1-16-10

TOOTHWORT ROOT








RUFFED GROUSE FEATHERS






INDIAN POTATOES









CLUB MOSS







TURKEY TAIL MUSHROOMS









LICHEN








WITHERED POKEBERRIES






This afternoon Lara took us on our long awaited wildcrafting walk. Wildcrafting is the art of transforming wild plants and objects into decorations, clothing, or food. We had been asking Lara for a while to show us around the woods but due to the recent cold spell, we haven't had an opportunity before today. She also warned us that because it is winter time, there would be minimal forgeable discoveries. But we were eager nonetheless.

She took us on a big loop around a small portion of the property, and we found lots typical plants we never knew were edible. First she pointed out common spice bush. If you tear off its small branches, you can split apart the bark and smell a wonderful aroma, a combination of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. She suggested we boil the branches in water and drink it as a tea. We look forward to trying this.

Next she uprooted some toothwart. The leaves are oval shaped with toothed edges. While the leaves are inedible, the root tastes similar to horseradish. She rinsed off the root in the stream, and we nibbled on the root. Since neither of use much care for horseradish, we didn't like it. Sort of reminded us of Passover.

Along the same riverbank, we noticed some feathers. Lara taught us they were the feathers from a ruffed grouse bird. The bird is known to beat the ground with its tale feathers to attract a mate. Apparently the sound can be heard from quite a distance. Our find probably came at the expense of the bird's life. We hope to use them in a headband.

Next we came across vines that led us to indian potatoes. Lara said they are impossible to detect unless you watch the plant change over the entire year, because many plants have similar grey wispy vines. These particular vines led us to the small potatoes. We dug down in the dirt, and unearthed several strands with potatoes no larger than a quarter. Some were smaller than a penny. Nonetheless, we ate them for dinner which was sweet. But they were barely noticeable in the mix of onions, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Good thing we aren't totally dependent on our foraging skills, otherwise, our tummies would be growling.

Next on our stroll we came across pine needles. She mentioned they are very full of vitamin C and if your are feeling under the weather, breathing in the vapors of boiled water infused with pine needles may help you feel better. Right near the area of the needles was also club moss. The club moss has spores which can be turned into an antibotic powder that Lara administers to the barn animals if they suffer an injury. The powder is very silky and also highly flammable.

Black birch was our next discovery. This one really blew our minds. The smell of the wood under the pealed bark on the small branches was wintergreen. Years ago, many people cut down black birch trees to create wintergreen oil, and the only reason the tree survived was because people discovered a way to make synthetic wintergreen. We cooked the bark in boiling water and drank the minty flavored yellow tea. It was hot and burned Jen's tongue. Despite the mild wound, the flavor was wonderful.

Further along the trail we came across turkey tail mushrooms. While these are completely inedible, they are pretty. We gathered some with hopes of preserving and turning into jewelry. We hope to put a coat of shellack on the mushrooms to prevent bending or curling and use them to make earrings or maybe a necklace.

We found a few other noteworthy things on the walk. Lichen, which can be used as an antibiotic, and sweet shrub also known as carolina allspice, which the seeds can be ground into potpourri. Neither are edible.

The last discovery we made on our walk was pokeberries. There are loads around and the leaves are edible but only in the spring. The berries are not edible ever. The leaves are similar to spinach, but cannot be eaten raw. You must parboil the leaves in order to make them safe to digest. This capped off a very informative and fun walk.