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Holiday Centrepieces

Dried garden variety thistle.

Making centrepieces for holiday feasts is a great reason to explore trails or to visit friends with great gardens. Stop in with some homemade jams, pickled beets, or holiday cookies. Mentioning that you were thinking about making a centrepiece may inspire them to join you (and let you take a look at what they have hanging around in their gardens). Spending time with friends and family, sharing and giving, isn’t this what the holidays are all about? [...]

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Winter Foraging

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Winter foraging is a fun way to enjoy this season and to make sure you get a bit of sunshine. We need vitamin D to keep the winter blues at bay. [...]

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Eclectic Edibles

Fireweed

We have entered the season of plenty. So much to write about, but all of my time is being taken up with hikes and gardening. Here are a few bits and peices of information to chew on. In this post, you’ll find info on dandelions, lambsquarters, roses, fireweed, and crowberry. [...]

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Bits and Pieces: Along the Shore

Iceberg and crackerberry flowers

Spectacular vistas, whales breaching, ice bergs floating by, and a foragers paradise. We are blessed with many wilderness areas that offer abundant edible plants. I rarely go on a hike without stopping to have a little taste of this or that. In this post, I will touch upon some of the edibles currently available in our wonderful wilderness. [...]

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Summer Teas

Rose Hips

On a hot summer day, nothing is more refreshing than a cup of iced tea to help quench your thirst. And when the weather is not cooperating, a warm cup of tea will help to warm your spirits. There are many plants in Newfoundland which can be used to make teas. [...]

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Wintercress: Year Round Wild Edible

Wintercress

On my hike around Signal Hill this evening, the only thing brighter than the elusive sun was the brilliant yellow flowers of wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris). In Latin, vulgaris means common and this plant is definitely plentiful and noticeable. A member of the mustard family, it thrives in disturbed, moist areas such as road sides and fields. [...]

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Ruminating on Rumex

http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/Plant_Families/Polygonaceae.htm

As you may have been able to tell from the previous posts, knowing the family tree of plants can sometimes give you insight into what may or may not be edible. For example, many members of the “buttercup family” (Ranunculaceae) are poisonous, while members of the “mustard family” (Brasicaceae) are some of the most important food crops. I already mentioned the “buckwheat” or “knotweed family” (Polygonaceae) when discussing Japanese knotweed, and now I would like to explore the docks and sorrels. In Newfoundland, curled dock (Rumex crispus), garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa), and sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella) are commonly found in disturbed areas including in cracks in the side walks, vegetable gardens, mounds of dirt, and on the sides of highways. [...]

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Versatile Dandelions

Dandelion Flower

The First Dandelion

Simple and fresh and fair from winter’s close emerging,
As if no artifice of fashion, business, politics, had ever been,
Forth from its sunny nook of shelter’d grass–innocent, golden, calm as the dawn,
The spring’s first dandelion shows its trustful face.

by Walt Whitman

Nothing says spring like dandelions! These golden flowers are starting to spring up, providing an early source of food to insects. And keen foragers have been getting their fix of fresh greens for several weeks. With every part of the plant being edible, you’ll never hear me use the four letter “w” word to refer to these nutritious and delicious plants.

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Tasty Invasives

japanese knotweed, photo credit: http://www.foodista.com/blog/2009/05/29/japanese-knotweed-apple-crumble/

This is the first wild foods post by new RCR writer Costa, who will introduce readers to some of NL’s common edible plants. Find out about Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), on the World Conservation Union’s list of the world’s worst 100 invasive alien species, and a very familiar plant that has overrun our province. The only redeeming characteristic of this plant: it is edible! [...]

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