Summer
goes by so fast and now it’s more than half over. But some summer events remain
and one
of them is the free wild plant workshops I put on at Spruce Point Inn
in Boothbay Harbor
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| Garlic Mustard |
My
last two workshops take place on Tuesday, August 19 and Tuesday, August 26. All
a visitor need do is register at the front desk. Workshops run from 1:30 to
3:00 in the afternoon.
As
an interesting note, this marks the third consecutive season I have taught at
the inn and only this year, did I find garlic mustard growing there. How it
arrived at the edge of the sea on a steep overlook remains a mystery. But it’s
there and has already dropped seed.
The
State of Maine
The
good news is that garlic mustard is a culinary plant of some value. It has a
heady, garlic flavor, making it useful in all kinds of dishes. I can envision
using the leaves in various ferments. Brined green beans, with garlic mustard,
should make a nice combination.
We
have more and more invasive species each year showing up around Maine
Some
time I plan on doing a special presentation on invasive plants. I may work on
it this winter. But my presentation will differ from other invasive plant
presentations because I will also include native invasives. To most people, a
plant must be an alien in order to be considered invasive. Not so. For
instance, groundnuts are a highly-invasive plant that once established are
impossible to get rid of.
Groundnuts
are edible tubers that send up long, weak-stemmed vines. These look much like
pea vines and have twinned, opposite leaves. The vines depend upon other plants
for support and in twining around the support plant, often end up strangling
the plant to death. I have see groundnut vines kill Japanese knotweed.
Groundnuts,
along with other wild edibles, are carving out a niche for themselves and as
such, were offered last year by the Waldo County Soil & Water Conservation
District in their annual plant sale.
But
no one has mentioned anything about the plant’s invasive habits. That’s because
groundnuts are a native plant. Cattails are another invasive native plant, but
that’s another story for another time.
So
much for invasives.
Back
to plant workshops, perhaps I’ll see some of you at my workshops in Boothbay at
Spruce Point Inn. It’ll be fall before you know it and then our wild plants
will have been killed by frost, not to return until next growing season.
Tom, greatly enjoyed your walk and slide show at Common Ground. Ground Nut was on my list this year but I failed to find it in flower. I am trying to figure out how to ID it late season (I often forage along a large river with fertile soil) .
ReplyDeleteRob Graves, (the guy with the spruce tea)
Hello Rob,
DeleteCome next year (or you might still find it this year), look for the vines of groundnut. They cling to other plants, since they don't have any strength of their own. But they do have gripping power and often strangle other plants.
The leaves look rather like pea leaves..mostly opposite, but sometimes bordering upon alternate. So when around a fertile stream, look for a pea-like vine and follow it down to the ground and dig around. You'll probably find groundnuts.
Feel free to keep in touch with any foraging questions, and thanks for writing.
Tom