The Buds and Branches of Wild Edibles

Brambles like Wineberry, Black Raspberry and Blackberry

Wineberry, Black Raspberry and Blackberry. All edible berries. Notice the lovely purple color of these plants and how each one has a different shape and size to their spines. The Black Raspberry is particularly distinctive with its blue-purple color growing at the edges of woodlands or fields, making it particularly easy to spot.

Hawthorn

Did you know that Hawthorns are a surprisingly common street tree? Who knew? Hawthorns look kind of like crab apples, but the fruits come in many different colors (purple, red, yellow, and black). Though they typically are thought of for their wildlife support (the fruit is rather bland)... however, in recent years this species has also been of interest in medical studies for its role in resilience against heart disease, specifically reducing blood pressure and helping lower cholesterol. Although it has been used for centuries by many cultures, it's only recently come to attention in modern western medicine. And check out these fun buds!

Beech

Check out the absurdly pointy beech buds! How cool. They are distinctive as is the smooth, gray bark which often has "eye" patches of concentric circles. We used to call "beeches" eye-trees when my sisters and I were growing up! Beeches also produce beechnuts! They taste faintly like almonds and the seed husks are weirdly pyramidal. You can easily pry the shells off with your fingernails. One year they were so plentiful in the fall along a favorite hiking trail that my son and I collected handfuls and just cracked them open eating them as we walked. Better than trail mix!

Pawpaws

One of the largest native fruits in North America that hardly anyone has heard of: Pawpaws are amazing. They are ancient and grow as small trees in the woods with fuzzy little brown buds in springtime that glow in the sun... (the picture can't capture how cute they are!). Pawpaws are also a host plant for the zebra swallowtail butterfly. Their fruits are the size of mangos, with a banana-custard-mango taste and texture. Bizarre how such a tropical-tasting tree can grow in our shaded, temperate woods as an understory tree, right?

Spicebush

Spicebush is another fascinating shrub that grows generally on the eastern half of the North American continent. It's beautiful little yellow flowers in spring give way to intensely flavorful spicy red berries in fall. Host plant to the Spicebush swallowtail and important food for fall-migrating birds, this large shrub is a lovely addition to a woodsy area or backyard. Fragrant leaves and berries that are like our temperate woodland version of allspice... dry and grind up the berries and use in cookies, cakes, and fish/meat rubs... why are we still importing spices from the equator when we have this local spice right here? 

Aronia 

Aronia or black chokeberry is a dark berry that has been touted lately for its superfood and anti-oxidant qualities as well as its ability to do well in shade and wet, clay-rich or compacted soils. Although too astringent to eat on its own, it makes exceptional jams, jellies, wine, syrups, liquors and fillings once processed. 

Bitternut

Bitternut hickory has a distinctive yellow bud and check out those smiling heart-shaped bud scars?! I know, right? As the name implies this nut is too bitter to eat directly... however, according to Akiva Silver at Twisted Tree Farm the bitterness is actually water soluble... meaning it doesn't come through to the oil... which also means that if you were to take a 5-gallon bucket full of unshelled nuts (an easy feat from under a particularly productive tree) and press them unshelled through an oil press, you would get the most flavorful, NOT BITTER, high-temperature oil. A 5-gallon bucket of nuts equals 3/4 a gallon of oil apparently... they have a high oil content! I have yet to try this, but it is on my list!