A WALK IN THE WOODS - University at Buffalo

(From top) Nick Peterson and SandyGeffner make cordage from dogbanefibers found in the UB forest. Petersonholds, then savors garlic found in thefield, and digs at the root of the falseSolomon seal (Maianthemum racemosum),a wild edible that is also usedmedicinally.In addition to his faculty role at UB,Sandy Geffner is director of EarthSpirit Educational Services, a nonprofitorganization that offers programs onforaging throughout the year. For moreinformation, go to earthspiritedu.org.22 UBTODAY Fall 2013 www.buffalo.edu/ubtGEFFNER Thankful indeed, and this is something thatwe share in all of our work and all of our programs.These plants are all alive; these plants work reallyhard to make their fruits, the seeds and theirleaves. In our minds, we always say “thank you”—it’s a healthy way of interacting with the plants.PETERSON A lot of times, we humans considerourselves to be the top of every food chain. There’splenty of other animals that we feel above. Wegather fiddleheads for the sake of gourmet restaurants.The attitude is “the leeks and the fiddleheadsare good, so let’s just take them all.”GEFFNER It’s the all-for-us mentality, which is harsh.You bring up a good point regarding the animals.There are clues right out in the field. Especiallywith edibles, if we see animals feeding upon plantsin the field, we have to say, “Maybe,” becausetheir bodies are actually designed to tolerate thosematerials that we cannot.PETERSON Here we have dogbane which is absolutelypoisonous but utilitarian.GEFFNER The dogbanes that we’re seeing herecontain a compound that speeds up the heart andis very dangerous. Most creatures when they seedogbane stay away as a result. They’re not heavilyfed upon at all. But we do use dogbane to makecordage. It’s very fibrous, like milkweed, and theymake very good rope. Nick, it looks like you’ve gotthe beginnings of a nice rope there?PETERSON It’s a little bit thin but I was starting toget the idea.GEFFNER Here you’re looking at the brambles andthis as you can see is a rather four-sided stem.There are three brambles that are commonlyfound in our area. With this one, do you feel anglesin the stems?PETERSON Yes.GEFFNER Ok, so this would be a blackberry. If youhave thorns with a rounded stem, it’s probablya black raspberry. And when you have pricklesrather than thorns that would be the red raspberry.So we have red raspberry, black raspberry andblackberry as the common brambles. They are allin the genus rubus.Do you recognize this tree?PETERSON I do not. Well, I’ve seen it but I cannotidentify it, let me say that.GEFFNER If you’re ever in doubt with this individual[plant], you see the leaves are elliptical, pointed.On the underside, can you see the orange fluffat the base of the main vein? What you smell isprussic acid. And no matter how you look at it orhow you describe it, when prussic acid is taken internally,it is a form of cyanide. This is a wild blackcherry. If you really want to make sure, you takea little branch and take off the leaves and you canactually take your fingernail, give it a scratch andsmell. This is one example of an individual whowill feed you with edible cherries, heal you as acough medicine or kill you if you ingest too much.Be careful—this is poison ivy here. Do you see?PETERSON Poison ivy and the false Solomon seal.GEFFNER The false Solomon seal and the mayappleoffer a good lesson. We should look at the poisonivy first. Because when it comes to plants, animals,all aspects of nature, there’s no good or bad outhere from the naturalist’s point of view. If webreak a leaf or stem, the sap gets on our skin thatcan cause an outbreak of dermatitis. But poisonivy produces fruit in the fall, which is heavily usedby many small animals and a wide range of birds.They depend on the poison ivy for food, and thepoison ivy wants them to eat the berries. That’swhy plants make good-tasting fruits. The fruits geteaten and digested and the seeds are dispersed.This is the most functional way of spreading seed,using animals to do that in that way.PETERSON That’s interesting. Something you mightthink about when you see a particular plant in themiddle of a human landscape and wonder howdid this plant grow up here?GEFFNER Oh my goodness! These are really old, butlook at the size of this crop [of mushrooms]. Thislooks like Hen of the Woods, what’s left of it. Thisis one of the edible fungi. Keeping in mind howcareful we have to be in harvesting the herbs, it’sdoubly so with the fungus. I do a lot of mushroomharvesting. My record is 80 pounds in one year!PETERSON That’s a lot of mushrooms. How canwe be conscientious collectors when it comes tomushrooms like these?GEFFNER I wouldn’t take them all. When I harvestclumps of these Hen of the Woods, I’d wantthem to reproduce. You harvest them close to theground. If we harvest them properly, we will encouragethe reharvesting of these fruits. And theymay come up year after year in the same place.PETERSON For someone who’s completely new toforaging, what would you suggest to them aboutwild edibles?GEFFNER No. 1, the best place to begin is always withsomeone who’s connected to that field. That givesyou a good introduction. No. 2, you get a good fieldguide that will help you identify, then [obtain] thefield guides that take you into your area of interest.The first thing is to learn to recognize. You gofrom there to careful experimentation, then you’reok. But I don’t recommend that you experimentwith mushrooms! Seriously, that’s something youshould always do with someone who knows.PETERSON So what is to be gained through thisknowledge or these interests in these wild foods?GEFFNER These pursuits keep us in touch with therhythms and bounty of nature.