Wild Edibles

waddler

Banned
Chanterelles in Bogart. Finally!

:yeah:
 

woodsmith

Member
I love going and picking wild edibles with my nephew and niece, it's so much fun teaching kids about these things. They love the outdoors just as much as their uncle!
 

HossBog

Senior Member
Wow, thanks Robert! A few years ago, a young painter, helping paint our house, was also a mushroom expert. He and his son found a lot of the orange mushrooms (morel?) on our wooded land. He told me they are about $35 (?) a pound. So, I figured on our whole 9 acres, we might have about $7 worth! They are light. I've never picked them, just let them grow and do whatever they do. But it's interesting. I reckon in a real mess hitting old fan situation, I better study up on this stuff.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Are Elderberries and poke sallat berries the same thing?

No, not by a long shot. Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis,) is a woody shrub. All parts of the plant except for the ripe berries are toxic. The ripe berries make excellent jelly and wine, and have antiviral properties. Very good for colds and flu and such. You can rub the leaves on you for an insect repellant. The pithy stems make good blowguns.

Poke sallet/pokeweed (Phytolacca americana,) is a herbaceous perennial plant. All parts of the plant are very toxic to humans, except that the young shoots can be eaten after being boiled in two-three changes of water. They still don't taste good, IMO. Pokeweed is so toxic that contact with your skin can cause mutation of your DNA. The roots contain cardiac glycosides.
 

blood on the ground

Cross threading is better than two lock washers.
No, not by a long shot. Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis,) is a woody shrub. All parts of the plant except for the ripe berries are toxic. The ripe berries make excellent jelly and wine, and have antiviral properties. Very good for colds and flu and such. You can rub the leaves on you for an insect repellant. The pithy stems make good blowguns.

Poke sallet/pokeweed (Phytolacca americana,) is a herbaceous perennial plant. All parts of the plant are very toxic to humans, except that the young shoots can be eaten after being boiled in two-three changes of water. They still don't taste good, IMO. Pokeweed is so toxic that contact with your skin can cause mutation of your DNA. The roots contain cardiac glycosides.

Thanks, I never been around any elderberry before... Just noticed how similar they look to poke berries.
 

Capt Quirk

Senior Member
I have a lot of things growing in our woods, and have only scratched the surface.
Wild Muscadines are everywhere... but only high up and out of reache.

Lots of Sassafras, I have made tea and root beer from the roots, the leaves are good to munch on when walking through the woods. The leaves are also dried, and powdered for a thickening agent in stews.

Blueberries, hard to find when ripe, the early birds get them.

Blackberries EVERYWHERE! I make wine out of them, the wife makes jam. Good in and on pancakes or waffles. Never tried making tea with the leaves though.

Winged Sumac, has red seed clusters, NOT WHITE. The Indians used the seeds to make a lemon ade-ish drink, or they can be dried and ground into a spice. Great on fish and chicken. Looking forward to getting enough seeds to try a wine.

Mueline leaves need to be strained when used in teas, because the hairs can be a problem. Good for lung issues, been told it can also be smoked. The leaves also make an ok compress for sprains and other boo boos. They are slow growing, so be careful not to kill it off over harvesting it.

Wild Bay plants, the leaves are awesome in stews as a spice, as well as Low Country Boils.

Wild Lettuce, used as a pain reliever and sedative, but I have not found a reliable source for how to use it. It was used as a substitute for opium. The sap can be made into latex, but no source on that either.

I also just planted a Juniper bush. The berries are used to make Gin. I don't care for Gin, so I won't tempt the Revenuers by distilling any.
 

GregoryB.

Senior Member
Can someone tell me what these are ? I am in WV and these are popping up everywhere. Don’t eat shrooms and have no clue what they are.
 

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RamblinWreck88

Useles Billy ain’t got nothing on ME !
Can someone tell me what these are ? I am in WV and these are popping up everywhere. Don’t eat shrooms and have no clue what they are.
I'm not knowledgeable enough to recognize to off-hand, but my Seek app ID'd it as American Cancer Root:
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Can someone tell me what these are ? I am in WV and these are popping up everywhere. Don’t eat shrooms and have no clue what they are.
Squaw root was the common name until it got canceled. :) Not a shroom, not a fungus. It's a vascular plant. Bears eat it when they come out of their dens in the spring as a laxitive to get rid of their fecal plug.
 

GregoryB.

Senior Member
Squaw root was the common name until it got canceled. :) Not a shroom, not a fungus. It's a vascular plant. Bears eat it when they come out of their dens in the spring as a laxitive to get rid of their fecal plug.
I read that about the bears. Maybe we should call it Bear Exlax. Suppose to have a few other medicinal uses including menopause. It’s everywhere around my property.
 

Hillbilly stalker

Senior Member
Can someone tell me what these are ? I am in WV and these are popping up everywhere. Don’t eat shrooms and have no clue what they are.
Squaw root, natives used to help during birth and menstrual problems. Also called bear corn or cancer killer.
 

gobbleinwoods

Keeper of the Magic Word
Can someone tell me what these are ? I am in WV and these are popping up everywhere. Don’t eat shrooms and have no clue what they are.
I've never seen it that I recall.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member

Toliver

Senior Member
Pokeweed is so toxic that contact with your skin can cause mutation of your DNA. The roots contain cardiac glycosides.
I have had a LOT of contact with them poke plants. My neighbor's grand ma had us always out picking her a mess of it. And them big stalks was fun to go godzilla'n through stomping them down with bare feet. Then them big ol bunches of berries were good for throwing at each other or just squishing them for the sake of being messy. This may explain some of my issues. :bounce:
 

Hillbilly stalker

Senior Member
There are alot of different opinions on pokeberry evidently. Ol folks back home in the mountain's used it for arthritis medicine all the time. Even froze it. One of the best medicines around. Here is a pretty good video about it. This ol boy is kinda quare...but he knows his stuff. If you eat the berries, don't pop the seed just spit it out, and start out with a very few, some peoples system don't accept it. If you bust the seed and swallow it..you'll be hunting a stump. Read the comments on how many people use it and make tinctures also. Its more medicine than an eatable.

 
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