Foraging for things NOT to eat

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Foraging for things NOT to eat
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cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 10:42 am Post subject: Foraging for things NOT to eat

A couple of posts elsewhere have prompted me to mull over what plants and fungi we can pick and use for things other than to eat. Off he top of my head, here's a start at some categories.

Dyers plants, e.g. nettle, evergreen alkanet.

Construction and craft materials, e.g. hazel.

Medicinal plants, e.g. coltsfoot

Fibre and papermaking, e.g. cow parsley, nettle

Tools, e.g. razor strop fungus (birch polypore)

Insect repellants, e.g. elder.

Scents, e.g. rose, elderflowers.

Containers for other plants and forages, e.g. butterwort, dock, chickweed

Childrens 'play' plants, e.g. burdock, chickweed.

So as a starter, there are already a whole load of categories. Does anyone want to add in other ideas, or contribute to a list of species that can be utilised in any of the above?

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 11:02 am Post subject:
Impractical and humdrum, but you should add simple decoration...

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 11:07 am Post subject:

dougal wrote:

Impractical and humdrum, but you should add simple decoration...

Well, yes, I'm embarrassed I didn't think of that

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 11:22 am Post subject:
How do children play with chickweed? There's some good categories there, something like the medicinal plants is a vast area.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 12:21 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

How do children play with chickweed?

There's some good categories there, something like the medicinal plants is a vast area.

We used to do all sorts of things with chickweed, that normally involved picking up great big handfulls of the stuff and wearing it as a wig. We also used to do something similar with goosegrass, which was of course stickier.

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 1:01 pm Post subject:
From Cab: "We also used to do something similar with goosegrass, which was of course stickier." I agree, goose grass is huge fun: I still catch out the old chap every year with handfuls of it stuck all about him. But we call it Sticky Willy. Perhaps we need a thread or something about regional names, legends, etc.? Something like Grigson's Englishman's Flora?

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 1:20 pm Post subject:

mochyn wrote:

Perhaps we need a thread or something about regional names, legends, etc.? Something like Grigson's Englishman's Flora?

Are you familiar with Richard Mabeys seminal work 'Flora Britannica'?

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 1:26 pm Post subject:
I have that volume (c0ndensed) in my library. Lovely, isn't it? Shall we compile a book list?!

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 1:27 pm Post subject:
Book lists/recommendations are always good. There's supposed to be a sticky of recommendations at the top of every forum.

Joey

Joined: 03 Nov 2004
Posts: 191

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 1:29 pm Post subject:
Amadou fungus for drying trout flies (and for tinder too, I think??)

Joey

Joined: 03 Nov 2004
Posts: 191

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 1:30 pm Post subject:
Amadou fungus for drying trout flies (and for tinder too, I think??) Firewood now that I mention tinder.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 1:31 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Book lists/recommendations are always good. There's supposed to be a sticky of recommendations at the top of every forum.

And I've SO been meaning to get round to that. I'll get on it.

nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 5:17 pm Post subject:
Nettle and comfrey for nitrogen fertilisers?

Silas

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 6848
Location: Staffordshire

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 5:23 pm Post subject:
Anything for bumping off an irritating neighbour?

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 05 5:45 pm Post subject:
My dentist!!...Ouch, ....hurts to talk!

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