Chestnuts can be found around the globe but the American chestnut has had a tough history. It was once plentiful and accounted for nearly one-quarter of the hardwoods in the Appalachian Mountains and was a part of the lumber industry. In the early 1900s a blight was accidentally introduced that nearly wiped out this native plant. In recent times hybrids have been developed to produce blight-free trees. You can see the signs of Chestnut blight on the tree trunk in the photo below.

There are some look-alikes such as horse chestnuts and buckeyes whose fruit is similar in appearance but are not related to edible chestnuts. Their seeds contain a poison in their raw state, so it is important to be able to distinguish them from edible chestnuts. An edible chestnut has a husk which is spiny and needle-sharp. The horse chestnut has a husk that is much smoother, with only a few warts.

Once the spiny husk is removed you can eat the chestnuts raw, but they may cause gastrointestinal distress because of their high content of tannic acid so it’s best to boil or roast them for consumption. You can use a knife to make a few slits down the sides that makes it easier to remove.

These days there is a great demand in the commercial market for chestnuts but it is very rewarding to find these tasty nuts in the wild so hopefully you can find them in your region and enjoy the reward of their discovery and consumption!

The stalks, leaves, and flowers are all edible but I like the flowers best as they are slightly sweet when eaten raw. The leaves can be eaten raw as well and are one of few protein sources among foraged plants. Care should be taken to limit consumption of the raw plants as a large quantity can cause stomach upset and bloating. To diminish this effect they can be boiled. Boiling will lessen the nutrition of the plants but the water will contain what has leeched out.

On the medicinal side, red clover has been used for centuries to treat a variety of ailments and is said to help prevent cancer, minimize PMS symptoms, ease respiratory problems, and treats skin conditions. It is known as a blood purifier and is full of vitamins.

The growing season starts mid-May and continues through September or longer. It has been called a two-year perennial plant. when harvesting this or any other plant be sure not to pick all of the blossoms but eave some for future propagation.

Today I set out to collect poles for my teepee for an up-coming event. Although the majority of trees are deciduous here there are also some pine trees which I prefer for their straight lines and light weight. As I was walking through the woods I spotted a pole that had a grape vine entangled around it. I had to cut the vine in order to free the pole and I decided that this would be a great time to see if it indeed would yield water.

Like so many containers of liquids, having only one open end is not efficient in dispensing it’s contents, especially if the opening is small. The way to expedite the flow of liquid is to make another opening to break the vacuum within the container and allow air to flow inside. You can see this provision on gasoline cans with an extra opening available on the opposite side of the spout. In like manner, if you cut a vine through at one end you need to cut the vine higher up to release the water inside.

You can see in the photo how the vine was cut to a point that helps direct the seeping water which I caught straight into my mouth. It came in drips but I imagine that the volume and flow would vary according to the size of the vine and perhaps the season. In any case it actually worked! And I was delighted. I will look forward to testing this with larger vines in the future.

One of the “nuisance” plants that I usually dread in the woods is the briar, also know as bull briar, cat briar, or smilax. It is actually a bush that grows like a vine, having tendrils to aid it in climbing adjacent plants or structures. The long vine-line limbs are armored with thorns and readily snag on clothes and scratch skin. The mature leaves remind me of plantain leaves that have veins running the length of the leaf.

A friend recently informed me that the tips, tendrils, and shoots of Spring are edible and can be eaten raw on the spot or can be harvested to cook back at camp or at home. Since then I have learned that the roots contain starch and are edible as well. The tips and shoots are similar to asparagus in nature when picking them… the most edible parts can be easily snapped off by hand. If it is resistant, move farther out to the end until it snaps off easily.

 
My friend also said that they are best “sauteed with a bit of salt, butter and garlic…not to cook so much as just to warm up…and don’t drown the flavor…tastes like raw peanuts or bean sprouts”. Indeed, they tasted good, but don’t over cook as they with lose their tenderness.

So now I have a more positive regard for briars, knowing that in Spring they bring goodness!

I always enjoy this plant’s beauty and uniqueness but have only recently learned that it is also edible. Like other plants their younger shoots are more pleasant than those of older plants to eat. The leaves are slightly sweet along with a slight “grassy” taste common to most wildcraft edibles. It has an edible small bulb (or corm) that can be found 2-5 inches below the surface. It is suggested that the leaves and bulbs should be harvested sparingly as this plant is slow to reproduce.

 
As a medicinal plant it is an emetic and can be used to cause vomiting but small to moderate amounts can be consumed safely and are quite tasty. It makes a nice treat as you wander in the woods.

Chicken Of The Woods

The Chicken-Of-The-Woods is so colorful! A friend contacted me with his find so that I was able to photograph it before being harvested. He explained that this mushroom was edible when grown on a hard wood base whereas if it were grown on a conifer it is considered inedible. He also mentioned that a small percent of folks (2-3%) could have gastric difficulties when digesting it so initially it would be a good idea to eat a small prepared portion before consuming more. Fortunately I am not in that category! I sautéed mine in butter and yum!

Puffball

These are two of the classic “Foolproof Four” easily identified edible mushrooms as cited in the article “Mushroom Collecting 101” posted by saveourskills.com. This list includes Puffballs, Chicken of the woods, Morel, and Chanterelle. These 4 mushrooms are named because they are very easy to identify and they do not have many poisonous look-a-likes.

I am grateful to have a friend that has experience and expertise in this field. I recommend that you find someone in your area with the same credentials or locate a local mushrooming club to learn more and have a source for positive identification. It is a fascinating and rewarding field of study and I hope to share more of my discoveries in future articles.

Acorns need to have the outer shell removed with the nut body finely chopped for leaching by soaking in a bowl of water. The acorn meal is strained, rinsed, and re-soaked. This process is repeated several times over the course of a twenty-four hour period. I enjoy adding the acorn meal to cornmeal in a 1:1 ratio with an egg to make delicious fried patties.

Grapes of course are edible straight away. You can tell when they reach the peak of their season when you see some that have fallen on the ground below the vine.

Puffball fungus is much like a stiff marshmallow in appearance. It’s solid white all the way through. If you find one that has begun to turn black inside, discard it as unfit for consumption. You can eat one raw but I prefer it sliced and sautéed in butter. There are other fungi that emerge at this time, especially after a long period of rain. When seeking fungus to eat it is advisable to confirm it’s identity by a local expert as some fungus can be fatal.

These are just a few examples of edibles that I found this week but hopefully this will inspire you to explore the Great Outdoors with a new awareness of the edibles that abound around us.

In a previous article “Bloomin’ Cattails” I described how the male portion containing pollen grows on the top of the stalk and the seed bearing portion that we often associate with “hotdogs” grows below it. Pollen is one of the numerous cattail parts that are edible so I decided to take a sample home to photograph after I shook out some pollen in order to show it’s bright yellow color and volume.

Since that previous article I’ve met folks who have told me that during this time of year you can also eat the seed portion as well, just like you would eat corn-on-the-cob so I had to try it. Sure enough, it was similar to biting off bits of baby-ear corn. It’s a bit chewy and rather bland but that makes it quite palatable to the novice wildcrafter.

I’ve also been told that the seed portion can also be prepared by frying in butter or bacon fat so I guess that will be NEXT on my edibles to-do list. Please leave a comment if you have experience in eating cattail blossoms and share any cooking techniques that you may have used.