Every week when I go out foraging, there's less and less to discover, less and less to collect. Leaves crunch underfoot, branches are increasingly bare, and annuals are dying back. The weather has gotten decidedly cool and it won't be long before this area experiences its first frost. (Left: View From Fahnestock State Park by wide eyed lib)
Soon there will be almost nothing left above ground, and in the months ahead I'll have to dip into my larder in order to continue eating something foraged every day, even if it's only a cup of wild mint tea with breakfast. Luckily, I've been busy drying, fermenting, freezing and canning some of the things I've collected since March.
Before Winter is well and truly upon us, let's take a walk to gather the few remaining bounties of a fading season.
Covered: common evening primrose
[As always, if you're new to foraging and want to give it a try, please read the first diary in the FFF series for some important information.]
Common evening primrose is a native biennial that begins life in early Spring as a basal rosette with many long, narrow, wavy-edged leaves whose distinctive white midrib bulges out from the back of each leaf. Depending on growing conditions, the leaves can sometimes be tinged with red. Like all biennials it typically spends its first year storing energy in its long, white taproot so that it can send up a 5 to 7 foot flowerstalk in mid-Summer of its second year. The flowerstalk is can be branched or unbranched and is studded with smaller, alternate leaves and topped with long, narrow buds that open into yellow flowers whose 4 petals fuse at the base to form a narrow tube. Common evening primrose's flowers are adapted to pollination by moths and thus typically open for the first time in the evening. Its root and leaves smell like radishes, but the flowers smell a bit like vanilla. Fertilized flowers are replaced by long, narrow, woody seed capsules full of tiny, russet-colored seeds. These often persist over the winter on top of the dried stalks. (Above right: Common Evening Primrose Basal Rosette by wide eyed lib)
Common evening primrose loves fields and disturbed areas with lots of sun throughout all southern Canadian provinces and most U.S. states (the exceptions being mostly in the southwest). It can thrive in sandy soil, so it's often found by the seashore, but it's just as likely to turn up in fertile gardens.
If you like radishes, you'll love this plant. The leaves have a lovely peppery bite and can be eaten raw or cooked, though the best, most tender leaves are those on the leaf stalk. Some people may prefer them cooked since they're a bit coarse in texture when raw. Unless you're going for a very assertive dish, they should be mixed with other, milder greens. The leaf stalks themselves can be harvested while they're still flexible, peeled and eaten raw or cooked. They're slightly sweet and slightly spicy. The white taproot (often tinged pink at the top) can exceed a foot in length and is, if anything, slightly more assertive than most radishes. It can be sliced thinly and used raw in salads, roasted like other root vegetables or simmmered in soups, where it has a slight thickening ability. Longer cooking makes for a milder flavor. The flower buds and the flowers themselves are sweet with a bit of a kick. The buds are best cooked, but the flowers are best raw. They're especially beautiful sprinkled over salads. (Above: Common Evening Primrose with Root by wide eyed lib)
If you come across something that looks like a flower bud but is hard and woody, that's a seedpod. Seedpods, open flowers and flower buds often co-exist on the plant at the same time. When mature, the seedpod will split open along its seams, and the seeds can easily be shaken into a container. They have a mild flavor. I use them like sesame seeds. Best of all, they have the highest amount of gamma-linolenic acid (a fatty acid essential to many bodily functions) of any known plant material. Although you can pay dearly for evening primrose oil in health food stores, eating seeds daily is just as effective and far less expensive. (Right: Common Evening Primrose Flower Stalk by wide eyed lib)
Medicinally, the leaves and stem of common evening primrose have sedative and astringent qualities. They've been used for whooping cough (as has a syrup from the flowers) and various intestinal upsets. Oil from the seeds has many uses, including treating multiple sclerosis, pre-menstrual tension, hyperactivity and skin conditions such as eczema. It can be rubbed into brittle nails and may provide some relief for rheumatoid arthritis. There's some evidence that regular use can reduce blood cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure.
Note: The Oenothera genus contains 65 species. According to Samuel Thayer, they're all edible but common evening primrose (O. biennis) is the best. Common evening primrose is not (I repeat NOT) related to garden primrose (Primula species). As far as I'm aware, garden primrose is not edible.
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I was planning to cover 2 additional plants this week, but I went for a walk this morning thinking I would be able to come back in time to write another couple of entries. Unfortunately, I was continually waylaid by people who were interested in what I was gathering (black nightshade berries, covered here). I'm almost always happy to share what I know about foraging, and before I knew it, the sun was low in the sky and it was nearly time to post.
On the bright side, I have at least 2 weeks' worth of plants to cover. I'm still looking for volunteers if anyone is interested in writing a foraging diary for the series. More info and suggestions for what volunteer diaries might cover can be found in [last week's diaryhttp:www.dailykos.com/story/2009/11/1/799357/-Free-Food:-Foraging-for-New-Ideas-and-Volunteers]
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If you're interested in foraging and missed the earlier diaries in the series, you can click here for the previous 32 installments. As always, please feel free to post photos in the comments and I'll do my best to help identify what you've found. (And if you find any errors, let me know.)
Here are some helpful foraging resources:
"Wildman" Steve Brill's site covers many edibles and includes nice drawings.
"Green" Deane Jordan's site is quite comprehensive and has color photos and stories about many plants.
Green Deane's foraging how-to clips on youtube each cover a single plant in reassuring detail.
Linda Runyon's site features only a few plants but has great deals on her dvd, wild cards and books (check out the package deals in particular).
Steve Brill's book, Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places is my primary foraging guide. (Read reviews here, but if you're feeling generous, please buy from Steve's website.)
Linda Runyon's book The Essential Wild Food Survival Guide contains especially detailed information about nutritional content and how to store and preserve wild foods.
Samuel Thayer’s book The Forager's Harvest is perhaps the finest resource out there for the 32 plants covered. The color photos and detailed harvest and preparation information are top-notch.
Steve Brill also offers guided foraging tours in NYC-area parks. Details and contact info are on his website.
Don Wiss’s website is a treasure trove featuring hundreds of photos of common northeastern edibles.
Finally, the USDA plants database is a great place to look up info on all sorts of plants.
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