Wild Edible Plants Benefits, Hazards, and Major Groups We are surrounded by wild edible plants everyday. In trying to learn about them, you might quickly feel overwhelmed by the staggering amount of information available. Here are some important consideration for getting started: - Identifying Plants - Benefits - Hazards - Major Groupings Identifying Plants It is vital that you can identify the wild edible plants that you intend to utilize. Some edible plants have deadly poisonous look-alikes. Good field guides are invaluable. The best guides clearly explain identification, collection, and preparation techniques. We highly recommend the following guides: - Identifying and Harvesting Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants by Steve Brill - Discovering Wild Plants by Janice Schofield Benefits Wild edible plants are very beneficial for you and your family for many reasons. First of all, there are wild edibles growing near you no matter what part of the world you live in. Chances are good, you can find a large number of species where you live and some of them are likely to be plentiful. Secondly, many wild plants are highly nutritious and can be even more nutritious than many store bought fruits and vegetables. For instance, dandelion which you might think of as little more than a garden-variety weed is actually an incredibly nutritious wild edible plant. In a single hundred gram amount of cooked dandelion greens, there is 11,000 mg of Potassium, 18 mg of vitamin C and 42 mg of calcium. You might consider eating the dandelions in your yard, rather than removing or poisoning them. Though if you are going to consume wild edible plants, make sure you also consider the hazards. Hazards There are some dangers in collecting and eating wild edibles. To begin with, think about the location you are gathering and consider the following: - Is the area sprayed with pesticides or herbicides? - Is the area close to a busy road or other source of pollution? - Does your target species have any poisonous look-alikes? Also consider that wild edible plants are often more nutritionally concentrated than store bought foods - you may not need to eat as much quantity as you would of foods from home. It is also wise to start off eating very small quantities of wild edible plants, especially those you have not tried before, in case of potential allergic reactions. Test them before you collect or eat large quantities. Also, the hazard many people forget to consider, and it is one of the most important, is the hazard you pose to the plants themselves! Please practice wise and sustainable harvesting techniques. Consider the needs of the plants and the other animals that might feed on them. If the plant you are harvesting is rare, is the only one of its kind on the location you are harvesting or especially if it is endangered, leave it alone! Look for places where the species you are interested in gathering is plentiful. Also look for plants that have abundant fruit, nuts or berries. This will make your job of gathering less work and also, if you are considerate, it will leave less of an impact on the land. A good guidelines is to collect one third of the plant material, leaving two thirds for plant regeneration and wildlife. Major Groupings of Wild Edible Plants There are so many different kinds of plants out there in the world. It can really help to initially lump them into more manageable groups. Here are some of the major groups of wild edibles, organized by plant families: The Lily Family (Liliaceae): This includes species such as: - Wild onions - Wild garlic - Wild leeks - Camas - Glacier lilies The Purslane Family (Portulacaceae): This includes: - Miner’s Lettuce - Spring Beauty The Rose Family (Rosaceae): This includes edible plants such as: - Blackberry - Raspberry - Salmonberry - Thimbleberry - Wild roses - Hawthorn - Serviceberry - Choke-cherry - Wild strawberry - Silverweed The Heath Family (Ericaceae): This includes species such as: - Cranberry - Blueberry - Huckleberry The Mustard Family (Brassicaceae): This includes plants such as: - Pennycress - Shepard’s purse - Watercress The Mint Family (Lamiaceae): This includes wild edibles such as: - Wild mint - Self-heal The Sunflower Family (Asteraceae): This includes species such as: - Dandelion - Wild sunflower - Salsify - Chicory - Pineapple weed - Oxeye daisy - Common burdock - Thistle species The Nettle Family (Urticaceae): This includes: - Stinging nettle The Cattail Family (Typhaceae): This includes: - Narrow-leaf and broad-leaved cattail The Beech Family (Fagaceae): This includes: - Oaks - Chestnuts - Beeches The Pine Family (Pinaceae): This includes trees such as: - Pine - Hemlock - Douglas-fir - Spruce With proper identification and careful consideration of safety & potential hazards, edible wild plants can become an exciting and healthful part of your diet. Happy foraging!

Cattail

I have posted on Cattail before but since this is the time of year for harvesting Cattail I would like to bring it to the forefront.
Whenever you came across cattails, did you ever stop to think that they are edible? Would you eat them if you were hungry, or are you aware of how this herbaceous plant has been used for centuries in diverse and interesting ways? Ah, then let's discuss a few varieties, and find out a little bit more about how useful this plant is, as well as finding out how this edible plant is consumed.

There are a few classifications and well-known names of the cattails. Some of the more standard names of cattails include:

the narrow-leafed cattail [Typha angustifolia] the wide-leafed cattail [Typha latofolia] the common cattail [Typha domingensis] the hybrid or white cattail [hybrid, crossbred between Typha angustifolia and Typha latofolia T x glauca]

cat-o-nine tails southern cattail Cattail are likely one of the most recognizable of the wetlands plants. The two most popular species are the Typha angustifolia (narrow-leafed cattail) and the Typha latifolia, (broad-leaved cattail) which are found across North America. The T. angustifolia does not go as far north as the T. latifolia and the T. domingensis grows more in the southern parts of America, as well as into South America.

Typha plants are monoecious [having both male and female reproductive organs] and are pollinated by the wind. They are often one of the first wetland plants to colonize areas of newly exposed wet mud. The T. or Typha plants grow in dense stands (many all together) and are found growing along marshes, ponds, canals, brackish water, reservoirs, streams and lake margins. The root system of this plant helps prevent erosion from waves created by boats or wind. The cattail provides an important habitat for many species of water fowl such as ducks, geese, marsh wren, mallards, yellow headed and red-winged blackbirds, as well as making a home for frogs, salamanders, deer, moose, elk and raccoons.


Some people think of cattails as weeds that are a nuisance, however, they perform important functions that help make the wetlands healthy. They filter runoff as it flows into the water, which helps reduce nutrients as well as reducing mud that enters into the wetlands from the surrounding land. Artificial (man-made) and developed wetlands that have cattail improve water quality problems, addressing such things as various and multiple toxins that challenge wastewater and soil, heavy sediment deposition and nutrient enrichment. The presence of cattail can change levels of chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides, heavy metals, drugs and nitrates in the soil and water, in an inexpensive way.

The cattail, a wetland plant , is a rhizomatous perennial from the Typhacaea family. They are stiff, tall plants that grow from 3 to 10 feet in height, with green, willowy, blade-like leaves [similar to tall blades of grass] The brown, cyclindric and elongated female flower, is what is so distinctive with the cattail and gives this plant its name. Now, let's see what the similarities and differences are with a few species of the cattail.

Narrow leaf cattail [Typha angustifolia] The inflorescence of this species has staminate flowers (above) and pistillate flowers (below) and is medium to dark brown, spike-like and cylindrical. The male flower [a narrower, yellow stalk] grows just above the female flower, but tends to disappear once it has done its job. The leaves grow from the base of a straight, central stalk and have pointed tips and long, straight margins that resemble long blades of grass. The narrow leaf cattail will reproduce by seed and also by rhizomes. A rhizome is a horizontal plant stem with shoots above and roots below, serving as a reproductive structure.

The seeds are contained in the spikes. The fruit seed period begins in the spring and ends in summer. Each spike contains from 117,000 to 268,000 miniscule seeds. This spike bursts open under dry conditions, releasing the fruits. The seed vessels opens quickly when the fruit comes in contact with water, releasing the seed which then sinks. The fruits will often fall to the ground in wet weather, rather than being dispersed by wind.

The narrow leaved species is smaller than the broad leaved species. Its leaves are thinner and darker green, extending beyond the spike. The male and female portion of the narrow leafed species is separated by an inch (approximately) of bare stem. The T. angustifolia occurs in deeper water than the T. latifolia [broad leaf cattail] and has fewer and larger rhizomes, which enables it to grow in deeper water.

Broad leaf cattail [Typha latifolia] This species grows up to 10 feet tall and is found in areas of shallow water or seasonal flooding, or along the shores or margins of deeper water. This wetlands plant has become widespread in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, wherever weather is tropical or temperate.


The broad leaf cattail is an upright, rhizomatous, aquatic (or semi-aquatic) perennial herb, which produces sexually or asexually. The rhizomes are 3 -4 inches below the soil surface and can grow up to 27 inches long, with a diameter of 0.2 1.2 inches. Asexual reproduction occurs through the rhizome system, whereas sexual reproduction is carried out through seed dispersion and seedling establishment. The fruit seed period begins in late spring and lasts until the fall.

Common Cattail [Typhaceae] The common cattail is a native, perennial plant that grows to heights of 4-9 feet tall. It has flowering stalk and 6 or more leaves. The leaves grow up to 7 inches long and 1 inch across. They have parallel leaf venation and are flat, hairless and green to bluish grey in color and originate from the base of the plant. It has a flowering stock which ends in a spike of staminate flowers [male] and a spike of pistillate flowers [female]. Every staminate flower bears 4 grains of pollen. Once the pollen is released, the staminate spike shrivels up. The root system has thick starchy rhizomes and fibrous roots.

Cattails can reproduce by rhizome [roots that creep] or seed made by their flowers. Pollinated flowers will develop into seed heads which are carried away by the wind. Cattails can also spread through their root system. The narrow leaf cattail, the broad leaf cattail and the common cattail have characteristics that overlap, so identifying these wetland plants can be challenging. Typically, the common cattail is larger in size. One other difference is that the staminate and pistillate spikes of common cattail are adjacent to each other or separated less than inch. On the other hand, the staminate and pistillate spikes of the narrow leaf cattail are separated by more than a inch; but normally by a few inches. The cattail family prefers shallow, flooded conditions. During growing season, cattails like to be constantly wet [saturated soil].

The Edible Uses of Cattail You may just wrinkle up your nose at the thought of eating any part of cattail, but before you toss the idea away, take a look at some of what you can do with this plant. Keep this information filed away somewhere because if you are ever out in the wilderness, thirsty and hungry, spotting cattail is not only a sure sign of water, but knowing some of the following data just may keep your hunger pains away. There are also medicinal uses of cattail.

Believe it or not, every part of the cattail is edible but you must be careful not to mix cattail up with poisonous plants such as irises. The tender, young shoots are cut from the underground stems [rhizomes], in the spring when they are 4 -16 inches long. The base of the stem, where it attaches to the rhizome, can be boiled or roasted like potatoes. It is interesting to note that the rhizomes are richer in starch than potatoes. The young flower stalks can also be eaten raw, baked, boiled or steamed. The core of the rhizome can be ground up and used as flour, as it is a rich source of starch. According to a Harrington 1972 report, one acre of cattails yields approximately 6,475 pounds of flour. The Native American Indians made bread and other baked goods from the flour', which contains about 80% carbohydrates, 6% - 8% protein and is abundant in minerals and vitamins. The pollen can also be a great supplement for cornstarch.


The female part of the cattail can be eaten like sweet corn, when the stalk is immature and green. The rhizomes tender young shoots can be peeled and eaten as a vegetable or in salad. The Russians named the young shoots, Cossack asparagus'. The roots were used to treat intestinal problems and malaria.

There are a myriad of things that the cattail has been and can be used for. The Native American tribes used cattail leaves and wove them into sleeping mats and waterproof mats for the sides of their wigwams or lodges. The root stalks can be boiled or mashed, and used as a pasted for burns, scabs, sores, boils, inflammation, wounds and smallpox sores.

The dried leaves can be used to make chair seats, mats, baskets, rafts or floats. The roots were most often used in treating intestinal maladies and burns. The fluffy seeds that look almost like down, are used in coats, pillows, mattresses, quilts, dolls and life jackets. It was also used to dress wounds, and provide tinder. Dried cattails are an effective treatment for burns.

The benefits and uses of the cattail plants are quite numerous and very impressive. So the next time you pass by some cattails, stop and think of all the diverse uses for it; especially if you are feeling rather hungry!

Curly Dock

CURLY DOCK, YELLOW DOCK, (Rumex crispus)

Long, lance-shaped, hairless leaves with very wavy margins radiating from a common center in early spring makes this species distinct. In mid-spring, curly dock grows one- to five-foot tall spikes encircled by dense clusters of tiny, inconspicuous, green flowers, giving way to dense clusters of hard, reddish fruit. It grows in fields, on disturbed soil, along roadsides, and near the seashore.
The highly nutritious, lemony flavored young leaves are excellent raw or cooked in early spring, as are the leaves on the flower stalk and the peeled flower stalk in mid-spring. People boil the long yellow taproot and drink the bitter tea to detoxify and to help liver or skin ailments.

Late Fall and Winter Foraging

As the winter storms are beginning to blow in the foragers year is definitely coming to a close, unless you are a hunter of course, but that is another path altogether... The plant energy has turned inwards now, withdrawn into the roots. Here it will slumber until reawakened in the spring when the first birds begin to sing the wake up call and the sun begins to thaw the frozen earth.

Those who live in a cold climate might be snowed under already, while those blessed with milder weather might enjoy the last warm days and still find nuts and mushrooms to add to a hearty autumn feast. Sitting around an open fire with one's friends and roasting sweet chestnuts (make sure the bottoms are slit or else they will explode on you) and sharing some home made elderberry wine with stories and laughter is a wonderful winter pastime. Walnuts are also still good for picking - lest the squirrels beat you to them. If you don't mind a more 'unusual' flavour, acorns might be worth a try, though they definitely need 'watering' in order to leech out the bitterness. Boil them with several changes of water and then roast them in the oven. Grind them to the consistency you like and try adding them to bread or cake mixes. They impart a very nutty flavour and a tasty little crunch.

In the milder regions mushrooms might still be popping up in the fields and woods until they are killed by the frost. Though before attempting to add wild mushroom species to your foraged dishes make absolutely certain that you have picked only the ones that are good to eat. Ask an expert. In some countries you can go to the pharmacy and ask for help with identification. Or try the local botanical gardens, agricultural extension service or botany department of your university. Join a mushroom foray to get expert instruction on identification and most importantly, how to recognize the poisonous species.

One mushroom that is easily identified even by the novice, is the common inkcap. Use the tall ones as a guide to the colony - while the older ones are not good to eat once their lamella turn pink, the babies are usually never far. Because of the high water content mushrooms often don't cook very well; instead, they simply melt away. However, a great way to prepare them is as fritters. Roll the mushrooms in flour, dip them in beaten egg, then roll them in bread crumbs and drop them into a hot frying pan with sizzling vegetable oil. This way their consistency remains largely intact and the crust adds a nice crunchiness to the experience.

Also, now after the first frost has bitten it is a good time to pick rosehips, sloes, hawthorn berries and certain sorbus species. These fruits need to be bitten by the frost before they become really palatable. The rosehip fruits are soft now and can thus be processed much easier than in their early autumn rock-hard condition. Rosehips are very rich in vitamin C and are a great preventive remedy for winter ails. Process them quickly though, as they contain an enzyme, which will destroy the vitamin C as soon as the cut surfaces are exposed to the air.

Edible Wild Plants in Wisconsin

Wisconsin holds a vast variety of edible wild plants. From the uplands to the bottom lands and surrounding lake areas, edible plants thrive. Everything from berries, tubers, roots, nuts and greens flourish in Wisconsin. Before eating any type of wild plant, you will want to make sure it is edible. There are a bunch of plants that look just like their edible cousins but can make you ill if not kill you. Always carry a field guide of wild edibles when venturing into the wilds of Wisconsin.
Berries
Currants

Currants

There is a wealth of various berries growing in Wisconsin that you can eat. Gooseberry is a bush that grows 2- to 4-feet tall and has prickly branches with short clusters of flowers and fruits. They are found in the bottom lands, slopes and openings in the forest. The fruits can either be eaten raw or cooked. Currants grow on a bush that is 2- to 4-feet tall and is somewhat similar to the gooseberry bush but it lacks prickles. The fruits and flowers grow in elongated clusters and can be eaten raw or cooked. Elderberry is a bush that can grow to a height of 10 feet. The plant has broad clusters of flowers that are white and the fruits are purple to black in colorization. These plants can be found growing on the edges of swamps and along roadsides. The fruits can be eaten raw or cooked. The American cranberry grows on a bush that is just 8 to 12 inches in height. It has wiry, trailing stems that hold pink flowers and red berries. Blooming between June and October, it can be found in moist meadows and bogs. The berries can be eaten raw or cooked.
Green and Potherbs


Wild Lettuce grows anywhere from one to 10 feet in height with lance like leaves and yellow flowers. It blooms between July and September and can be found in open woods and meadows. The tender young leaves can be used just like lettuce. Dandelions can reach a height of 20 inches and have fluffy leaves and yellow flowers. This plant can be found almost anywhere within the state and blooms all year long. The flowers and leaves are edible raw or cooked. Spring Beauties grow to 10 inches tall. The plant has slightly succulent leaves and pink to white flowers on it. It can be found in meadows and woodlands. The corms resemble sweet potatoes and when boiled are said to taste like chestnuts. Curly Dock is a plant that can reach a height of 5 feet and has curled green and red flowers on it. It blooms from May through September and be found in fields and along roadsides. The leaves can be boiled like greens and the seeds can be ground and used like flour.
Trees

The Hazel tree is prized for its sweet nuts. The tree can grow to 9 feet tall and has sharply toothed leaves and hairless fruits that are encased in tubular husks. The trees can be found in old fields and woodland clearings. Black Cherry trees can reach a height of 60 feet and are found on the edges of streams and fields. The flowers are malodorous and the fruits are bright red when ripe. They can be eaten raw or cooked. The American Plum tree can reach a height of 30 feet with leaves that are coarsely toothed. The fruits are dark red to purple in color and can be eaten raw or cooked. These trees can be found along the edges of streams or in fields.

Jimsonweed

Jimsonweed, a k a Jamestown weed, mad apple, devil’s trumpet, locoweed, stinkwort or thorn apple, is a strikingly gothic-looking plant with seedpods that could have inspired the creator of “Little Shop of Horrors.” It has toothed leaves, stems that are reddish-to-dark eggplant in color and lovely trumpet-shape white or lavender blossoms, as long as a finger, that open at dusk. Found along roadsides, ditches and open fields in most states, including New York, where it grows as far south as Staten Island, it’s listed as a noxious weed in Pennsylvania and banned in Connecticut. An informal poll of writers from the Writhing Society at Proteus Gowanus described the plant as smelling like peanut butter, skunk cabbage and someone’s childhood cottage, but the first time I sniffed it, I thought of tahini.
Jimsonweed has trumpet-shaped white or lavender blossoms that open at dusk.


Much of the literature and testimony surrounding Datura stramonium and related species, including D. meteloides, D. wrightii and D. innoxia, point to its psychotropic, hallucinogenic and narcotic properties, where it is inextricably linked to shamanism (in Carlos Castaneda’s “The Teachings of Don Juan”) and even zombies (from Wade Davis’s “Passage of Darkness” and “The Serpent and the Rainbow”).

Some of the no-joke side effects from ingesting jimsonweed read like a 1970s public service announcement warning against angel dust and PCP: dilated pupils, racing heartbeat, hallucination, delirium, combative behavior and in severe cases, coma and seizures.

In 1676, British soldiers sent to Virginia to quell Bacon’s Rebellion ingested Datura stramonium in a boiled salad and remained in a stupor for 11 days. More recently, in 2008, a family in Maryland was poisoned when they mistook it for an edible garden green and ate it in a stew.

Written testimonials for Datura on the Erowid Web site , under titles like “Truly the Devil’s Weed,” “Nightmares in Flux” and “This is Madness,” include delusions of phantom cigarettes, conversations with imaginary friends, amnesia, blurred vision, a desire for cold showers and other irrational behavior. It’s no wonder that Amy Stewart devoted an entire chapter to it in her book “Wicked Plants.”


According to Daniel E. Moerman’s “Native American Medicinal Plants,” some American Indians use jimsonweed topically for wounds and inflammation, and there are reports of it being used as a treatment for asthma. But because of the plant’s more negative plant-human interactions, most folks are understandably wary of it, and many parents have been advised to root it out of backyards and gardens.

Solomon's Seal

Variegated Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum falcatum 'Variegatum' formerly P. odoratum 'Variegatum' or P. odoratum var. thunbergii 'Variegatum') loves shade to deep shade, & moist humusy soil.

The species ranges from Europe to Asia; the variegated form is of garden origin, from Japan.

Though the root has been used as a potato-like food source, & shoots prepared as a kind of asparagus, the whole plant but especially its roots & berries are sufficiently toxic that it can be dangerous to prepare, though harmless if properly & entirely well cooked.

Solomon's Seal If a rhizome is disturbed, divided, or separated from the parent plant in autumn for propogation purposes, it can be slow to recover, producing only a little foliage for the first year or two. When it has finally readied itself to take off, it becomes a stunning clump of graceful arching maroon stems lined with white-edged foliage.

The variegated form can be a little smaller than the regular species, often remaining in the fifteen to twenty inch range of height, but larger is possible in time. Once the rhizome has reached its way all about the area, the clump will erupt in spring three or four feet wide.

By then it will be too aggressive for anything nearby that is small to coexist, though hostas hold their own perfectly well, & Solomon's Seal does not displace anything larger, having evolved to live in the shelter of larger shrubs & trees.

It is grown primarily for the foliage, since the cream-colored flowers are small dangling bells mostly hidden on the underside of the long arches of large leaves. These graceful two-foot stems of leaves are useful in flower arranging.

Despite that the flowers are not as showy as the foliage, they are even so very pleasant in May, small bells hanging in pairs under the arching stems at each leaf axil. A bit of green speckles the tip of each bell.

Solomon's SealIn England Solomon's Seal is sometimes known as David's Harp, after medieval religious art which portrayed David with an instrument hung with metal bells (similar to the plant's dangling blossoms) struck with hammers. This is not the usual image evoked of David's biblical instrument, but it is seen on such monks' art as in the Plock Biblio parchment of 1148.

So too a Psalter in the Arundel collection has an illumination for the Eighty-first Psalm (which speaks of the harp) showing David striking a row of silver bells with hammers, this having been a Saxon influence of what David played. Wind chimes are likewise sometimes called King David's Harps.

In authentic Jewish sources, as well as most Christian, the harp really is a harp & not a belled instrument. But reproduced here is an illumination from the Gallican Psalter of 1470 showing David playing the bells (but with his harp leaning on a stool behind him, & lutes on the wall) & enclosed in vines.

The reason for its more common name is not entirely certain, because assigned to the plant a great long while ago. The predominant theory regards the starchy rhizome which grows each year another branching segment, with a "scar" left between each segment.

This root-scar is thought to be the reason for the name "Solomon's Seal," the plant sealing itself at each juncture leaving a mark some have likened to a Star of David. Additionally, it was once believed that juice from Solomon Seal roots possessed this same capacity to seal wounds of battle, just as it sealed its own wounds.


Solomon's SealPart II:
King Solomon & His Signet Ring
A tale of King Solomon & his seal is worth retelling, drawn in part from Mirkhound's Rouzat-us-Safa, & Tabari's History.

Djarada, the daughter of the legendary King Nubara of India, raised an army against Israel, & was killed in battle by King Solomon. King Nubara's daughter was forced into King Solomon's harem. She so despised her father's slayer that she wept constantly over her fate.

To appease her, Solomon allowed her to keep an idol of her father & worship it in her chambers. Public criticism caused him to change his mind. He broke Djarada's idol, punished her for idolatry, & underwent pennance for his own weakness in catering to his wife's sorrows & whims.

Leningrad CodexFrom Djarada's point of view, the slayer of her father could not even keep a promise to permit her her own faith. But Solomon adored her for her beauty &, hoping finally to win Djarada's affection, loaned her the signet ring by which he ruled, upon which was emblazened the six-pointed star of his & King David's realm, shown together with the Tetragramaton which spelled out the secret name of God.

Or according to others, Djarada held the ring for Solomon whenever he went to the privy. Still others ascribe this incident to a handmaiden, Aminah, who was given the ring to hold whenever Solomon was in his bath. For whatever the reason, she was at times entrusted with the very ring that permitted Solomon to rule Israel & even to command demons & demonesses to do his bidding.

It transpired that a demon named Ashmodai or Asmodius, or a djinn called Sakhur or Haritsu, took notice of this transaction. Taking on Solomon's form, he asked Djarada for the ring. When the real Solomon returned to Djarada's chamber, asking where she had put the ring, she immediately suspected him of being a demon & cast him out of the palace. But it is possible that Djarada conspired with the djinn from the beginning, to avenge her slain father.

Solomon went from house to house claiming to be the king of Israel, but people laughed at him. One housewife took pity on his delusion & gave him a plate of parched barley, but no one else paid him any attention [Ruth Rabbah 5:6; Eccl-Rabbah 2:2]. As he ate the barley, he wept at such irony, saying, "This is my portion from all my labor" [Eccl 2:10] when formerly his provisions for a single day consisted of thirty measures of fine flour, sixty of meal, ten fat oxen, twenty cattle, a hundred sheep, besides harts, gazelles, roebucks & fatted foul [1 Ki 4:22-23].

In those better days, so much was made for him to eat because all is wives prepared him meals, each hoping it was she that would receive him in the evening [Eccl-R 9:11.1]. But now here he had only a plate of mashed beans or barley, from a housewife who had wacked him on the head for claiming to be king of Israel.

Ashmodai threw Solomon's seal into the ocean, for the name of God upon it burned the fingers. While he was pretending to be king, he never removed his stockings, for he could not disguise his demonic feet, which were either hairy, or like a chicken's.

He would go to Solomon's wives, wearing stockings, & lay with them when they were menstruant. He even called for Bathsheba, but she would not lay with him, but set before him the name of God, so that he fled from Bathsheba's radiance [b. Gittin 68b].

Solomon and ShulamitAccording to the Midrash Tanumah, the first of Solomon's wives to uncover Ashmodai's masquerade was Topos. The majority of Solomon's court was continuously fooled.

The Jerusalem Talmud, however, says it was an angel of heaven, & not a demon, who took Solomon's throne, while Solomon wandered in chastized circumstance. It had been angels of God who gave Solomon his power over demons & demonesses. So when he worshipped foreign gods for the sake of his wives, it was angels of God who took away his power to command demons & demonesses.

In his misery, Solomon fled to the land of Amon, where he served as chief cook & bottlewasher for the Amonite king & queen, seething whenever he thought of his riches "lost in a bad venture"Ý[Eccl 5:14] or whenever he pondered the demon who usurped his wealth, possessions, & honor [6:2].

While he struggled for no further gain than to eat [5:12], Princess Naamah noticed his suffering, & fell in love with him. Her mother & father were outraged that their daughter desired to marry a kitchen worker. They exiled her from Amon, along with Solomon. Yet they were happy, & Solomon said, "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil" [4:12] & "If two lie together, they are warm" [4:13].

After numerous shared adventures, Naamah found Solomon's signet ring in the belly of a fish she was preparing for their repast (an almost identical legend occurs also in Indic mythology). By the seal on the ring, Solomon was restored to his throne. He cast out Djarada as a betrayer or a fool, & made Naamah his co-ruler seated beside him in her own throne [Bet ha-Midrash II:86-87; Midrash Tehillim 78:12].

However, Solomon never entirely overcame his fear of the demons & demonesses that had once been his to command by the power of the Seal. He worried that creatures of darkness would come against him as he slept, & so built a special bed, stationing three-score armed men around it [Song of Solomon 3:7], convinced as he was that he would be attacked by "the Dread (Pahad) of the night" [3:8]. Pahad of the Night was a title for the fierce charioteer & night-demoness Agrath, who is called "the Terror (Pahad) that walketh by night" [Ps 91:5; Numbers Rabbah 12:3].


Part III:
Origin: Emblem of the Mother Goddess
Solomon's Seal or the Star of David originally signified a Goddess akin to Ishtar or Anath. She may have been worshipped by the name Megiddo, which means "Her Eminance" or "Fruitful Lady" or "Mountain Mistress" or "Towering Lady." In Palmyrene inscriptions, Iddo, "Mistress" or "Lovely," occurs as a personal name, which is the feminine counterpart of the Syria God Haddu (Adu) known to the Hebrews as Hadad (Adon), "Lord." Baal Hadad's sister-consort was Anath, the Syriac Athena, & Megiddo must have greatly resembled Anath.

AnathIsaiah said that Megiddo's mountain was the "mount of congregation" ruled by "the son of the Morning Star" [Isa 14:12-14], this star being the same as the Star of David or Solomon's Seal.

Pagan divinities gathered at Megiddo's mountain in obeisance to Her, hence in rival cults Megiddo's mountain was called Armageddon, where the armies of the Antichrist gather in preparation for their battle with the armies of the Christ [Rv 16:16].

Among ivory carvings found by archeologists at the ruins of Megiddo was one of a slender nude woman with queenly headdress, & another of a robed woman. The robed woman carries an oversized staff of authority. Her large eyes are inset with glass & she is distinctly smiling, as though blessing those who gaze on her. She shows an Egyptian influence, somewhat resembling Isis. This would seem to be the original Megiddo, before she became a symbol of Doom & Armageddon at the end of time; although, like Kali, she may always have been as much the mark of the end of time as she had been the mark of the beginning of time.

The earliest Star of Davids discovered by archeologiests have come from Megiddo & Gibeon, where unique temple configurations were found to be held in common. The Gibeon Star of David occurs on a woman's cook-pot, & within it is a pictograph of a hen, while the Megiddo example is on a monument. This star, as a symbol of Megiddo's presence, may for the most part have been drawn with red paint as a devotional offering. This would explain why so few Star of Davids survive from greater antiquity, the paint having washed away with time. Indeed, until these two stars were discovered, it was commonly believed not to have been an ancient symbol.

It is easy to imagine that these painted stars, in a later age when Megiddo was no longer widely known as a Goddess, were reinterpreted as Solomon Seals, painted in pagan places by Solomon himself in order to seal in the demons that had once been the gods & goddesses symbolized by just such star-symbols.

Puffballs

Puffball (or Puff Ball) funguses are examples of "gastromycetes" (literally "stomach fungi") which completely enclose their spores. These start out as dense flattened mushrooms with no stem visible above ground. When they are ripe, the outer skin becomes papery, the interior dries out so that the whole round fungus is lighter than paper, & it lets go of its rooting so that it can blow about releasing spores from the hole that bursts open at the top and secondarily at the bottom where it was formerly attached to the ground.


The species name means "pear-shaped." The genus name translates "Wolf" (Lyco) & "burst of wind" (perdon), so that Nancy Smith Weber's mushroom field guide says it means, "Wind of the Wolf." A better translation is "Wolf Fart Pears," & some people do indeed call any fungus of the Lycoperdon genus "wolf-farts."

Shown above in an August photo are young Lycoperdon pyriforme Wolf-fart Pears underneath a Pin Oak. A larger species occasionally encountered is L. gigantea which ripen into puffballs as big as footballs. But most often seen in Pacific Northwest gardens is L. pyriforme, usually only an inch or two round at maturity.

Puffballs will spew a cloud of spores if tramped by animals or picked up & squeezed by curious & delighted children. A childrens' myth holds that if you breathe the spores of a puffball, you'll turn into one, or mushrooms will grow inside you. Kids' instincts are correct in assuming danger, as the spores are indeed potentially harmful. The spores in the lungs can cause respiratory distress & even germinate as far as the hypae stage, fortunately treatable with fungicidal medication. Also, if they are eaten once they begin to reach the spore stage, they can be very mildly poisonous. The additional child belief that getting spores in your eyes causes blindness is untrue, but it wouldn't be very comfortable either.

Horror-story mushroom myths shared between smaller children has the benefit of protecting them from accidents, but the myths teenagers come up with put them in the way of harm. The same sorts of young adults naive enough to believe baked banana skins are a good substitute for marijuana are also naive enough to believe the spores of puffballs are hallucinogenic if breathed into the lungs, a notion that has no basis in reality. An incident from Wisconsin involved kids breathing so many spores so deeply that they indeed germinated in the lungs, requiring hospitalization.

Puffballs are edible when young & when still fleshy-white within, though inedible once they've darkened & begun to go to spoor. When cut open, the gleba (interior) must not have any sign of yellow, brown, purple, or anything but fleshy whiteness. It should be regarded as toxic if it is any other color than white. The Giant Puffball can be sliced, breaded, & fried. Smaller species can be used like any other edible mushroom for any number of purposes. Unlike other mushrooms, however, they are nearly impossible to keep fresh longer than a day, as the toxic spoors will quickly develop inside them, & freezing destroys their taste. This is why they have no commercial marketability, but they are quite the delicacy when used immediately. Freeze-drying is the only way they might be kept any length of time.


They are considered among the safest choices for beginner mushroom hunters as nothing looks exactly like them that is poisonous. The major proviso is they must be used while still white within, though even when they go to spore they are only mildly toxic increasing their safety factor for beginners. At such a stage they are the closest thing one can have to French truffles without the great expense of true truffles. However, the thick-skinned varieties of puffballs called Sclerodermas are outright poisonous once they begin to change color, & have been implicated at least in the death of small pigs.

Although us amateurs would be taking very few risks in selecting white-fleshed puffballs for feast, I regard myself as a bit too amateur & not certain I would never mistake a Scleroderma for a Puffball. I would only harvest them to eat if a friend well versed in mycology was with me that day, but I've heard enough of "the horror stories" to be paranoid about gathering fungus for the table. Paranoia aside, puffballs are an extremely safe choice just so long as one uses nothing puffball-like that is thickskinned, stemmed, or any color within other than white.

Puffballs can appear in the same place year after year, usually under a tree, with oaks a favorite. There is a mycelial mass underground which is the main body of this fungus, which goes unseen; the fungus is only visible in late summer or early autumn when it produces the above-ground fruiting bodies which are the part known as puffballs or wolf-farts. The mycelial mass can reach downward several feet, & sometimes grows into a wide circle many feet around, which causes seasonal "fairy rings" to erupt in woodland areas & sometimes in lawns.

Although the puffballs can persist in a given location for several years running, as a rule the underground mass uses up the decaying matter & will need to migrate into a new area or else die out. When they form fairy rings, the ring can appear to be moving further away from a central point each year, as it uses up the decayed matter in the center of the ring then moves outward.

Puffballs are one of the least worrisome mushrooms to pop up around the bases of oaks or other trees. If one sees fan-shaped mushrooms or stringy funguses or little golden toadstools at the base of trees, one might be more concerned with the possibility of a pathogenic root fungus, but puffballs are harmless to a living host tree. Indeed, its presence often means that the array of beneficial mycorrhizae is extremely healthy for that tree, turning decaying matter into nutrients useful to trees & shrubs.

PUFFBALL RECIPES

Puffball Escargots

From the Oregon Mycological Society’ 1987 edition of Wild Mushroom Cookery

1 dozen Lycoperdon perlatum or pyriforme
cup butter, softened
2 TBSP minced shallots
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 TBSP bread crumbs
1 TBSP minced fresh parsley
tsp. salt
tsp. rosemary
Fresh ground pepper
Dry sherry

Slice off bottom of each mushroom and scoop out the center. Chop and blend with butter. Mix in remaining ingredients and stuff mixture into the hollowed out shells, drizzling a few drops of sherry onto the top of each. Place in a baking pan in one layer and bake at 400 or broil until browned and sizzling. Serve hot as an appetizer.

Stuffed Giant Puffball Mushrooms

Ingredients

* 1 white giant puffball
* 1 or 2 courgettes, depending on size, chopped
* 2 rashers smoked bacon, chopped
* 1 handful parsley, chopped
* 1 slice ham, chopped
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 6 tomatoes, chopped
* 1 handful basil, torn up
* 1 tsp thyme leaves
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1 tbsp oatmeal

Method

1. Cut one end off the puffball and scrap the inside, carefully. Chop up the scrapings.
2. Mix all the ingredients together with the scrappings and stuff the mixture back into the puffball. Cover the puffball with the cut end and wrap it in foil. Place in a roasting tray.
3. Place the stuffed puffball mushroom in the oven at 180 degrees and bake for about 2 hours.
4. Slice and serve with vegetables.

"Stinging Nettle"

A surprising feature of herbal research is that it is seldom the rare, exotic, and beautiful plant that proves the most interesting; more often it is some common, familiar, and despised weed that it discovered to have undreamed of virtues. The common nettle is a good illustration.

Nearly everyone who has ever run barefoot as a child knows and hates this plant, but it is only a stinging acquaintance.

Nettles are common along roadsides, in waste places, and on vacant lots where barefoot children like to play, and when contacted by a bare ankle it causes a painful smarting followed by a red rash.

"All some want to know about nettles is how to get rid of them." This is the attitude that most people have toward this herb.

And yet, this detested weed is one of the finest and most nutritious foods in the whole plant kingdom. Unlike many health foods, nettle greens are really good, as well as being good for you.

In addition to their good taste, nettles are rich in vitamins A and C, amazingly high in protein, filled with chlorophyll, and probably exceedingly rich in many of the essential trace minerals.

No grazing animal will eat a live nettle, but when nettles are mowed and dried, all kinds of livestock eat them avidly and thrive on them. Horses get shinier coats and improve in health when fed dried nettles. Cows give more and richer milk when fed on nettle hay. Hens lay more eggs when powdered nettle leaves are added to their mash, and these eggs actually have a higher food value. Even the manure from nettle-fed animals is improved, and makes better fertilizer.


Nettles furnish one of the most valuable of all plant substances to use as a mulch in your garden, or to add to your compost pile. Having approximately seven percent nitrogen, figured on a dry-weight basis, this plant is richer in this essential nutrient than many commercial fertilizers.
Nettles are covered with tiny, nearly invisible stinging hairs that produce an intense, stinging pain, followed redness and skin irritation. The generic name comes from the Latin word, "uro," which means "I burn." Nevertheless, they're superb, non-stinging, cooked vegetables.

Nettles usually appear in the same places year after year. Look for them in rich soil, disturbed habitats, moist woodlands, thickets, along rivers, and along partially shaded trails.

They grow throughout most of the United States Here are a few of the most common species: Stinging nettle's (Urtica dioica) rather stout, ribbed, hollow stem grows 2-4 feet tall. The somewhat oval, long-stalked, dark green, opposite leaves are a few inches long, with a rough, papery texture, and very coarse teeth. The leaf tip is pointed, and its base is heart-shaped.


This is a dioecious plant, with male and female flowers growing on separate plants. The species name, dioica, means "two households" in Greek: By late spring, some plants have clusters of tiny, green female flowers, hanging from the leaf axils in paired strands.
You can eat the stems as well as the leaves of the very young plant.Collect nettle leaves before they flower in spring. They may be bad for the kidneys after they flower. New nettles come up in the fall, and you can pick them before they're killed by frost.

People have been using nettles for food, medicine, fiber, and dyes since the Bronze Age. Collect them using work gloves, and wear a long-sleeved shirt. If you happen upon nettles when you have no gloves, put your hand inside a bag. The young leaves are the best part of the plant. They come off most easily if you strip them counter-intuitively, from the top down.


Clean and chop nettles wearing rubber gloves. Once youíve cooked them a little, the stingers are deactivated, and the plant becomes wonderfully edible.

Nettles have a bad reputation as an unpleasant-tasting survival food in some circles. That's because people don't know how to prepare them. They often boil them, which is awful. Nettle leaves are good simmered in soups 5-10 minutes, but my favorite method is the waterless steaming method, recommended for spinach in a 1699 cookbook by John Evelyn, and described in the cooking section.
Enjoy nettles as a vegetable side-dish with rice and beans. Sometimes I make creamed nettlesómuch more satisfying than creamed spinach. Because nettles have the richest, hardiest taste of any green,you can combine them with lighter ingredients, such as celery, zucchini, lemon juice, or tomato sauce.
Dry nettles for winter use and tea.

As food, this tonic is good for rebuilding the system of chronically ill people. Nineteenth century literature is full of so-called constitutionally weak people, who usually die on the last page. In Russia, they were given freshly squeezed nettle juiceóa tonic loaded with iron and other nutrientsófor iron-deficiency anemia. This often worked.

Many of the benefits are due to the plant's very high levels of minerals, especially, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, silica, iodine, silicon, sodium, and sulfur. They also provide chlorophyll and tannin, and they're a good source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and B complex vitamins. Nettles also have high levels of easily absorbable amino acids. They're ten percent protein, more than any other vegetable.

The substances in the stingers have medicinal uses: In the late 1980s, scientists studying the differences between dried and freeze-dried herbs accidentally discovered that freeze-dried nettles cured one of the researcher's hay-fever. Subsequently, a randomized double-blind study at the National College of naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon showed that 58 percent of hay-fever sufferers given freeze-dried nettles rated it moderately to highly effective. Nettles are a traditional food for people with allergies.


Nettles sting you because the hairs are filled with formic acid, histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), plus unknown compounds. Some of these substances are destroyed by cooking, steeping, or drying, but not by freeze-drying or juicing. Unfortunately, you need a vacuum chamber to freeze-dry herbs. However, you can purchase freeze-dried nettles in capsules for hay-fever.

As an expectorant, it's recommended for asthma, mucus conditions of the lungs, and chronic coughs. Nettle tincture is also used for flu, colds, bronchitis and pneumonia.

Nettle infusion is a safe, gentle diureticóconsidered a restorative for the kidneys and bladder, and used for cystitis and nephritis. It ís also recommended for weight loss, but you may shed more pounds of water than fat.


Nettle tea compress or finely powdered dried nettles are also good for wounds, cuts, stings, and burns. The infusion was also used internally to stop excessive menstruation, bleeding from hemorrhages, bloody coughs, nose bleeds, and bloody urine. It helps blood clot, but major bleeding is dangerousóindicative of a serious underlying condition. Consult a competent practitioner in such cases. Use for minor cuts.

Other uses include treating gout, glandular diseases, poor circulation, enlarged spleen, diarrhea, and dysentery, worms, intestinal and colon disorders, and hemorrhoids. Nettles are usually used along with other herbs that target the affected organs.

German researchers are using nettle root extracts for prostate cancer, and Russian scientists are experimenting with nettle leaf tincture for hepatitis and gall bladder inflammation.

Eating nettles or drinking the tea makes your hair brighter, thicker and shinier, and makes your skin clearer and healthierógood for eczema and other skin conditions. Commercial hair- and skin care products in health food stores often list stinging nettle as an ingredient. Nettles have cleansing and antiseptic properties, so the tea is also good in facial steams and rinses.

Nettles' long, fibrous stems were important in Europe for weaving, cloth-making, cordage, and even paper. Native Americans used them for embroidery, fish nets, and other crafts. You can even extract a yellow die from the roots.


Nettle tea is given to house plants to help them grow, but the strangest use I've ever heard is for severe arthritis. You must whip the victim over most of the body until an extensive rash develops. This flagellation or "urtication" may stimulate the weak organs, muscles, nerves and lymphatic system, and increase circulation. Or it may cause so much pain, the victim forgets about the arthritis.



Old-Time Herbal Remedy

All this would seem enough to ask of one common weed, but in addition to these virtues, nettles have also long been used in home remedies and herbal medicines to treat mankind's ills. Any efficacy the nettle may have in this area is probably due to its high content of vitamins and minerals.

A lively soft drink can be made of nettles that is reputed to cure the aches and pains of the aged, but it also makes a pleasant beverage for people of all ages. Eating nettles is not at all the unpleasant experience you might expect it to be, for this plant, when gathered at the right stage and properly prepared, is a very palatable vegetable. It is said that a good French cook can make seven delicious dishes of nettle tops. You can do as well, once the general principles of nettle-cookery are known.



Nettle Greens: Gather Only Early in Season

Like asparagus, peas, and many other vegetables, nettles must be gathered at just the right stage to be good. The common nettle has perennial underground rhizomes, and from these the tender shoots spring up as soon as the weather is warm. It is only these first nettles, gathered when less than a foot high, that are good to eat.

Take only the tender tops of young, first-growth nettles, before they begin to bloom. Wear leather or plastic-coated work gloves while gathering nettles. Wash the greens by stirring them in water with a long-handled spoon, then use a pair of kitchen-tongs to put them directly into a large saucepan with a tight cover. The moisture that clings to the leaves will furnish ample cooking water. Cover and cook gently for twenty minutes; drain, but save that juice.

You can chop the greens right in the cooking pot by using a pair of kitchen shears. Season the vegetable with butter and salt to taste, and it is ready to serve. A more wholesome vegetable never came to the table. Cooking completely destroys the nettles' stinging properties, and actually converts the venom into wholesome food.

Creamed or Pureed Nettles

Mix the cooked and chopped greens, 2 cupfuls, with a small can of cream of mushroom soup (or cream of celery, or cheese soup) and 1/2 cup of light cream for a superior creamed vegetable, wonderful over toast.

For pureed nettles, rub the cooked nettles, juice and all, through a sieve; return this puree to the heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter, salt to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in a few tablespoons of light cream, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, and serve immediately.

Nettle Pudding

An old English recipe is nettle pudding, which is not a dessert but a hearty main dish. To 2 cups of cooked and chopped nettle greens add 1 cup chopped leek or onion, 1 cup chopped broccoli, 1 cup raw rice, 1 cup ground beef, and 1/2 cup fine-chopped beef suet. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and a little freshly ground black pepper, mix well, then tie the mixture up in a muslin cloth that has been wrung out in cold water. Drop into boiling water and boil for 1 hour, or hang over boiling water and steam for 3 hours. When you remove the pudding cloth, you will have a round cannonball of a pudding that is delicious when served with a good gravy or melted butter.

Nettle Soup, Juice & Beer

Let's return to that juice we drained from the cooked nettles. Just seasoned with a little salt and pepper and a little vinegar, it makes a tasty soup that is supposed to be very efficacious in removing unwanted pounds. Mixed with a little honey it is said to relieve asthma, allay a cough, and help cure bronchitis. Taken as hot as you can take it, after exposure, this juice has a reputation of helping to prevent colds.

This same juice, cooled, is said to be a fine hair tonic. Applied twice a day it is reputed to prevent falling hair, eliminate dandruff, promote a healthy scalp, and help keep the hair neatly combed.

In some parts of England the country people still make a pleasant summer drink called nettle beer. To 4 quarts of freshly picked nettle tops add 2 gallons of water, 2 lemons cut in thin slices, rind and all, and 2 ounces of crushed, dried gingerroot. Boil gently for forty minutes, then strain and stir in 2 cups of brown sugar. When cooled to barely lukewarm, dissolve a cake of yeast in a cup of the liquid and then stir it into the brew. Bottle immediately and cap tightly, and in a few days it is ready to drink. It should be refrigerated until ice-cold before opening, for this is a lively drink and will foam wildly if opened while warm. Since it has no detectable alcoholic content it can be given to the whole family.

Our ancestors were hunters, gatherers, fishers, and farmers. There were no pilots, cable installers, computer programmers, or telemarketers. Food was either gathered, raised, or killed fresh and served in relative purity straight from Mother Nature’s pantry.

Today, most consumers live in close proximity to a large grocery store, where hunting through the butcher’s cold case or deli and foraging in the produce section is about as close to the food source as they will ever get. It has been observed with sagacity that if all meat eaters had to slaughter their own meat, there would be mass conversion to vegetarianism. Needless to say, that may never happen, but it does show how far most of us are from the real process of food foraging and/or production.

As I wander through the orderly vegetable and fruit displays in our area’s new mega market, I hear thunderclaps and the sound of soft rain as overhead misters automatically spray the vegetables. In the egg and dairy section, I am serenaded by mooing cows and clucking hens. By the meat and fish counter I hear the sounds of the ocean and the piercing cries of seagulls. In the pet section, I am reminded to buy the kitty her cat food with the plaintive meows of hungry kitties and barking dogs. These nature recordings are more than mere entertainment or novelties. I know store managers are subtly trying to manipulate my natural foraging instincts by attempting to make me feel like a self-sufficient primitive hunter/gatherer, or at least like I’m back on the farm, filling my basket with the earth’s fresh bounty. The recordings seem to delight most shoppers and their children, but they do nothing but annoy me. I resent any form of sales manipulation, especially on the subliminal level.
As a child, I loved to walk along ditch banks in the spring and summer to find tender greens, fruit, and whatever else was free and edible.Given the opportunity, I prefer to forage for wild foods,and also grow my own food for winter eats.
Take a hike, cutting across foothills and forest . . . preferably with someone, and determine if there are any wild edibles that haven’t been sprayed. Forget mushrooms unless you have been taught by someone knowledgeable in the field.

Puffballs are usually good, if picked fresh, and can be sliced and sauteed in Tamari (soy) sauce and margarine — a real delicacy!
Be a responsible forager, asking for permission when necessary. Be kind to the trees and plants you harvest, leaving enough behind for them to regenerate or reseed. Always leave some for the wild birds and animals that depend on them for survival. Never gather so much in one area that it looks stripped or bare . . . move along and take a little here and a little there as the animals do.
The most overlooked area to forage is our own gardens, yards, and property. If you have a dripping faucet, brook, or spring, plant mint, watercress, or other water-loving plants that can take care of themselves. In our own yard, we have many plants that require little but water. These include catnip, two types of oregano, peppermint, rosemary, volunteer mammoth sunflowers, garlic, and Echinacea Augustifolia. Our garden offers foragable edibles like Lamb’s Quarters and squash blossoms, which we dip in blue cornmeal batter and fry. My most wonderful garden “weed,” however, is Purslane.

It can be enjoyed for its tangy taste in raw salads, or fried lightly with other vegetables. Native Peoples have always valued this super-nutritional plant. Traditional herb lore prescribes this lowly plant as a treatment for the “sugar” disease.
Finally, one might consider becoming a modern-day Johnny Appleseed. If you are aware of ditches, brooks, or other damp areas, try planting Mammoth Sunflowers, watercress, tomatoes, or other (legal) herbs, trees, or seeds and care for them periodically during their initial growing stages. A few squash or pumpkin seeds can yield enormous amounts of food. Just don’t be too disappointed if fellow foragers discover and harvest your plants. True earth farmers and caretakers know that if we could give as freely as Mother Earth, no one would ever go to bed hungry.
Our surroundings are overgrown with edible herbs, greens, berries, roots, nuts, seeds and mushrooms, which survive the herbivores who dine on them by prolifically reproducing-so much so that people incorrectly identify them as "weeds." Although certain wild plants are poisonous, there are plenty of edibles that are easy to recognize, tastier than anything you buy, super nutritious and just plain fun to gather and cook with.