Black Locust, Robinia Pseudoacacia

Black Locust, Robinia Pseudoacacia

Sometimes you can experience a plant in single-sense doses before it reveals itself. I biked by your drooping white flower clusters and feathered leaves and wondered what you were. I took in your sweet grape-like aroma while I stood below you and tried to located where you were. In early spring I studied your bark, furrowed and armed with thorns but still you remained unknown to me. Today, I stood before you and all these senses were tantalized at once- the white drooping flowers, the thorny branches, and that sweet fragrance. Your identity was confirmed on page 184 of the Peterson Field Guide, "Black Locust, Robinia Pseudoacacia...leaves...with 6-20 leaflets...paired thorns at base of leafstalks...bark...deeply ridged...flowers white...in drooping clusters...very fragrant." Connections.

Robinia Pseudoacacia, Notice the Yellow Centers

According to plants.usda.gov, this plant is native to both Canada and the lower 48 states. It is also considered invasive in the state of Massachusetts. "A Guide to Invasive Plants in Massachusetts" explains that it is an excellent nectar producer and can outcompete native plant species for pollinators. This guide warns that the leaves, seeds, and bark are toxic.

I dug up my old foraging notebook and found, wild edible expert, Blanch Derby's instructions on how to make Black Locust fritters recorded on April 23rd, 2013. It has been three years since I watched her video, "Edible Plants Wild and Tame (Spring)," and today I was going to finally give this a go. The mosquitoes were all about this odiferous tree today and I squeezed my way in and indulged alongside them. I collected over a half-dozen flower clusters, all the while consumed by their intoxicating odor.

You'll need milk, eggs, and flour. Beat eggs and milk together. Heat a pan at medium heat until 2 tbs of butter is melted. Remove any leaves and debris from the flower clusters. Leave the stems long.

Dip each flower cluster in the egg mixture.

Then coat with flour.

Place the coated flower clusters in the heated pan.

Fry each side for 3 minutes.

Spread fritters on a paper towel to cool.

Slack and I had a bite and thought they tasted great. We agree with the Peterson Field guide that the flower clusters make excellent fritters! I think sprinkling them with confectioners sugar would make them even better. Happy foraging!

Dwarf Ginseng; Curiosity Fed the Forager

Dwarf Ginseng, Panax trifolius

What I have learned is that foraging requires an individual with a curious mind. When you come across an unknown plant you have to ask, "what is this?" and then follow it up with a bit of research. I find myself noting the plants that I am familiar with in my head while I walk down the trail, garlic mustard...winter green...field garlic...violets... It's a good feeling to see familiar plants but what I search for are the plants that are unfamiliar to me. It is an amazing feeling to discover a new plant and, after flipping open your Peterson field guide, learn that what grows before you is edible. This happened to me on the last leg of my hike. I was heading back to my car when I noticed this small plant with a little ball of white flowers just above a whorl of three leaves each with three toothed leaflets. Once this one caught my attention I all of a sudden noticed them covering the ground all around me. It is at times like these that I wonder how I had never seen it before. 

When I first noticed this small plant I did not think it was edible but out of curiosity I leafed through my guide to the "white flower" section and to my surprise and delight I discovered that its little tuber is edible. It can be eaten raw or boiled for 5-10 minutes. It grows in moist woods and I just so happened to be about to cross a stream. It flowers from April to June. Apparently the only time to collect them is in the Spring so I was in luck.

After trying to pluck one plant from the ground I learned that the stem of Dwarf Ginseng is very delicate. In order to extract the plant I had to gently remove the dirt surrounding the plant until I got to the base of the root. I then had to pull up from the root and not the stem or the stem broke. The tuber looks like the World if the water was dried up. You can tell that the surface used to be connected but as the girth expanded the outer layer broke apart and formed fissures.

I was so excited to taste this trail nibble that I brushed off the dirt, gave it a quick spit shine, and took a bite. It was a bit crunchy and had a somewhat nutty flavor. It was pleasant. I confirmed on the USDA plant database website that this plant is native to North America, it is a perennial, and it is neither endangered nor invasive. Happy foraging! 

Solomon's Seal Polygonatum biflorum

Solomon's Seal, Polygonatum biflorum

From April-June clusters of greenish yellow bell-like flowers dangle beneath parallel-veined leaves arranged alternately  along a 1-3 foot long arching stem. Flowers and berries grow in pairs. This plant can be found in woods and thickets. The berries are blue-black and inedible. The rootstock is stout, whitish, and has large circular "seals". The plant can easily be confused with False Solomon's Seal whose "rootstocks are edible...but...must first be soaked in lye overnight and then parboiled." Although these two plants are similar in that the parallel-veined leaves develop alternately along an arching stem, the flowers of False Solomon's Seal are white and clustered at the tip of the stem, whereas those of Solomon's Seal dangle in clusters below the leave axis. Both plants have roots that grow horizontally under the ground and have "seals" but the roots of Solomon's Seals have seals that are indented in the nodes, and those of False Solomon's Seal have "seals" on top of the nodes (Peterson, Lee). I have included a picture comparing the two below.

False Solomon's Seal Root

Solomon's Seal Root

Solomon's Seal is Native to North America and Canada. It is a perennial, meaning it lives for more than two  years. It is considered endangered in New Hampshire yet invasive in Nebraska and the Great Plains (USA. USDA) Each year the leaf stalk breaks away from the root leaving behind a seal ( Staff, TWC). I am guessing that the number of seals indicates the number of years the plant has lived. 

Solomon's Seal

The Native Americans used the starchy roots as food (Garden, Missouri Botanical). Per the Peterson Field guide I boiled the roots for 20 minutes. The taste was surprisingly pleasing. The nodes were tougher but still palatable. The seal portion of the root reminds me of cracked eggs in a frying pan with their white circular nodes and golden centers. 

Boiled and Chopped Solomon's Seal Roots

Works Cited

Garden, Missouri Botanical. "Polygonatum Biflorum." Editorial. Missouri Botanical Garden. Missouri Botanical Garden, n.d. Web. 8 May 2016. <http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e750>.

Peterson, Lee, and Roger Tory Peterson. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. Print.

Staff, TWC. "NPIN: Native Plant Database." Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, 2016. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=POBI2>.

USA. USDA. Natural Resources Conservation Service. Plants Database. By Natural Resources Conservation Service. USDA, 02 May 2016. Web. 05 May 2016. <www.plants.usda.gov>.