Gotta be honest, foraging in the summer isn’t quite as fun for me as foraging in the spring was. I think the summertime finds are less exciting and less desirable to eat overall (other than the wild black raspberries, which I didn’t get a picture of because I ate them too fast). Not to mention the mugginess and the bugginess of the woods this time of year. But hey, we’ve still made it out a few times, if for nothing else but to learn about what’s out there. Here are a few of our recent finds!
Crown-tipped coral mushrooms (above left) are edible, but not one of the prize finds, so we’re not planning on tasting them just yet. Chicken of the woods mushrooms (above right) are a reasonably common edible, and we did save some of that to try fried up, maybe like “chicken” nuggets.
Naturally, one of the mushrooms we found in absolute abundance was the toxic jack-o-lantern mushroom (above). These guys are fairly easy to ID, with their bright orange coloring that goes through the stem. I picked these to learn more about them (and to get them out of the field next to a playground!) but obviously pitched them rather than ate them. They’re not deadly to most healthy adults, but will have you stuck in the bathroom for quite a while. And in a lot of pain.
However, we will be using this creepy little guy above. This is the ghost pipe plant (monotropa uniflora), and while it’s white and kind of slimy looking, it’s not a mushroom. The color comes from a lack of chlorophyll, which is what makes green plants green. This one is actually really fun to forage, because they’re easy to spot amongst the brown and green colors of the forest. Plus, they’re so cool and spooky looking!
We’re not going to be eating them, but as I was out hiking, I picked them and put them directly into a bottle of vodka (I guess grain alcohol or moonshine would be best, but I didn’t have any of that really strong stuff available). Apparently, the longer they’re sitting out between picking and adding to the alcohol, the more of their medicinal properties are lost. The goal is to make a ghost pipe extract, a few drops of which can be used for anxiety, insomnia, migraines, and really a variety of things. I’ve heard TikTokers describe it as making you feel “zen and grounded,” which frankly, I very much need. By the way, the ones in the above left picture, with the flowers sticking straight up, are past their prime. You want to find them when the flowers are pointing downward. The liquid in my bottle is already turning this creepy blackish-purple color, and the white plants stained my fingers black?! What a cool, weird, plant. I can’t wait to post again once my extract is ready. I’ll show you how it looks and let you know how it works for us.
And these last two pictures are just some lovely, native flowers for your viewing pleasure. The water lily, and the common milkweed (which Monarch butterflies need to lay their eggs, so protect them!). As always, thank you for reading, and happy foraging!
Mark & Beth's Homegrown Adventure 