Elderberry is a mostly forgotten shrub, often considered a weed along roads and trail sides, ditches and hedgerows. The abundance of other sweeter, larger berries in grocery stores and farmer’s markets has made them borderline obsolete. But that’s just why they are special. You won’t find fresh, frozen or canned elderberries for sale commercially. If [Continue]
Just about every Wisconsin kid is able to identify the milkweed plant with its soft, fluffy, white seeds exploding from its pods in fall. And most Midwest kids and adults can recognize the monarch butterfly. In second or third grade, schoolchildren learn that milkweed leaves are the one and only food that monarch butterfly larvae [Continue]
You’ve seen them lining ditches along Wisconsin highways in mid-summer. Big patches of orange daylilies on tall stems that reach for the sky. You probably noticed them, but never gave a thought to whether they might be invasive or not. It’s even less likely that you considered that they might be something you could harvest [Continue]
They’re not much to look at. If you’ve walked through the woods in late April or early May you probably tramped right past them while your eyes were drawn to the beauty of the spring-blooming trilliums, marsh marigolds, bloodroot, hepatica and anemone. But if you’re looking for food in the woods in spring, wild leeks [Continue]
Hunters, fishermen and gardeners know the deep satisfaction that is found in providing food for the table that wasn’t purchased at the grocery store. Food that you’ve harvested yourself is in most cases better tasting and more nutritious than food that’s traveled thousands of miles wrapped in plastic in the back of a refrigerated truck [Continue]
If you’ve been reading the “Plant Matters” column in Badger Sportsman for a while, you may have noticed that the topics have been alternating between edible plants and invasive plants. If you remember last issue’s article on wild parsnip, you may have thought that I’ve gone off pattern when you read the title of this [Continue]
Plantain is really ugly when it grows in the middle of a nice grassy lawn. Its wide oval-shaped, deeply veined leaves and that irritating greenish flower spike that pops up in the middle of the plant seemingly overnight can really ruin a good view. Plantain has been annoying people since the first Europeans landed on [Continue]
The most common of weeds – the dandelion – is a powerhouse of taste and nutrition. All parts of the plant except for the stem are delicious. Let’s start at the bottom with the roots. Dig the plants and wash the roots thoroughly. Large roots from older plants should be peeled, but younger, smaller roots [Continue]
Ouch! I’m not kidding – thistles are edible. You can eat the leaves, stems, roots and flowers. And guess what? The extremely invasive Canada thistle is reportedly the tastiest. Now, I’m not suggesting you go out and grow a bunch of Canada thistle to eat. In fact that would be illegal since Canada thistle [Continue]
My husband and I once spent the entire first half of a Packers/Bears game combing burs from our golden retriever’s long hair. The Packers won that day, mostly because the Bears still . . . well, you know . . . so fortunately we don’t have to add that unpleasant task to the rituals we [Continue]