I just visited Amazon, and was delighted to see this book as a recommendation for me.
Jethro Kloss's legendary work on vegan eating and herbal remedies was one of the main catalysts for my love of herbs down through the years. I had a copy of it while I was still in high school (early 1970s.) I had forgotten.
I remember a really great recipe idea I got from this book. I used to cook soybeans in the pressure cooker and freeze them in 1 cup amounts to use in a casserole or loaf. Basically I added a starch, such as bread crumbs or cooked brown rice. It had to be seasoned with sage and onion, and I would always include a tomato product, such as sauce or canned tomatoes. I loved the combination of flavors. I am not vegetarian now, but I used to make this dish years ago during a time when I had given up meat. I like the idea of being vegetarian, but the plain truth of it is that I feel better when I have some meat in my diet. Without meat, it's like my brain is kind of foggy or fuzzy.
Anyway, Back to Eden is a great book to peruse for information about herbal remedies of the past, although some of his suggestions might not be backed up by modern herbalists. (For instance, I remember he recommended lobelia for a lot of ailments, but as I understand it, lobelia is no longer considered a safe herb to use.)
Whatever... I don't claim to be any kind of authority on any of this - just someone who loves wild plants and likes to read about them. My advice is to be really cautious about using them medicinally, and getting advice from knowledgeable people along the way.
Pictures, descriptions, and traditional uses for wild plants of all types, particularly those found in central Missouri. Topics to include herbs, grow native gardening, wild fruits, foraging, and identifying wildflowers, weeds, and trees. Note: For educational purposes only. Don't get your medical info here!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
We Mowed Those Poor Little Babies Today
Tow-headed dandelions, fading spring beauties, an occasional blackberry that overstepped its bounds - they all felt the sting of my blade today! But I just couldn't bring myself to cut down the lady's bedstraw, or cleavers, growing near the woods in the back yard. That's it in the photo above. I first learned about this herb on an herb walk several years ago. Apparently it can be used medicinally as a diuretic tea or topically to heal wounds. I don't know if it is worth drying for later.
It's amazing how many of the spring wild plants are good for those two purposes. Chickweed, for instance, is reported to be good for dieters because of its diuretic properties, and plantain is considered by many to be one of the best herbs for soothing bites and stings. Just chew it up or tear it up and apply it directly to a sting for relief (or so I've heard.)
Monday, April 26, 2010
Grapevine Wreath
This is a picture of my wreath. It's not as round as I would like, but I have enjoyed it. I add dried flowers to it and other natural things as I find them.
By the way, have you ever noticed the color of wild grape leaves when they first appear on the vine? They are a beautiful rosy pink, as pretty as any flower.
Fruits to Anticipate
If you have never seen a pawpaw in bloom, you've missed it! The flowers are brown cups that hang upside down around the future fruit. I've only had the joy of eating pawpaws on a couple of occasions, and am awfully glad that I have a tree here. Last year, not only was the tree not mine yet, but it also had only a few fruit on it. Last year just wasn't a very good year for a lot of plants. Anyway, the owner and I kept our eyes on it waiting for them to get ripe, but the myriads of squirrels that live here got them before she or I got a chance to even taste one!
I don't know if you can tell it by the picture above, but the tree has a lot of blooms on it this year. Now to figure out how to thwart the squirrels!
Hubby noticed this morning that the black haw flowers were gone. Little clusters of future haws were left behind in their place. Other wild fruit we have here include gooseberries, blackberries, wild raspberries, and wild strawberries. We have an apple tree and a peach tree along with a couple of grapevines. And of course the woods are full of wild grapevines. I have a wreath I made on the front porch. I decorated it with bittersweet berries last fall and a little birds nest that blew down out of a tree this spring. I'm thinking of trying to make grape drink from the wild grapes this year. All you do is place a cup of washed grapes in a quart canning jar, add a cup of sugar, fill with water, and process it in the canner. Leave it for at least a month before using it. I've done it before with tame grapes.
It is cold and the blackberries are in bloom, so maybe this is what they call "blackberry winter." At least I think it's the blackberries that are blooming. I am not that good yet at telling the difference between blackberry and raspberry plants. I know that blackberry leaf tea is supposed to be a good remedy for diarrhea, and that red raspberry leaf tea is good for women, especially throughout pregnancy. I had red raspberry plants during my last pregnancy (seventeen years ago!) and that was sure nice. There is nothing quite as luscious as a fresh red raspberry right off the cane! Sweet as Koolaid!
And regardless of whether the fruits do good this year or not, it's always a good time to grow these fruit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)
God bless you with good fruits of all kinds!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
To Mow or Not to Mow, That is the Question...
As a lover of wild plants, I always have a hard time making the decision to mow the lawn, especially for the first time in the spring. If I can let it go a few more weeks, who knows what treasures may appear? For instance, we have a couple of wild hyacinths blooming in the yard right now, along with some spring larkspur, which you can see in the picture above. Of course, it will have to be done eventually, but if I can wait a bit, I might be able to transplant some of those surprises into a bed where they can grow unhampered.
Sometimes I wonder if God didn't design this little piece of property just for me. We were able to buy it from a little lady who had the same affection for wild flowers and herbs as I do. For fifteen years or more, she brought interesting native plants here and put them in little beds around the trees, and now I get to enjoy the fruit of her labors.
Wondering if the last few days of rain will bring out any morel mushrooms. It has been an awfully dry April. We used to get them in our yard where we lived before.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Black Haws
Black haws are a little purple fruit that grow in clusters on attractive bushes of the viburnum family. I have a picture here of the blossoms - they are in bloom right now in the woods along our driveway.
I found a page that gives some recipes for using black haws. According to my research, there are two types of black haws, and I am not sure if they are both suitable to use in recipes for eating. One thing I have developed over the years is a reluctance to use anything wild that I am not absolutely sure of!!!
Just Have to Share....
Spring! And my first year as a landowner in the country. I have been "botanizing" since high school, and picked lots of wildflowers before that. So, why not go with my heart and start a special blog just for insights and discoveries in the wide world of wild (and maybe some not-so-wild) plants?
Other topics I hope to cover in this blog will be herbal medicine, especially wild-crafted and homemade, grow native gardens, butterfly and hummingbird plants, wild fruits, and anything else that strikes my fancy!
The plant you see here is rose verbena, a common spring wildflower here in central Missouri, which has a lovely scent.
One thing I want to make clear from the start is that I believe in a Creator God who made all of these treasures for us to enjoy, and that I don't believe all the wonders of nature evolved from a rock or a primordial soup or a big bang. Ps. 104:14 (KJV) says it best: "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth."
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