Utilizing the Natural Environment: Plants and Other Resources

Name that plant

 

Pic 1 Autumn Olive Berries
Pic 2 Mustard Garlic

 

Going to a Wild Edible "class" on Saturday. Hopefully, I will get some more pics and info. Thanks for starting this again.

 

I'll try to takes some pics of plants I find this weekend. I'll be in the woods for four days hunting and hiking.

 

Definitely autumn olive/Russian olive. Will trust wisdom on the other. Looks like a geranium.

 

Plantain...awesome little plant!

 

My 4 favorite books so far. This is my winter project this year. The Smokey Mountain Field school has a wonderful instructor Ila Hatter. Her medicinal and wild edible classes are awesome.

 

Here's a good one to know.

 

Here's one I learned today. Any guesses?

 

Young rattlesnake plantain?

 

Winterberry? Or a type of mint. Doesn't it have a small red berry?

 

This is pipsissiwa or stripped wintergreen.

 

Witch hazel leaf

 

Soon to be acorn flour.

 

Would you elaborate on how you process acorns? I've thought about doing it but never made time.... sort of like dealing with cattails.

 

There are several methods I've seen, We have tried a couple and are still experimenting. I would start with white oaks. You can use other oaks but the tannin needs to be leeched. Even then they taste pretty rough. I would avoid red oaks altogether. White oaks are much tastier but it still doesn't hurt to leech. Remove the shell and pick out any worms or worm damaged segments. You can either boil them at this point or soak them in an refrigerator. Changing the water every day. At this point you need to grind them in a food processor or magic bullet. Strain it cheesecloth and you will have a dough that can be used as a start for your bread. I have also roasted them and then tried to dry grind. The issue is the fat and moisture in the acorn. Experiment with them and let me know what happens. We are still learning. The best way to master these skills is practice.

 

I left out putting them in an oven to remove the moisture. You can sun dry as well but I'm not that patient. If using the boiling method I'd change the water 2-3 times or til it clears up. All temps and times are by feel or appearance.