Thistles

[MaryN]

(3 April 2013, 21:47)Luci_ferson Wrote: excellent point MaryN. forgotten isn't necessarily lost. what was once known can be found again.

this article seems to be referring to the nuts im remembering. but there no picture

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/archive...14069.html

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it describes the nut being below the seed head in a bulb. which is pretty much how I remember

but I need a picture.

Luci, I think you mean milk thistle. Just had a quick sweep round google and it appears that you can eat milk thistle nuts. It's a new one on me, but apparently the seeds (nuts) form in the flowerhead when it has blown. Interesting, eh?

[Luci_ferson]

Luckily I still remember exactly where I was when I was first shown them.
il have to pay it a visit this year and see if they are still there.

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thanks maryN atleast I know I aint going nuts lol. ( pun intended)

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I remember my uncle saying something could be used to be ground and baked into a buiscit, and was wondering if it was thistle nuts but information on them seems pretty scarce.
so hoped someone here would have more of a clue.

[Straight Shooter]

try some ground nuts luci...they are great but a fair effort to dig up ....the plant stands about 12 to 24 inches high and white small clusters of flowers..(similar to elderflower) they are every where...you may have to dig down a foot ...but when you get that nut...well worth it ( thanks dad )

[MaryN]

You know, this thread really got me thinking. It was Metroyeti saying that he regretted not remembering information about plants that his Gran had given him. There must be so many of you who have memories of the "old ways" that could be so useful. Just in this posting, Luci has made a point about thistle seeds; Highlander mentioned his Dad telling him about eating leaves called "bread and butter", and in yet another post Scythe and MB were enthusing about pine needle tea.

Perhaps it would be possible for anyone who does have any memories about eating "wild food" to give us details. We all know about blackberries and crab apples, but are there any weeds or trees that make good eating or even usage for something. I vaguely remember somewhere reading that ground acorns were used as a substitute (!) for coffee.

Any food for free has got to be worth the knowledge, surely.

[Luci_ferson]

as a child my uncle took me allover and showed me allsorts of free foods and medicinal plants, but I wasn't interested, it was all just mumbo jumbo and mystical bollocks to me.
my nana had a special area of her garden where she grew her medicines. and we were not allowed to go (some plants were dangerous)
and again I wasn't interested in any of it.
my friends used to joke and call her a witch. ( its a sore subject when your about 8)

now just wish I could remember any of it.
ive been out and got a few books, but books will never be the same as having someone there willing to show you.

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the only thing I do remember is that its not enough to know which plant to use, you also need to know how to use it and at what dosage, many of them are dangerous. and many have multiple purposes depending on how they are prepared.

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sadly most books don't go that far into it, probably because they don't want to be held responsible for anything trying to treat themselves for a serious condition.

[Highlander]

For anyone in the west country, it looks like these walks teach you about foraging and what wild eating is all about,.. maybe very interesting

http://www.wildwalks-southwest.co.uk/

[Luci_ferson]

as you can tell im now interested in plants for more than their nutritional values ( I know I should have paid attention)

[Highlander]

Just a little warning here,... any suggestion should really be confirmed in some way before anyone goes out and tries something that someone has suggested.

Memories play tricks, if a suggestion is wrong and the `food`ends up being poisonous ...well

[MaryN]

(4 April 2013, 21:18)Highlander Wrote: Just a little warning here,... any suggestion should really be confirmed in some way before anyone goes out and tries something that someone has suggested.

Memories play tricks, if a suggestion is wrong and the `food`ends up being poisonous ...well

Completely agree, HIghlander, and I do hope most people will know about things like rhubarb and hemlock water dropwort. It would be possible to make a few simple checks though.

[Luci_ferson]

definitely
theres far too many plants that are harmfull.
they don't have to be lethal to do you harm either.