Typha latifolia, or commonly called bulrush or cattail, is a plant that offers foragers something to harvest nearly year round. Be careful when harvesting this plant because not only is it a bioaccumulator, so it needs to be harvested from clean water, but it grows in swampy environments, so proper protection from snakes will be key. Furthermore, do not confuse it with water irises, which grow in similar environments; this is easy enough, however, because irises have a flat stem, whereas cattails have a rounded one. The male portion of the flower, the pollen, the shoots, and the tubers are all edible. Starch can be extracted from the tubers; the young shoots can be cut from the tubers; older stems can be peeled back to get to the soft, white edible pith; the male top part of the flower stem can be steamed before it fluffs out; and the pollen from the male portion can be shaken into a container and used as a flour. Nutritionally, the young shoots have low amounts of minerals, the tubers are high in calcium, iron, potassium, and carbohydrates, and the pollen is high in protein. Furthermore, the fluff of the developed male spikes makes wonderful tinder for fires or it can be used as an insulator. Other uses include using the leaves to weave baskets or thatch huts.
Our next plant, Phytolacca americana, also pokeweed or poke sallet, has been used by foragers for ages, containing important vitamins and trace minerals. In fact, sallet means cooked greens and is from where the common misnomer poke ‘salad’ comes. As a general warning, this plant MUST be cooked, as all parts of it contain toxic alkaloid compounds that are removed by boiling the plants for 5 minutes each in 3 changes of water, meaning to bring water to a boil, throw out the water, and repeat. Furthermore, it is best to only harvest plants that are 8 inches or shorter, having as little red coloring to the stems as possible. Furthermore, the juice of the berries can be boiled and then made into a jelly or jam. Be sure to strain this boiled mixture before canning to remove the seeds, as the toxins are not so easily removed from the seeds by cooking. Furthermore, the berries have been used for hundreds of years as a dye, even having been used by Civil War soldiers as ink to write letters home to their loved ones.
Our final plant is normally overlooked as edible because it has a somewhat wicked relative – poison sumac. Smooth sumac, or Rhus glabra, is a relative, but it doesn’t have any of the same problems, and is most easily distinguished by serrated edges on the leaves and red, upright berries. The key is to look for upright, red berries, as poison varieties have drooping, white berries, which are very toxic. The red berries of smooth sumac have traces of both vitamins and antioxidants and can be eaten raw or made into lemonades, teas, and seasonings. Traditionally, dried sumac berries are used in Middle Eastern cooking on primarily chicken and fish. To create a seasoning, simply dry the berries and grind them in a peppermill to sprinkle over food either before or after cooking. One can make a lemonade-like drink, sumacade, by soaking the berries in water for at least 10 minutes to overnight and then filtering the liquid to remove the berries and fine sumac hairs. Furthermore, this can be mixed with tea for a milder flavor.
So remember, try and eat one wild food every day; simply add it to something you are already eating. If you have any questions or comments or have suggestions for articles covering wild plant foods, medicines, and recipes, please e-mail [email protected]. Eat wild, Arkansas!