Fresh, Free, and Foraged

My posts about henbit, yucca, and invasive plants have reminded me of my enthusiasm for foraged foods. I love fresh produce (hence this blog), and I love spending as little money as possible. These two facets of my being are both satisfied by picking wild blackberries or eating dandelions. Wild-grown food can be just as nutritious and tasty as home-grown or locally grown produce that you buy. The difference is, it's free.

Now, while I also love being adventurous and trying new things, caution is necessary when it comes to eating wild plants. Here's an analogous example. Poison ivy and Virginia creeper are very similar. You can rub one all over you all day long and be fine; the other, not so much. So, you have to positively, 100% identify that Virginia creeper before you come in contact with it. The same accuracy is even more necessary when it comes to eating things you find.

This brings me to the point of today's post. I have long been searching for a reference guide to help me positively identify wild, edible plants in my region. So far, I haven't had much luck--until now. This week I discovered a book called Wild Edibles of Missouri, by Jan Phillips. It was published in 1978, and it has since gone out of print. However, the fine people at the Missouri Department of Conservation have uploaded the entire book in PDF format, and it is available to the public for free. It's even illustrated!

I have looked through most of this book at this point, and it is both accessible and factual. It includes safety warnings, recipes, and other helpful advice. However, I would like to point out that the book mentions that the Kentucky coffeetree has edible parts, which is untrue. The beans of this tree were used extensively by pioneers to make a kind of "coffee," but they are toxic to humans and many livestock animals. As a present-day reader, just realize that this book was written 35 years ago, so its information may not be up to date. That said, it contains great information on dozens of plants that can help sustain your body functions. If you heed the safety recommendations listed in the book, use common sense, and avoid the Kentucky coffeetree, you should be fine.

Do you enjoy wild bounties? What is safe/not safe to eat in your area?

Next post: springtime in full bloom.

Lovely Landscaping

The College of Agriculture has a distinct advantage when it comes to landscape design: it offers a landscape design major. That said, its landscaping efforts are beginning to pay off, as the Agriculture building looks as cute as can be at the moment. Here's why.

These pansies (Viola wittrockiana) have been in the greenhouse for a while, and they're some of my favorite ornamentals. There are all sorts of breeding tricks one can do with pansies, such as making them look like they have faces (kinda creepy), but I like the yellow and brown ones the best. My grandmother always used to plant pansies like this, so I guess I'm biased. But isn't this just precious?

The other impressive display outside the Ag building is the daffodils. These were planted last fall by students who were in the horticulture class I'm currently taking. I like the variation within the group. Wouldn't you love to sit at that bench and read while enjoying some tea? Fortunately, it's warm enough to do that now.

What specifically caught my eye was the variety with the dark orange petal. These aren't normally my favorites, but they do add interest to an otherwise uniform batch of daffodils.

Also outside the Ag building is a group of what I believe is forsythia. The small bushes are starting to bloom, but unevenly, and the result is pretty scraggly. If it shapes up soon, I'll go back and photograph that to round out the "yellow on yellow on yellow" theme the school is following.

What plants are impressing you this spring?

Next post: more spring developments.

P.S. An update on henbit: last night I ate some cooked henbit in beef ramen noodles, and it turned out very well. If you are cooking cup ramen, you can just add the henbit with the hot water. If you are cooking ramen on the stove, I recommend adding the henbit after it's cooked, so it will cook while you're waiting for the broth to cool.

I also ate some henbit (along with purple deadnettle, which is very similar and also edible) on a roast beef and muenster sandwich today. It tasted okay, but one of the plants made my throat feel strange for a while. The moral of this story is: if you're going to eat said plants, either chop them up raw into a salad or cook them (I've heard they're good cooked with a little bit of water, some butter, salt, and pepper).

Henbit: Bypassed Beauty

As promised, I am dedicating today's post to an underappreciate spring flower: henbit. Lamium amplexicaule is a naturalized broadleaf species, originally from Eurasia and North Africa. You may recognize it from just about everywhere you've ever been.

This common plant often becomes a noxious weed, though I'm not sure if this species is technically invasive. All the same, I wanted to write about it because it has truly beauteous coloration and flower formation. Its flowers almost resemble a tiny purple pitcher plant, as the fused corolla is long and narrow.

Another cool fact I just found while researching this overlooked plant (thanks Eat the Weeds!)  is that henbit is edible. It's actually a close relative of mint. Next time I pass by the photographed cluster, I'm going to have to try some (or, more likely, pick them all and have a salad). I always like plants better if they're edible. But for the purposes of this blog post, I just wanted to highlight henbit's striking colors and shapes.

Above everything else, seeing henbit means spring is on the way, and that's always encouraging. Have you ever been surprised at an edible plant? (I have--see my post on yuccas.) Have you ever discovered a cool plant that's been under your nose for years? Would you try eating henbit if you saw some?

Next post: a cheery spring display.