Monday, March 24, 2008

Primitive Skills Plants Discovered (Part 2)

yellow dock (Rumex crispus)

















Edible leaves, stems, or seed can be eaten raw or cooked. They can also be dried for later use. The leaves can be added to salads, cooked as a potherb or added to soups. Only the very young leaves should be used, preferably before the stems have developed, and even these are likely to be bitter.. The leaves are very rich in vitamins and minerals, especially iron and the vitamins A and C.
It can contain quite high levels of oxalic acid, which is what gives the leaves of many members of this genus an acid-lemon flavour. Perfectly alright in small quantities, the leaves should not be eaten in large amounts since the oxalic acid can lock-up other nutrients in the food, especially calcium, thus causing mineral deficiencies. The oxalic acid content will be reduced if the plant is cooked. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since it can aggravate their condition. (Ref: Plants For a Future)

prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola)













Young tender leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. Stems can be cooked. Oil can be obtained from the seed.
The whole plant is rich in a milky sap that contains 'lactucarium'. Lactucarium acts like a feeble opium, but without its tendency to cause digestive upsets, nor is it addictive. It is taken internally in the treatment of insomnia, anxiety, neuroses, hyperactivity in children, dry coughs, whooping cough, rheumatic pain etc. Concentrations of lactucarium are low in young plants and most concentrated when the plant comes into flower. (Ref: Plants for a Future)

filaree (Erodium cicutarium)
stork's bill












Leaves and stems can be eaten raw or cooked. The root is often chewed by children as a gum. Many medicinal uses including increasing milk to breastfeeding moms, wash for animal bites & skin infections, treatment for typhoid fever, and the leaves soaked in bathwater for the treatment of rheumatism. A green dye can be obtained from the entire plant. WARNING: This plant looks very similar to poison hemlock. Insure that it's positively identified before ingesting.

geranium (Pelargonium spp.)
Edibility dependent on species. What species did we see??

bladder flower (Araujia sericifera)













Long stems can be used as a fibre for making textiles or tying willows together using Colin's clove hitch.

white sage (Salvia apiana)


















The seed can be eaten raw or cooked. It can be ground into a powder and used as a mush or can be soaked overnight and used as a drink in water, fruit juice or eaten with cereal. The seed and leaves can also used as a spice. The young stalks can be eaten raw.
The leaves have been crushed in water and used as a hair shampoo, dye and hair straightener. A poultice of the freshly crushed leaves can be applied to the armpits to treat body odors. The leaves have been burnt as an incense to fumigate a house after a case of contagious disease such as measles.

california black sage (Salvia mellifera)













The aromatic leaves can be brewed into a tea. The leaves and stems can be used as a food flavouring. The seeds can be dried then ground into a powder and used as a gruel. The green leaves can be chewed to ease gas pains.

river cane (Arundo donax)
giant reed















The rhizome can be eaten raw, cooked or dried and ground into a powder to make bread. The leaves can be eaten cooked cooked. The young shoots can also be eaten.
Brooms are made from the terminal panicles. Plants are grown alongside irrigation canals to check soil erosion. The plant can be grown as a windbreak screen. If cut down, the culms branch and in this form the plants can be used as a hedge. The leaves can be woven into mats etc, whilst the split and flattened stems are used to make screens, walls of houses etc. A yellow dye is obtained from the pollen. The stems of the plant have a multitude of applications. They are used as plant supports for vines and other climbing plants and to make clarinets, bag-pipes etc. They are also used as pipe stems, for roofing, to make screens, walking sticks and in basketry. They are used to make the reeds of clarinets and organ pipes. The stems can be harvested as desired at any time of the year. The fibre from the stems can be used to make a good quality paper. Because of rather high yields from natural stands, the plant has been suggested as a source of biomass for energy production. Many medicinal uses. (Ref: Plants for a Future)

cattail (Typha domingensis; T. latifolia) southern cattail (T. domingensis)/reedmace (T. latifolia)
















Roots can be eaten raw or cooked. The root can also be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc or added to cereal flours. Rich in protein, this flour is used to make biscuits, bread, cakes etc. Young shoots in spring are edible raw or cooked as an asparagus substitute. The base of the mature stem can be eaten raw or cooked. The young flowering stem can be eaten raw, cooked or made into a soup and tastes like sweet corn. The pollen can be eaten raw or cooked and is a protein rich additive to flour used in making bread, porridge etc.

The stems and leaves have many uses, they make a good thatch, can be used in making paper, can be woven into mats, chairs, hats etc. They are a good source of biomass, making an excellent addition to the compost heap or used as a source of fuel etc. A fibre obtained from the roots can be used for making string. The hairs of the fruits are used for stuffing pillows etc. They have good insulating and buoyancy properties. The pollen is highly inflammable and is used in making fireworks. This plants extensive root system makes it very good for stabilizing wet banks of rivers, lakes etc.
(Ref: Plants for a Future)

california milkweed (Asclepias californica)













The milky sap of the plant can be boiled until thick and then chewed like chewing gum. The leaves can be roasted and then chewed.






oak,

serviceberry,

yucca,

wild cucumber,

Loquot.

Ceanothus.

Laurel Sumac.

Aloe.

Agave.

Iceplant.

Primitive Skills Gathering Plants (Part 1)

mallow (Malva parviflora)
cheeseweed















Leaves are edible raw in salads or can be cooked and eaten like spinach. They can be dried and infused in tea as a good source of vitamins & minerals with significant calcium, vitamin A, & vitamin C. Small round seed pods can also be eaten

mustard (Brassica spp.)













Leaves can be eaten raw or cooked like spinach (young leaves are the most tasty). Rich source of vitamins A, B1, B2, & C as well as calcium. The tender stalks can also be eaten

nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)















Every part of the plant is edible. Peppery tasting leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked. It is a rich source of vitamin C.

plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
english plantain, white man's foot, ribwort












Young tender leaves can be eaten in salads or cooked like spinach. Leaves that have become more fibrous with age need longer cooking. Rich source of calcium and beta carotene. Seeds are also edible. Leaves have a healing effect on ulcers. Plant also has many other healing properties.

prickly pear (Opuntia spp.)











All of the many varieties of Opuntia produce edible fruit and pads. The ripened fruits are somewhat sweet and delicious. The fresh young pads, called nopales, will fry up ijnto a delectable vegetable. Scrape, peel & slice before frying. The pads can also be eaten raw and added to salads. Used by many to cure diabetes.

Thistle (Cirsium spp.)















Leaves are prickly or spiny. Edible stalk can be eaten like celery. Roots are edible when young (they become too fibrous when they mature). Thistle flowers can be prepared and eaten like artichokes.

watercress (Nasturtium officinale)



















(thanks to www.greenharvest.com.au for the watercress image)
Can be eatin in salads or lightly cooked. Excellent source of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C & E. It grows in slow streams, along riverbanks, and roadside ditches.


mule fat (Baccharis salicifolia)















Leaves look similar to the willow, but are dark green on both sides. The young shoots are edible cooked. The leaves have been used as a tonic wash for the scalp and hair to prevent baldness. A charcoal made from the stems has been used to make gunpowder. A decoction of the leaves and stems has been used as a female hygienic agent. An infusion of the leaves has been used as an eyewash and has also been applied to bruises, wounds or insect stings.

willow (salix lasiolepis)
pacific willow













An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of colds, chills, fevers, measles and various diseases where sweating can be beneficial[257]. A decoction of the bark has been used as a wash for itchy skin.

The stems have been used in basket making. The stems have been split for making coiled baskets or as for the weft in twined baskets, whilst they are used unsplit as the warp in twined baskets. The plant is usually coppiced annually when grown for basket making, though it is possible to coppice it every two years if thick poles are required as uprights. The tough inner bark, harvested in the spring, has been used to make rope and clothing. The wood is close-grained, light, soft and weak, but has been used for fuel and to make charcoal (Plants For a Future).


poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)














Extremely poisonous if eaten! Sometimes mistaken for parsnip, parsley, fennel, or wild carrot. Ferny looking plant typically grows up to around 7 feet. There are no hairs on any parts of the plant and it emits a nauseous odor when rubbed or bruised. The hollow stalk main stock and stems are covered with characteristic irregular purplish blotches and dots.

poison oak (Rhus diversiloba)
















All parts of the plant contain resinous phenolic compounds known as urushiols. Direct contacr with the plant, exposure to smoke or fumes from a burning plant or even contact with pets or animals that have touched the plant can cause severe allergic dermatitis in some individuals. There is usually a latent period of about 12 - 24 hours from the moment of contact, this is followed by a reddening and severe blistering of the skin.