Walk. Edible Wilds. June Meeting & Event Calendar. Mutual Aid Center ALL EVENTS ARE FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

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1 June 2014 Meeting & Event Calendar ALL EVENTS ARE FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC June 1 Open Hours 10 AM-1 PM June 4 Open Hours 2-6 PM June 5 Common Root - Collective Meeting 7-8:30 PM June 6 Morning Meditation 6-6:45 AM Evening Meditation / Open Hours 6-9 PM June 8 Edible Wilds Walk 11 AM June 9 Friends of Wilderness Park - Event Mtg 7 PM June 11 Open Hours 2-6 PM June 12 Common Root - Collective Meeting 7-8:30 PM June 15 Radical Poetry Gathering 7:30 PM June 18 Open Hours 2-6 PM June 19 Common Root - Collective Meeting 7-8:30 PM June 20 Morning Meditation 6-6:45 AM Evening Meditation / Open Hours 6-9 PM June 21 Free Saturday 2-3:30 PM Location: Peter Pan Park (33rd & X St) June 22 Open Hours 10 AM-1 PM June 23 Crafting Skillshare & Repair Cafe 7:30-9 PM June 25 Open Hours 2-6 PM June 26 Common Root - Collective Meeting 7-8:30 PM June 27 Evening Meditation / Open Hours 6-9 PM June 29 Rad Fem Lit 1 PM 3140 O Street, Suite Lincoln, NE Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/commonroot contact@commonroot.net - commonroot.net Common Root Mutual Aid Center Edible Wilds Walk Sponsored by Two poets are cycling from Colorado to Wisconsin, writing poetry and building Little Free Libraries. Meet these inspirational ladies and learn about their journey on Saturday, July 12 th from 7-9 PM at Common Root. Give them one word, they ll give you two poems! Mutual Aid Center

2 COMMON/POPULAR WILD FOODS AND MEDICINES - A list complied by Barbara Salvatore Caution: Reseach and identify each plant Do not use without I.D. certainty and experienced guide CATNIP (Nepita cataria (PAGE 3) CHICKWEED (Stellaria media CHICORY (Cichorium intybus (PAGE 4) CLEAVERS Goose Grass (Galium aparine DANDELION (Taraxacum officinale) DAY-LILY (NOT garden hybrids/domestic lilies) GARLIC MUSTARD JUNIPER (Juniperus communis MINTS (Mentha BEEBALM (Oswego Tea, or Monarda Fistulosa LEMON BALM (Melissa officinalis MOTHERWORT (Leonorus cardiaca MULLEIN (Verbascum thapsus NASTURSIUMS PLANTAIN (Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata) PURSLANE RED CLOVER (Trifolium pratense SAGE (Salvia SHEPHERD S PURSE (Capsella bursa-pastoris STINGING NETTLES (Urtica dioica (PAGE 8) VIOLETS (Viola odorata ) (NOT Pansies!!!) WATERCRESS (Nasturtium officinale WHITE PINE (Pinus strobus WILLOW (Salix WILD CHIVES WILD STRAWBERRY (Fragaria vesca WILD MUSTARDS /BRASSICA WILD ROSES (NOT garden hybrids/domestic roses) WOOD SORREL (Oxalis (PAGE 9) EVENING PRIMROSE (Oenothera biennis YARROW (Achillea millefolium (PAGE 10) YELLOW DOCK (Rumex crispus Special thanks to Andi Losh, Molly Phemister & Barbara Salvatore Photos credits (pages 5, 7 & 9), design and layout by Lacey Losh Information on the following pages comes from ediblewildfood.com Become a Common Root member! Mutual Aid Center Sign-up to help support Common Root Mutual Aid Center. You decide your monthly contribution amount - there s no minimum. Name: Phone #: Street Address: Address: Would you like to receive updates & event information from Common Root? Yes! No, thanks. Preferred method of contact: Call Text Facebook Monthly Donation Amount: Assigned Member #: $1 $5 Sponsored by our community Members donating $1 per month and above will receive a Common Root member button as our thank-you gift. Members donating $5 per month and above will also receive a Common Root note pad. $10 $25 Members donating $10 per month and above will also receive a complementary issue of the Common Root Zine. Members donating $25 per month and above are eligible to share our storefront space - ask for details. Common Root Mutual Aid Center is dedicated to providing a welcoming, supportive community space with resources for the purpose of mutual inspiration, education and connection. We re broadening social consciousness to improve our local and global communities. We facilitate community-building events and provide for the advancement of the arts. Bring your ideas and your passion, your friends and your family. All events are free and open to the public. Common Root Mutual Aid Center Part of your non-profit grass-roots community commonroot.net contact@commonroot.net facebook.com/commonroot

3 Yarrow has a good reputation as an anti-inflammatory and antiseptic and is widely used in herbal medicine. Distinguishing Features: This aromatic wild edible grows as a single, stout stem that produces tiny ray and disk flowers. This perennial also produces attractive flower craniums that possess white rays and have yellow, flat circular plates or discs inside them. Yarrow flowers are typically yellow or white and sometimes the white yarrow in tinged with a touch of pink. Leaves: The leaves of this plant are generally 5 to 20 cm long, feathery and grow somewhat evenly in a spiral design along the stem. Yarrow leaves resemble a fern. Edible parts: Aerial. Although the leaves are bitter, they can be eaten raw or cooked; young leaves mixed in with a salad are recommended. Yarrow leaves are also used as a hop-substitute for flavouring and as a preservative for beer. Although in general yarrow is a very nutritious and beneficial plant to add to the diet, it is recommended not to eat a lot of it on a regular basis. An aromatic tea is made from the flowers and leaves. Catnip is native to Europe and Asia but also grows throughout North America and Africa. Cats get frisky when they eat this plant yet humans find it relaxing. It has been used for centuries in herbal remedies and as a relaxing tea. Distinguishing Features: Catnip is a whitish-gray plant with an aromatic minty odor. It is a hardy, upright, perennial herb. Flowers: Catnip flowers are white or near white some having purple spots, are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees making this a plant that attracts wildlife. Tubular catnip flowers are arranged in dense whorls on spikes. The clusters of white or (pale lavender tubular flowers) bloom from July to October. Leaves: Catnip leaves are silvery/gray to blue/green color. The leaves are oblong to heart-shaped with finely-scalloped edges and are covered with a soft down. Whitish hairs grow on the lower side. Edible parts: Young leaves can be eaten raw. Their mint-like flavour adds an aromatic flavouring in salads. Older leaves can be used as flavouring in cooked foods. Catnip leaves and flowers can be used fresh or dried to make a calming herbal tea. If making tea, it should be infused in a closed container in order to preserve the essential oils. Yarrow Catnip 10 3

4 Chicory is a perennial herbaceous plant with a blue or lavender flower. Its leaves are tastiest in the spring and autumn as the summer heat tends to make them taste a little bitter but they are still edible. Toss them in a salad but before doing so, blanch them. They can be mixed with other greens to minimize their strong flavor. The mature green leaves can be used as a cooked vegetable. Distinguishing Features: Chicory is a branching, scraggly-looking plant. It often stands out alone in gravel areas or open weedy fields and the flowers only open on a sunny day. Flowers: The flowers are 2 to 4 cm. wide and are usually a bright, light blue. There are two rows of involucral bracts - the inner are longer and erect, the outer are shorter and spreading. Chicory flowers from July until October. Leaves: At the base leaves resemble dandelion leaves then alternately spaced and much smaller as they get higher up on the stem. Edible parts: Leaves and root. Although the flower is edible, it is very bitter. Wood Sorrel, or oxalis, literally means sour and is named as such due to its oxalic acid content. Oxalic acid is not considered a problem when consumed moderately and with a varied diet, however people with gout, rheumatism, arthritis, hyperacidity and kidney stones should avoid it. Distinguishing Features: The leaves resemble a shamrock. Although there are several sorrels, the wood sorrel is distinctive in that the seed pods bend sharply upward on their stalks, and the stalks also grow at a sharp angle from the main stalk. Angels of both are about at 90 degrees. Flowers: The wood sorrel flower is yellow has five petals and it is about 1 to 1.5 cm wide. The flower has ten stamens and an erect, pencil-like pistil. It can be found blooming from May to October. Leaves: The smooth, palmately compound leaves are divided into three heartshaped leaflets, each leaflet having a center crease, from which the leaflets fold upward in half. The leaves are most often green, but may also be purplish or brownish red. Wood sorrel folds its leaves up at night and opens them again in the morning. It also folds its leaves when under stress, such as when growing in direct sun. Edible parts: Wood sorrel is an incredible thirst quencher and is refreshing to eat. The leaves, flowers, and immature green seed pods are all edible having a mild sour flavour that some say resemble lemons. Wood sorrel can be added to salads, used in soups, sauces and it can also be used as a seasoning. Wood sorrel tea when cooled can make a refreshing beverage especially when sweetened with honey. Chicory 4 Wood Sorrel 9

5 Stinging Nettle, originally from Europe and Asia, is a plant with sharp hairs that break easily and can irritate or sting when the plant is touched; however it is a vitamin-rich food source as well as a remedy for various medical conditions. Stinging nettle has been used for hundreds of years to treat painful muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, and anemia. Distinguishing Features: Sharp, stinging, tiny hairs encompass this entire plant. Stinging nettles have tiny, fuzzy-like white flowers. This plant has a spinach-like taste. Caution: When collecting stinging nettle always cover up all exposed skin. The swollen base of each tiny, hollow hair contains a droplet of formic acid. When the hair tip pierces the skin, the acid makes it into the skin causing anywhere from an annoying itch or burning that can last several minutes or a couple of days. Rubbing the stings with stinging nettle root or jewelweed has been used to suppress the itch/burning sensation. Leaves: This plant has fine toothed, tapered, somewhat heart-shaped leaves that are 3-15 cm. Thin catkins of tiny green flowers grow from the leaf axils. Edible parts: Leaves, stems and roots. Young leaves are preferable however, no matter how far into the growing season be sure to remember that until dried or cooked, stinging nettle leaves will have those stinging hairs never eat them raw! Nettles make an excellent spinach substitute and can also be added to soups and stews. Nettle beer is brewed from the young shoots. Google search Creeping Charlie and you will get a plethora of websites that offer suggestions how to kill this invasive weed; yet if you truly want to get rid of it, eat it! For centuries Creeping Charlie has been praised as a nutritious edible plant that s loaded with vitamin C. Distinguishing Features: Creeping Charlie is a creeping European perennial evergreen, naturalized in North America. It is a member of the mint family and has very fine hair all over and has a square creeping stem. The main root is thick and matted it sends out runners as long as almost one metre. Flowers: Flowers appear as early as March and are purplish to blue; they two lipped and grow in axillary whorls of six. Leaves: The leaves are heart-shaped, are opposite, scalloped, dark green, sometimes they may appear to be tinted purple. Edible parts: Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves have a mild bitter flavour and can be tossed into salads to add a slight aromatic tang. They can also be cooked like spinach, added to soups, stews, or omelet. Tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves. It is often used mixed with verbena leaves or lovage. This wild edible has been added to beer in much the same way as hops in order to clear it and also to improve its flavor and keeping qualities. Creeping Charlie (Ground Ivy) 8 Stinging Nettle 5

6 Henbit is an important early season source of nectar and pollen for honeybees. The common name, Henbit, comes from the observation that chickens like it. Humming birds also enjoy this wild edible for the nectar. Distinguishing Features: The plant is sparsely covered with fine hairs that point downward. The low growing, upright to sprawling plants have a number of weak stems arising from the base that may be erect or almost lay on the ground. The stems are square and green but often become purple with age and may root at the lower nodes. Flowers: Tiny, dark pink flowers occur in rings in the upper leaf axils. Open flowers are somewhat orchid-like, with a white face and dark red spots. Each flower produces a four-seeded fruit. Leaves: Henbit leaves are arranged in opposite pairs. The lower leaf pairs are farther apart from each other than the upper leaf pairs. Leaves are round or heart-shaped and leaf margins have rounded teeth. Veins of the upper leaf surface are recessed, giving it a somewhat wrinkled look. Edible parts: Henbit can be consumed fresh or cooked as an edible herb, and it can be used in teas. The stem, flowers, and leaves are edible, and although this is in the mint family, many people say it tastes slightly like raw kale, not like mint. Henbit is very nutritious, high in iron, vitamins and fibre. You can add raw henbit to salads, soups, wraps, or green smoothies. Lambs Quarters has an earthy, mineral rich taste; some say is close to chard. If you enjoy leafy greens such as kale, collards, and spinach then chances are you will like lambs quarter. Distinguishing Features: Annual plant that looks dusty from a distance due to a white coating on the leaves, and when moist, water simply beads and runs off. It produces tiny green flowers that form in clusters on top of spikes, and the leaves resemble the shape of a goosefoot. Leaves: Leaves are light green on the top and whitish underneath, some teeth along edges, are goosefoot-shaped or somewhat diamond-shaped and can grow up to 10 cm long. Edible parts: Leaves, shoots, seeds, flowers. Saponins in the seeds are potentially toxic and should not be consumed in excess. Lamb s quarters contain some oxalic acid therefore when eating this raw, small quantities are recommended. Cooking removes this acid. Lamb s quarter can be eaten in salads or added to smoothies and juices. Steaming this edible weed is one method of cooking, or can be added to soups, sautés and much more. Drying this wild edible is one way to add this nutritious plant to your meals throughout the winter or you can blanch and freeze the leaves. Lambs Quarters Henbit 6 7