LOCAL FORAGING

South Pinellas Wild Foods

Weed Harvesting Guidelines

1. Only harvest weeds that you can positively identify and know to be edible. The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, by the Department of the Army is a good reference, if you aren't sure.

2. Avoid picking weeds close to roadways. They'll have absorbed exhaust fumes and road run off.

3. Avoid harvesting weeds in areas that may have been contaminated by animal feces.

4. Do not pick weeds from yards that have been treated with pesticides or herbicides.

5. Only eat the parts of plants that you know to be edible. Many edible plants have non-edible – and sometimes poisonous – parts.

Moringa

http://www.moringagardencircle.org/tree.html

Edible Part: Leaves, seed pods & seeds

Benefits: Highly nutritious

Other Uses: Water purification

Beauty Berry

Edible Part: Berries

Benefits: Tea from berries & roots for fever

Other Uses: Leaves as insect repellant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igKeqZjxPYQhttp://www.eattheweeds.com/beautyberry-jelly-on-a-roll/

Goldenrod

Edible Part: Flowers & Leaves

Benefits: Tea for bruises

Other Uses: Poultice for toothache, burns and insect stings

http://www.eattheweeds.com/solidago-odora-liberty-tea-2/

Banana

Edible Part: Fruit & flower

Other Uses: Leaves can be used as wraps to steam food

http://heavytable.com/cooking-with-banana-flower/

Wild Amaranth

Edible Part: Leaves & seeds

Benefits: Contains calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, vitamins A, C and E

http://www.eattheweeds.com/amaranth-grain-vegetable-icon/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcrZ5XYcbvk

Purslane

Edible Part: Leaves, flowers, stems

Benefits: It has vitamin A, B, C and E — six times more E than spinach — beta carotene — seven times more of that than carrots — magnesium, calcium, potassium, folate, lithium, iron and is 2.5% protein

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tw8DcGAGmo

http://www.eattheweeds.com/purslane-omega-3-fatty-weed/

Spanish Needle

Edible Part: Leaves & Flower

Benefits: Antimicrobial

Other Uses: Attracts pollinators

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrAk_4r7Egc http://www.eattheweeds.com/spanish-needles-pitchfork-weed/

Bitter melon

Edible Part: Green pod when cooked

Benefits: Medicinal

Other Uses: Shading vine

http://freshfromyouryard.org/2009/10/15/balsam-pear-momordica-charantia/http://www.eattheweeds.com/bitter-gourd-balsam-pear-pharmacy-on-a-fence/

Virginia Creeper

Edible Part: Fruit-raw, Stalk-cooked, root-cooked

Benefits: Medicinal

Other Uses: Dyehttp://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/p/parthenocissus-quinquefolia=virginia-creeper.php

Palms

Edible Part: Shoots, seeds, heart, leaves, sap see link below

Benefits: Highly nutritious

Other Uses: Shelter, fiber

http://www.quisqualis.com/tv01ediblepalms.html

Night Blooming Cactus

Edible Part: Fruit, unopened flower and seeds

Other Uses: Juice can be used to make moonshine

http://www.eattheweeds.com/cereus-today-not-tomorrow/

Spiderwort

Edible Part: Flowers, leaves, stalk

Other Uses: Sap used on skin conditions

http://www.eattheweeds.com/spiderwort-pocahontas-and-gamma-rays/

Hibiscus

Edible Part: Flower and young leaves

http://www.eattheweeds.com/mallow-madness-the-false-roselle/

Spineless Cactus

Edible Part: Young pads & fruit

Note: Use rubber gloves to rub paddles clean peel off skin and use like an onion

Other uses: Attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds

http://www.eattheweeds.com/cactus-dont-be-spineless/