November Blooms

I went for a walk today during lunch. My main goal was to check out the Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) patch and maybe collect some seeds. But before I got there, I came across some Virginia pepperweed (Lepidium viginicum). I didn’t nibble on any of it today, but on most other days I certainly would have.

Lepidium virginicum

I was a bit surprised to find any still bearing seeds (most have dropped from the plants by now), much less still in flower. Cool.

The pepperweed was probably less than a hundred feet from the Jerusalem artichoke. When I got to the JA patch, I did manage to find some dried flower heads. I plucked off almost half a dozen, and then photographed this one still hanging on:

Helianthus tuberosus

I plan to plant some of the seeds on the south end of the flower bed along the front of the house this spring. It will only get morning sun there, but maybe that will be good enough. We have a domestic Helianthus cultivar (some showy sunflowers) growing in that vicinity, so perhaps the sunlight will be sufficient. I hope so!

 

October Blooms

Yesterday I took this shot of Penny before I left for work:

Penny

She was waiting for me to kick a ball that didn’t make it into the photo. I did kick it for her, as I do nearly every morning before I go to work. The last kick comes just as Jonathan is pulling into the turn-around spot so I can jump in and make my escape while she chases the ball.

Then at lunch time I took a stroll around my usual route in Concord, camera in hand. I wanted to see what was still in bloom. Here’s what I found:

Oenothera biennis (Evening Primrose)

Linarea vulgaris (Butter-and-eggs)

Hieracium pratense (Yellow Hawkweed, King Devil)

Trifolium pratense (Red Clover)

Erigeron annuus (Daisy Fleabane)

Lepidium virginicum (Virginia Pepperweed)

The pepperweed is one of my favorite wild edibles. It has plenty of flavor. I ate this clump right after taking the photo. The flowers are inconspicuous and can barely be seen up there at the top of the stem. The flowers turn to seed and the stem grows higher with flowers ever-blooming at the top.

Solanum dulcamara (Bittersweet)

I wasn’t expecting to see any bittersweet. I found none the last time I looked here, but I guess I wasn’t looking hard enough. There weren’t many blossoms, but there were a lot of berries (which are poisonous).

Solanum dulcamara (Bittersweet) berries

These are closely related to tomatoes, as both are in the nightshade family. People used to believe tomatoes were poisonous because so many nightshades are. Nobody has qualms about eating tomatoes these days though.

Solidago spp. (Goldenrod)

I don’t know which species of goldenrod this is – there are probably a hundred that grow around here, and they are difficult to distinguish. Almost as difficult as the asters. Most of the goldenrod has gone to seed, but there are still a few of them in bloom.

Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem Artichoke)

This Jerusalem Artichoke is from the same stand I blogged about a little while ago. I didn’t dig any more of them up, but I am going to keep an eye on them so I can maybe score some JA seeds for my place. I think I’ve found a place where I can grow them in the front of the house. There might be enough sun there.

 

Jerusalem Artichoke

Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)

Yesterday during lunch I went for a walk through Concord. I took my usual route, only in reverse. There’s a taxi cab parking lot along the way, and at the edge of it is a little stand of Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus). If it’s not obvious enough from looking at the photo, these are in the same genus as the common sunflower.

When I first started in Pathfinders, I was very interested in the Edible Wild Plants honor. One of the requirements in that honor is to find, prepare, and eat an edible tuber. I bought a copy of Peterson’s Edible WIld Plants, and started looking for plants with tubers that grow in my area (which was Virginia at the time). Jerusalem artichokes were listed (and Peterson indicated that they are excellent), so I went off searching for them. But didn’t find any.

I eventually did find some edible tubers to meet the requirement, but the problem is, that’s how I had approached all the requirements. I would identify a plant, and then go out and look for it.

That approach is backwards. I later began working on the Flowers honor which requires the identification of 75 wild flowers. Instead of finding what I had identified, I began to identify what I had found. It is fundamentally different. As I identified flowers around my house, I would remember having seen them in Peterson’s EWP book. Then I’d look it up there, and sure enough – it was indeed an edible. I eventually identified all the flowering plants that grow on my property, and I would guess that at least half of them are edible at some point during their development.

I also began identifying all the flowering plants that grow along my walking route in downtown Concord. One of them was the Jerusalem Artichoke that I had hunted for so diligently for eight years. That was last year. When I came across them again this year, I decided to dig up a tuber or two to try them out.

Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) tubers

I stuffed them in my pocket, and reconsulted Peterson when I got home. They can be eaten raw, and since that’s the easiest preparation method I know, I went with that.

I washed them off as best I could and popped one in my mouth. They do taste remarkably like potatoes. I think I might gather some of the seed later this year and see if I can get any to grow here at the house.