Most of us probably are familiar with — and may have partaken of — some of Georgia’s most common “wild edibles,” such as blackberries, wild muscadines and persimmons.
But Georgia’s wild places harbor dozens of less-recognized native plants whose various parts also can be eaten and enjoyed for their tastiness and nutrition.
Occasionally sipping a tea or munching a green salad made from wild plants can put us more in tune with nature, expand our horizons and give us a sense of self-reliance.
It was in that spirit the other day that I attended a “wild edibles” class taught by my friend Jerry Hightower, a longtime park ranger and naturalist at the Environmental Education Center of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
First, a caveat from Jerry: If you plan to harvest wild plants for consumption, make sure you can identify them. Get a good wild edibles guidebook to help you. Many plants look alike: Some are edible but others are not and may even be harmful.
A few of the many wild edibles that Jerry discussed include:
— Cattail, which grows in wet areas all over Georgia and was a staple in the diet of many American Indian tribes. It is one of the best edible wild plants. Nearly every part can be eaten. The rootstock, or rhizomes, can be boiled or eaten raw. The same goes for the lower part of the stem. The leaves can be boiled like spinach. In early summer, the green flower spike that looks like a corn dog can be cooked and eaten like corn on the cob. By midsummer the yellow pollen will fall from the spike atop the flower heads and can be used in thickening soups, or even mixed with flour for making bread.
— Prickly pear, Georgia’s only native cactus species (beware its sharp spines). Its ripe red fruit in the fall can be eaten raw after the skin is removed, or made into jellies and other sweets. The cacti’s fleshy pads can be eaten like a vegetable after the spines are removed.
— Cat brier, a common wild native. The tender, last 3 inches or so of the vine can be nibbled raw or used for a succulent, crunchy addition to salads.
— Violets, whose pretty flowers can be eaten in salads, made into jelly or mixed with milk, rice flour and sugar to make a porridge.
IN THE SKY: The moon will appear full this weekend. By Friday, May 31, the moon will be last quarter, rising out of the east around midnight and setting around lunch time, said David Dundee, Tellus Science Center astronomer. Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are very low in the west just after dark — all within 3 degrees of each other over the next three nights, May 25-27. Saturn is in the east just after dark. Mars is too close to the sun for easy observation.
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