Which wild plants do you commonly use?

right on almost always lost. I read about kudzu edibility recently. believe its up her in pa. chicory should be popping up here but I'll be in the west in a handful of days. I'm reading breadroot is big out in eastern or. I want to find it. anybody know of it
 
Tatanka said:
right on almost always lost. I read about kudzu edibility recently. believe its up her in pa. chicory should be popping up here but I'll be in the west in a handful of days. I'm reading breadroot is big out in eastern or. I want to find it. anybody know of it
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I've got a big old burdock plant I'm getting ready to harvest any advice on making it taste good?
 
well my book says you want early 1st year plants. Even they were tough. But if its green and alive go for it. Boil through a few changes of water for sure in salt and pepper, good to mix with other stuff . Mine still had crunch but it was still decent. It has a nippy taste to it.
 
Tatanka said:
well my book says you want early 1st year plants. Even they were tough. But if its green and alive go for it. Boil through a few changes of water for sure in salt and pepper, good to mix with other stuff . Mine still had crunch but it was still decent. It has a nippy taste to it.
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Thanks man, this plant is at least 3 years old but I'm short on nutrients and tired of dandelion lol. Sorry for the meh rating i accidentally bump stuff on my phone.
 
I'm interested to know the size of the root mine was like a few leaves first growth plant and had a shockingly large root. pretty wild
 
Tatanka said:
I'm interested to know the size of the root mine was like a few leaves first growth plant and had a shockingly large root. pretty wild
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From my understanding their root structure can get quite massive.
 
Now's a good time to be out foraging. Just a few weeks ago I harvested a few quarts of dandelion blossoms and am now making wine from them.
 
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This is Mullein. A friend of mine from NC referred to it as Rabbit Tobacco. It grows in disturbed soil throughout North America. American Indians used the leaves as baby wipes and papoose liners, and they used the seeds as a fish poison.

What I really like is that you can smoke the leaves to soothe a cough or sore throat. You can mix it with weed or tobacco, or just smoke it by itself. You can also make a tea out it, but that's not as much fun.
 

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One I don't think I have seen here is the awesome Jewel Weed (aka Touch-Me-Nots). It grows in moist areas/wetlands and is great for skin irritations. Bug bites, poison ivy, etc... It is just starting to come up right now and grows throughout the summer. You just slice down the stem and apply the inside of the stem to the affected area.
 
PatchTwist said:
One I don't think I have seen here is the awesome Jewel Weed (aka Touch-Me-Nots). It grows in moist areas/wetlands and is great for skin irritations. Bug bites, poison ivy, etc... It is just starting to come up right now and grows throughout the summer. You just slice down the stem and apply the inside of the stem to the affected area.
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It's great for burns too, including sun burn.
 
Raspberry leaf tea is one i haven't seen mentioned yet. Its good for ladies. I found a bunch of rag weed or squaw weed this spring (blooms early) but didn't need it b/c i didn't get preggo this spring. Cover the whole plant in boiling water, make tea, drink twice a day till you start bleeding. Mugwort is not abortificant but can help get your period flowing. I collect mullen, USNEA, red rasberry leaf, and yarrow as like, must haves. And i guess whats called wildmugwort/white sage. Sage vareies alot in different locations. South dakota sage is really different from southern colorado sage.

Usnea is magical and hasnreally helped my friend, when they had a sick stomach, throwing up from old bad food, tea tastes like medicine but helps. Also if u get it wet it can be a wound dressing it's antiviral/antifungal.
Yarrow is the amazing. When i have a cold hard withdrawn feeling in my stomach, from not eating, yarrow tea like relaxes and warms me. Basically it increases circulation and will stop bleeding when applied externally. Use the leaves, or leaves and flowers grows everywhere. There are some plants i dunno by name but my look only. Oh no its called wild bergamont, bit you should only drink it if yr sick, or it will make you sick, purple flowers and is related to.mint.
Mullen is great.
 
Anyone gonna collect some walnuts? Holy shit trees are exploding with em this year. Great year for fruiting trees and berries.
 
outskirts said:
I'm curious as to what wild plants do many of us here utilize.
I've been using and researching wild plants for years, it really is a
passion of mine. There are so many that I use for all kinds of purposes,
food, medicine, intoxication, tools, bug repellent, basket materials, etc.
I'm always trying to learn about new plants from people, or new uses
for plants I'm already familiar with.
So tell me which ones do you commonly use and for what do you use them?
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I eat whole dandelions raw
 
Some useful allies in the southwest:
Yarrow/ my favorite to keep on hand- good as tea for cold/flu + circulation n the leaves can be used externally to instantly stop bleeding.
Oat tops/ tea for nervous system
Mugwort/ excellent for breaking up stagnant energy shouldnt be taken during moontime cuz it can make cramps worse. Powerful dream medicine as folx mentioned- has stimulating effects bc it moves energy..
Passionflower/ subtle but the flower essence made me have some pretty vivid dreams / you can make an essence out of the flowers n the fruit is bomb
Palm tree/ the orange fruits are edible
Paddle cactus/ grilled or raw. You can leave pieces of it in your water bottle for more hydration. Edible fruit but burn off the invisible stinging hairs
Aloe vera/ good for skin bugs n hydration ***theres a clear layer just beneath the skin that shouldnt be eaten (poisonous to dogs/ n can cause some intestinal stuff w humans)
Nasturtiums /orange flower, big round leaves both edible. Kinda bitter
Fennel / edible / grows in all kinds of places
Mustard / the greens n the flowers r edible
Rosemary, chamomile lavender, are really helpful n can be found in a lot of places
Mallow / edible flowers
Elderberry / can be cooked / made into syrup or jam but ***cant be eaten raw***
Pepper tree/ peppers and pepper leaves
 
Right on loneur. I'm here on the central Oregon coast and there still are evergreen huckleberries, even still budding from what's been picked and I believe a few Alaskan blueberries if I'm correct. Hairy cats paw? I've eaten some leaves of young. Theres spruce and hemlock and pine for tea. Still some blackberry as well and its amazing their heighth here. The thick brush here is mostly all edible.
 
loneur said:
Some useful allies in the southwest:
Yarrow/ my favorite to keep on hand- good as tea for cold/flu + circulation n the leaves can be used externally to instantly stop bleeding.

Aloe vera/ good for skin bugs n hydration ***theres a clear layer just beneath the skin that shouldnt be eaten (poisonous to dogs/ n can cause some intestinal stuff w humans)
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I've used yarrow before as a tea. I think I remember it can make you sweat a little, which would be good for helping remove toxins from the body. As far as cold/cough medicine in the pacific northwest tho, my favorite I've tried so far is the root of Goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus).

With aloe, I know you can make an extremely potent laxative called bitter aloes where you take yellow sap that leaks from cut leaves, dry it and scrape up the powder. I haven't tried it per se, but I know that when I drink enough aloe vera juice it makes me pretty loose
 
-I love eating Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) whenever I find it.

-Wester Dock (Rumex occidentalis) is good either wilted in a pan (spinach like consistency), or baked till crispy. Better to cook it somehow because of the concentration of oxalic acid in it.

-peeled Horsetail shoots (Equisetum arvense) ----MAKE SURE YOU PEEL THEM ---when they first comes up in spring are okay eating raw....a little slimy but good.

-Next year I'm going to make salal+oregon grape jam which i've read is an excellent combo.

-I occasionally munch on wild plantain or add it to salads. and of course other commons weeds like shotweed and purple dead nettles I either throw in salads or toss into smoothies/juice the leaves if i can get to em before the chickens do
 
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