This week, I’m featuring Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
PLEASE NOTE: Culturally Significant Plant = Ethnobotanic Uses: Philadelphia Fleabane was used by a number of American Indian tribes to treat a variety of health problems. Read more.
The genus name, from Greek eri (“early”) and geron (“old man”), presumably refers to the fact that the plant flowers early and has fine white downy hairs suggesting an old man’s beard.
Identification Tips:
Philadelphia Fleabane is a biennial or short-lived perennial. The plant grows up to 2½’ tall; it is usually unbranched except near its flowers. Initially, there is a low rosette of basal leaves that disappears when the plant bolts during the spring. The central stem and upper stems are light green and covered in spreading hairs, more sparsely hairy at the top of the plant.
Alternate leaves occur along the entire length of these stems, becoming smaller in size and more sparse as they ascend. These leaves are up to 3¾” long and 1¼” across; they may vary in shape: ovate, lancelike, oblong-lancelike, or narrowly elliptic. Around the base of the plant is a rosette of nearly spoon shaped leaves with rounded tips. Basal leaves have coarse rounded teeth at the tip end and are up to 6 inches long, alternately attached but crowded around the stem, and may wither away by flowering time.
As the leaves ascend the stem they clasp the stem, become more widely spaced, and their shape becomes more elliptical with a pointed tip and more pointed teeth. These leaves average about 4 inches long and about 1 inch wide. Leaves at the top of the plant near the flowers are much smaller, more heart shaped and toothless.
The central stem terminates in a cluster (panicle) of 3 to 35 flowerheads that is somewhat flat-headed. In addition, smaller panicles may develop from the axils of upper leaves. Each daisy-like flowerhead is ½–¾” across, consisting of 100-300 pink to white thread-like ray flowers (petals) and a yellow center disk. Behind each flowerhead are 2 to 3 rows of narrow light green bracts that are hairless or sparsely hairy, sometimes minutely glandular. The flower stalk is ¾ to 1 inch long and also hairless or sparsely hairy. The yellow center with the large number of very fine ray flowers is the best identification distinction between this and similar species of fleabanes.
Philadelphia Fleabane flower clusters
The flowers close at night so early in the day only the pinkish buds may be seen.
Philadelphia Fleabane flower buds opening in morning sunshine
The blooming period occurs from late spring to mid-summer, lasting about 1–1½ months. The blooms of Philadelphia Fleabane offer either a mild floral fragrance or none at all. Afterwards, this plant tends to go dormant for the remainder of the summer.
Fertile disc florets produce a dry narrow pyramidal shaped seed (a cypsela) that has a fluffy tuft of hairs (pappus) for dispersion by the wind. If the outer ray florets form seed, each has stiff hairs attached, not a fluffy pappus.
Its common name, like those of other “-banes,” alludes to the folklore that they have the ability to kill or ward off pests. Historically, fleabane was burned or dried in sachets to repel fleas, gnats, and flies, though there is little evidence of its effectiveness as an insect repellent.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses:
There are no known uses of Philadelphia Fleabane for food.
However, several American Indian tribes used this plant for a variety of medicinal uses. The Cherokee and other tribes used it in the treatment of epilepsy. The Cherokee and Houma tribes boiled the roots to make a drink for “menstruation troubles” and also to induce miscarriages. It was also used to treat hemorrhages. The Catawba used a drink from the plant to treat heart trouble. Ojibwe used the flowers to make a tea to break fevers.
A tea made from the roots of this plant is astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic and emmenagogue. A poultice of the plant is used to treat headaches. The plant was boiled and mixed with tallow to make a balm that could be spread upon sores on the skin. The disk flowers, pulverized, were snuffed up the nostrils to cause the patient to sneeze and thus loosen a cold in the head. Also, the smoke from incense made from the plant was inhaled to treat head colds. It was mixed with other herbs to treat inflammation of the nose and throat. It was used for as an eye medicine to treat “dimness of sight” and also as an aid for kidneys or the gout.
“It is diuretic, without being offensive to the stomach… In great repute as a remedy in calculus and in nephritic diseases. It was a favorite prescription in Philadelphia in dropsy, and Dr. Wista recommends it in hydrothorax complications with gout… Once ounce of the plant to be administered in infusion or decoction of one pint in twenty-four hours.”
World Baking Day is a day that is all about celebrating the glory that is baked goods.
People have been baking for thousands of years. Bread baking goes all the way back to 600 BC in Ancient Greece. The Egyptians were the first to use yeast when baking bread. During the 16th and 17th centuries, baking was transformed by access to an abundance of syrups, spices, and currants discovered through globalized trade. Watch a brief history of baking throughout the world.
For a truly homemade baking endeavor, I encourage you to forage for some, perhaps all, of the ingredients you’ll need for your selected recipe. For a great resource regarding wildcrafted baking ingredients, I encourage you to thoroughly read How to Make Cookies after the Apocalypse (Wild Foraged Cookies) from the Practical Self Reliance blog. Ashley’s excellent post covers all topics associated with baking: flour alternatives and supplements, sweeteners, fat sources, binders, spices, and leavening sources. The comprehensive post also provides a list of foraged cookie recipes that you may need to consider should an actual zombie apocalypse ever occur.
Foraging Calendar: (Click on table to enlarge for viewing)
Looking for helpful information regarding foraging for those essential ingredients? Read on!
Always be certain that the species you collect is edible and that what you collect is indeed the species you were seeking.
Need-to-Know Information regarding the Targeted Plants:
Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) = ripened fruit; good source of vitamins A, C, and E, contain high levels of flavonoids and essential fatty acids, a rich source of lycopene, and it has strong antioxidant activity
Autumn-olive ripened fruit
Where found: Open areas: successional fields, pastures, hedge rows, utility rights-of-way, thickets
Tall shrub (generally 10-20 feet) that branches frequently; it is usually a little taller than wide
Young branches are silvery green to brown and covered with small scales
Alternate leaves are up to 3″ long and 1¼” across, and are elliptical, oblong or ovate with smooth margins, blunt tips, and wedge-shaped to rounded bottoms
Lower surface of leaf is whitish green to white and densely covered with small silvery scales
Drupe-like fleshy fruits are silvery bright red (when fully ripened), about 1/3″ long, and ovoid in shape – View Foraging for Wild Edibles: Autumnberries for info about foraging for ripened fruit
Canes are green where there is new growth at the tips, otherwise they are brown or reddish brown and have visible ridges and stout thorns
Alternate leaves are usually trifoliate or palmately compound with long petioles
Berries are ready for picking when they are dark black in color and look quite plump – View Foraging for Wild Edibles: Blackberries for info about foraging for ripened fruit.
Where Found: Moist rich woodlands; Low woodland borders, swamps or soggy thickets
Fiddleheads emerge in clusters
Stem is smooth (no “wool”) and bright green with a deep groove inside
Feathery-brown, paper-like material covers the sides of each “fiddlehead” coil
Will remain tightly coiled until they reach a height of about 4-6”
American Hazelnut (Corylus americana) and Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) = nuts; Fully ripened when shell (not outside husk) is brown in color; each hazelnut kernel is 50-75% oil and a rich source of mono- and polyunsaturated fats that contain a good amount of omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, such as oleic acid – View Foraging for Wild Edibles: Hazelnuts for info about foraging for these nuts.
Hazelnut harvest (American on left, Beaked on right)
American Hazelnut:
Where Found: Woods borders and thickets
Deciduous, rounded, multi-stemmed, thicket-forming shrub that typically grows 6-16′ tall
Tips of twigs are hairy and leaves have double-toothed margins
Nut enclosed in a pair of hairy leaf-like bracts (involucres) with ragged edges
Beaked Hazelnut:
Where Found: Woods borders and thickets
Deciduous, rounded, multi-stemmed, thicket-forming shrub that typically grows 6-16′ tall
Tips of twigs are hairless or few hairs and leaves have double-toothed margins
Nut enclosed in a pair of hairy bracts (involucres) that join together to form a long narrow beak
Fully ripened when shell is brown in color – do not wait for husk to turn brown; Excellent source of dietary fiber, protein, manganese, copper, magnesium, zinc, and Thiamin; nutmeat is a high-energy food because it contains 66% oil that is rich source of mono- and polyunsaturated fats and contains good amount of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids – View Foraging for Wild Edibles: Hickory Nuts for info about foraging for these nuts.
First harvest of 2022 – mix of Pignut Hickory (Carya glabra) and Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) nuts
Pignut Hickory:
Where Found: Dry woods
60-80′ tall tree with single long straight trunk
Ascending to spreading alternate branches with pinnately compound leaves
Trunk bark is gray to gray-brown and somewhat rough with elongated ridges that have flattened tops and shallow furrows
Husks are thin, smooth and hairless and comprised of four segments; tan shell of the nut is ovoid and slightly flattened in shape
Shagbark Hickory:
Where Found: Mature woods and fencerows
60-80′ tall tree with single long straight trunk
Upper branches ascending, middle branches widely spreading, and lower branches descending with pinnately compound leaves
Trunk bark is light to medium gray, rough textured, fissured, and shaggy from narrow plates that peel away from the trunk at their tips and/or bottoms
Husk divided into 4 segments that are indented at their margins, providing the fruit with a ribbed appearance; nut of each fruit is light tan and slightly 4-angled
Jerusalem Artichoke (AKA Sunchokes) (Helianthus tuberosus) = root; Unlike most root vegetables, these tubers consist mainly of inulin (7 to 30% by weight) instead of starch and sucrose – Inulin is converted to fructose when pickled; Sunchokes also have a number of vitamins and minerals including niacine, thiamine, vitamin B6, and vitamin C
Where Found: Roadside ditches, stream banks, and wet fields
Dig the roots with a digging fork, shovel or hori hori knife; be sure to go deep, as you may find tubers as much as a foot or so down in the dirt – View Jerusalem Artichoke Harvest (beginning @ 3:30) for info on how to dig up the roots.
After harvest, Jerusalem Artichokes may be kept in a paper bag in your fridge’s crisper drawer for a week or two
After cutting or peeling, the tuber flesh will darken, so pickle them as soon as possible.
Where Found: Forests, orchards, yards, and gardens
“Head” or brown chambered top of the fungus resembles a pine cone and is the spore-bearing surface
“Head” is comprised of chambers formed by distinct ridges and pits (unlike false morels, which lack the pits) and is attached directly to the stalk (unlike false morels, which attach to the top of the stalk as if a separate piece)
Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) = ripened fruit; Fruit are high in fiber and contain various substances and micro-nutrients, such as: alkaloids, alkaline salts, proteins and flavonoids (powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory and immune system benefits)
Ripe fruit of Nannyberry
Where Found: Swamps, marshes, roadside ditches, and wet successional fields
Multi-stemmed shrub generally 9-18’ tall with ascending branches that have a tendency to arch
Pairs of opposite leaves serrated along their margins; leaf bases rounded to broadly wedge-shaped, while leaf tips taper abruptly, becoming long and slender
Mature drupes ovoid in shape, dark blue-violet color, and each containing single flattened ovoid seed; fleshy interior somewhat juicy and sweet, tasting like a date – View Foraging for Wild Edibles: Nannyberry for info about foraging.
Where Found: Moist bottomland woodlands, upland woodlands, and savannas
Tree grows 80-120′ tall at maturity, forming an ovoid to globoid crown whose branches are ascending to widely spreading and somewhat crooked, and a tall stout trunk (up to 5′ across) whose thick trunk bark is gray to gray-brown with flat corky ridges and deep irregular furrows
Alternate obovate or broadly elliptic leaves about 4-10″ long and 2½–5″ across with rounded lobes that extend moderately to deeply into the leaf blade and the deepest lobes usually occur along the lower one-half of the blade; upper leaf surface is dark green and smooth, while lower surface is pale gray-green and covered with dense short fine hairs
Nuts are either solitary or occur in pairs on short stalks up to 1″ long and 1½–2½” long and similarly across, becoming brown to grayish brown when ripe; distinctive cups extend at least one-half the length of the nuts, sometimes nearly enclosing them and they are rather knobby in appearance with soft awns up to 1/3″ (8 mm.) in length along the rim of each cup, forming a conspicuous fringe around the nut
Where Found: Swamps (often on ridges and hill tops therein), wet depressions, and thickets
Tree grows 60-80′ tall at maturity, forming ovoid to obovoid crown, and a straight trunk about 2-3½’ across whose trunk bark is brown, gray-brown, or gray, rough-textured, and developing either irregular furrows with flat ridges or large flaky scales
Alternate leathery and stiff leaves about 4-7″ long and 2½-4½” are usually obovate with 4-8 pairs of shallow to moderately deep lobes along their margins that are either rounded or taper to blunt tips; upper leaf surface is medium to dark green and smooth, while the lower surface is whitish green to white and densely covered with short white fine hairs
Nuts are either solitary or occur in pairs on long stalks that are are ¾-1″ long and ½-¾” across, becoming brown when ripe; tan-colored or light gray cup extends to about one-third of the length of an acorn whose scales are somewhat recurved and pointed
Tree grows 60-100′ tall at maturity, forming a globoid to subgloboid crown with widely spreading lower branches and ascending upper branches and a straight trunk whose bark is light gray, shallowly furrowed, and divided into flat narrow plates
Alternate leaves are 4-7″ long and 2-4½” across and broadly elliptic or obovate with 3-5 pairs of deep to medium lobes that have round tips and round sinuses; upper leaf surface is medium green and smooth, while the lower surface is dull light green or gray-green and hairless (or nearly so)
Mature acorns are ½-1″ long, ovoid, greenish brown to light brown; light tan or light gray shallow cap with warty scales extends downward to about one-fourth the length of the acorn
Small tree (typically 10-25′ at maturity) with short trunk and a crown with an ovoid or broadly ovoid outline and whose trunk bark is gray and rough-textured
Usually thorny spur-twigs along the branches and, to a lesser extent, on the trunk; these thorn-like twigs are up to 4″ long and relatively straight
Alternate leaves are 2½–4½” long and 1–2½” across, obovate in shape and tapering somewhat abruptly into long slender tips; upper surface is smooth and it is indented along the veins, while the lower surface is sometimes hairy along the central and primary veins
Fruits are about 1–1¼” across and globoid to broadly ovoid in shape and may be red, orange, or yellow when ripe; fruits are edible with a fleshy yellow interior (tart to slightly sweet or tart) and a large stone in the middle, which is broadly ellipsoid and somewhat flattened in shape with a narrow ridge on one side and a shallow narrow groove on the other
Where Found: Hedgerows, thickets, forest edges, young successional forests, and disturbed soils often in valley bottoms and floodplains
Small tree up to 25′ tall with stout short trunk and widely spreading to ascending branches; grey trunk bark
Smaller branches rather contorted in their growth habit with small stout twigs or spines
Alternate leaves are up to 4″ long and 1¾” across, medium to dark green, ovate to obovate, hairless, sharply toothed along their margins, and whose tip is somewhat elongated; upper surface is slightly wrinkled in appearance, rather than smooth
Fleshy fruits are globoid and about 1″ across, becoming yellow or red (usually the latter) when fully ripened; fruits are fleshy and juicy, becoming sweet when fully mature, and each has a single large stone, which is ovoid and somewhat flattened, tapering at both ends
Fruit of Wild Strawberry – leaves are above the blooms/fruits
Wild Strawberry:
Where Found: Successional fields, pastures, lawns, roadsides, young successional forests, forest openings, disturbed soils, and along the edge of paths
Herbaceous perennial plant is 4-7″ tall, consisting of several trifoliate basal leaves and one or more flower stalks; leaflets are up to 2½” long and 1½” across, obovate or oval in shape, coarsely toothed with rounded tips, smooth and medium to dark green upper surface with variably hairy lower surface, and conspicuous venation
Fruits are up to ½” long and across, globoid or globoid-ovoid in shape, bright red at maturity and whose small seeds are scattered across the surface in sunken pits; fleshy interior has a sweet-tart flavor
Where Found: Young successional forests, thickets, forest edges, edges of dirt roads and paths through forests, and disturbed soils
Herbaceous perennial plant with basal leaves and flowering stalks; Leaflets are 1 to 1½ inches long, ¾ to 1 inch wide, coarsely toothed, nearly hairless on upper surface, prominently veined, oval to egg-shaped, rounded towards the tip and tapered toward the base
Fruit is egg shaped to conic with tiny seeds (achenes) raised on the surface and typically rise above the leaves
Wild Thyme (Thymus pulegioides) = flowers and leaves
Wild Thyme (AKA Creeping Thyme)
Where Found: Dry, sandy soil where there’s plenty of sunlight
Reddish-brown, woody stems and small (¼″ – ½″ long), green, oval, opposite leaves
Develops dense clusters of tiny aromatic pink-purplish flowers at the top of each stem
Plants often found in dense colonies that carpet an area
Where Found: Cultivated ground, fields, pastures, disturbed soils in forests, stream banks, gravel and sand bars in streams, roadsides, and disturbed soils; becomes a weedy species of disturbed soils in open habitats
Herbaceous perennial plant typically 3-8″ tall that often branches abundantly, particularly toward its base
Alternate trifoliate leaves occur along the stems; in the absence of sunlight, the leaflets will droop downward and fold along their central veins – this process reverses itself when sunlight reappears
Individual leaflets are ¼-½” long and similarly across; both surfaces are pale green with the upper surface smooth or nearly so, while the lower surface is covered with short flattened hairs
Small umbels of 2-6 yellow flowers are produced from the axils of leaves, each about ¼” or a little more across
This week, I’m featuring Glaucous Honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
The scientific name Lonicera pays tribute to the 16th century German botanist Adam Lonicer, while dioica means “two houses,” and comes from an initial mistake by Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who assigned this plant with its scientific name, who thought the plant was dioecious, i.e., with male flowers and female flowers on separate plants. The common name of honeysuckle comes from the “honey” or nectar that can be easily sucked from the flower.
Glaucous Honeysuckle is a woody, loosely twining perennial vine, up to ¾” in diameter and 10 feet long, with branches that sprawl or climb on nearby vegetation.
Young stems have a waxy, bluish-white coating (glaucous) while older woody stems are brown or grayish bark with long, fibrous, shredding, peeling strips. Twigs are green and hairless. Branches are twining and may take root when they touch the ground, forming clonal plants.
Leaves are opposite, 1½ to 3½ inches long, 1 to 2½ inches wide, somewhat variable in shape, from lance-elliptical to egg-shaped to widest above the middle (obovate), rounded to blunt at the tip, and mostly rounded at the base. Leaf margins are toothless, hairless and often a bit wavy. The upper surface is dark green and hairless, the lower a paler blue-green color and typically short-hairy, but may be hairless. Besides the leaf pair at the tip of a flowering branch, the next 1 or 2 pairs below that may also be joined around the stem (perfoliate). Otherwise, leaves are stalkless or short stalked; stalks may be hairy. Leaves below flowers are fused together at the base into a single disk-like leaf.
A single cluster of distinctive, red, tubular flowers with yellow stamens are arranged at the tips of one-year-old branches; each cluster consists of 1 to 5 whorls each with 6 stalkless flowers. The whorls are not separated and the flowers are crowded. Flowers are ½ to 1 inch long with a 5 petals fused at the base into a corolla tube then separated ⅓ to ½ of the way to the base into 2 lips; the upper is broad with 4 lobes and the lower is narrow. Flower color is typically deep red to maroon, sometimes yellow and sometimes becoming yellow with age. Outer surface is hairless, inner surface is hairy, especially in the throat.
Glaucous Honeysuckle flowers
Afterwards, the flowers are replaced by round to oval, bright red to orange-red berries that are ¼ to ½ inch long and grow in clusters surrounded by joined upper leaves. Berries are green initially, becoming orange, ultimately red or orange-red when ripe. They do not fall from the plant; instead, they remain on it unless picked off by birds.
There are 3 to 8 ovoid yellow seeds in each berry. The Arikara of the Northern Great Plains inserted these seeds into dried gourds as the noisemakers in rattles that were employed in ceremonial rituals.
The deciduous leaves of Glaucous Honeysuckle become yellow or gold during autumn.
Folklore:
It is said that the meaning of wild honeysuckle flowers indicates “inconstant love,” which seems supported by the belief that the color of flowers corresponds to the specific type of happiness contained in the honeysuckle flower’s meaning. For example, in the language of flowers, white typically represents innocence, yellow represents friendship, pink represents flirtation, and red represents passion. While most Glaucous Honeysuckle blooms are red, sometimes this species exhibits merely yellow blooms.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses:
The fruit of Glaucous Honeysuckle is mildly toxic and not used for food.
The Algonquin, Chippewa, and Meskwaki used Glaucous Honeysuckle to treat fever, tuberculosis, menstrual difficulties, kidney stones, dysuria, venereal disease, and worms and as a cathartic and a diuretic. The Iroquois made a decoction of the vines and used it as an emetic “to throw off effects of love medicine.”
Whatever we may have called the spiraling thingies (as they fluttered down to earth) as kids, we now know them to be winged seeds (called samaras) released by maple trees.
Want to know more about how these unique seeds stay aloft? Watch this video.
Maple samaras come in twos, with their seed pods fused together and the wings spreading from either side. The size and color of the wings and the angle at which they connect will vary among individual samaras, but are helpful indications of tree species.
Red Maple (Acer rubrum) samaras have reddish wings about one inch long and linked at a 60-degree angle.
Red and Silver Maple samaras offer a spring delicacy, whereas those released by Sugar Maple, Striped Maple and Boxelder (Acer negundo), will ripen and fall in early autumn.
Therefore, your foraging opportunity may potentially cover parts of three seasons! Also, it is important to note that while Red Maple samaras are smaller than the other species, many more of these winged seeds are produced on Red Maples than the number of samaras on any other species of maple.
Be sure to pick the seedpods directly from tree branches rather than from the forest floor – they’ll be fresher and, more importantly, less likely to harbor unsafe bacteria or other pathogens.
Maple seeds are easily extracted, though the greener they are, the harder it will be to peel them. However, you will get to the seeds right after peeling the pod off. (Watch a brief TikTok video for a very helpful peeling tip.) Before attempting to peel off seed covering, soak them in a bowl filled with water for an hour or so to make this process easier. Doing so may also help leach out at least some of the inherent bitterness.
After peeling the outer covering of the samara, you’ll find a pod containing the seeds. When they’re young and green, in spring, they’re said to be most tasty. At this time, you can toss them raw into a salad or stir-fry with other young vegetables and sprouts. You may continue eating seeds from maple trees through summer and fall, if you find them. The taste becomes a little bitter as they mature, so roasting or boiling is better for the later seeds.
It is important to know that there are several matters that affect the flavor of seeds; each matters and each varies from tree to tree, from species to species, and also by the size of the seeds (bigger typically have a stronger bitter flavor whereas smaller seeds are known to be sweeter) as well as the time of season collected (sweeter in spring and then become more bitter as they mature and turn brown).
However, if a maple seed turns out to be a little bit too bitter in its raw form, they can be boiled in water to dissipate the bitterness. To do so, bring a pot of water to a boil and dump the seeds in. When the water returns to a boil, drain and repeat. Two or three changes of water may be necessary for the most bitter of those you encounter.
Maple seeds are characterized with an especially high level of magnesium (Mg) due to their high content of chlorophyll in each seed. Maple seeds have a balanced essential amino-acid composition and a relatively high level of methionine and tryptophan when compared with soybeans. Nutritional benefits from noshing on maple seeds include proteins, vitamins, minerals and oils, including Omega 3, 6 and 9. Paul Pitchford’s Healing with Whole Foods states that maple seeds are also a source of Gamma-Linolenic Acid or GLA fatty acid. A 2015 research study found that Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) contained about 2.5% GLA. (However, and as a point of reference, the oil of Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a traditional source of GLA wherein it is marketed as a nutritional supplement in over 30 countries and contains 10 – 12% GLA.)
Now that your harvest is prepared, be sure to give Roasted Maple Seeds a try!
In recognition of World Cocktail Day, I want to invite you to join me in sipping and savoring your favorite cocktail later today! Moreover, I want to encourage you to experiment over this next year and then plan to celebrate next World Cocktail Day by serving your own foraged, homemade cocktail to your adult family members and friends. How? Read on!
What follows is a calendar for when to forage for certain wild edibles along with information and recipes about how to use them to make some delicious and truly unique cocktails as well as other adult beverages.
Always be certain that the species you collect is edible and that what you collect is indeed the species you were seeking.
Foraging Calendar for the Ingredients of Adult Beverages:
(click on each table for easier reading)
Recipes for Your Culinary Consideration Featuring Your Foraged Wild Edibles:
Winter Infused Gin = berries from Eastern Red Cedar and a sprig of any pine, spruce or fir (including Eastern Hemlock) listed below – never useYew (Taxus baccata), which is deadly poisonous!
Conifers (pine, spruce or fir from the species listed below) (newest needles in May)
Conifer Infused Vodka = conifer needles, such as pine, spruce or fir (including Eastern Hemlock) – never use Yew, which is deadly poisonous!
Winter Infused Gin = berries from Eastern Red Cedar and a sprig of any pine, spruce or fir (including Eastern Hemlock) – never useYew (Taxus baccata), which is deadly poisonous!
Mint (young leaves anytime between June-September)
Need-to-Know Information regarding the Targeted Plants:
Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) = ripened fruit; good source of vitamins A, C, and E, contain high levels of flavonoids and essential fatty acids, a rich source of lycopene, and it has strong antioxidant activity
Autumn-olive ripened fruit
Where found: Open areas: successional fields, pastures, hedge rows, utility rights-of-way, thickets
Tall shrub (generally 10-20 feet) that branches frequently; it is usually a little taller than wide
Young branches are silvery green to brown and covered with small scales
Alternate leaves are up to 3″ long and 1¼” across, and are elliptical, oblong or ovate with smooth margins, blunt tips, and wedge-shaped to rounded bottoms
Lower surface of leaf is whitish green to white and densely covered with small silvery scales
Drupe-like fleshy fruits are silvery bright red (when fully ripened), about 1/3″ long, and ovoid in shape – View Foraging for Wild Edibles: Autumnberries for info about foraging for ripened fruit
Canes are green where there is new growth at the tips, otherwise they are brown or reddish brown and have visible ridges and stout thorns
Alternate leaves are usually trifoliate or palmately compound with long petioles
Berries are ready for picking when they are dark black in color and look quite plump – View Foraging for Wild Edibles: Blackberries for info about foraging for ripened fruit.
Blue Ridge Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum), Early Low Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium), and Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) = ripened fruit; Fully ripened when dark blue or blue-black in color; excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese and other trace minerals, iron, and a number of antioxidants (antioxidants are highly concentrated in the deep-blue pigments of wild blueberries)
ripe Highbush Blueberry fruit
Blue Ridge Blueberry:
Where found: Hardwood forests and edges of forests
Erect shrub with alternate branching that generally grows up to 20” tall
Twigs typically green or greenish brown
Early Low Blueberry:
Where found: Dry fields and clearings
Low spreading shrub with alternate branching that generally grows up to 12” tall
Twigs are green or with reddish tinge
In best habitat, may become practically the only species covering large areas
Where found: Waste places, disturbed ground, fields, and roadsides
Grows up to 6 feet tall with multiple branches
Lower leaves are heart-shaped with very wavy margins; all leaves dark green above and woolly below
Deep taproot, up to 12 inches deep
Great Burdock:
Where found: Waste places, disturbed ground, fields, and roadsides
Grows up to 10 feet tall with multiple branches
Large, wavy-edged leaves that are hairy underneath
Extremely deep taproot, up to 3 feet deep
Common Cattail (Typha latifolia) and Narrow-leaved Cattail (Typha angustifolia) = young shoots; Best collected when two to four feet tall – cut them off at or just below the water level and peel back the two main outer leaves, then grab the other inner leaves and pull gently to remove the tender pure white center section (usually first 4-10”)
CAUTION:Do not collect shoots of Iris (Iris pseudacorus or Iris versicolor) and Sweetflag (Acorus calamus) – both are poisonous! NOTE: Individual leaves of Iris are flat as they fan out from a central point and individual leaves of a single Sweetflag plant emerge from different points off its rootstock, whereas Cattail leaves emerge from a single cylindrical sheath.
Where Found: Rocky summits, bluffs above ravines and lakes, ledges, successional fields, and pastures; grows best in open sites with thin, rocky or sandy dry soils
Evergreen coniferous tree typically 30-80′ tall at maturity, forming a short trunk and a crown that is ovoid, oblongoid, or conical in shape; trunk usually undivided at the base, although it may form 2 or more major branches above that are ascending and abundantly branched in various directions
Trunk bark is usually reddish brown, thin, and fibrous, tearing off in linear strips
Two kinds of hairless leaves that become dark green at maturity: awl-shaped are 1/8–1/2″ long and linear in shape and scale-shaped are typically the dominant type of leaf that are 1/16–1/8″ long and lanceolate-ovate in shape
Individual waxy-fleshy seed cones are about ¼” across, globoid, and berry-like in appearance; they are sweet-tasting and resinous, each typically containing 1-2 bony seeds about 1/8″ long
Where Found: Edges of streams, floodplain forests, alluvial thickets, and old home sites
Basal leaves are linear with parallel venation, tapering gradually to a sword-like point; they have a tendency to bend down and outward around the middle, and are somewhat floppy in appearance
One or more stout leafless flowering stalks emerge from center of leaves and are usually much taller than the leaves; each stalk has 10-20 flowers with individual flowers opening successively and each lasting only one day
Common Elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis) = individual flowers removed from flowerhead
Common Elderberry
Where Found: Marshes, thickets, and stream banks
Deciduous shrub about 4-12′ tall that is usually multistemmed and arching, creating a relatively loose broad crown
On larger and older woody stems, the bark is light grayish brown and warty in appearance from scattered short lenticels (air pores)
Pairs of opposite compound leaves are about 6-12″ long and a little less across comprised of 5-9 leaflets (2-4 pairs of opposite leaflets and one terminal leaflet) whose upper surface is medium to dark green and smooth, while the lower leaflet surface is light green and smooth or either slightly hairy along the major veins or short-haired throughout
Upper stems terminate in umbel-like panicles of flowers that span 3-10″ across with each individual white flower up to ¼” across
Shrubs or small trees, most of which grow 15 to 50 feet tall, with alternate branches often with thorns typically ~1-2” long and whose most common type of bark is smooth grey in young individuals, developing shallow longitudinal fissures with narrow ridges in older trees
Leaves grow spirally arranged on long shoots, and in clusters on spur shoots on the branches or twigs; most species have lobed or serrated margins and are somewhat variable in shape
Fruit is smooth and round (up to 1” diameter) resembling an apple with the color ranging from yellow to red (most common) to dark purple; texture and flavor of fruit also highly variable
American Hazelnut (Corylus americana) and Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) = nuts; Fully ripened when shell (not outside husk) is brown in color; each hazelnut kernel is 50-75% oil and a rich source of mono- and polyunsaturated fats that contain a good amount of omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, such as oleic acid – View Foraging for Wild Edibles: Hazelnuts for info about foraging for these nuts.
Hazelnut harvest (American on left, Beaked on right)
American Hazelnut:
Where Found: Woods borders and thickets
Deciduous, rounded, multi-stemmed, thicket-forming shrub that typically grows 6-16′ tall
Tips of twigs are hairy and leaves have double-toothed margins
Nut enclosed in a pair of hairy leaf-like bracts (involucres) with ragged edges
Beaked Hazelnut:
Where Found: Woods borders and thickets
Deciduous, rounded, multi-stemmed, thicket-forming shrub that typically grows 6-16′ tall
Tips of twigs are hairless or few hairs and leaves have double-toothed margins
Nut enclosed in a pair of hairy bracts (involucres) that join together to form a long narrow beak
Where Found: Cool forests with moderate soil moisture often occurring with hardwoods and Eastern White Pine
Coniferous tree usually with single trunk up to 5′ across and up to 120′ tall with conical crown and lateral branches having a tendency to arrange themselves in horizontal layers
Trunk bark is gray or gray-brown consisting of broad flat plates and shallow longitudinal furrows
Needle-like evergreen flattened leaves are ½-¾” long with blunt tips and arranged primarily in opposite pairs along lateral sides of twigs
Amur Honeysuckle – harvest the white flowers before they become cream-colored
Amur Honeysuckle:
Where Found: Roadsides, deciduous forests, and thickets
Shrub up to 20′ tall, 15′ across, and abundantly branched with gray bark that has flat scaly ridges and narrow grooves
Opposite lanceolate-ovate to ovate leaves are 2–3½” long and 1–1½” across with smooth margins; upper surfaces are medium green and hairless, while their lower surfaces are pale green and hairless to slightly pubescent
Pairs of nearly stemless flowers develop from the axils of the leaves, each of which is about ¾–1″ long and consisting of a tubular corolla with 5 widely spreading lobes
Bell’s Honeysuckle – harvest the pink blooms, not the yellow ones
Bell’s Honeysuckle:
Where Found: Typically disturbed areas that may include woodlands, woodland openings and borders, powerline rights-of-way through wooded areas, banks of streams and rivers, thickets, roadsides, areas along railroads, and abandoned or fallow fields
Multistemmed shrub that becomes 3-12′ tall and often as wide as it is tall, being well-rounded overall, whose abundant branches are somewhat arching to spreading
Older coarse rough bark is brownish gray, often peels into narrow strips
Opposite lanceolate-ovate, lanceolate-oblong, or elliptic leaves are 1–2½” long with smooth margins and whose upper surface is medium green and hairless, while lower leaf surface is whitish green and short-haired, especially along the larger veins
Pairs of flowers about ¾–1″ across develop from the axils of leaves on short stems, each consisting of a light pink corolla with spreading lobes
Photo Credit: Mokkie, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Harvest the white blooms, not the yellow ones
Japanese Honeysuckle:
Where Found: Railroad banks, roadsides, forest edges, thickets, forests, and disturbed soils
Perennial vine that becomes woody with age and up to 60′ in length, often with a tendency to sprawl across the ground in disorderly heaps
Young stems are green and pubescent, becoming purplish brown and more smooth with age
Opposite oval or ovate leaves are up to 3″ long and 2″ across with smooth margins
Flowers about 1–1½” long develop from axils of the leaves, either individually or usually in pairs with short stems and consisting of a corolla with well-defined upper and lower lips
Morrow’s Honeysuckle – harvest the white blooms, not the yellow ones
Morrow’s Honeysuckle:
Where Found: Bottomland forests and thickets, deciduous forests, successional fields and shrublands, roadsides, and disturbed areas – a very common and highly invasive shrub forming dense thickets in forest understories
Shrub is about 6-10′ tall and much branched whose greyish brown bark that develops shallow longitudinal fissures
Opposite oblong-ovate or oblong-lanceolate leaves about 2-3″ long and ¾–1″ across with blunt tips, rounded bottoms, and smooth margins; upper surfaces are initially dull greyish green, becoming medium green later while lower surfaces are greenish white from a dense short-pubescence
Pairs of fragrant flowers develop from the axils of the leaves with white corollas that span about ¾–1″ long and across, divided into 5 widely spreading slender lobes from a narrow tubular base
Tatarian Honeysuckle – harvest the young, opened blooms, not those that have withered
Tatarian Honeysuckle:
Where Found: Thickets, roadsides, and edges of fields
Multibranched shrub is 5-12′ tall with long arching branches (often hollow and fragile) that divide occasionally into smaller leafy branches, creating an irregular rounded crown
Bark is gray to grayish brown with narrow longitudinal ridges that becomes shaggy from shredded strips of bark
Opposite leaves occur along the branches that are oval-ovate in shape and 1½-2½” long and ¾-1½” across with smooth margins; upper hairless surface is dull medium green, while the lower hairless surface is pale green
Pairs of rosy pink flowers develop from the upper axils of the leaves with each flower being about ¾” long and ¾” across and consisting of a corolla with 5 lobes that are long and narrow
Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) = young shoots (without leaves) up to 6” tall; Excellent source of vitamins A and C, iodine, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, and resveratrol (same substance as that found in the skin of red grapes and which is part of a group of compounds called polyphenols that are thought to help reduce inflammation, lower LDL or “bad” cholesterol)
Japanese Knotweed young shoots
Where Found: Waste places and roadsides
Hollow stems with distinct raised nodes that make it resemble bamboo
Shoots may be harvested up to 12” tall, but must remove fibrous outer shell before cooking or eating – View How to Harvest and Eat Japanese Knotweed (beginning @ 0:34) for info about foraging.
Where Found: Marshes, wet thickets, and stream banks, often in somewhat weedy thickets
Perennial herbaceous plant that grows to a height of about 18 inches (460 mm) with a hairy stem bearing opposite pairs of lanceolate or ovate leaves with wedge-shaped bases, toothed margin, and a hairy surface
Flowers are borne in spiral spikes at the tips of the shoots with each bluish, pink or white flower having four petals
Where Found: Swamps, marshes, roadside ditches, and wet successional fields
Multi-stemmed shrub generally 9-18’ tall with ascending branches that have a tendency to arch
Pairs of opposite leaves serrated along their margins; leaf bases rounded to broadly wedge-shaped, while leaf tips taper abruptly, becoming long and slender
Mature drupes ovoid in shape, dark blue-violet color, and each containing single flattened ovoid seed; fleshy interior somewhat juicy and sweet, tasting like a date – View Foraging for Wild Edibles: Nannyberry for info about foraging.
Where Found: Wide variety of wet to dry habitats including forests, successional fields and shrublands, lake edges, and hummocks or rises in swamps and bogs
Coniferous tree typically 80-120′ at maturity with unbranched central trunk up to 4′ in diameter and whorls of lateral branches that are more or less horizontal forming a conical crown that becomes more flat-topped and irregular with age
Trunk bark is dark gray and rough, fissured into irregular square plates
Two types of needles that are arranged in clusters of five: new growth on the tips of twigs have green needles up to 1″ long and green to blue-green needles 3-5″ long on mature twigs
Where Found: Deep sandy soils or in pine barrens, often in plantations
Coniferous tree up to 100 feet high with straight trunk of 30 to 40 inches in diameter and an open rounded crown on older trees after the lower branches fall away (young trees have pyramidal shape) and whose upper branches usually ascending while lower branches may be descending
Trunk bark divided into cross-checked reddish-brown plates with resinous pitch frequently encountered on the bark
Needles found at outer tips of branches (interior section of branches often devoid of needles) in clusters of two about 4 to 6 inches long
Where Found: Common in pine barrens on deep sandy soils and also on dry rocky soils or thin soils over bedrock on hilltops, bluffs, crests, and steep south and west facing slopes
Coniferous tree of an irregular shape typically 20-100′ at maturity whose trunk usually straight with a slight curve and covered in large, thick, irregular plates of bark and whose branches are usually twisted
Needles are clusters of three about 2-1⁄4 to 5 inches in length, stout, and often slightly twisted
Pineapple Weed (Matricaria discoidea) = flowers and leaves
Pineapple Weed
Where Found: Barnyards and corrals, pastures, cultivated ground, successional fields, disturbed areas, waste places, and roadsides
Annual herbaceous plant about 3-12″ tall, branching frequently and having the appearance of a miniature bush
Fern-like leaves up to 2″ long and ¾” across alternate along the hairless stems
Flowerheads form from the axils of the upper leaves, each about 1/3″ across and shaped like a dome and consists of numerous greenish yellow disk florets and no ray florets
Foliage and flowerheads have pineapple-like odor when they are bruised or crushed
Where Found: Generally dry soils at edges of forests, woodlands, edges of paths and dirt roads through forests, successional fields, and forests openings
Shrub grows about ½-3′ tall, branching occasionally; usually erect, but taller plants sometimes sprawl
Prickles on the woody stems are slender and straight, and pairs of prickles often occur on opposite sides of the stems
Alternate compound leaves usually consist of 5-7 leaflets (oddly pinnate) with each ovate leaflet about 2″ long and 1″ across with strongly serrated margins and two prominent stipules at the base of each compound leaf that terminate in a single pointed tip; underside of each leaflet is smooth or only sparsely hairy
Bright red fruits often slightly flattened when compared to other wild roses, although not always
Rugosa Rose hips Photo Credit: W.carter, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rugosa Rose:
Where Found: Maritime dunes and thickets, successional fields, and disturbed soils
Shrub grows about 2-6′ tall
Branches covered with straight prickles of varying lengths
Alternate compound leaves are widely spreading, thick-textured, and consist of 5-9 leaflets (oddly pinnate) with each oblong-ovate leaflet about 1-2½” long and about one-half as much across with rounded teeth along their margins; upper surfaces of the leaflets are dark green, hairless, shiny, and conspicuously wrinkled along their veins, while their lower surfaces are more whitish green from dense hairs
Bright orange-red or red subgloboid fruits about ¾-1¼” across that have persistent sepals
Where Found: Swamps, edges of streams and lakes, and marshes
Shrub grows about 3-8′ tall with branching woody stems that may be erect, ascending, or arching, and they are often crooked
Prickles are about ¼” long, curved, and rather enlarged at the base and are widely spaced, occurring individually or in pairs, with paired prickles occuring either on opposite sides of the stems, or they form a 90º angle from each other
Alternate compound leaves consist of 5-9 leaflets (usually 7; oddly pinnate) with each broadly elliptic or ovate leaflets about 1¼-2½” long and ½-1″ across and with serrated margins; upper surfaces of the leaflets are medium to dark green and smooth, while the lower surface is pale green and either smooth or short-haired
Red globoid fruits about 1/3″ across whose surface is glandular-hairy, although it may become smooth with age
Where Found: Cultivated ground, disturbed sites, waste places, lawns and successional fields with thin or sandy soils, bedrock outcrops in forests openings, and rocky summits; often forms vegetative colonies
Herbaceous perennial plant consists of a rosette of basal leaves, from which occasional flowering stalks are produced
Basal leaves typically span 4-6″ across, while the flowering stalks are about ¾–1½’ tall and more or less erect; each arrow-shaped hairless basal leaf is about 3″ long and 1″ across with smooth margins and a stem that is about as long as the leaf blade
Where Found: Cultivated ground, fields, pastures, disturbed soils in forests, stream banks, gravel and sand bars in streams, roadsides, and disturbed soils; becomes a weedy species of disturbed soils in open habitats
Herbaceous perennial plant typically 3-8″ tall that often branches abundantly, particularly toward its base
Alternate trifoliate leaves occur along the stems; in the absence of sunlight, the leaflets will droop downward and fold along their central veins – this process reverses itself when sunlight reappears
Individual leaflets are ¼-½” long and similarly across; both surfaces are pale green with the upper surface smooth or nearly so, while the lower surface is covered with short flattened hairs
Small umbels of 2-6 yellow flowers are produced from the axils of leaves, each about ¼” or a little more across
Where Found: Fields, waste places, disturbed areas, and rocky open areas
Perennial unbranched herbaceous plant about 1-2′ tall whose central stem is pale green and more or less covered with white cobwebby hairs and topped with a flattened cluster of flowers
Alternate fern-like leaves are up to 6″ long and 1″ across, becoming slightly smaller as they ascend the stems and are either upward-angled or curled, crinkled, or flat
Each individual flower about ¼” across, consisting of 5 white ray florets and a similar number of disk florets that are cream or pale yellow
World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on the second Saturday in May as migratory birds journey to nesting sites across North America. The intent is to introduce the public to migratory birds and their flyways in the Americas and also to highlight the need to conserve migratory birds and protect their habitats. See this year’s pamphlet highlighting “Water: Sustaining Bird Life.”
Of the more than 300 species of birds that migrate, the family with the most species is the Emberizidae. This family includes the wood warblers, tanagers, orioles, and sparrows. This family alone accounts for more than 25% of all Neotropical migratory birds, or Neotropical migrants.
A Neotropical migrant is a bird that breeds in Canada and the United States during our summer and spends our winter in Mexico, Central America, South America or the Caribbean islands. There are about 200 species of Neotropical migratory birds, the majority of which are songbirds (such as warblers, thrushes, tanagers, and vireos), but there are also many shorebirds (such as sandpipers, plovers, and terns), some raptors (such as hawks, kites and vultures), and a few types of waterfowl (such as teal). All of these species are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 based on their international importance.
View the Bird Migration Explorer to learn more about where the various flyways are located across the Americas and which groups of birds (e.g., landbirds, raptors, shorebirds, waterbirds, and waterfowl) use which flyways.
The Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve is one of the local temporary stops for some at-risk species of Neotropical migratory birds that may be seen during spring/fall migrations. Those species include: Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera), Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea), and Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis). To see them for yourself, consider grabbing your binoculars and favorite bird ID book and participate in tomorrow’s birdwatching outing at the preserve beginning at 7:30am.
This week, I’m featuring Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
PLEASE NOTE: Culturally Significant Plant = Ethnobotanic Uses: Chokecherry covered a large geographic range in North America, so a majority of tribes used it to treat a variety of health problems. Read more.
Chokecherry is a pioneer species that colonizes disturbed areas where some of the woody vegetation has been damaged, killed, or removed. The woody root system is shallow and spreading from which dense thickets of clonal plants may form.
Identification Tips:
Chokecherry is a deciduous suckering shrub or small tree that grows 8-25′ tall at maturity. It has a short trunk about 2-6″ across, while its crown is irregular with ascending to widely spreading branches. On older trees, trunk bark is gray or grayish brown and somewhat scaly or wrinkled, otherwise it is mostly brown and smooth with prominent lenticels (lateral air pores). The branches and twigs are brown to reddish brown and smooth with prominent lenticels. Young shoots are light green, reddish green, or brownish green, and smooth. Alternate leaves occur along twigs and young shoots. These leaves are 2-4″ long and ¾–2″ across; they are ovate to oblong in shape, while their margins are serrated. The crushed foliage of this woody plant has a strong bitter-almond scent.
Chokecherry is similar to another native species, Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), in producing showy racemes of flowers, although the racemes of Chokecherry are slightly shorter in length. While Black Cherry can become a full-sized tree, Chokecherry is a shrub or small tree. These two species can be distinguished by their leaves: the leaves Chokecherry have a finely serrated margin with closely spaced sharp teeth, while the leaves of Black Cherry have numerous blunt edges along their margins.
Cylindrical racemes of 10-25 flowers that are 2-4 inches long and about one inch in diameter may droop downward; they grow at the end of last years twig growth. The flowers may appear before the leaves are fully formed. Each flower is about ½” across when it is fully open with 5 spreading white oval petals; the face of each petal is somewhat concave. The sepals are initially light green, but they later become yellow, causing the centers of the flowers to appear yellow. The pedicels of the flowers and the central stalks of racemes are light green and smooth. The flowers bloom for about 1-2 weeks; they have an almond-sweet fragrance.
Chokecherry raceme of flowers
Afterwards, the flowers are replaced by drupes that become mature during the summer. Mature drupes have a globular shape, about 1/3 inch in diameter, and become dark purple or black when fully ripened.
WARNING: The leaves, stems and seeds all contain a cyanogenic glycoside that is poisonous to humans. Children have been poisoned and have died after ingesting large quantities of ripened fruit that still contained those seeds. Chokecherry fruit can be eaten when fully ripened after the seed (a single pit) has been removed.
Chokecherry fruit has a very astringent or puckery taste, being both somewhat sour and somewhat bitter, especially when eaten raw; hence the common name of “choke” cherry. Even so, after being cooked, they can be made into delicious preserves and jelly because of their unique flavor. In fact, they are my favorite wild cherry when prepared in that manner.
For many American Indian tribes of the Northern Rockies, Northern Plains, and boreal forest region of Canada and the United States, chokecherries are the most important fruit in their traditional diets and are part of pemmican, a staple traditional food.
Native peoples and settlers used chokecherry bark and roots to make sedatives, blood-fortifying tonics, appetite stimulants and medicinal teas for treating coughs, sore throats, tuberculosis, malaria, stomachaches and intestinal worms. The bark of chokecherry root is made into an asperous-textured concoction used to ward off or treat colds, fever and stomach maladies.
“They then halted for dinner; Captain Lewis, who had been for some days afflicted with dysentery, was now attacked with violent pains, attended by a high fever, and was unable to go on. He therefore camped for the night under some willow-boughs. Having brought no medicine, he determined to try an experiment with the small twigs of the choke-cherry, which being stripped of their leaves and cut into pieces about two inches long, were boiled in pure water, till they produced a strong black decoction of an astringent bitter taste; a pint of this he took at sunset, and repeated the dose an hour afterward. By ten o’clock he was perfectly relieved from pain, a gentle perspiration ensued, his fever abated, and in the morning he was quite recovered.”
Wildlife Value:
Chokecherry is widely regarded as an important wildlife food plant.
The flowers are cross-pollinated primarily by bees, including honeybees, bumblebees, Andrenid bees, and Halictid bees (including metallic green sweat bees). Syrphid flies and other flies are also common visitors of the flowers. Both nectar and pollen are available as rewards for these visitors.
Chokecherry and other cherry species are also important sources of food to many vertebrate animals, including birds and mammals. The fruit is consumed by many birds, including Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula), Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus), Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea), Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), and Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina).
Lady Bird Johnson said wildflowers “give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours.”
Always the first full week of May, National Wildflower Week commemorates the colorful blossoms that bring our landscapes to life.
To celebrate this week, I encourage you to visit one of our area nature preserves, parks or trails to view the wildflowers now in bloom locally. Each day of this week-long celebration, I’ll feature a local native wildflower that you may find in bloom at this time.
To closeout this week’s focus on wildflowers and for your self-guided search today, I suggest that you go looking for Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum). See below for my suggestions as to where locally you can find this native small tree.
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Striped Maple is a slow-growing understory tree which rarely grows over twenty or thirty feet tall and is often found growing as a shrub. The trunk is generally short and forked, usually divided into a few ascending, arching branches, which results in a broadly columnar shape and an uneven, flat-topped crown.
Striped Maple bark is smooth and green or greenish brown when it is young, featuring long white or pale vertical lines and creating a striking appearance, which is the basis of its common name. The bark turns reddish-brown with dark vertical lines as it matures.
Like other maples, Striped Maples have opposite, lobed leaves that are 3–6 inches long and 2.5–4.5 inches broad. The leaves of the Striped Maple are large, thin, and somewhat papery; they usually have three triangular, forward-pointing lobes, with a large central lobe. The margins of the leaves are finely toothed. The base of the leaf is rounded or slightly heart-shaped. Striped Maple leaves are a deep yellow-green and smooth above, turning yellow in autumn.
Striped Maple flowers in late spring or early summer, following leaf development. The flowers are small and greenish yellow, arranged in loose drooping clusters.
The fruit is a samara and they are somewhat reddish in early development, changing later to tan. The fruits have widely spaced wings (~145°) and are about 3/4 inch long, maturing in late summer and early fall.
Where Found:
Striped Maple is an understory tree of mixed species woodlands found in moist soils (acid soil preferred) with moderate light. Striped Maple is a shade-tolerant species that grows best in dappled shade.
Striped Maple is among the most shade-tolerant of deciduous trees, capable of germinating and persisting for years as a small understory shrub, then growing rapidly to its full height when a gap opens up in the forest. However, it does not grow high enough to become a canopy tree, and once the gap above it is closed by other tree species, it responds by flowering and fruiting profusely.
Striped Maples help create vertical diversity of multiple layers of habitat within a forest. Multiple layers create a more balanced ecosystem providing both food and shelter for wildlife. For instance, the Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) prefers to nest in sites that offer a dense understory layer, including shrubs such as Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides) and small trees such as Striped Maple and Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum).
Striped Maple is an important food plant for a variety of wildlife: Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) eat the seeds; North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)frequently eat the bark; White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) browse the leaves and twigs though it provides relatively low energy as a food source; andRuffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) consume the buds in spring.
Striped Maples are also very useful to wildlife in that these small trees help create vertical diversity – a forest canopy with multiple layers. Multiple layers create a more balanced ecosystem providing both food and shelter for wildlife. For instance, the Black-throated Blue Warbler prefers to nest in sites that offer a dense understory layer, including shrubs such as Hobblebush and small trees such as Striped Maple and Mountain Maple.
Bees in the genus Andrena, especially Andrena milwaukeensis, are considered the most important pollinators of Striped Maple. However, flies are the most abundant visitors to this species.
Members of the genus Acer serve as hosts of the Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season.
How to Grow Your Own:
Success with propagation by softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings is often low and propagation from seeds is often not much more successful. Grafting is not usually advised for this species.
Lady Bird Johnson said wildflowers “give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours.”
Always the first full week of May, National Wildflower Week commemorates the colorful blossoms that bring our landscapes to life.
To celebrate this week, I encourage you to visit one of our area nature preserves, parks or trails to view the wildflowers now in bloom locally. Each day of this week-long celebration, I’ll feature a local native wildflower that you may find in bloom at this time.
To continue this week’s focus on wildflowers and for your self-guided search today, I suggest that you go looking for Small-flowered Crowfoot (AKA Kidney-leaved Crowfoot) (Ranunculus abortivus). See below for my suggestions as to where locally you can find this native forb.
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Small-flowered Crowfoot is an herbaceous plant that grows up to 2′ tall and branches occasionally. The green stems are smooth.
The blades of the basal leaves are up to 2″ long and 2½” across; they are kidney-shaped as shown in the red circle labeled “1” above. Their petioles are up to 3″ long. The lower stem leaves (as shown in the yellow circle labeled “2” above) are up to 2″ long and across on petioles up to 1″ long; they are often deeply divided into 3 rounded lobes. The upper stem leaves (as shown in the blue circle labeled “3” above) are usually lanceolate, oblanceolate, or oblong with smooth margins; sometimes they are shallowly lobed with either rounded or serrated teeth. The blades of the upper stem leaves are up to 1½” long and stemless. All of these leaves are hairless and those along the stem are alternate.
Although there are other small-flowered buttercup species in the eastern United States, this is the most common. It is easy overlooked because it is not a showy species. Each upper stem terminates in 1-3 flowers on individual stalks. Each flower is about ¼” across with five yellow petals that are broadly lanceolate or triangular. The nectaries of the flower are in a pocket around the base of the petals.
The flowers give way to a cluster of seeds (achenes) that elongates to about ¼” in length and becomes ovoid in shape. The small achenes are somewhat flattened and orbicular in shape; their surfaces are shiny brown when mature and they have very small beaks.
Where Found:
Habitats where Small-flowered Crowfoot may be found include open woodlands, woodland borders, areas along woodland paths, degraded meadows, banks of rivers and ditches, pastures and abandoned fields, edges of yards, vacant lots, grassy areas along railroads and roads, and waste areas.
In botany, there is a scale called the “Coefficient of Conservatism.” The scale represents how tolerant a plant is to human disturbances and how representative it is to a pre-settlement natural community of plants. Coefficients of conservatism (“C” or CoC values) are increasingly being used to prioritize natural areas for conservation as well as for the monitoring of outcomes of habitat restoration projects. Small-flowered Crowfoot has a CoC of 6.
SOURCE: Bried, Jason & Strout, Kerry & Portante, Theresa. (2012). Coefficients of conservatism for the vascular flora of New York and New England: inter-state comparisons and expert opinion bias. Northeastern Naturalist. 19. 101-114. 10.2307/41495840.
Floral visitors that suck nectar from the flowers of Small-flowered Crowfoot include ladybird beetles, small bees, and Syrphid flies. Some flies and ladybird beetles feed on the pollen, while some bees collect pollen for their larvae. Ants suck nectar that adheres to the carpels after the petals and sepals fall of the flowers. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) and Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) eat the foliage and seeds of Ranunculus. Some small rodents, including the Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) and Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus), eat the seeds, while the Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) eats the foliage. However, the use of the foliage and seeds as a food source by these animals is rather limited.
How to Grow Your Own:
The seeds of all Ranunculus species need some cold stratification for germination, at least 30 days and some species require 60 days. Sow in flats in the spring and place them in a shady area. Provide a glass/plastic cover. Germination will occur between two weeks to three months. Transplant seedlings to their final location with a spacing of 2 to 24 inches.
This week, I’m featuring Fringed Polygala (Polygaloides paucifolia) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
The species was first described, as Polygala paucifolia, by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in 1802. In 2011, John Richard Abbott divided up part of the genus Polygala into more sharply defined genera.
In botany, there is a scale called the “Coefficient of Conservatism.” The scale represents how tolerant a plant is to human disturbances and how representative it is to a pre-settlement natural community of plants. If a plant species is tolerant of human disturbance and not very choosy about its habitat, the plant has a lower number on this 10-point scale. Species least tolerant of human disturbance and with an affinity for high-quality native habitats are placed in category “10.” Fringed Polygala is typically found in high quality natural communities; in all sorts of mixed and coniferous forests, except the wettest and the driest, most often with birch, aspen, hemlock, and pines; its Coefficient of Conservatism rates a 7 out of 10. Coefficients of conservatism (“C” values) are increasingly being used to prioritize natural areas for conservation as well as for the monitoring of outcomes of habitat restoration projects.
Identification Tips:
Fringed Polygala emerges from prostrate underground stems, and typically grows to 3-6” tall. Stems are smooth, slender and green; toothless oblong leaves (½ to ¾ inch wide and 1 to 1½ inches long) are clustered at the top, appearing to be whorled, but they are not. Small, scale-like leaflets appear on the lower portion of the stem. Leaves have smooth surfaces.
Fringed Polygala (pre-bloom)
Each plant sports one to four scentless flowers. Another common name is “Gaywings” for its brightly colored, winged flowers. This exquisite orchid-like wildflower resembles a tailless, tiny airplane. The flowers are typically a bright magenta or pink color, about ¾-1″ in size; rarely, flowers are white. Each flower is comprised of three petals; two are united to form a tubular structure and the third is keeled (or boat-shaped) and extends a bit further, ending in a delicate yellow or pink fringe (resembling a “pom pom”). The keel encloses the reproductive structures, and when a bug lands on the keel, these structures are exposed for pollination.
Fringed Polygala fertile flower
Besides the showy flowers that are insect-pollinated, there are also inconspicuous flowers that are borne underground and which self-fertilize without opening (called cleistogamous flowers).
The seeds of Fringed Polygala produce a lipid-rich appendage called an elaiosome, which is a nutritious food source for ants. Ants collect the seeds and carry them back to their nest, where they consume the elaiosome and discard the intact and viable seeds in old galleries or refuse tunnels. These refuse areas tend to be high in organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, making them ideal for germinating the discarded Fringed Polygala seeds. The mutually beneficial relationship between this plant and native ants is known as “myrmecochory” or ant farming. The ants benefit from the nutritious food source, while the seeds that are “planted” in ant nests are safe from predation by rodents, avoid competition with parent plants, and have access to the essential nutrients present in the underground nests.
It was once thought that cattle eating this plant in their fodder would produce a lot of milk. A member of the Polygalaceae or Milkwort Family, this and fellow species in the genus Polygala produce compounds reputed to increase milk production in nursing mammals. In fact, Polygala is derived from the Latin “poly” meaning “many, much” and “gala” meaning “milk”.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses:
No known uses as food.
Ethnobotanical references to Gaywings were recorded in James Herrick’s 1977 Iroquois Medical Botany, in which the majority of use was indicated to be as a poultice for skin inflammations such as abscesses, boils, and sores. The botanist C.F. Rafinesque wrote about its internal use as a sudorific (induces sweating) and a restorative, being used in cases of asthma, rheumatism, and edema (swelling of body tissues caused by congestive heart failure).
Wildlife Value:
The odd flowers are an amazing adaptation for efficient pollination. When an insect (mostly bumble bees) lands of the fringed part of the keel seeking nectar, it causes the reproductive organs to push up into the pollinator, thus forcing pollen transfer.
Curious By Nature 
