Greenhorns 2018 Wild Edibles of Maine and Thereabouts excerpt* by Russ Cohen - sponsored by the Greenhorns and presented at Smithereen Farm, Pembroke, Maine, on Friday, September 8, 2018. * This is the 2d half of the slide show, which we ran out of time before presenting on 9/8/18. Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina) – not a true fern, but related to Bayberry (and shares its aromatic nature and tolerance of poor soils, due to its roots’ ability to fix nitrogen) – one of the native species the American Colonists turned to to make tea from during the Revolutionary War era – the seeds inside the burrs (see arrows) are also edible Wild Bergamot or Bee-Balm (Monarda fistulosa) – A savory- flavored (sage or thyme-like) native wild mint, popular with bees and other pollinators. Like most mints, this species can spread assertively, a desirable trait when you are reclaiming a site from invasive species. This species also grows readily from seed. Hog Peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata) – this delicate, prostrate vine likes to grow in damp areas in the woods with dappled sunlight – the main edible portion are the small subterranean “peanuts” the plant uses for food storage – these are available from September onwards – the tiny peas inside the pods may be edible too Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) Fire or Pin Cherry – Prunus pensylvanica – small, tart cherries are edible raw or cooked Choke Cherries (Prunus virginiana) – the ripe fruit is maroon-colored and decidedly puckery (i.e., not yummy raw), but it makes a good jelly Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), also called Teaberry or Checkerberry Berries are edible year- round, and the leaves can be used for tea (the new, reddish- green, tender leaves are best for this – look for them in late spring) Creeping Snowberry – Gaultheria hispidula Black (aka Sweet or Cherry) Birch (Betula lenta) – can be nibbled or drunk - the closely-related Yellow Birch (B. alleghaniensis) can be used the same way ◄Wintergreen- flavored “twig tea”, made from peeled Black Birch twigs and peelings Black birch trees (indeed, any good-sized tree of any Birch species) can also be tapped for sap, which can be drunk as is or boiled down to make a molasses-like syrup ► Bunchberry – Cornus canadensis Wild Raisin (Viburnum cassinoides) – can tolerate drier, rockier soils (still likes sun) - produces pretty clusters of edible fruit (ripe when purple) Nannyberry (Viburnum Lentago) – a shrub that likes damp, meadowy areas – the fruit ripens in September and resembles stewed prunes in flavor and texture Hobblebush or Moosewood (Viburnum lantanoides, formerly V. alnifolium ) – a common understory plant in cool, northern hardwood forests - pretty spring flowers, and fruit with prune, clove-spiced flavor ripe (when black) in late summer … and Hobblebush leaves can put on quite a colorful show in the fall Wild Grapes – Riverside and Fox (Concord) Grape, Vitis riparia and V. labrusca This photo is of a Fox Grape vine laden with ripe fruit, which are often first detected by smell A basket of Fox Grapes, Vitis labrusca Wild Grape Cheesecake with a Wild Hazelnut Crust and a Wild Grape Glaze; grape cluster decorations were made with Wild Grape Fruit Leather Riverside Grape (Vitis riparia) leaves (note smooth, green undersides) at the right stage for stuffing Stuffed Riverside Grape Leaves Staghorn Sumac – Rhus typhina All red-berried Sumacs native to New England are edible – that includes Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra, and Winged (aka Shining) Sumac, Rhus copallinum. Ripe Staghorn Sumac berry clusters, ready to be made into Sumacade To make Sumacade: (1) Place berry clusters in a bowl; (2) Add 1-2 quarts lukewarm or colder water; (3) Knead /rub the berry clusters in the water for 4-5 minutes (see how the water takes on a pinkish-orange color); (4) remove and discard the spent berries; (5) pour the liquid through a paper towel or equivalent filter; and (6) Serve the Sumacade hot or cold, sweetened or unsweetened (I usually serve it cold and sweetened, like lemonade). Sumacade (aka “Rhus Juice” or Indian Lemonade) - Staghorn Sumac produces brilliant autumn plumage Sulphur Shelf (aka Chicken mushroom) – Laetiporus sulphureus Laetiporus cincinnatus, the white-pored cousin of the Sulphur Shelf Black Trumpet Chanterelle – Craterellus fallax Yellow or Common Chanterelle – Cantharellus cibarius – note decurrent, forked ridges (not true gills) the same color as the caps Common or Golden Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) on the inside, Lobster Mushrooms (Hypomyces lactifluorum) on the outside Hygrophorous Milky (Lactarius hygrophoroides) – usually (but not exclusively) grows in mossy areas – note the orange colored cap, the light yellow underside, and the white milk oozing from cut areas Graylings (Cantharelulla umbonata) – grows exclusively in Haircap Moss (Polytrichum commune) – note the “umbo” (raised bump) in the center of each cap – although these mushrooms are small, they can often be numerous (see basket) Sweet Tooth or Hedgehog Mushroom (Hydnum repandum) – note its fleshy (pink/orange/white) color, the velvety (not smooth or slimy) feel to the cap, but especially the many teeth on the underside of the cap. Although this species can occasionally have a slight bitter taste, there are no poisonous look-alikes Giant Puffball – Calvatia gigantea King Bolete (aka Cep, Steinpilz, Porcini) – Boletus edulis King Boletes – note the color of the caps: similar to a loaf of baked bread. Two of my favorite blue-staining Bay Bolete (Boletus badius) Bolete Family members I often encounter in northern New England: Bluing Bolete (Gyroporus cyanescens) Chopped Chanterelles + Bluing Boletes, before cooking Beefsteak Mushroom (Fistulina hepatica ) – cut in half to show “marbling” Cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis crispa) – looks and tastes like mushroomy egg noodles - grows on the ground near pine trees in early September (photo taken in 1994) Cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis crispa) – looks and tastes like mushroomy egg noodles – grows on the ground near pine trees in early September (photo taken in 2011) Bear’s Head Tooth – Hericium coralloides Corn Smut – Ustilago maydis Hen of the Woods (aka Maitake) – Grifola frondosa Hen of the Woods Mushroom collected from the base of an old oak tree in Petersham, Mass., September, 2008 Hen of the Woods at a young and tender (“chick”) stage Oyster mushrooms growing on a Norway Maple Bog Cranberry – Vaccinium macrocarpon Ripe Cranberries growing in a “mini-bog” on the slopes of Mount Wachusett Mountain Cranberries (Vaccinium vitus-idaea) – a circumboreal species synonymous with the Lingonberry of Scandinavia – mostly confined in this region to higher elevations in northern New England Highbush Cranberry – Viburnum trilobum or americanum – NOT Guelder Rose, V. opulus var. opulus, an inedible European import Squashberry (Viburnum edule) – a close relative of Highbush Cranberry – it can be found in the northern part of northern New England. While the fruit ripen in the fall, they often persist into the winter, and can be gathered while snowshoeing or cross-country skiing Common Hazelnut (Corylus americana) - flowers, husks and nuts female male Beaked Hazelnut – Corylus cornuta The best place I know to find lots of common Hazelnuts: under power lines Hazelnut plants often grow in dense The best time to gather Hazelnuts: the thickets, such as the one below. second week of September, when the nearly-ripe nuts are still on the bushes. Oaks/Acorns (Quercus alba and other spp.) – note the rounded lobes on the White Oak leaves on the left, versus the pointy lobes of the other oak leaf, which produces more bitter acorns due to higher tannic acid levels Here are some unshelled White Oak acorns (below left), with some shelled acorns on the tray of a food dehydrator (above left), waiting to be dried. Dried (but still unleached) acorns can be stored in glass jars for a year or more before, continuing their processing into a palatable nut meal or flour. Shagbark Hickory – Carya ovata A basketful of freshly-gathered Shagbark Hickory Nuts, some still in their husks , and one still attached to the tree (see photo at right) – and a close-up (below), showing the four-parted husks, the de-husked shells, and a pair of nut meat halves extracted from a shelled nut (note the penny for scale). Maple Hickory Nut Pie Examples of three cookie recipes utilizing Shagbark Hickory Nuts: Thumbprint Cookies, filled with Wild Fruit Jelly (left) Hickory Nut Wafer Cookies (center) Triple Maple Hickory Nut Sandwich Cookies (right) While Shagbark Hickory readily grows from seed (I have been getting about an 80% germination rate on the nuts I have planted), the nuts are “hydrophilic”, meaning they will lose their viability if allowed to dry out. They should be sown outdoors soon after collecting, or may be cold moist stratified for up to a year, or possibly longer, and then sown in the spring. Do not forget to protect sown nuts from rodents. I use a half-inch mesh metal hardware cloth for this purpose; the sprouts can grow through the mesh (see below). Leave the mesh on until the nut has been completely used up by the developing tree. I sow C. ovata nuts in 14”-deep “Treepots”, to accommodate the species’ notoriously-long taproots. Four of these otherwise very tippy Treepots fit very snugly into a standard milk crate. C. Ovata nuts begin to sprout within a week after being moved from cold to warm moist stratification. Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) – while not known to naturally occur in New England (except for Connecticut), thanks to widespread planting, the species can now be found throughout most of the region, especially in/near farms and cities. Basket full of Black Walnuts, (mostly) still in their husks De-husked Black Walnuts, nestled in a bowl made from Black Walnut wood, ready for shelling, separating the nut meats from the shells and eating as is or for use in various recipes Black Walnut shells are notoriously hard to crack open; they will break most conventional nutcrackers.