Staghorn Sumac or Rhus hirta, One of the easiest deciduous shrubs to identify throughout the year, especially mid to late summer. stag-horn sumac is in the anacardiaceae, or cashew family. Although technically a shrub, it can grow to a tree size. Stag-horn sumac is native to the eastern parts of Canada and the United States. By late summer it has beautiful autumn coloured foliage and the fruit is a brilliant crimson red. Poison sumac or Toxicodendron vernix, has leaves somewhat similar to stag-horn sumac. However, the big difference is that the poison sumac has clusters of grayish white berries that hang down, and it tends to grow exclusively in low, wet, or flooded areas such as swamps. The large clustered seed pods attract a variety of wildlife into the winter months.
Trunk/Bark
The trunks are generally between 5 and 10 cm or 2 to 4 inches wide, but some have been recorded with diameters as great at 38 cm or 15 inches. Bark is typically smooth and dark brown. Bark on older wood is smooth and grey to brown.
Branches/Twigs
Stag-horn sumac gets its name from its thick, velvety upper branches, which resemble the antlers of young male deer. Younger branches tend to be brown and smooth. Branches display U-shaped leaf scars in winter.
Height
Stag-horn sumac grows in an open form that can grow up to 7 metres or 25 feet tall and can be as equally wide.
Leaves/Needles
Stag-horn sumac has alternate, compound leaves, 40 to 60 cm or 16 to 24 inches long. Leaflets are narrowed or rounded at the base and sharply pointed at the tip with finely serrated edges. The leaflets are dark green and smooth above, and pale beneath, except along the midrib.
Flowers
Compact clusters of greenish-yellow flowers bloom from June to July. Individual panicles of flowers can get to about up to 30 cm or 1 inch long and 15 cm or 1/2 inch across. Although on average they are about half that. Each flower is about 5mm or 1/4 inches across, consisting of 5 spreading petals, a calyx with 5 lobes, 5 stamens, and a central pistil.
Fruit
Stag-horn sumac fruits mature from August to September. The fruiting head is a compact cluster of round, red, hairy fruits called drupes. Each drupe measures about 5mm or 1/4 inches in diameter and contains one seed. Each cluster of drupes can contain anywhere from 100 to 700 seeds. Only shrubs that are 3 to 4 years old can produce the fruit.
Habitat
This shrub is found throughout the eastern half of the U.S., Canada, as well as in parts of Europe and Asia. It generally prefers fertile, upland sites but tolerates a wide variety of conditions. It can grow in slightly acid soil but will not do as well as those in fertile areas. Typical habitats include open fields, roadsides, fence rows, and parkland.
Edible Parts
The ripe fruit can be used in baking but the tiny black seeds are very hard and can be problematic for the teeth if chewed on. The fruit has a citrusy yet sour flavour that is best enjoyed as a beverage. To Make “bush lemonade” or “Sumac-ade”, pick 10 to 15 clusters of drupes and add to 2 to 3 litres of cold water. Let the berries soak overnight and keep cold. After leaving for 12 to 24 hours, pour through a coffee filter and enjoy similar to lemonade.
Other Name
Rhus Typhina.
How to make the best stealth camping wood burning furnace/stove without needing a welder. It is very similar to the Dakota Fire Hole but no digging required!
Mullein or Verbascum thapsus is a soft almost velvet-like biennial that can grow very tall. This dicotyledonous plant produces a rosette of leaves in its first year of growth. The second year plant normally produces a single unbranched stem. The tall pole-like stem ends at a dense spike of yellow flowers. It is a common wild edible plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds, but rarely becomes aggressively invasive, since its seed requires open ground to germinate. The common name, mullein, comes from the German language, meaning king’s candle because of its scepter-like, candle-straight growth. Depending on the summer weather conditions, this wild edible may not produce a lot of flowers. All parts of this plant are covered with star-shaped trichomes. This covering is particularly thick on the leaves, giving them a silvery appearance. As its other name implies, mullein leaves were once used as toilet paper. The abundant seeds can be collected and ground and then used to effectively stun fish. The seeds are broadcast over the water and the chemicals in the seed permeate throughout the water. Chemicals in the seeds leached into the water, were absorbed through the gills, and caused the fish to have difficulty breathing. The fish ultimately floated to the surface where they could be easily scooped up for supper. This was an ancient way of fishing and is now illegal in most places. The flowers can be made into an ear ointment.
Distinguishing Features
Mullein in its second year is a tall, erect stem that can grow very high. It has soft leaves, and yellow flowers at the top of the plant giving this wild edible a very unique appearance.
Flowers
The central stem of the mullein plant terminates in a dense spike of pale yellow flowers that generally measure anywhere from 5 to 60 cm 2" to 2' long. Each flower is about 2 cm or ¾" across and consists of five pale petals, five hairy green sepals, five stamens, and a pistil. The three upper stamens are covered with white or yellow hairs, while the two lower stamens are hairless. Blooming period usually occurs during the summer and lasts about six weeks. Only a few flowers are in bloom at any one given time. Each flower is replaced by a seed capsule with 2 cells, each cell containing numerous tiny seeds.
Leaves
First year mullein leaves form a basal rosette, with large, velvety-like, long-oval, gray-green, leaves that can grow up to 50 cm long. The second year, the basal leaves precede a stout, erect flower stalk.
Height
Mullein can reach heights of just over 2 metres.
Habitat
Mullein can be found growing in open fields, waste places, disturbed areas, railway embankments and similar dry sunny localities.
Edible Parts
Leaves and flowers. Although the leaves and flowers are edible, enjoying a cup of tea made from these parts is generally preferable. Leaves and flowers can be used in a salad.
Other Name
Cowboy Toilet Paper.
Recipes
Mullein Tea
The apricot jelly fungi is a widespread fungus easily recognized by its unique shape, rubbery texture, and orange to salmon-pink colouration. The taxonomy has a bit of a convoluted history, resulting in many older field guides listing this species as Phlogiotis helvelloides or Tremiscus helvelloides. It is a saprobic jelly fungus that is quite unique as it dries out, yet rehydrates repeatedly as the rains come and go. Interestingly, they produce a new set of spores each time they rehydrate.
Type
Jelly fungi.
Distinguishing Features
This edible fungus has a petal-like firm, yet gelatinous (sometimes rubbery) fruiting bodies that are quite easy to identify because of the shape and colour. Some people refer to their shape as being similar to a horn or a trumpet. The stem base has regions of white mycelium.
Height
Apricot jelly grows anywhere from 2 to 10cm tall (up to 4”). It can grow to 6cm (2.5”) wide.
Habitat
These fungi can be found on the edges of well-decomposed conifer forests, and rarely can be found among hardwoods. They appear either solitary or in a group. Apricot jelly typically grows on the ground or on well-rotted wood, and almost always under conifers. These can be found in several locations around the world.
Spore Print
White spore print.
Season
Apricot jelly appears in the summer months and into the autumn (also in the winter in warmer climates).
Gills
No gills.
Edibility
Some people claim this has a mild sweet taste, yet most people say it is without flavour. Although some people have eaten these raw, it is important to cook all fungi before eating.
Other Name
Candied Red Jelly Fungus.
Mullein is a soft (almost velvet-like) biennial that can grow very tall. This dicotyledonous plant produces a rosette of leaves in its first year of growth. The second year plant normally produces a single unbranched stem. The tall pole-like stem ends at a dense spike of yellow flowers. It is a common wild edible plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds, but rarely becomes aggressively invasive, since its seed requires open ground to germinate. The common name, mullein, comes from the German language, meaning king’s candle because of its scepter-like, candle-straight growth. Depending on the summer weather conditions, this wild edible may not produce a lot of flowers. All parts of this plant are covered with star-shaped trichomes. This covering is particularly thick on the leaves, giving them a silvery appearance. As its other name implies, mullein leaves were once used as toilet paper.
Distinguishing Features
Mullein in its second year is a tall, erect stem that can grow very high. It has soft leaves, and yellow flowers at the top of the plant giving this wild edible a very unique appearance.
Flowers
The central stem of the mullein plant terminates in a dense spike of pale yellow flowers that generally measure anywhere from 5 to 60 cm (2" to 2') long. Each flower is about 2 cm (¾") across and consists of five pale petals, five hairy green sepals, five stamens, and a pistil. The three upper stamens are covered with white or yellow hairs, while the two lower stamens are hairless. Blooming period usually occurs during the summer and lasts about six weeks. Only a few flowers are in bloom at any one given time. Each flower is replaced by a seed capsule with 2 cells, each cell containing numerous tiny seeds.
Leaves
First year mullein leaves form a basal rosette, with large, velvety-like, long-oval, gray-green, leaves that can grow up to 50 cm long. The second year, the basal leaves precede a stout, erect flower stalk.
Height
Mullein can reach heights of just over 2 metres.
Habitat
Mullein can be found growing in open fields, waste places, disturbed areas, railway embankments and similar dry sunny localities.
Edible Parts
Leaves and flowers. Although the leaves and flowers are edible, enjoying a cup of tea made from these parts is generally preferable. Leaves and flowers can be used in a salad.
Other Name
Cowboy Toilet Paper.
Recipes
Mullein Tea
Woodland strawberry is not poisonous! My wording in the video was misleading. Only Indian mock berry is poisonous.
The wild strawberry, Fragaria virginiana, is an herbaceous perennial plant native to North America. Wild strawberry is in the Rosaceae family. The wild strawberry is a producer; it uses photosynthesis to convert the sun’s energy into glucose. It also converts carbon dioxide to oxygen, which is important for all organisms. Interestingly, many types of wildlife eats it’s central portion of the flower, which is known as the receptacle. Cultivated strawberries found in stores are hybrid crosses between Fragaria virginiana (native to North America) and Fragaria chiloensis (native to western coastal South America including Chile).
Distinguishing Features
Wild strawberries are very to spot as their leaves have toothed edges and hairy undersides. The white flowers have five petals and a golden centre; and the distinctive red fruit look like cultivated strawberries with tiny seeds on the outside. The wild strawberry produces long hairy runners up to 5 cm (2”) long, which re-root to form plantlets. Theses runners are often dull red colored. (Producing runners is the main way that the wild strawberry reproduces since seed germination is poor.)
Flowers
Clusters of white flowers, usually several blooming at one time (April to June) and sometimes nodding, occur at the end of a stem which is usually shorter than the height of surrounding leaves. Flowers are 1 to 2 cm (½ to ¾”) wide with 5 round to oval petals. They have about 20 yellow stamens surrounding a yellowish center, and 5 sharply pointed sepals as long as or shorter than the petals. Multiple small leaflet-like bracts are often present where the flower stalks diverge at the top of the stem. Flowers produce small, globe-shaped red strawberries. The tiny seeds (achenes) attached in shallow pits on the berry (drupe) surface.
Leaves
This plant typically consists of several trifoliate leaves at the tips of long hairy petioles. The leaves are green (sometimes bluish-green) on top and pale green underneath. Each mature leaflet can reach to about 7 cm (3”) long and 4 cm (1.5”) wide; however, they are generally smaller. The leaflets are oval shaped and have coarse teeth along the edge except near the bottom. The terminal tooth (at the very tip) is much smaller in size to the teeth on either side of it and does not extend beyond them. Stems are above ground runners (stolons) that root at tips from which a crown of leaves emerge.
Height
Typically this plant grows between 5 and 15 cm (1 to 5”) tall.
Habitat
The wild strawberry habitats include moist black soil prairies, openings and edges of woodlands, savannas, limestone glades, and in open forests. When it is in open prairies it is usually not very far from woodlands. The wild strawberry commonly lives under full or partial sun. It is able to tolerate shade since it develops early in the spring. It prefers rich soil and moist conditions. It is able to grow in disturbed areas.
Edible Parts
Leaves, flowers and fruit are edible. The fruit is often hard to find as they are a tasty treat for wildlife. Many say that the taste of the wild strawberry is by far superior to the cultivated berry due to its sweet flavour. Leaves can be used in teas, salads, or in sandwiches.
Other Name
Scarlet Strawberry.
Similar Plants
Woodland Strawberry.