Sumade

Lemonade is made from lemons and "sumade" is made from Staghorn Sumac (not to be confused with Poison Sumac which looks completely different with its smooth round white berries). Staghorn Sumac is a bush. Its leaves are pinnate meaning each stem has many leaflets(I've counted 28) growing oppositely each other along its length. The leaflets are slender, toothed like that of a saw, and are pointed at the tip. Touch the branches and with closed eyes and you will not be able to tell the difference in texture to that of velvet. At the tip of each brach is a flower. The flower is made up of thousands of little seeds that are coated in soft hairs and are clustered together to create what looks like a ruby red wooly cone. The hairs are saturated in malic acid which is this very characteristic that makes "sumade" the tart thirst-quenching drink that it is. You can sample the flower by dabbing it with a wet finger and licking the tip of you finger. It will be sour!

See the instructions below for making "sumade".

1. Removed a flower (this is easy because they tend to be low growing and easy to snap off).

2. Once home, break flowerhead into smaller sections and place in a pot.

3. Poor cold water over the flowers and let sit for 30 minutes. 

4. Next strain flower water into a pitcher or individual glasses.

5. You can add sweetener to taste.

You will have made a refreshing pale orange Summer drink!

Processing Sumade

Wild Chamomile

Wild Chamomile

I had had a seemingly unsuccessful day of foraging at my usual spot which is normally always bountiful but today with my bare legs and sneakers all it gave me were bramble cuts and scrapes and too much contact with poison ivy. To make matters worse the underdeveloped Autumn Olive berries and green pea-sized concord grapes were a tease and every ripe blackberry was guarded by shinny leaves of three. Foraging is not always a pleasant experience. It was when I was headed back to the car feeling itchy, irritated, and cheated that I got a call from Slack who was planning to go the the skate park. Round two.

The park was made up of a collection of fenced-in areas-track, playground, basketball court, and skate park. Slack rolled into his coliseum of cement ledges as I inconspicuously (or so I hope) ducked into my palace of palatable plants. I emerged from the woods and saw that most people were sitting in camp chairs and watching the basket ball game so I snagged a mammoth of a stag horn sumac berry bunch to make "sumade"later on. The berry clusters are coated in ruby red acidic hairs that taste sour and are packed with vitamin C. A great substitute for lemonade when the berries are soaked in cold water. On my way around the outskirts of the fenced-in areas I saw that a good portion of the field was covered with some type of white flower. At closer observation I recognized the small daisy-like flowers with yellow dome centers from my field guide and knew that I had discovered Wild Chamomile! I was giddy and all dignity went out the window as I squatted down, pulled out my cotton sack, and started cutting away clumps and stuffing them in my bag. All while little families made their way around the track on bikes, scooters, and in tow of dogs. And to think that I almost gave up for the day!

Chamomile can be mistaken for Pineapple weed and vice versa but both are edible and can be dried and used for tea. Both take up residence in dry/sandy soil forming mats of low growing multi-branched stems with feathered leaves and clusters of tiny yellow flowers that form little domes. Wild Chamomile has cleft white petals that encircle the little beehive centers and gives off a sweet/piney sent when bruised. Pineapple Weed lacks petals and smells exactly like pineapple when crushed.

Pineapple Weed (left) v.s. Wild Chamomile (right)

There is something wild and edible to be found anywhere you go no matter how unnatural the setting might be. It is almost more exciting to discover these plants in public areas because you know that most observers see weeds while you see food.

Wild Chamomile

Wild Chamomile Drying

Field Garlic

Field Garlic Flower Head

Field Garlic Bulb

Field Garlic Cloves

After two years of having seriously studied wild edibles I finally discovered Field Garlic for myself. I was ready to follow the same path I always do back to the car but decided to take an alternate route last minute. When I came to the field I immediately recognized the flower, having reviewed it profusely in my Peterson Field Guide, and then couldn't believe that its' photosynthesizing self was growing before me. The flower is supported by a tall hollow green stem that is grounded by a bulb, much like commercially grown garlic with its papery sheath encapsulating individual cloves. The flowers emerge from a sphere of what resemble blunt tipped spikes. Chive-like tendrils curl out and upward all around the surface of the sphere and emit a garlicky odor when bruised. The bulbs when crushed also smell of garlic although it is mild. Every part of this plant is edible, including the stem which can be used in place of chives and the flowers which can be sprinkled on salads. The flowers from my small experience are the most pungent portion of the plant but it could also be that it is where the energy of the plant is at this time of year. Being the flavor enhancer that it is as well as an antiviral, antibacterial, and anti fungal, and it is both food and medicine. It's amazing what you can discover when you choose to stray from your usual routine.