No seriously! It’s more complex than you might imagine, and having a common language really helps when talking about the parts of a leaf. For the avoidance of doubt, leaf refers to both the flat type that you imagine, and the needles and scales found on some evergreens. This is not a complete reference, just […]
I’m finding that as I learn more about plants and trees, it’s becoming increasingly useful to understand some of the botanical words and phrases that are used. Not just the Latin names (which are helpful sometimes), but also the parts of plants. So the long long white things with yellow things on the end, become […]
I came across some edible wild flowers on a walk, and they reminded me of my wife, so I brought a few home for her to brighten up her desk. Pretty flowers for my gorgeous wife, Samantha. So hopefully they’ll provide some inspiration whilst she works; and if she gets peckish, she can have a […]
Given the time of year, we all know that the countryside is full of green and flowers, I was out looking for edibles when I came across these edible hedgerow beauties, so I thought I’d share these spring flowers with you. Wych Elm (Ulmus glabra) spring flowers First up is the Wych Elm. This tree, […]
Strictly speaking, this post isn’t about foraging as such, more like plant identification. The key point is this: You need to be able to positively identify plants in order to be able to forage for them. However, if you don’t live near the great outdoors, you can practice your plant ID anyway. For example, just […]
Some of you already know how I feel about litter in our beautiful countryside, so this litter rant won’t come as too much of a surprise to you. I went out for a quick walk in the Lee Valley Park this lunchtime and the litter was appalling. It was only a short walk, out and […]
If you read all there is on the internet about Chickweed, you could be forgiven for expecting to trip over the stuff every few minutes. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky, but apart from having a tiny patch pointed out to me in January, I’ve seen none of it. Chickweed spotted On my way to Mudchute […]
Whilst the London Plane tree is of no use when foraging for food and drink; And as far as I’m aware, not especially useful for bushcraft; given that it accounts for probably half of the large trees in London, I think it’s worth being able to identify, if only for the purpose of elimination. Environmentally […]
I’ve been on the lookout for pesky Alexanders for a while now. Mostly because I’ve read about how widespread they are, and about how they came to the UK with the Romans as a food stuff. Anyway, I’ve had a few moments where I’ve thought I have them, but then I’m not sure. The difficulty […]
Please note: This article was originally posted on www.totallywilduk.co.uk Identifying trees in Winter is hard. It isn’t too bad in Spring, Summer and Autumn; But during the winter, when there are no leaves, flowers or fruits on show, it’s pretty awful. Why trees? What has that got to do with foraging? The obvious reason is […]