Episode 18

Native Edible Plants Part 4: Nuts, Blossoms, and Even More Fruits with Bob Henrickson

Published on: 27th March, 2024

Native Edible Plants Part 4: Nuts, Blossoms, and Even More Fruits

Episode Introduction

In today's episode, Native Edible Plants Part 4, we chat with Bob Henrickson about survival foods, how to make native Shirley Temples, and which native plant has been used as a spice for centuries. If you don't like rabbit holes, this episode will be a dangerous romp through Gardenland.

Host Stephanie Barelman

Stephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker surrounding the native plants dialogue, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast.

Guest Bob Henrickson

Bob attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology in the School of Natural Resources. Currently, Bob is the Horticulture Program Coordinator with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, Inc., a private, non-profit organization and program of the Nebraska Forest Service. His responsibilities include assisting affiliated arboretum sites with plant collection development and to acquire, propagate and produce native and other resilient landscape plants for plant sales to our members and the public. Bob has hosted a live, call-in gardening talk show called How’s it Growin’ on a community radio station in Lincoln since 2000. He is passionate about native plants, herbs, dried flowers, vegetable gardening, wild mushrooms and wild edible plants.

Episode Sponsors

Today's episode sponsored by Midwest Natives Nursery:

https://www.midwestnativesnursery.com/

https://www.facebook.com/midwestnatives

https://www.instagram.com/midwest_natives_nursery/

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Episode Content

Wild strawberry- Fragaria virginiana

Wild strawberry is so very pretty, and I hear from people all the time they have this in their yard. But they are mistaking false strawberry for our native one. The leaves are larger than false strawberry and the small flowers are white and not yellow.

Makes a great edible ground cover. Plant with violets for more fun!

Early bloomer.

Maybe make a sedge meadow with strawberries.

Hackberry- one of the earliest plants eaten by humans

An understory tree, you see this everywhere at Lauritzen Gardens, Heron Haven, basically every other wooded area around here.

Sam Thayer-Nature's Garden: "For sheer survival value hackberry is unsurpassed..."

Bonkers idea for hackberry: make hackberry milk and use it as coffee creamer.

Great for songbirds and vegans!

Prunus family plants

American plum

Historical: Cherokee used fruit to make fruit juice, eaten fresh, or jelly. Cheyenne treated these as a delicacy and would even sun dry these at times. Tribes consistently described as highly valued.

Wild plum wine, cobbler. Highest carbs found in fruit. Get your plum on!

Suckers so plant isolated in lawn or plan for thicketing

Chokecherry

Chokecherry is one of those plants whose common name is so close to another one you get it mixed up. So we’re talking about prunus Virginiana not chokeberry which is in the aronia family.

Chokecherry makes an excellent jelly. If you’re a little bit country you might have had some before.

Chokecherry fizz AKA Native Shirley Temple, Chokecherry wine, drinks all around!

Another thicketing one but when planted in shade, doesn't spread as much. Early bloomer.

Ribes family of plants

RYE-BEES FTW

Black currant- Ribes americium

fruit dried, made into sauces, eaten fresh

likes part shade

Buffalo currant- Ribes aureum or odoratum (goes by both names)

likes growing in hot and dry conditions

easy to grow, makes tasty pie

Missouri gooseberry- Ribes missouriense

If you need a little Misourrah in your life...

Elderberry- Sambucus canadensis

Elderberries must be cooked before eating but makes a lovely jam, make sure to pick them when ripe can also use the elderflowers to make syrups, wines, and cordials

High iron content, songbird and pollinator favorite

Rejuvenation pruning may be your friend here every 3-4 years

Kay Young's Wild Seasons- I know, she's a popular gal with us...

Shake flowers into bucket and steep flowers in hot simple syrup.

Elderberry flower fritters and yes, you heard us right... Marbled Elderberry Cheesecake.

Can even make elderberry capers from the unripe fruits, but must prepare correctly to remove the toxins

Smooth sumac and staghorn sumac

Berries used to make drinks with sugar: sumacade or sumac tea

In the citrus family! Who knew?

Sumac (zatar) has been used to make spices for centuries.

Good source of Vitamin C.

May be used to make a sumac vinaigrette.

Spring Affair

Get affordable plants in Lincoln this year at the Spring Affair!

Additional content related to this episode:

What makes a plant native?

http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska

https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Society

native (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (native plant cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)

On the Web

BONAP aforementioned

BNPS aforementioned

http://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety- BNPS on Facebook

Books & Authors

Rick Darke- The Living Landscape

Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park".

Enrique Salmon- Iwigara

Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany

Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com

Native Plants of the Midwest

Planting in a Post-Wild World

Jon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska