Sargassum nutans

Sargassum: Not Just for Breakfast Any More

Sargassum — Gulf weed — comprises a huge number of seaweeds in all oceans, both bottom dwelling and free floating.  In fact, two common species found in Florida waters, S. natans and S. fluitans, are free floating all their lives.

Sargassum fluitans

This brown seaweed, which is also a vast floating masses in the Sargasso Sea in the north central Atlantic, is found washed ashore on the beaches often following sustained easterly winds such as during northeasters and hurricanes. It’s not only common in Florida but I also picked it up as a boy along the shores of New England. Although considered a smelly nuisance by beach-goers when it starts to decompose, the floating mats are a source of food or home to a huge variety of sea life. Often some of them will still be living on a clump of beached sargassum.

Species of Sargassum (sah-GAS-um) can be very difficult to identify because there’s a lot variability. But they do have some basic characteristics. Of all the seaweeds, Sargassum is the genus that looks the most like land plants.  It has an axis (stem) with distinct foliar blades (leaves.)  These “leaves” are long, oval-shaped, and may have smooth or toothed edges. In addition, Sargassum has small berry-like air bladders all over it. A member of the brown seaweed clan, its color doesn’t change much either, varying from yellow-brown to deep chocolate color.  Avoid any seaweed. Sargassum or otherwise,  with blue-green algae on it.

As one might expect Sargassum species vary in taste and texture so there is no one way to cook your local species. It takes experimentation.  More so, among seaweeds Sargassum is not a prime edible but a plentiful one. Slightly bitter, one might call it an acquired taste, then again all tastes are acquired except that for sugar. As Asian countries have the most experience with eating seaweed, most of the approaches have an Oriental spin.

Some Sargassums are consumed fresh, others cooked in coconut milk or a little vinegar or lemon juice. It is smoked-dried to preserve it.  Sargassum is also eaten by itself or added to fish and meat dishes. If not strong it can be added to salads after washing, or it can be cooked in water like a vegetable. If the Sargassum is strong flavored it can be boiled in two changes of water. Some recipes then call for it to be mixed with brown sugar and used as a filling in steamed buns but it could be eaten as is.

A second way of cooking Sargassum, such as S. fusiformis, is fry it quickly then simmer it in water with soy sauce and other ingredients for 30 minutes to two hours or more, depending upon the dish. Other areas of the world mix their Sargassum with oil, salt and green onions and using as filling in dumplings. It is also often cooked with tofu. One Fuji dish is to cook it with a fish then let it cool. When it sets it is sliced and eaten as a cold dish.

Indonesians like to drop Sargassum into boiling water and cook it for one minute then eat it with a sauce made with allspice. Or, they eat it with sugar or make it into a relish. Another option is to steam the seaweed. It can also be cooked into a jelly, firmed, and or used as a glue. Larger “leaves” make a chip when deep fried or the entire plant can be coated with a tempura batter, deep fried and served with a dipping sauce

Hawaiians had a variety of Sargassums to cook with. They stuffed fish with the leaves, or ate it raw with raw fish or octopus. The leaves can be added to soups and chowders or deep fried in tempura batter. Sun dried leaves can be eaten like chips, or they can be fried and sprinkled with salt.

Species found in Florida include: S. natans, S. fluitans, S. filipendula and S. pteropleuron. Those eaten elsewhere in the world include: S. aquifolium, S. fusiformis, S. granuliferum, S. mutica, S. polycyctum, and S. siliquosum. It can be cooked in coconut milk, or a little vinegar, or smoke dried.

As for the botanical name, the bladders look like grapes and were named Sargassum from the Portuguese word for grapes. Nutans (NEW-tanz)  means nodding, and fluitans (FLOO-ih-tanz )from the Greek word fluito, floating. I suspect that is where the word “fluid” came from in English.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile

IDENTIFICATION: Locally, S. nutans long narrow leaves and pointed air bladders, S. fluitans broad leaves and air bladders without pointed tips.  In the northeast U.S. any bottom attached Sargassum will be the S. filipendula.

TIME OF YEAR: All year, but is more plentiful in warm weather. In Florida winds and currents typically wash Sargassum to shore beginning in May. On the west coast of the U.S., spring to autumn.

ENVIRONMENT: S. nutans and S. fluitans are free floating. Other Sargassum are found just below the low water mark down to around 100 feet.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Take younger leaves. Fried, boiled, steamed, dried.

HERB BLURB

Sargassums contain antibacterial fatty acids, has anti-oxidants and is mildly diuretic. Fresh Sargassum can be made into a poultice for cuts. In Chinese medicine Sargassum is dried, powered, and used to make a tea to control phlegm. Avoid Sargassum if you are iodine sensitive.

Chrysophyllum oliviforme: “Chewy Olives”

Satinleaf, Chrysophyllum oliviforme

“Turn left at the Satinleaf.”

That’s not an unusual direction in an area where Satinleafs grow, they are that distinctive. It was also the Satinleaf that lured the Spanish of Yore off their ships to look for gold. You know the old story: There was so much gold in the New World even the leaves were covered with it.

Dark green above, satin brown below, the tree became famous for its looks, but the fruit of the Satinleaf, also called the Olive Plum, is quite edible… well… chewable would be the more accurate description. You chew it for a long time before it feels safe to swallow. Think of it as gum on a tree.

It used to be a common tree — especially in south Florida — but one that has succumbed to development. It’s threatened in the wild but common enough in the landscape and the state’s been encouraging people to plant more of the evergreen.

Leaves are satiny copper underneath

Botanically it is Chrysophyllum oliviforme (kriss-so-FILL-um awl-liv-ih-FOR-mee) which in Greek and Latin means “gold leaf olive like.”  To English speakers calling the tree the Satinleaf was a natural. The Indians, who used the tree, had a different view. The Seminoles called it, hilokwa inlokci yaca kita, the Mikasuki hacalo pi ha, which are phrases that literally means something like “chewing strangler fig berries” but means something akin to ‘chewing gum tree.’ The black fruit are sweet and definitely chewy. Somehow each new generation of kids seems to learn they are a local source of gum.  Actually, they eat the pulp. spit out the seed, and chew the skin. The Satinleaf is related to the also edible. C. cainito, called the Star Apple.

Besides a mastication, the wood is hard but not easy to work. It’s used for fence posts, rafters and charcoal. Leaf decoctions are used to treat external cuts and abrasions. The species in the genus contain saponins, coumarins, alkaloids and glucosides.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profiles

Pulp is milky sweet

IDENTIFICATION: Large shrub, small tree, to 30 feet or more, upright branches, leaves,  alternate, elliptic or oval, pointed, two to six inches long, leathery, dark and glossy above, coppery satin below. Flowers, white and small, fruit dark purple oval or oblong, about an inch long, rubbery, pulp lavender, milky, sweet, one half-inch seed

TIME OF YEAR: Spring

ENVIRONMENT: Hammocks, pine lands

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Ripe fruit eaten raw after much chewing, can be made into a jelly

Populus deltoides: Popular Poplars and Aspens

Eastern Cottonwood, Populus deltoides

I know where there is one (1) Eastern Conttonwood. For a popular Poplar it is not common locally. Fortunately edible Poplars elsewhere are numerous and well-distributed. But why only one poplar nearby? The answer is roots.

The Eastern Cottonwood is an impressive tree and was once planted as a favorite street tree and shade tree. Their roots, however, had the habit of entering drain and sewer systems, clogging them. This led to many municipalities banning the Poplar. Not exactly environmental progress.

There are some three dozen species of Poplar in the world, about 15 in North America. In New England where I grew up Poplars were considered a “trash tree” short-lived and not used for much though there was one large Balm of Gilead my mother favored by the horse pasture. It was noticeably bigger than the other Poplars, and lived far longer. Even as a kid I marveled at how the leaves of the genus quaked in the wind. Old Timers — which meant adults — used to say when the Poplars showed their silver it was going to rain. These same adults also never said “Balm of Gilead” as three words but rather one:  bah-mah-GILL-ee-id.

While Poplars and Aspens are in the same genus there are differences. Usually the winter buds of the Poplars are very resinous and have 12 to 60 stamens (the male part of the flowers.) The Aspens are only slightly resinous and have on 6 to 12 stamens.

Here in the south there are two Poplars and one Aspen, P. deltoides (the only local one) Populus heterophylla (found in northern Florida and the gulf states) and Populus grandidentata, found occasionally in North Carolina and Virginia.

Seed fuzz inspired the name cottonwood

The so-called inner bark, the cambium, of the poplars listed below is edible raw. It was eaten not only by North American natives but peoples in Europe and Asia. The cambium was often cut into strips and boiled or dried, ground and mixed with flour to make bread and or mush. It is high in Vitamin C. The sap can also be drunk and the catkins of some species are also edible.

Among the edible poplars are the Populus angustifolia (Narrow Leaf Poplar) Populus fremontii (Fremont cottonwood which actually might be a P. deltoides variation or even P. deltoides v. wislizeni or P. deltoides v. monilifera) P. grandidentata (Large Toothed Aspen) Populus sargentii (Sargent Cottonwood) Populus alba (White Popular from Europe) and Populus tremuloides, (the Aspen of Colorado fame.)

Populus tremuloides petiole

Medicinally the resinous, aromatic buds of the Populus balsamifera, Populus canadicans (aka giladensis) and Populus tremuloides are used as balsamic, expectorant and stimulant. The salve, used on burns and wounds is made by boiling the buds slowly in oil. The resin comes from a wax that coats the buds in the winter.  The wax coats the buds to reduce water loss. So, if you want to make a salve you have to collect buds in the winter.

As for the name, Populus deltoides (POP-you-los del-TOY-deez). Populus is latin for “people”  but can also mean a crowd or a multitude and in many places these trees grow in colonies. But scholars think it came from arbor-populi, meaning “tree of the people.” Deltoides means triangular, referring to the leaf shape.

Oh, the root wood of the Eastern Cottonwood was also used by the natives for drill and baseboard for friction fire lighting. Settlers used the logs to build stockades.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile

IDENTIFICATION: Eastern Cottonwood. Large tree  to 100 feet, trunk 5 feet through. Bark  silvery-white, smooth or lightly fissured when young, dark gray and deeply fissured on older trees. Twigs grayish-yellow, stout, with large triangular leaf scars. Twigs have a bitter, aspirin like taste. Winter buds slender, pointed,  to .75 inch long, yellowish brown, resinous. Leaves are large, triangular, to 4 inches long and wide, flattened base, coarsely toothed, the teeth are curved and gland tipped,  petiole is flat. Leaves are dark green in the summer, yellow in the fall.

TIME OF YEAR: Catkins on single-sex trees early spring. Male catkins, reddish-purple, to 4 inches long. Female catkins, green, 2.5 to 5 inches long, seed capsules in early summer, releasing numerous small seeds attached to cotton-like strands.

ENVIRONMENT: Likes to border streams and wet valley soil. In colonies of with willows, often first to inhabit new sandbars or bare flood plains.

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Inner bark edible raw or cooked. Roots dried for use in friction fire making. The wood is also used for boxes, crates, furniture, plywood, matches and paper products.

Harrisia simpsonii

Harrisia Trio: Endangered Edibles All

Just as it is important to know what to eat, it’s as important to know what not to eat, or if you do, how to do it right.

The Harrisias are three endangered cactus, all with edible fruit. Let’s say you are in a mangrove swamp, your canoe has floated away because you didn’t watch the changing tide. You also didn’t have the good sense to tell anyone where you were going or what you were going to do on your month off.  Since no one lives within miles of you there is no cellphone tower nearby for your phone to work.  After a week of resisting the fruit of these endangered species you succumb to your hunger. You find up to 1500 seeds in each one. Spread the seeds around, give them to your friends with green thumbs after you’re rescued. You will be rescued because you now have a mission, to help the endangered species that helped keep you going. Just don’t tell anyone with a badge you ate the fruit of an endangered species… kinda like eating Spotted Owl eggs….

Harrisia fragrans

Other than DNA testing, the only way to tell the Harrisia simpsonii (above left) from the H. arboriginium (below) is the former has fruit that ripens to red and the latter to yellow. The sweet smelling  Harrisia fragrans (right) is rare because of development and is found in only one Florida County. And in the county it is found in only 10 or 11 spots. I became interested in the genus when I saw H. simpsonii while out kayaking on the Inland Waterway south of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. I thought it was an escaped ornamental. The red fruit stood out among the greenery, probably part of the plant’s strategy to attract creature attention and spread its seeds around.

Harrisia aboriginium

Harrisia (hair-RIS-ee-uh ) honors William Harris (1860-1920) of Jamaica who contributed greatly to our knowledge of the flora of that island. He was superintendent of the Public Gardens and Plantations of Jamaica.  Arboriginium (ab-or-RIJ-in-um ) has been found on pre-Columbian shell mounts and that is why it is called arboriginium.  Simpsonii simp-SON-ee-eye) honors south Florida naturalist Charles T. Simpson (1846-1932. See Simpson Stopper.)   Fragrans (fray-granz) means fragrant.

Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile

IDENTIFICATION: Prickly apple and Apple cactus: Shrubby,  to 12 feet tall, on the ground or on shells or the like, sometimes vine like, often branched, one to one and half inched through, cylindrical,  with nine or 10 ridges, spines 3/4 to an inch long,  in groups of 6 or 12. Flowers nocturnal, funnel shaped, white, no odor. Young pointed buds are covered with hair. Fruit oblate, dull red or yellow.

TIME OF YEAR: Nearly year round

ENVIRONMENT: Hammocks, mangrove swamps

METHOD OF PREPARATION: Fruit edible raw