Native Edibles

[kdog]

No, not the gummy thc kind. Wild plants growing in the woods. 

As a child spending many years roaming the woods of South Carolina I would find various plants and berries and try them out. No one to show me, just trial  and error. Stayed away from red berries and mushrooms. I was young, but not dumb. 

But I would try different things I found out there. Most pretty good. I'm having a hard time finding the actual names of these native plants that I gave names to. Bullet seeds is a sort of grape with a big seed in the middle that I could shoot at my friends as we climbed the trees to get them . Persimmon was really good. Sour weed was kind of like a grass like plant with a stalk that was sour. There are many other edibles I discovered that didn't kill me.

I was a kid figuring out all this stuff on my own. Makes you wonder how much people before us knew and figured out but was lost or dismissed.

Anyways, I am going down this rabbit hole trying to figure out some of the plants and berries I use to snack on and it's frustrating because I made up names for them .

[loam]

No, not the gummy thc kind. Wild plants growing in the woods. 

As a child spending many years roaming the woods of South Carolina I would find various plants and berries and try them out. No one to show me, just trial  and error. Stayed away from red berries and mushrooms. I was young, but not dumb. 

But I would try different things I found out there. Most pretty good. I'm having a hard time finding the actual names of these native plants that I gave names to. Bullet seeds is a sort of grape with a big seed in the middle that I could shoot at my friends as we climbed the trees to get them . Persimmon was really good. Sour weed was kind of like a grass like plant with a stalk that was sour. There are many other edibles I discovered that didn't kill me.

I was a kid figuring out all this stuff on my own. Makes you wonder how much people before us knew and figured out but was lost or dismissed.

Anyways, I am going down this rabbit hole trying to figure out some of the plants and berries I use to snack on and it's frustrating because I made up names for them .

I've heard good things about the PictureThis app. 

PictureThis® identifies 1,000,000+ plants every day with 98% accuracy - better than most human experts. Get your gardening questions answered and become a “green thumb” with the plant identification power of PictureThis!

[Ninurta]

At first I thought the "bullet seeds" might be Scuppernongs, but those have 4 or 5 seeds each, not one. Sounds a little like lychee or longans, but I don't know of anywhere they grow wild in the US. I think some are grown in Florida, and I know of a Buddhist monastery in Greensboro, NC, where they are grown, but have never seen them in the wild here. They're kind of like really big grapes, but with just a single seed and a leathery peel not like grape peels.

I used to eat something that looked like clover but was sour like sour candy... but it looked like clover, not like a grass.
.

[quintessentone]

How I approach learning what wild foods to eat or how to use them in a survival situation is to look for old books that describe, in detail, how the indigenous peoples survived in a my region.

So far I found an edible wildfoods cookbook for my region, one book by an indigenous person describing edibles and medicines, and my newest find a book written by a missionary describing how the peoples used the wilderness resources for their survival and healthcare.

I like going to used book stores because sometimes I get lucky. Actually, I just found a cookbook on how to cook with tofu and I gave it as a gift to my daughter-in-law because she has switched from meat to tofu to feed her family and they all love the tofu meals she comes up with, so I wanted to give her more options

If the SHTF books will be an invaluable teaching aid.

[Selbiene Raveren]

the sour clover is something we call Bittersweet in my area. A more common name is woodsorrel. 

As for bullet seeds. That sounds like some kind of black tupelo tree/blackgum tree. Looks like a small grape that tastes sour. Has a huge seed in the middle.

[kdog]

No, not the gummy thc kind. Wild plants growing in the woods. 

As a child spending many years roaming the woods of South Carolina I would find various plants and berries and try them out. No one to show me, just trial  and error. Stayed away from red berries and mushrooms. I was young, but not dumb. 

But I would try different things I found out there. Most pretty good. I'm having a hard time finding the actual names of these native plants that I gave names to. Bullet seeds is a sort of grape with a big seed in the middle that I could shoot at my friends as we climbed the trees to get them . Persimmon was really good. Sour weed was kind of like a grass like plant with a stalk that was sour. There are many other edibles I discovered that didn't kill me.

I was a kid figuring out all this stuff on my own. Makes you wonder how much people before us knew and figured out but was lost or dismissed.

Anyways, I am going down this rabbit hole trying to figure out some of the plants and berries I use to snack on and it's frustrating because I made up names for them .

I've heard good things about the PictureThis app. 

PictureThis® identifies 1,000,000+ plants every day with 98% accuracy - better than most human experts. Get your gardening questions answered and become a “green thumb” with the plant identification power of PictureThis!

I think I do have this app and currently don't live in SC, but in Kentucky. When I visit my parents there, I won't have the time to visit my old forest as they live somewhere different. I have used it up here when camping and hiking and it has been helpful.

---

At first I thought the "bullet seeds" might be Scuppernongs, but those have 4 or 5 seeds each, not one. Sounds a little like lychee or longans, but I don't know of anywhere they grow wild in the US. I think some are grown in Florida, and I know of a Buddhist monastery in Greensboro, NC, where they are grown, but have never seen them in the wild here. They're kind of like really big grapes, but with just a single seed and a leathery peel not like grape peels.

I used to eat something that looked like clover but was sour like sour candy... but it looked like clover, not like a grass.
.

Muscadine or scuppernongs are what I described as bullet seeds . My memory may have failed me as it was 50 years ago. Could of had more seeds. 

Now the sour weed was probably 6 to 12 inches tall with a semi purple stalk and green leaves and small flowers at the top. Just a single stalk.

[Selbiene Raveren]

Now the sour weed was probably 6 to 12 inches tall with a semi purple stalk and green leaves and small flowers at the top. Just a single stalk.

The only thing I can think that might match this description would Rhubarb. Except, I think rhubarb is taller than that and doesn't have flowers that I am aware of.

[kdog]

Now the sour weed was probably 6 to 12 inches tall with a semi purple stalk and green leaves and small flowers at the top. Just a single stalk.

The only thing I can think that might match this description would Rhubarb. Except, I think rhubarb is taller than that and doesn't have flowers that I am aware of.

Yeah, definitely not rhubarb as I lived in Iowa for about 8 years in my highschool and college years and my grand parents lived there. Loved some rhubarb crumble my grandma made. It grew everywhere. It was alot smaller and grew like a weed in sandy soil.



Ha, found it ! Sheep sorrel . https://jenniferodom.com/sheep-sorrel-al...our-grass/

[Selbiene Raveren]

Now the sour weed was probably 6 to 12 inches tall with a semi purple stalk and green leaves and small flowers at the top. Just a single stalk.

The only thing I can think that might match this description would Rhubarb. Except, I think rhubarb is taller than that and doesn't have flowers that I am aware of.

Yeah, definitely not rhubarb as I lived in Iowa for about 8 years in my highschool and college years and my grand parents lived there. Loved some rhubarb crumble my grandma made. It grew everywhere. It was alot smaller and grew like a weed in sandy soil.



Ha, found it ! Sheep sorrel . https://jenniferodom.com/sheep-sorrel-al...our-grass/

Hmm, that looks very similar to curly dock which also happens to be a useful wild edible. ^_^