Forage Friday – Page 15 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Forage Friday #62 Grass

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Grass On Pond 61620a” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Forage Friday is only intended to be a conversation starter and all of the information is presented as trivia. Please remember to do further research and be positive about identifying any wild edible plants. Any herbalism discussed in the article is also presented as trivia and should not be mistaken for an endorsement of treatment.

That’s right. Tonight’s Forage Friday post is about the stuff that grows on your lawn. Now it should go without saying that if you spray your lawn with chemicals then it’s not considered safe for consumption. The same goes for public parks and commercial property. In fact, to be absolutely clear I only advocate foraging your own property or private property that you have permission to forage.

I was initially shocked to learn that normal grass produced edible grain. I laughed out loud at the thoughts of grazing like a cow. In those days the internet was science fiction and I actually blew quite a lot of money at book stores. Ironically, I was leafing through a new acquisition on primitive survival at a Chinese restaurant and eating bamboo shoots at the precise moment when saw the section on foraging grass. My young mind didn’t make the connection that bamboo was a type of grass right away. Okay, but bamboo is a special grass right? Well, as it turns out yes and no. Not all grass is going yield nutrition and in fact the stuff on our lawns is probably not going to be the best forage. In addition, I’m told that all native North American grasses are nontoxic but that several non-native varieties are toxic. And there are entire scientific disciplines based on learning how to identify different types of grass. In fact I am unsure about the identity of the grass in tonight’s post.

Presuming that it is an edible variety it’s still in flower and not ready for harvest. Once the fruit ripens we can strip the seed from the stem and beat it free of the chaff. Tossing it up into the air slightly and allowing the Breeze to carry away the papery part is called winnowing.

The seed can then be ground into flour.

In case you haven’t guessed this is one of the ones I only have theoretical knowledge of. So please pay attention to the disclaimer and seek out someone who is more experienced on this subject. One of my favorite resources is Green Dean and the link takes you to his article about grass .

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Forage Friday #61 Mock Strawberry

Color Photography, Forage Friday

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Mock Strawberry 61220”. The images for tonight were all taken specifically for Forage Friday. All of the photos found on my blog are my original work and are available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Forage Friday is only intended to be a conversation starter and all of the information presented is only intended to be as trivia. It should be mistaken for an endorsement of treatment. Please remember to do further research and be positive about identifying any wild edible before consuming.

There’s probably no other wild edible that causes more controversy than the ones that are referred to collectively as “Wild Strawberry”. I have seen people look on in absolute horror as I popped one in my mouth and swallowed. I can’t help but admit that in my twisted sense of humor I’ve pretended to choke for some. I’ve been told that the berry is deadly poison. One of the common names for mock strawberry is “snake berry” and the old wives’ tale is that snakes eat the mock strawberry in order to get their venom. The truth is that the most dangerous thing about the mock strawberry is the flavor… well, the lack thereof anyway. There’s a little variance depending on genetics and soil qualities but mostly it’s dry and bland.

Image Titled “Mock Strawberry 61220b”

In spite of the lack of flavor mock strawberries like real strawberry are rich in Vitamin C. And, here’s where that lack of flavor might actually be an advantage. It gives us a way to add nutritional value to other foods without changing the flavor. In addition to vitamin C the mock strawberry is reported to be rich in magnesium, potassium, zinc and has trace amounts of selenium. ( depending on soil conditions)

The leaves are used topically in a poultice to treat weeping eczema, insect bites and stings, boils and even though I highly doubt the effectiveness , snake bites are listed among the things that mock strawberry leaves are good for.

Image Titled “Mock Strawberry Flower 61220”

Mock Strawberry superficially resembles Garden strawberry but they’re actually not even the same genus. Real strawberries being genus Fragaria and mock strawberry listed as either Potentillia or Duchesbea.

One thing to note is that true strawberries have a white bloom while mock strawberry gas a yellow bloom.

Image Titled Strawberry Bush 92910. This plant is definitely toxic.

We started with the common belief that mock strawberry is toxic look alike of real strawberry so I decided to include an old photo of Strawberry Bush which is small shrub that is sometimes confused with strawberries. I’ll cover this plant more in depth at a later time but for now it’s a toxic strawberry look alike.

That’s about all I’ve got for tonight. Thank you joining me!

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Forage Friday #60 Vetch

Color Photography, Forage Friday

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Vetch 52620a”. All of the photos are my original work and are available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The Vetch plants discussed in tonight’s Forage Friday post are listed as edible by some sources and as toxic by others. Therefore I have not eaten any wild vetches myself and cannot recommend their consumption. Forage Friday is only intended to be a conversation starter and all of the information is presented as trivia and should not be mistaken for an endorsement of treatment.

Somewhere in the distance mists of the past a primitive family uses fire hardened sticks to scratch the ground. Dirty hands drop the dried beans into the trenches and gently cover them as a distant thunder signals the oncoming rain. The simple act of creating a space for the plants that feed their families closer to their camp has moved this tribe from simple foragers to horticulturalists and spawned the birth of civilization.

The only member of the vetch family that I’ve actually eaten is also one that has been cultivated by humans since 6000 BC. The simple fava bean. But why this vetch and not the others. There’s a pretty wide range of the vetches to choose from.

One that’s imeadiatly off the list of forage plants is Crown Vetch.

The Crown Vetch is known to be poison and the toxic compound 3-NPA

The Crown Vetch causes a condition in which the red blood cells are unable to release oxygen into the other tissues. The plant is pretty and smells nice but is completely inedible. Ruminants like cattle are somehow able to process out the toxin in the gastric fermentation process but a human could die from it. So definitely avoid Crown Vetch.

Image Titled “Vetch 52620b”.

The feature image is believed to be common Vetch. Multiple sources list it as a wild edible stating that everything except the root can be consumed in some fashion. But again this one that I have no personal experience with so I urge you to do a lot of research about that one.

Where I know these plants from is reclaiming strip mines. The vetches are legumes and are dynamic accumulators of fertility. It’s recommend that you inoculate the roots with the proper mix of bacteria and fungi and let it grow. Typically the chop and drop method is used and the plants are allowed to decay where they fall and all that fertility is released back onto the spoil. After a few seasons the ground is healed and ready for those fava beans mentioned earlier.

So I’ve walked away from this Forage Friday post with more questions than answers. If you are person who has used any of the wild vetches then please share your knowledge in the comments.

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To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

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Forage Friday #59 Sweet Cicely.

Color Photography, Forage Friday

sSweet Cicely 51920 — Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Sweet Cicely 51920”. This photo was taken specifically for Forage Friday. All of the photos found on my blog are my original work and are available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Sweet Cicely is often overlooked except by fishermen who know it’s secret. The herb has a strong Anise flavor and is often incorporated into chum of made into a liquid to spray on artificial lures. Some of the old timers would swear by their Anise. The common creek chub here ( also known as a Red Fin Sucker ) isn’t considered to be a game fish so there’s less restrictions on the harvest. Most people go after the little ones to use as bait fish but they do get pan sized in some streams. And you can’t really tell the difference between this little member of the carp family and tilapia which is also a type of carp. Where the Sweet Cicely comes in is a coworker a long time ago who saved an empty soda bottle and drilled holes in it with a hot wire. He’d place his secret “anise mix” in the bottle along with something to weigh it down. With a string tired to the bottle to keep it from washing away He’d toss it into the water and them approach from downstream with a large gig and hunt the chubs that were attracted to the anise smell.

Traditionally, the root can be cooked as a vegetable and fed to people who are having trouble gaining weight.

The stems are also eaten in the same way while the leaves and unripe seeds are used for their anise flavor.

Neduxinally, sweet cicely is for sure throats and coughs by simply chewing on the root. And it’s used on simple skin ailments like boils. A tea made from the roots has also been used to sooth sore eyes.

A major word of caution when dealing with any member of the parsley family. It would be really easy to confuse it with poison hemlock which has purple spots and hollow stems & roots.

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Forage Friday #58 Ground Ivy

Color Photography, Forage Friday

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Ground Ivy 4220a”. All of the photos found on my blog are my original work and are available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

I have only recently discovered that Ground Ivy is in fact edible. I have not eaten it in any qualities at this point and therefore can’t really attest to quality it provides.

In the end, my Forage Friday posts are only presented as trivia and should not be mistaken for an endorsement of treatment when medicinal herbs are discussed.

I never cease to be amazed by the bounty of nature. The Appalachian Mountains are almost a garden of Eden. When most Americans look to the landscape for nourishment we have a tendency to ask how the indigenous peoples may have used a plant. I suppose that’s because of the Thanksgiving story about the failed crops and it’s true that the natives had to rescue the colonial settlers. But we have to remember that they were aliens in a landscape with a that most of their seed was not adapted to. A few of the plants they brought with them have actually done so well that they’re now considered invasive “weeds”. Such is the case with Ground Ivy.

Image Titled “Ground Ivy 41620a” shows just how prolific Ground Ivy can be.

Once it has a foothold ground ivy is tenacious! It will spread out and set root at every opportunity. At this point I have not learned if it was brought here on purpose or by accident. Two things make me think that the herb was brought here on purpose.

1. The Anglo-Saxon name for this plant is “Alehoof” which is said to mean “Ale-herb. And, it was a prime ingredient for brewing before hops was adapted.

2. The accidental import theory is that it traveled here in the stomach of livestock. But ground ivy is toxic to livestock so it wouldn’t be a good fodder and most livestock don’t like the taste of ground ivy and wouldn’t have eaten it.

So it looks like it was intentionally brought aboard the ships.

Ground Ivy is said to be rich in Iron, potassium and Vitamin C as well as flavonoids common to the mint family and the square stem on Ground Ivy puts it in the mint family. Because it’s an evergreen herb it would have been available as a good source all year round.

Historically it was not only added to ale but also to jams and marinades. According to a couple of online sources Ground Ivy mixes well with Garlic, honey and lemon, sesame, the cheese and clove. It’s main function seems to be as a seasoning and more than source suggested using it on grilled meat.

Image Titled Ground Ivy 51920a. Although a creeping plant it does bolt from time to time.

As a medicinal herb ground ivy has a reputation for use with lung ailments and bronchitis like most members of the mint family. According to the USDA/NRCS Ground Ivy has been used to treat disorders of the the bladder and kidneys, digestive problems, gout, coughs and colds, poor vision, tinnitus, partial insanity, asthma and jaundice and much more. (They even say that a wreath woven from ground ivy and other herbs strengthens the eyes enough to reveal witches that might be hiding in your village according to the Swiss. )

Several sources also warned that pregnant women should avoid ground ivy because it can cause a miscarriage which makes me think it’s got some strong phytosterols too.

Another warning comes from my personal experience. The ground ivy seems to provide a good habit for spiders. While obtaining some of tonight’s photos I managed to get a mild spider bite. No super hero powers (Just my luck) but a lot of itching. The bite completely healed in about 3 weeks with the aid of antibiotics and I only mentioned it to encourage you to be cautious. We do have black widows and brown recluse in my area but thankfully it seems to have been just a plain old jumping spider that got me.

This little guy isn’t quite as friendly as Lucas the Spider on YouTube. This isn’t the exact spider that bit me but it’s the same species that I suspect did the biting.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

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To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

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Thank you again for your support of my page!❤