Das Trolls tasty guide to foraging and invasive plant species

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Das Troll
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Das Trolls tasty guide to foraging and invasive plant species

Post by Das Troll » Tue Jul 21, 2020 12:36 am

Spring time is a favorite time for me because the woods become a grocery store if you know what to look for.

First up is an invasive plant called the garlic mustard or Alliaria petiolata. These things are easy to find on wooded area floors because they're so invasive and grow so quickly. A good time to get them is in the early spring when the tops of the plants are nice and tender. They should just pop right off. They taste mildly like their name suggests, garlic and mustard. Don't worry if you don't live in the UK, they've spread to the USA and are all over the midwest.

https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/garlic-musta ... -petiolata

Next up is a little snack called the honey suckle. I used to eat these a lot as a kid because of the little sweet bit at the base of the flower. In some places these are considered invasive because of how out of control they get along hedges and fences. You've probably seen them before. Just puck the flower off and nip the green little bud off the base and squeeze the flower. If you're lucky a clear little drop will appear, that's the nectar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeysuckle

Next up is the pawpaw, AKA Indiana Banana. These are hard to find but once you find a pawpaw tree, keep an eye out on it. The pawpaw fruits very quickly and by the time they're ready to eat, they're pretty much over ripe. They grow in the Indiana/Ohio area. Their oval shaped fruits and large waxy leaves make it look like its a tropical fruit, out of place in the northern states. The inside has a custard yellow pulp.

https://wildindiana.com/pawpaw-indiana-banana-time/

Wild garlic/wild onion are pretty much everywhere. They're quite literally weeds that will spring up on your lawn and are easy enough to find. If you're curious if it's onion or garlic, pick it and give it a sniff. That's a pretty good way to tell. They grow in clumps and grow bulbs below the ground.



Remember to take someone who knows or have a book with you when foraging. Some plants will make you sick, others may kill you.

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Re: Das Trolls tasty guide to foraging and invasive plant species

Post by AngryIVer » Tue Jul 21, 2020 5:07 am

Very informative. This is the kind of shit I used to spend hours browsing through.
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Das Troll
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Re: Das Trolls tasty guide to foraging and invasive plant species

Post by Das Troll » Thu Sep 10, 2020 11:58 pm

Time to add to this. I'm seeing goldenrod pop up around here.
goldenrod.jpg
goldenrod.jpg (55.69 KiB) Viewed 1274 times
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidago

Mostly used to combat inflammation.

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Re: Das Trolls tasty guide to foraging and invasive plant species

Post by Enigma » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:24 am

That's good to know when shit hits the fan.
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Re: Das Trolls tasty guide to foraging and invasive plant species

Post by Das Troll » Sat Sep 19, 2020 12:37 pm

Not quite invasive as far as I know, but still a tasty treat. The Spotted Touch-Me-Not (Impatiens capensis)
Adirondack-Wildflowers-Spotted-Touch-Me-Not-Impatiens-capensis-Flower-Henrys-Woods-Loop-Trail-18-August-2019-71.jpg
Adirondack-Wildflowers-Spotted-Touch-Me-Not-Impatiens-capensis-Flower-Henrys-Woods-Loop-Trail-18-August-2019-71.jpg (138.09 KiB) Viewed 1263 times
pioc.jpg
pioc.jpg (92.3 KiB) Viewed 1263 times
As you can see it's a pretty easy plant to spot. The neat thing is their fat, segmented seed pods that are under tension that pop when you touch them. The point of this is to fling the seeds as far as they can. Don't worry it doesn't hurt or anything, its just kinda startling. The seeds in the pods are pretty small and taste like little walnuts. When ever I find these in the park where I jog I like to grab a few pods in my cupped hand and pop them so the seeds don't go flying.

Here's a video of the seeds popping

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Re: Das Trolls tasty guide to foraging and invasive plant species

Post by Enigma » Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:43 am

Damn, they shoot out like a clock spring.
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