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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Nature Walk: Learning to Identify Useful Wild Plants


I had an amazing opportunity to get in on a nature walk with a woman who calls herself a "wildcrafter." She knows both the medical and culinary uses for plants that are found in the wild. She is amazingly knowledgeable about plants in the wild and there uses. It was my honor to get to share in the knowledge of a elder of the Cherokee Indian tribe, I have so longed for such interaction with an elder, as we share a similar heritage. I am so thankful to have gone on this walk at all. Usually the wildcrafter is all booked up months in advance but she had three last minute cancellations and we got to go. She took a group of 30 on a walk. I was thankful that Marty and my teacher friend Denise went with me. The guide took us picking wild fruits, berries, and other useful plants. One of the best things about the walk was we walked within 5 miles of my home!

I took pictures and notes on my cell phone on the walk. I would take  a picture of the plant she was talking about open an email to send it and type notes on the pad when we moved onto another plant, I would start all over again.

The walk lasted two hours here are a few of the pictures. I am not sure I should share the notes of the walk because I don't want to encourage people to do something I have not tried myself but I will put them on here so you can "hear" what I heard on the walk. Please do not try anything listed here unless you verify the information with a specialist.


Echinacea good to harvest the root remember to ethically harvest take 5%


Yucca plant shampoo soap pounding of root flowers eatable candied flowers.


Red is good, white is bad, wild Sumac tea must be strained, break off head when ready to harvest when head turns sideways makes good spice should be strained spice good for fish seafood has a lemony taste.

Buffaloberry make good snacks and jellies!

The Chickasaw Plum is great for jellies tart in taste!


Wild soral. Sometimes florals yellow and blue eat raw.

This is a Wild Plum. There are three types of native plum trees in Oklahoma, Wild, Chickasaw, and Sand Plum Trees!

Thisle purple flower when small put ut in crock pot overnight. Good for liver good antixident use for cheese making. The dry head flowers water infusion turns brown makes a brenate for cheese making take the heads before they turn white.

It's true the brown plant you see is Wild Oats!

 Johnson grass heads drought it is toxic good to dry and put it up for goats to eat human too.
Curly Dock seed grainable for breads good on cupcakes use seeds for chicken and goat feeds. Invasive plant. Use in soups cooks it like a green puts it in a blender adds cream and spices can get and eat raw. Put a bundle of roots in 80 proof vodka added can make medicine for iron deficiancy blood loss good for treating shock. Take a pint jar fill ot full of roots then poor vodka in then keep in a cool dark place for two months then take out thr roots two tablesppons a day max.  


Prickly Lettuce prime picking when flowering. Milk as a pain killer milk it put it on a pice of glass to dry and it turns into powder form harvest in full bloom only a pain killer in dry form.



Lambs quarters very nutriciuos can eat raw or. Boiled just like spinage good for persto green drinks survival food highly recomended sometimes found through the winter months the stock doesn't tast good often found in the barn yard gets a frosted white look the frosted part is editable.


Poke the more red the more tokin eat leaves boiled like spinage its a good laxitive nutritional value hide young plants are best from the spring 8 inch high ideal

Plants not pictured Sage, Mugwart and Mint.

Thank you Jackie Dill for this wonderful journey!

1 comment:

  1. We were on the same Forage Walk that Saturday. So glad to meet others with the same interest in sustainability here in Oklahoma. See you at the Wildcrafters Festival!

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