for three reasons, beside their attractiveness. They like shade, deer don’t like to eat them, and most humans don’t know they are edible.  As for me and thee, raw leaves and blossoms have a crunchy texture, somewhat acidic, some with an after note of bitterness, some without. Cooked they can be tart and bitter to sweet, swampy if raised in damp conditions. I would like to thank Kingsley Langenberg and the American Begonia Society for pointing me in the right direction. Their view is far more comprehensive of the genus than my edible perspective.  To learn more about Begonias and the ABS their website is: http://www.begonias.org.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile

IDENTIFICATION: Tender herbaceous perennials, won’t take a frost, succulent stems, depending on variety, attractive mounds one-half to a foot and a half height though I have seen them two feet high. Leaves usually glossy green ovals, scalloped. Flowers may be single or double.  Seeds, dust-like. The tuberhybrida resembles a small, fleshy carnation, some think pom-poms.

TIME OF YEAR: Leaves whenever they can be harvested, blossom as well, tends to bloom constantly.

ENVIRONMENT: Rich well-drained soil. Flower growers say the soil must be allowed to dry between waterings but I have seen them growing in swamps often. They are a warm-climate understory plant, liking bright shade.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Wax begonia: Leaves and blossom raw, leaves cooked. The petals of the tuberous begonia are also edible, and the stems can be used like rhubarb.  As always, identify your species, check with a local expert, and try sparingly.  Recipes below.

Begonia Tartlet Two cups edible leaves per portion Approximately three ounces of sour cream per portion 1/4 to one half teaspoon of sugar per portion, or to taste Cooked pastry tartlet or graham cracker tartlet (the latter contrasts nicely with the tart filling.) Mince the leaves and put into a pot with about 1/2 cup of water on medium low heat. The object is to cook and reduce the leaves to a thick paste. To that paste add the sour cream and sugar. Put in tartlet. Heat in oven at about 300F for 30 to 60 minutes, or until content bubbles gently. Remove from heat. Cool. Serve. This recipe can also be used with sorrel.

Begonia Spread Use one 8 oz package of soft cream cheese, 1/4 to 1/3 strawberry or other jelly or jam, some fruit juice or other liquid to soften more if needed. Wash and coarsely chop begonia flowers to make about 1/3 cup. This is a matter of taste so adjust to what you like. Mix the cream cheese and jelly in a food processor or mixer and add the chopped begonia petals.

For an adventure you can fry the leaves like potato chips. They turn black. Add salt for a salty sour flavor.