Beggar's Tick

Common Names: Beggar's tick, beggarticks, Spanish needles, monkey’s lice, shepherd's needles, butterfly needles
Latin Names: Bidens alba
Type: Herbaceous
Origin: Native

Description: The plant grows up to 5 foot tall. Stems are mostly hairless and green to purplish. Leaves are either simple or compound and can be 1-4” long. The small flowers are normally white but can be yellow or cream. A plant can produce hundreds of seeds which have two-tooths or barbs at the top to grab on to animals fur and spread.

Edible: Young leaves and flowers are edible either raw in a salad or cooked as a potherb. Dried leaves can be used to make a tea.

--> Raw leaves and flowers are good but so small that it would take several plants to make a salad.

Other uses: Attracts bees and butterflies. Has some medicinal uses such as leaf infusion or tea for sore throats. Powdered seeds are a topical anesthetic and to help clotting.
Notes: Found along the woods.

 

Beggar's tick (September)

Beggar's tick (September)

Beggar's tick (September)

Beggar's tick (September)

Beggar's tick (April)

Beggar's tick (June)

Small Geranium

Common Names: Small geranium, small-flowered crane's bill
Latin Names: Geranium pusillum
Type: Herbaceous
Origin: Europe and western asia. Widespread weed in North America.
Possibly Stork’s Bill (Erodium cicutarium) or Erodium moschatum or Cranesbill Geranium (Geranium carolinianum) - need to look at flower and stem (if hair or not)

Edible: Maybe

Other uses: Some medicinal uses such as astringent.

Small geranium (April)

Saw Palmetto

Common Names: Saw palmetto
Latin Names: Serenoa repens
Type: Herbaceous
Origin: Native

Edible: Fruit is edible.

Other uses: Fruit is a food source for animals. Bees are attracted to the flowers in the spring.

Note: "Saw" on edges of stems.

Saw palmetto (April)

Southern Lady Fern

Common Names: Southern lady fern
Latin Names: Athryrium asplenioides
Type: Herbaceous
Origin: Native

Edible: The young shoots (fiddleheads) before the leaves have unfurled can be cooked but should not be eaten raw. The tuber roots can be slow baked.

Other uses: Some medicinal uses.

Note: Found these wild in the edges of the woods and under a lean-to where they were ~6" tall. I moved several of them to our gardens and they have grown much taller (3'+).

Fern (April)

Fern (July)

Fern (April)

Fern (April)

Fern (July)

Spiderwort

Common Names: Spiderwort, common spiderwort, Ohio spiderwort, blue jacket

Latin Names: Tradescantia ohiensis
Type: Herbaceous
Origin: Native

Edible: Stalks can be cooked like asparagus, flowers and leaves can be eaten in a salad.
--> Flowers are OK tasting. Can't see that it would be much more than decoration on a salad unless I found a bigger source.

Note: Found along road.

Spiderwort (April)

Spiderwort (April)

Spiderwort (April)

Black Huckleberry

Common Names: Black huckleberry, common huckleberry, high-bush
Latin Name: Gaylussacia baccata
Type: Shrub
Origin: Native

Edible: Berries (black or dark blue) are eaten raw or in jams, jellies, pies, muffins, and pancakes. Native Americans used to dry the berries to use them in the winter or to travel.

Other uses: Many different animals eat the berries and may eat them quickly so that it is hard for us to find the ripe berries. The flowers attract butterflies.

Note: These are along the tree lines in back. They are ~5 feet in height. I read that they have yellow spots under the leaf that sparkle in the sun. I need to look for this yet.

Black huckleberry (April)

Black huckleberry (April)

Black huckleberry (July)

Black huckleberry (July)

Black huckleberry - green unripe berries (May)

Black huckleberry - ripe & unripe berries (June)

Black huckleberry - ripe & unripe berries (June)

Wood Sorrel

Common Names: Wood sorrel, oxalis, yellow sorrel, false shamrocks, sourgrass, lemon clover
Latin Names: Oxalis stricta
Type: Herbaceous
Origin: Native

Edible: Leaves and flowers are edible but acidic so eat only in small quantities. Normally eaten raw or as garish in a salad. Leaves can be used to make a tea. The juice can be used as a substitute for vinegar. Contains vitamin C.

Uses: Can be boiled for an orange dye. some medicinal uses.

Wood sorrel (April)

Wood sorrel (April)

White Clover

Common Names: Clover, trefoil, white clover
Latin Names: Trifolium repens
Type: Herbaceous
Origin: Native

Edible: Can be eaten raw in a salad but are said to be hard to digest. Can be boiled to 5-10 minutes as a potherb. Fresh or dried leaves and flowers can be used in baking. Fresh or dried flowers can make a tea.

Other uses: Fodder for animals. Fixes nitrogen into the soil.

Note: In our grass. Attracts bees.

Clover (April)

Clover (April)

Bull Thistle

Common Names: Bull thistle, bristly thistle, horrid thistle, yellow thistle
Latin Names: Cirsium horridulum
Type: Herbaceous
Origin: Native

Edible: The white heart of the plant can be eaten raw.

Other uses: Leaves and root make an astringent. It is said the Seminole used the plant to make blowgun darts. 

Note: Large taproot  with leaves up to 16 inches long with thick, sharp spines along the edges. There are usually several flower heads per plant. Flower color varies: white, yellow, pink, red or purple.

Bull thistle (March)

Bull thistle (March)

Bull thistle (March)

Bull thistle (March)

Bull thistle (April)

Unknown water plant 3

Common Names: x
Latin Names: x
Type: Herbaceous
Origin: x

Edible: x

(April)