Wild Plants – June 26, 2021

Our day on Saturday June 26 was all in anticipation of eating! Although the beauty of the forest and the abundance of plants to learn were in our minds – June is the shoulder season of eating greens and the beginning of edible flower season.

It was only a few feet along the trail before we noticed an amazing sight – the unfurling of a non-photosynthetic plant – Monotropa or Ghost Pipe.

This incredible plant gets its energy and sugars through mycelial connections – thank goodness for fungi.

Some plants along the forest edge included checking the ever abundant Poison Ivy (an awareness tester for any forager!) and the presence of healthy Coltsfoot. We compared the shapes and textures of the leaves of Wild Ginger with some nearby Violets – there are so many senses to use while learning about plants – touch, smell, sight to name a few 🙂

After a great discussion on sustainable or regenerative use of plants and what we can offer them – compost, love and care, or seedballs to name a few ideas – we set about harvesting for our potluck. Some of our choice edibles included Riverbank Grape tendrils, Wood Sorrel, Dandelion greens (from plants that haven’t flowered yet), Day Lily (Hemerocallis) shoots, Catnip for tea and Red Raspberry for tea.

After we cooked up our greens, dried our herbs for tea and frittered up the flowers of Milkweed and Elderberry, we still had time that evening for a fire under the stars.