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Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15972

PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 20 7:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I always understood it was poisonous, so although it is pretty, always steer clear of it. I suppose I need to put signs up soon warning people not to eat anything from the wood unless they know it is safe, as some pretty berries are coming along nicely like wild arum and probably bryony.

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 20 8:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

dpack wrote:
probably wise


Isn't it spelt wine?

There is a deadly nightshade just around the corner from us. It is a lovely plant and obviously very tricksie.

Shan



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 20 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We have some in one patch in our field and one growing between the stable retaining wall and the bank.

Shan



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 20 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Deadly Nightshade....not bottles of wine....

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46219
Location: yes
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 20 9:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

sgt.colon wrote:
dpack wrote:
probably wise


Isn't it spelt wine?

There is a deadly nightshade just around the corner from us. It is a lovely plant and obviously very tricksie.


it is not as toxic as quite a few uk species, the Oenanthes and aconites spring to mind and there are a few others that are proper nasty including quite a lot of "pretty in the garden" stuff

the looks nice, tastes ok, bad alkaloids etc are the dangeroos ones especially for kids or the unwary but bold

hemlock root smells delicious and looks rather like a big parsnip once trimmed , i cleared 3 acres of that and "harvested" several tons for disposal, when burning it the roasted ones smell like they would make a fine soup

iirc one of the oenanths is the best and last parsley several folk have eaten

etc

plants are fairly safe with a basic knowledge of id and characteristics, shrooms are far more difficult

lowri



Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Posts: 1322
Location: ceredigion
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 20 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

And surely it is not called "Deadly" for nothing?

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46219
Location: yes
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 20 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

depends on the dose per kg and the health of the "victim"

some things have a higher ld50 than others

most accidental solanaeciae incidents are nasty but not fatal, most oenanth ones are fatal etc

laburnum is a sneaky one with kids, looks like mange tout but should be mange nowt
pretty high ed fatality rate as it has a low ld50/kg

a well prepped and controlled dose can be useful medicine but half a dozen pods will off most under tens

most plants are fine , a few needs recognizing and dealing with accordingly

i would be lost in a jungle unless i had seen it at kew but uk stuff i have managed not to die so far

Last edited by dpack on Thu Jul 09, 20 11:29 am; edited 1 time in total

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15972

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 20 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

That's why I always err of the side of caution. As far as I am concerned the nightshade family are poisonous (I am not into taking trips), and I would only eat berries I know are safe. That does include quite a range including haws and rose hips, although I always process the rose hips and use the juice rather than the hips as they contain irritating hairs. Husband isn't too keen on the idea of eating wild greens, but we do sometimes use wild garlic and I know that cooked stinging nettles, a small amount of wood sorrel and ground elder which we have in our garden are edible. The smell rather puts me off the ground elder, but the taste is all right. I am told young hawthorn leaves are good, but never really felt the urge to eat them.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46219
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 20 12:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

the right bits of taters, tomatoes or aubergines are ok for most folk
some have no right bits unless your name is livia or don juan

imho it is the umbellifers that are the most dodgy of the plant groups, delightful does not = safe, ugly does not = bad using "normal"criteria such as smell, taste or eyeball
plenty of lookalikes, details can be a matter of life and death

i recon there are only ten out of 70 or so wild ones i am certain enough to eat at the stage when they are best to eat(flower id is useless if they need munching as spring greens, ditto the seeds are the good bit
i do know most of the nasty ones, a few of the those are well nasty in the "he had a sprinkle of parsley on his fish" sense
LD50 in the teaspoonful of fresh for a 75 kg adult range has no margin of error for a lesson in being careful

there are many bits of forage where mistakes are very unlikely and unlikely to be bad if they happen
if you learn the basics and stick to "easy" things all should be well

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46219
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 20 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

angelica is a good example of the detail needed for umbellifers

if it smells yummy, looks a bit umbellifer ish and it has its feet in water you have 5 rounds in a seven chamber revolver afaik in the uk:lol:

i know them enough and just would never consider it no matter how hungry i was

spinal critters, yummy and easy to id for "issues", some plants less so

The invertebrates are a bit of a mixed bag as well, some are fine raw, some need prep, some are bad alive or dead
some need careful choice as to where they are collected

5 and a bit decades later i still know very little but i could eat most places and often eat well

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 20 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

You should start a "dine out with DPack" service.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46219
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 20 2:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

my forage in a short time on a beach you do not know is fun,"crunchy" was one comment, after doing it for a few weeks my comment to me the first time i was back in babylon was "somebody needs to change my cat litter"

high caingorm in winter is "challenging"

urban is surprisingly easy, suburban and semi industrial AG can be pretty easy, industrial ag is tricky and specialized landscapes need specialized knowledge

coastal with a bit of veg and fresh water inland is perfect, 20 mins a day will sort food

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15972

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 20 8:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

As you say, Dpack, there are some of the potato family that are safe, although I have heard that if someone tried to introduce potatoes now they would be banned, and there have been some cases of breeders trying a variety that has been bred for certain properties ending up with bad stomach upsets. I don't touch the umbellifers either, although we have what I am pretty sure is wild angelica in the wood and hogweed in the garden.

There are certain times of year in the UK where foraging would be pretty lean, and I certainly am very careful, sticking to the few things I am very sure about.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46219
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 20 2:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

places and times matter, most of the uk is plausible over most of the year.

seasonal matters so mobile would be good

a good autumn collecting nuts and berries and jerky followed by shellfish and codlings would be a nice winter

spring roots and greens and wildfowl

summer for making seed biscuits

it worked in the past , it would work now even if the landscape is a little more restricted

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15972

PostPosted: Sat Jul 11, 20 7:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It did, but of course there were far fewer people and a lot less built on. People did tend to wander round looking for food too, and in spite of us being theoretically more mobile, I don't think most of us really 'know' habitats other than the ones we live in well enough to exploit them for food. There is of course also the problem of pollution; the shellfish round here are generally deemed unsafe without treatment.

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