Appalachian Wildflowers – Page 20 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Trout Lilies – Forage Friday 4

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is untitled. However, if you want to purchase a copy please use the contact instructions at the bottom of the article.

There’s a lot of wild edible plants on my land that I only have theoretical knowledge of. I have read the materials, checked sources, double checked the references and learned the plant’s “face” so I could recognize it when I saw it. One such plant is Trout Lily. My land is on the shady side of the mountain. It’s a wet site which means that the soil stays moist most of the time and there’s a few spots that are downright swampy. I have noticed that the Trout Lilies are always found in those spots that are moist enough for the moss to grow but not actually wet. On the edge of the forest or in the more open portions where the ferns grow well.

The mottled patterns of leaf is pretty hard to mistake.

The nodding yellow flowers are also pretty distinctive. Several of the references I learned from stated that the flower wasn’t really in large supply and that care should be taken as not to over harvest. Other sources say that they’re plentiful but should only be eaten in very small amounts. The reason why is that they are Ematic. In other words, they make you sick to your stomach. Even to the point that it was suggested that it would be useful as a medicine for purging a stomach that has ingested a toxic plant. ( Just a reminder, Forage Friday is not intended to be a substitute for proper training and education. It is for entertainment purposes only. )

With the potential for a foraging excursion gone wrong and not in need of being purged of ingested poison I elected to abstain from Trout Lilies. However, the reference books describe the flavor as being similar to cucumbers and a good addition to salads but emphasis on the vary small amounts within a twenty-four hour period. This made the plant unsuitable for my purposes of finding alternative staple crops and so I never pursued the possibilities. The short availability season also had something to do with that decision. Like the Squirrel Corn and Dutchman’s Breeches they do add a lot of beauty to the edges of my yard. And since I have never actually tried them myself I can’t really say if they’re good. But since they are included in the field guides I’m including them in Forage Friday. As with all of the Forage Friday posts I have to recommend that you don’t rely solely on this post for information about wild edible plants.

The comments are open to the public and if you’re a person who has actually tried this one I’d love to hear about your experience.

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Squirrel Corn..(continued from Dutchman’s Breeches)

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Pure Hearts” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

A couple of weeks after the Dutchman’s Breeches bloom the Squirrel Corn comes out. The two species are closely related but Squirrel Corn bloom has more of a waxy texture and is often tinged with pinks, reds or purple as seen in the feature image. If Dutchman’s Breeches resemble a fairy’s pants then Squirrel Corn would make a fancy hat.

If you compare tonight’s feature image with last night’s the first thing that stands out to me is the lack of bright yellow on the tips and the more rounded shape of the lobes at the top. The leaves are so similar to each other that I can’t really tell the difference without a bloom. And for those who wish to have native landscaping they can be planted together in order to extend the blooming season. A third relative is bleeding heart. I have yet to spot bleeding heart in the wild myself but I would imagine it could be intermixed with the first two for more color.

Both Dutchman’s Breeches and Squirrel Corn are pollinated by queen bumblebees so if you have these plants then you have bumblebees close by.

Because I’ve been writing about wild edible plants I need emphasize that none of plants mentioned in this article are edible. To the best of my knowledge all three are toxic and best used for aesthetic purposes only. I feel blessed to have them wild near my home when they just seem to appear like magic and being beauty to my world.

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Dutchman’s Breeches

Color Photography

Hello Friends!Tonight’s feature image is titled “Fairy Pants” because the flowers remind me of Tinkerbell’s laundry. All of the photos are my original work and are available as prints by following the instructions at the bottom of the page.

The forest floor has started to wake up. Each little wildflower I encounter on my short walk today was like a smile from God himself. I spotted wild geranium, trout lily, spring beauty, cohosh, may apples and others that will be covered in future posts.

Today is about Dutchman’s Breeches. The name, of course, comes from the resemblance to pantaloons. When I think about it, it’s easy to imagine that somewhere on the forest floor a tiny fairy sits on a mushroom waiting for her laundry to get dry.

Dutchman’s Breeches have no food or medicinal value that I’m aware of. In fact the USDA warns that they are toxic to livestock. However, that depends on your definition of medicine. Ingesting the plant is certainly not recommended and they don’t really have a pleasant scent if you crush them but the beauty they bring in early Spring is therapeutic for the soul.

Dutchman’s Breeches are also part of the natural calendar that I’ve written about a few times. They’re not edible themselves but they bloom at about the right time to dig ramps. (For my non Appalachian friends, ramps are a strong flavored wild leek). I have know of a patch of ramps close by and will try to get a good photo of them soon ( Which is harder than it sounds because patches of ramps are fiercely guarded by landowners).

Dutchman’s Breeches are an indicator species. Wherever they bloom the soil is going to be slightly acidic. If you wanted to grow something like blueberries and you have Dutchman’s Breeches then you’re going to need soil amendments in order for your blueberries to live. As mentioned above their presence also accompanies several other useful and beautiful woodland herbs. Most of them will be covered on a Forage Friday post but for now we have the beauty of the little white flowers that resemble pants.

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Wood Violets Forage Friday 2

Color Photography, Forage Friday

Hello Friends. Tonight’s feature image is titled “Yellow Wood Violet 41909” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Because we live in such a litigious society I’m obliged to remind you that Forage Friday is only intended to be a conversation starter and not a guide. Having a positive ID on a plant is essential for safety and some of the plants coveted in this series do have poisonous look-alikes that might fool a novice. Wild foraging is a great way to get out and explore but be safety minded and do further research. I also recommend that you keep a copy of Peterson’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants handy.

In my part of the Appalachian Mountains one of the most abundant wild edible plants is the wood violet. In fact it’s so prevalent on my land that I have decided to consider it a volunteer salad crop. On their own the leaves are a little bland but they’re also rich in vitamin C as well as vitamin A. The leaves are basically a great substitute for spinach. Not being a huge fan of cooked greens I tend only eat them raw but they can be useful as a pot herb. The leaves and flowers are the only recommend parts. As a type 2 diabetic I avoid sweets but the flowers are often rolled in powdered sugar and eaten as candles. I’ve also recently been told of violet preserves and violet syrups has peaked my imagination.

I know that some people are looking at the yellow flowers in feature image and thinking that it’s the wrong color to be a violet. I have been told that it must be a pansy. Well, actually, both pansies and violets are in the genus Viola and both come in a variety of colors. One of my favorite violets is known locally as the Confederate Violet because of the grayish color.

Confederate Violet

Aside from color the leaves tend to be a little more round. But the shape of a leaf and the shape of the petals can vary depending on the soil nutrients and growing conditions.

Of course I have plenty of the common Blue Violets as well.

The blue violets are so competitive here that in some parts of the yard there’s more flowers than grass. I figured that was God’s way of making sure that I have plenty to eat so I let them have what they want.

One last word on safety and foraging for food. Be aware that we live in a post industrial world and that means that contamination is always a hazard. Chemicals that are used to control weeds can be found even in the most seemingly pristine setting and that includes farmlands. What looks like a park today can be hiding a place where illegal dumping has occurred. So look around before collecting and if something looks off then you might want to forage elsewhere.

So, tell me your experience. Have you ever tried violets as part of a camping trip or maybe an expiriment with Victorian cuisine? The comments are open to the public .

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April Speckles

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Wild Geraniums And Moss” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the page.

The soft rain ends with the breaking of the dawn light and the forest comes to life. The morning chorus includes Cardinals, Flycatchers, Catbirds, Gold Finches and more. By mid morning mottled light filters down to forest floor. It may be the best opportunity to get out and catch some fresh air before doing the day’s chores in spite of the wet conditions. I have on my old sandals. The ones that I don’t really mind if the get muddy as I step carefully around the edges of the yard. The little purple pops of color were the first thing to catch my eye as I moved from the kept area of the yard into the transition zone where the woods begins. Wild Geranium blooms in April just as the leaves start to come out. All along the edges of the roads the landscape is speckled with purple blooms. The impression is that God took his paintbrush full of purple and shook it out onto Little Elk Mountain. The soft morning light seems to linger right on this little cluster to make the bloom glow. For a moment my imagination asks if it’s possible that I have stumbled across a fairy village. I could almost see them huddled together with a turkey tail fungus for a front porch and the moss for a shag rug. I blinked for moment and they vanished like the morning mists. And it was in this moment that I knew it was time to rejoin the real world and complete my chores.

Before I close, I want to announce that tomorrow night I’ll begin the “Forage Friday” series. For as long as I’m able I’ll post an image of a wild edible plant found in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. It’s not intended to teach you everything you need to know about wild edible plants. What it is intended to be is sharing some of my personal interests and to give those who want to explore foraging a place to start.

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I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simply message me on Facebook or use the contact form on my website and tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.

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