 I've seen it happen. An acquaintance at a party will ask me what I did last weekend, and I'll mention foraging. At first they're interested only in the odd ball factor, but I'll take them for a walk outside and show them some choice edibles. They may need coaxing to try something the first time, but as they chew their eyes light up. Excitedly, they utter the magic words: "I never knew I could eat that!" (Right: Daylily by wide eyed lib; daylilies were originally covered in this diary and the flowers have a delicious sweetness with just a bit of a kick.)
And with those words, the green blur shatters. Knowing how to identify just a handful of common plants makes every vacant lot, neck of woods or roadside verge a potential place of exploration. Fledgling foragers start asking local parks departments if they use pesticides and herbicides and if it's really necessary to mow so often. Environmental issues that seemed as distant as stars take on a new urgency. Foraging turns the phrase "think globally, act locally" upside down and injects people with a new-found sense of wonder at the passage of seasons.
While there are many other routes people can take to environmental awareness, foraging is uniquely stealthy; it appeals to self-centered desires for pleasure and self-preservation, then turns them outwards.
So what are you waiting for? Let's get foraging!
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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.
Today's first plant is juneberry, also known as serviceberry or shadbush, a group of closely related native and European shrubs of the genus Amelanchier, all of which bear edible fruit and have highly similar bark, leaves and flowers. (Above: Juneberries by wide eyed lib)
Juneberry plants tend to be tall bushes or small trees with smooth, vertically furrowed, grey bark sometimes punctuated by darker gray horizontal stripes. In early Spring, juneberries are one of the first bushes to blossom, which makes them easy to locate. Large, terminal buds  burst into 5 petaled white flowers with long stamens. (I previewed juneberries in this diary and included photos of the unripe fruit and buds.) The leaves make an appearance in mid-Spring and are oval, alternate, stalked, lightly toothed and about 2 inches long at maturity. (Left: Juneberry Bark by wide eyed lib)
The berries are deep purple-blue to black when ripe and form loose, sagging clumps. The berries in each clump have stems of different lengths, but all have longer stems than blueberries or huckleberries, to which they are related. The berries are about 1/4 inch across and each contain 6 small, soft seeds that taste something like almonds. Like blueberries and huckleberries, juneberries have a 5 pointed "crown" on each berry opposite the stem. No berry with this crown is poisonous, although some may be bitter, woody or otherwise unpalatable. Some juneberry bushes get internally infested with worms (insects lay their eggs in the flowers and the fruit forms around the eggs so that the worms hatch inside). If one berry on a bush is infested, they all usually are,  so it's a good idea to split one or two in half to check before you start gathering in quantity.
Despite being less well-known than blueberries, juneberries are worth seeking out because they are uniquely delicious. They're also easy to locate, since they're found in every U.S. state except Hawaii and every Canadian Province except Nunavut and Greenland. To me, juneberries taste like a cross between a blueberry and a granny smith apple. They are terrific for eating out of hand but also make fabulous pancakes (try topping them with more juneberries cooked in maple syrup), pies, preserves, ice cream... Your only limit is your imagination. Native American tribes used them in pemmican, though the combination of meat, fat and juneberries might not suit modern tastes. (Right: Juneberry Leaf by wide eyed lib)
The fruit, leaves, bark and roots have also been used medicinally. Iroquois used the fruit to strengthen women after childbirth. A tea made from root and bark was used to prevent miscarriage and expel parasitical worms in the intestines. Various combinations of parts have also been used to treat snow-blindness and gonorrhea.
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 One of my favorite things about foraging is being able to find and eat foods that simply aren't available in stores. Many of these foods are too perishable to survive more than a day or 2 once harvested, which doesn't fit well into the supermarket system where everything is driven to a central warehouse and only delivered on request. While some variants of red raspberries have been bred to be slightly more resilient (not to mention larger and less tasty), black raspberries have escaped that fate, at least so far. Thank goodness for small favors. (Left: Black Raspberries by wide eyed lib)
Although you can't normally purchase black raspberries, you still pay for them in blood, sweat and time. Like wild blackberries, dewberries and their many, often interbreeding relations (all members of the genus Rubus), black and red raspberries grow in dense thickets on red-tinged, arching canes armed with sharp thorns. Just to make things more difficult, they ripen piecemeal so that you have to visit multiple thickets in order to gather a decent quantity. The biggest, ripest berries are inevitably right in the middle of the thicket, and getting to them requires bravery of the sort seldom seen outside of the field of battle. At any moment the  slightest movement may dislodge one cane from beneath another, causing the freed cane to whip up wildly, often right at your face. Persevere and your reward will be several lost hours, a sunburn, mosquito bites, bleeding wounds, shredded clothes, purple fingers and a quart or more of luscious, ripe red or black raspberries. You too can be sunburned and scratched because one raspberry variety or another grows in almost every U.S. state and Canadian province. (Right: Black Raspberry Leaf by wide eyed lib)
Like all Rubus family members, black and red raspberries have biennial canes that sprout from perennial roots. The first year canes have compound leaves with 5 toothed leaflets, do not generally branch and will neither flower nor set fruit. Second year canes tend to branch and the branches have compound leaves with only 3 toothed leaflets. The loosely clustered flowers are 5 petaled and white with many stamens and pistils. The ovary at the base of each pistil swells when fertilized and produces a tiny, one-seeded fruit that combines with each of the other  fruits from the ovaries of the same flower to create the compound, globular fruit we know and love. Apart from the fact that red raspberries ripen about 3 weeks later, the main observable difference between red and black raspberries is that the leading leaflet of black raspberry tends to be rounder or even slightly heart-shaped, while that of red raspberry tends to be a bit narrower and more oval. But for all practical purposes, the easiest way to tell them apart is to wait for the fruit to ripen. (Left: Red Raspberry Flowers by wide eyed lib)
Both black and red raspberries sometimes send up shoots that produce albino-like berries called golden raspberries. Because all berries go through a pale pink stage before ripening, it can be difficult to identify golden raspberries in the wild. If you see a single cane or a group of canes whose fruit seems to be drying out before ripening, it might be albino. Ripe golden raspberries are soft, flavorful and a beautiful shade of peachy pink.
I doubt that anyone needs a primer on how to eat raspberries, but the medicinal uses are less well known. Plants for a Future, which is rapidly becoming my go-to site for information about the medicinal uses of plants, has this to say about raspberries:
 The roots are cathartic...The root has been chewed in the treatment of coughs and toothache. An infusion of the roots has been used as a wash for sore eyes. The root has been used, combined with Hypericum spp, to treat the first stages of consumption. An infusion of the astringent root bark is used in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery. The leaves are highly astringent. A decoction is used in the treatment of bowel complaints. A tea made from the leaves is used as a wash for old and foul sores, ulcers and boils. A decoction of the roots, stems and leaves has been used in the treatment of whooping cough. (Ed. note: see original for citations)
Last but not least, raspberry leaves make a delicious herbal tea. (Right: Golden Raspberry by wide eyed lib)
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 Our final new plant for today is the rose. Many people know that rose hips make an herbal tea high in Vitamin C, but few are aware of just how many different ways you can use roses for food and medicine. Although all wild roses and most unsprayed cultivated roses (the possible exceptions being the more extreme hybrids) can be used in the same ways, today I will concentrate mostly on the wrinkled rose (aka the rugosa rose), an Asian rose that has become a favorite of landscapers in the U.S., though at the moment its wild distribution is limited to the northeastern areas of the U.S. and Canada. Not to worry, other species of roses grow in every U.S. state and all Canadian provinces except Greenland and Nunavut. (Right: Wrinkled Rose by wide eyed lib)
All roses have feather-compound leaves, and those of the wrinkled rose have 5 to 9 paired oval, toothed leaflets. In addition, they are thicker than other rose leaves and deeply creased or wrinkled at the veins, giving rise to the common name. The stems are densely packed with small bristles, punctuated here and there by pairs of curved thorns. In mid- Spring, wrinkled roses flower, opening white, pink or purple 5 petaled flowers about 3 inches wide and bursting with stamens and pistils. Instead of the ovaries swelling upon fertilization, the flower receptacle swells, creating a type of fruit called a pome. Apples are the most famous pomes, and in fact apples and roses are both in the Rosaceae family. (Left: Wrinkled Rose Leaflets by wide eyed lib)
Although all rose hips are edible, some are only seed and skin and therefore best used for making herbal tea. Others, however, are thick and fleshy. Those of the wrinkled rose are perhaps the fleshiest of all, with the hips of the California rose and sweetbrier rose growing nearly as large. When ripe, rose hips vary in color from red to brown to orange. They typically ripen in the Fall, but many people find them sweeter after the first frost. Rose hips have been described as tasting like a cross between persimmons and apricots.
After removing the bitter (but edible) seeds, rose hips can be eaten out of hand or cooked. Stewed and sweetened, they make a delicious "apple" sauce, with or without the addition of apples. This sauce can be eaten as is, used in quick breads and muffins or as the base of a fruit soup. Rose hips contain quite a bit of pectin, so they can also be used to make jelly. For out-of-season use, they can be frozen or dried.
 Rose petals are also edible. They were a very popular ingredient in medieval food, and in parts of the Middle East they are still used frequently. Many of our grandmothers (if not our mothers) probably candied rose petals, used them in jams or created rose flavored syrups. (Rose petal recipes abound on the web. Here's a good place to start.) Brewing rose leaves and petals in hot water makes a delicious herbal tea. (Right: Ripening Rose Hips by wide eyed lib)
Rose hips have been used medicinally to cure scurvy, chest congestion, diarrhea, bladder issues and infections of all kinds. By putting rose petals through a still, you can create rose water, used in Middle Eastern cuisine and cosmetics. It has astringent properties and tightens the skin and pores. It's also used in soaps and lotions.
Last but not least, rose hips are exceptionally nutritious. They are very high in Vitanim C and bioflavonoids, but also provide beta carotene, Vitamins B3, D and E, as well as zinc.
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I'll close today with a couple of sneak peaks at fruits I'll be covering later this year.
 
Many people erroneously believe that all members of the sumac family cause the same allergic rash that poison sumac does. They couldn't be more wrong. All sumacs with upright reddish-orange or red berry clusters are edible, and staghorn sumac, with its softly fuzzy twigs, is no exception. In late Summer, the tart, thin and hairy berries can be made into an outstanding "lemonade." Caution: any sumac with dangling berry clusters and/or more widely spaced leaflets should be given a wide berth because those are the hallmarks of poison sumac. (Above Left: Staghorn Sumac Leaf; Above Right: Staghorn Sumac Flower Cluster, both by wide eyed lib)
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Hackberry trees are easy to identify because they are incredibly messy looking. Despite frequent attacks by jumping plant lice, which create light green "nipples" (don't blame me, that's what they're called) on the underside of the leaves and a separate joint attack by a mildew fungus and a mite that causes deformed clusters of twigs called witches' brooms, hackberry trees gamely keep enduring. The delicious rusty-brown to purple berries ripen in Fall. The ratio of fruit to center seed is rather in the seed's favor, which is at least one of the reasons these berries are not available commercially. Nonetheless, ripe hackberries make an outstanding snack when you're passing beneath a tree. (Above Left: Hackberry Leaf; Above Right: Hackberries, both by wide eyed lib. Note the light green "nipple" toward the bottom right corner of the berry photo.)
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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 15 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.
See you next week!
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