Episode 9

Native Edible Plants Part One: Wildflower Teas with Bob Henrickson

Published on: 20th July, 2023

Native Edible Plants Part One: Wildflower Teas

Episode Introduction

In today's episode, Native Edible Plants Part One: Wildflower Teas, we go over some benefits of homegrown food, what native prairie plants make interesting and excellent herbal teas, some extra benefits these plants provide.

Host Stephanie Barelman

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

Guest Bob Henrickson

Bob Henrickson 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. Bob is also a Nebraska Certified Nurseryman and a Certified Arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. 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.

Thank you, Bob, for providing some rich and interesting content for this episode!

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Episode Content

Why should Nebraskans grow food at home? Can't we just eat corn and hamburgers and guzzle it down with our favorite sugary death trap?

There are many benefits to growing native Nebraska plants for food:

Access to foods high in nutrition value
Wide range of food options from diversely planted gardens give us rich diversity in diet
Other health benefits of native plants
Furthering the food movement
Endless Forage
Free
Gathering feels earned
Also (we didn't mentioned this in the episode but should have,) food gathered at home is FRESH. It hasn't been picked underripe, packaged, and shipped thousands of miles to you. It's the original farm-to-table.

Bob wants you to read Wild Seasons by Kay Young

Just go read it.

Harvest tea plants in their bud and flower stage, preferably under a full moon.

Apparently, the moon energy that causes ocean tides also has an effect on plant potency. Makes sense and also makes us sound like druids.

Tea plants! Because who doesn't like fancy home-brewed wildflower tea?

Achillea Millefolium AKA Common or Western Yarrow

Bob says this tea isn't particularly tasty, but this is one for food adventurists to try. The Blackfoot tribe made a tea from the leaves and flowers. It's a ready self seeder so you will have this everywhere at some point. Great compliment to other colorful natives you will have in your garden. Also great for wound healing.

Monarda Fistulosa AKA Wild Beebalm or Wild Bergamot

Leaves, shoots, and flowers are edible. Monarda has thymol in it- which is a natural anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. The flower is majestic in the garden and looks great planted next to anything in a different color.

Amorpha Canescens AKA Leadplant

Leaves make a tea, flower itself a beauty to add to the native collection. Purple flowers tinged with orange, interesting greyish foliage. Boil leaves in water and simmer for 20 minutes. Use 1 tbsp dried leaves per one cup of water. Strain and sweeten with honey or sugar if you like.

Ceanothus Americanus AKA New Jersey Tea

Leaves used to make tea by so many tribes: Lakota, Ponca, Winnebago, Omaha, Pawnee, Dakota. Mild and tasty tea

Solidago Odora AKA Sweet Goldenrod

Awesome looking goldenrod, maybe the best looking goldenrod out there. Only regionally native to southern Missouri. Leaves used to make historical Liberty Tea (Think Boston Tea Party.)

Dalea Purpurea AKA Purple Prairie Clover

Navajo used this prairie clover's leaves to make a tea, supposedly "makes the finest of prairie teas." It's one of the cutest little ground covers you can grow and apparently the stems can be used to make brooms. Who knew?

Echinacea Purpurea AKA Purple Coneflower

This one was used more medically historically but echinacea is found in teas often for its health properties. Gorgeous, long-blooming flower. They even look good when the tops turn brown and black in the fall. Watch out for aster yellows when the flower heads are mature but look like green leaves instead of purple petals or flower parts.

Agastache Foeniculum AKA Anise Hyssop

Leaves smell like licorice and the pollinators love the sweet, pale lavender flowers. Makes a tasty tea. Make a cold brew by grabbing some fresh leaves, plopping in a pitcher, and letting steep in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you don't like the smell of licorice you aren't human!

Pycanthemum Virginianum AKA Virginia Mountain Mint

Another member of the mint family. Makes a delicious cold brew tea also. Break out your pitchers, people, and harvest some mint!

BONUS: Edible, medicinal, utilitarian qualities of these plants!

You can find some really wonderful ways to use these plants for your own benefit! Ideas here: Daniel Moerman Native American Ethnobotany https://amzn.to/3tdCLK7

Thank you for listening!

-Stephanie

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 (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