NATURAL DETECTIVES

                                         LOOKING FOR CLUES
  
                                       Have you ever had a day
                            filled with so many coincidences
                      it seemed more than just coincidence?

August 26, 2010, was just that kind of day.  My friend Karen invited me over for lunch and a tour of her wild garden.  Over lunch, Karen told me about garlic mustard, the invasive nuisance that had run rampant all over her property.
  
                                                 
                                                      Garlic Mustard
     
Afterwards, we walked the path beyond the vegetable patch toward the wilder woodier area, where I was surprised to find a whimsical garden sculpture of a peacock.  Karen pointed out a wild plum tree.  I couldn’t resist commenting, “Mustard, Peacock, Plum, I feel like I’m playing a game of Clue.”  Without skipping a beat, Karen pointed back in the direction of the vegetable patch and quipped, “My Scarlet runner beans are back there.”

                                   
                                Scarlet runner beans                  Clue Character
 
This is funny, because I’d been thinking about the game of Clue just the day before, having not played Clue in years, and so I couldn't help but wonder, "What's going on here?" 
                                   
Real clues are abundant in nature.  With divine cleverness, it seems either God or Goddess has left a special signature on each creation.  It was Herbalist Karen Talbot, who taught me to recognize nature’s divine code.  I first met her back in June 2009, when I attended an Apeiron event specifically to go on her Weed Walking class.  She taught us how to identify, collect, and use fascinating wild plants for both cooking and healing.  For example...
  
                                                                                                 

... fuzzy Lambs Ear, which begs to be touched, can be steeped to make a refreshing tea or used as a soft band-aid to help stop bleeding.

Karen handed out a two-page list of twelve plants, and left space to the right for participants to write additional notes.   Garlic Mustard is one of the plants on Karen’s list, and she makes use of most parts of the plant – leaves, flowers, seeds, and taproots.  These sharp-flavored greens are rich in nutrition, offering Vitamins A, C, E, some B vitamins, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and manganese.   
 
Karen commented, “It’s a good thing the plant is delicious, because it is so invasive."  She went on to explain a state park in Maryland holds a cook-off for the competing herb in order to preserve the habitats of native wildflowers and plants.  Volunteers have gathered nearly two tons of it since the year 2000.”  Karen cleared almost two pounds from her own garden earlier that spring and was still finding it cropping up next to her tomatoes, cukes, beans, and cultivated herbs.  (Click on the photo at the top of this page if you would like to go to Wikipedia to learn more about Garlic Mustard.) 
  
                 
                 Poison Ivy                           Jewelweed Leaves                 Jewelweed Flowers
 
In addition to the plants on her list, Karen introduced us to the uses of White Pine; the needles are rich in Vitamin C and can be steamed into tea.  We also learned to identify the treasured Jewel Weed (plant with orange flower shown above), which is typically found growing near Poison Ivy and can be used in conjunction with rubbing alcohol and Witch Hazel to immediately treat skin exposure to Poison Ivy.  We tasted Karen’s Pesto made from Chickweed (Can you find the plant shown below in your yard?), and heard how she used Dandelion milk to make varnish (you see, she is also a wonderful nature-inspired artist/painter). 

  
                                                  
                                                                              Chickweed 

Throughout the outdoor class, we learned to recognize some of nature’s code.  I always thought sumac was poisonous, until Karen served up some Red Sumac tea, explaining that the red blooms of the Rhus species point upward, like a thumb indicating “okay" (shown just below). It’s the white-colored sumac, which points down, that is actually poisonous.  The red sumac tea was delicious. 
    
                                                 
                                                                              Thumbs Up 

And speaking of thumbs, we learned how to identify Lady’s Thumb.  This plant has sharp-flavored leaves which can be tossed in with salad greens.  It grows up to one meter high, and has narrow, lancet-shaped leaves 8–10 cm long.   A thumbprint-like dark imprint marks the center of each leaf, as if a lady tried to pick the leaf.  The plant blooms from early summer through late autumn with thumb-shaped spikes formed by long clusters of tiny whitish-pinkish flowers (shown here).  Young leaves of this plant can be mixed in with salad greens.
  
                                
                                     Lady's Thumb Leaves           Lady's Thumb Flower

Karen brought along her well-loved well-used books for walkers to thumb through, including  Edible Wild Plants by Peterson, and The Wild Gourmet by Lash.
 
Online resources about wild plants are extensive, but it’s nice to own a couple of basic books.  I've since attained a couple books for reference, Edible Wild Plants by Elias & Dykeman and   The Forager’s Harvest by Thayer.
 
I arranged for Karen to walk our property to see what we have growing, and we found Lamb's Ear, Evening Primrose, Plantain and lots more.  She offers this as a service along with her many classes around Rhode Island.  
 
Can you tell the difference between the leaves of poison ivy and the black berry plant?  If you are not certain, a good rule of thumb is "Leaves of Three, Let it Be". 

                                 
                                              Poison ivy at top of picture

Learn how to identify poison ivy in order to avoid it.  You will see it growing along paths in the woods, along the edge of sidewalks, by playing fields, and even on the beach.  Where long pants, socks, and shoes when walking in the woods and launder them when you get home.

Follow the trail of Lil Hoot's story by clicking on the arrow markers...

At the bottom of each page you may find conversation starters, questions and/or suggestions for activities.  Here are some examples...

   
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FOR THE NATURALLY CURIOUS
 
How can plants that help your body stay healthy?  Click here.
 
If you would like to start following the story trail, click here instead.

EXERCISE ACTIVITY

Go out for a walk and see if you can identify poison ivy and jewel week.  Can you find any?  How much?