How familiar are you and your children with the edible and medicinal plants in your area? My mother felt this knowledge was important to teach her children. Every walking path, biking trail, marina or natural preserve trail I have ever walked with my mother growing up, was a way for her to share her love and knowledge of nature and wilderness plant survival. Since she repeated it every time we went walking and quizzed us on it, I have never forgotten it and I hope I can do the same for my children one day. I hope that this blog post will inspire you to take your children for fun nature walks and educate them about the food and medicine that the wild provides. Your children will love taking nature walks with you. You could even do this for a Family Home Evening Activity and have them collect and label what they find or turn it into a fun scavenger hunt. You could put together a picture printout or book of the plants in your area in your emergency back pack for reference and the cook book I will mention at the bottom using wild plants. This would be a fun introduction to teaching your children about emergency preparedness and also food storage. If you do plan on tasting some of these, I would caution you NOT to test any plants that are close to car fumed road ways, contaminated water, or in areas that have been sprayed with pesticides. I also recoment that you teach them about the plants that are poisonouse and shouldn't be touched or eaten. Good way to get your kids prepared for camping or summer camp too! I have posted a very helpful link about wilderness survival for further reference and also a list to the nutrition/ medical remedies of more plants below.
Can you identify these plants? Here are a just a few edible and medicinal plants pictured above, that grow on the trails in the East Bay of San Francisco, CA to get you started.
Dandelions-These little plants are packed it calcium and a whole bunch of vitamins that help your liver and other systems of the body. The leaves can be boiled and eaten and the yellow flower blossom can be dipped into a flour tempura batter and cooked. The Mormon pioneers used the root to make herbal tea and coffee which helped stimulate the digestive system. Check out this link below for more information on the root and recipes.http://www.prodigalgardens.info/dandelion%20coffee.htm My mother even makes a dandelion pie. If you want to try it let me know and I will send you the recipie! :)
Fennel- You can take the seeds of this plant that taste a bit like black licorice and cook them with fish or mix the seed with butter for a flavored butter spread on bread. Fennel seeds help detox and remove waste form your body.
Wild Berries- Wild berries are packed with Vitamin C and were eaten in the old days to prevent scurvy. Black berries and raspberries are very dominant here to eat. Use as you would cultivated berries, Just watch out for the prickly thorns!
Slippery Red Elm or Soft Elm- Slippery elm has been used in healing salves for wounds, boils, ulcers, burns, and skin inflammation. The bark can be made into a tea to relieve coughs, sore throats, diarrhea, and stomach problems. Slippery elm contains mucilage, a substance that becomes a slick gel when mixed with water. It coats and soothes the mouth, throat, stomach, and intestines; it may also contain antioxidants that can help relieve inflammatory bowel conditions, Crohn's disease. To make the tea, pour 2 cups boiling water over 2 tablespoons of powdered bark and then steep for 3 - 5 minutes.
Wild Mustard Plant- You can boil the leaves of this plant and eat them like the dandelion and the seeds can be used for a spice like cultivated mustard is. If you smash the seeds you can make a poultice to tease the skin strengthening the blood circulation. They use this plant for loss of appetite, digestive weakness, strengthening metabolism and Rheumatic pain
Pine Needles- Are high in Vitamin C. You can chew on the needles for instant Vitamin C and pine freshness or make a herbal tea by steeping the needles in boiling water. Has been known to help in cancer treatments and other medical ailments.http://www.lifeevents.org/pine-needle-tea-decoction.htm Not good for pregnant women though.
Mint leaves- Can be made into a herbal tea, seasoning in cooking and you can even candy the leaves with your children for fun or use the candied leas as a garnish on desserts. Chop up both the leaves and the stems. Use about a half cup of mint to 4 cups of boiling water. Don't boil the mint, but instead pour boiling water over it and let steep for at least 5 minutes. You can also clean the leaves with water, pat dry and chop them up in a salad for a fresh flavor.
Plantain- Crush the leaves and to draw the moisture to the surface of the leaf and then apply it on bruises, stings and cuts. The leaves can also be made into a tea as well to relieve your soar throat during a cold.
Red Clover- The blossoms can be dried and made into a herbal tea to relieve an upset stomach, reduce blood pressure, bone density, help women's menopause symptoms and also fertility since it containes an estrogen-like substance in the blossom.http://www.crazyfortea.com/clovertea.html
Miners lettuce- Named for the gold mining 49'ers in California who used it as a salad to prevent scurvy as well. Eat miners lettuce raw in salads. Throw in a few wild mustard or wild radish leaves and flowers, A bit of filaree and chickweed, add an avocado and a grated carrot, dethorned milk-thistle leaves, toss with olive oil and balsalmic vinegar or lemon juice, add salt and pepper to taste, feta cheese if your not vegan, and you'll have one of the best salads ever.
White Willow Tree- You can chew on a twig bark of a white willow tree for pain relief. The bark contains salicin which the body will then turn it into salicylic acid that acts like aspirin. Just don't eat it if you are using aspirin, Ibuprofen or other types of blood thinning medications or pain relievers.
Plant and wilderness survival links:
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/plants-1.php
http://www.all-natural.com/herbguid.html
Check out the cook book Wild in the Kitchen by Ronna Magelon for some more recipes at your library or bookstore.
*For more nature and plant fun with your children, check out the Edible Schoolyard garden in Berkely, CA. The Heather Farms Park Gardens in Walnut Creek, CA have a 5 Senses garden your kids can go to and identify different plants. Also the small dog park off of Paso Nogal in Pleasant Hill, CA has little tags to identify plants and trees on the paths for your children to become familiar with. (check out my earlier post on Fun things to do with kids in the bay area for additional natural places to visit) Check your local college for Nature courses too. Diablo Valley College in Pleasant HIll, CA also offers a Nature Study course of the wildlife in the area. It is a fun class for adults!
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