Rollandvue:4th Week of June, Box Elder, Chestnut,Linden, Catalpa, Fruiting and Flowering

The chestnuts in the neighborhood are producing their catkins or snakes.  Most of these are the Asian chestnuts resistant to the devastating  blight which struck in the early twentieth century.  There may be one hybrid on the north side of Rolandvue near Bellona that has native chestnut element.  There are male and female catkins, the female more knobby, the male more hairy, as close as they are they require another tree for pollination.  Like the oaks they have a timing which prevents self-pollination.  It is air born pollen so cutting down the tree 30 yards away might make this tree sterile. They will produce the spiky balls from hell in the fall protecting the chestnut.

male and female chestnut catkins

Pictured are the samaras or seeds of the box elder at the corner of Wagner lane and Wagner. Similar to the maple seeds but in tight bunches which may stay on the tree for the winter.  "Box" from wood similar to boxwood and elder do to leaves similar to elder,but actually a maple, Acer negundo.  It is a pinnately compound leaf with 3-7 leaflets, looking a little like poison ivy when only three leaflets.  It can be tapped for sugar.  End branches sometimes remain green rather than woody.  Twigs were once used for incense.  For a few years there was a paper wasp nest in this tree, apparently built new each year, but not obvious this year.

The catalpas have been blooming, one is in the front yard at the top of Cloverlea.  The picture is from the net, missed the peak of the bloom.  The tree had in the past some medicinal uses, soft wood which could be made into utensils and bowls.  Tree is known for its large leaves.

The lindens , here from the driveway at 1009 Cloverlea, are producing their unique fruit.  As a novice I like one of a kind features.  There are numerous varieties of linden all producing this type of seed and no other tree with similar seed.  Helpful since the young linden leaves are edible.  Lindens are called lime trees in English novels, commonly planted in parks and along streets. Sometimes called  the bee tree, blossoms attract the bees.

what's that in the road? a head? Linden seeds

Linden seeds or nuts

L

Rolandvue 3rd Week June:Wine Berry,Raspberry,Black Raspberry,Black Berry

In our area there are four thorny arching "canes" that produce berries, at least for practical purposes.  It may be another week or two for maximum production but you need to find your berry patches now to compete with the numerous other consumers.  The wine berry(Rubus phoenicolasius) or Japanese raspberry is semi-invasive introduced variety which is able to hybridize with the native raspberry and is otherwise similar.  So semi-quoting the forager we can lump the two together. The foreign variety may be more common in the Lake Roland area.

So putting wine berry aside we have three arching canes producing thorns and berries. Two of these will have a leaf with green upper surface and white under surface.  The blackberry will be green on both surfaces.  So a cane berry with green leaves is a blackberry (Rubus fruticosus).  The berry does not have the cup like hollow that the other berries have.  There are larger seeds, but the seeds have omega 3 oils.  The video below is of a group near the Lake Roland light rail bridge.  Ripe when dark purple, the berries will be at different stages, so taking a few at a time.

So there are two cane berries with green leaf top, white leaf bottom.  the raspberry and the black raspberry(Rubus occidentalis.)  The black raspberry fruit is a little smaller  than the raspberry and will eventually turn the characteristic deep purple.  There is often a white coating on the cane,like a mold that will come off when (carefully) wiped. These are great to eat right off the vine,but the forager likes to leave a few for seeds, to help them compete with the invasive raspberries.  They are ripe when darkest color and easily removed.

That leaves one  actual native raspberry(Rubus strigosus).  It was the typical leaf with green top and white bottom, usually no coating on the cane, and a slightly larger berry.  The berries tend to ripen at approximately the same time. These berries have the thimble shaped cup as opposed to the blackberry.  The canes tend to be redder than the black raspberry. The leaves are often three pointed leaflets but can be up to seven.  Most of the canes have perennial roots but biennial canes, first year non-bearing, second year flowering and fruiting.

The videos show the three cane berries near the light rail line.  The narrator gets the blackberry wrong and has been disciplined.  The one with the green underside of the leaf is the blackberry not the black raspberry. Good, responsible, harvesting.

raspberry,white under leaf,red cane

(there are dozens of varieties but this would be the common cane berries nearby)

Rolandvue, 2nd Week June:Curly Dock,Burdock,Wood Sorrel,Joe Pye Weed

Yellow or curly dock(Rumex crispus) is taking over the hill on the south side of Cloverlea.  These are going to seed, which should be on branched stalks about one meter high.  The seeds have a sticky casing that either floats or sticks to clothing.  This adds to the plants invasive nature(was less   common last year).  Young leaves are a common forage, but there are warnings about oxalates which might require two sequences of boiling to protect the kidneys.

Mature leaves are bitter but can be ground into powder to get the vitamins and minerals. The large leaves are entire,lance-shaped,with a lighter yellow midrib.  It is in the buckwheat family.  Thayer likes the peeled stems raw, at least from a younger plant. Buckwheat like flour is possible but difficult due to the seed's hard fibrous husk.

The photos are a little more detailed since I have not seen an ocrea before and this is the first of the family.

From top left, there is a typical plant, the large leaf with wavy but entire margin and the yellowish mid-vein, the papery fibrous ocrea where the petiole meets the stem, and a close-up of the seeds.  At this point the seeds were still not too sticky. l tried stripping the mid-vein free and eating raw, not bad but fibrous at this maturity.

Burdock  have gotten very large this week, at the Charles St end of Rolandvue and the south side of Cloverlea.  The foragers are mainly interested in the deep root of the burdock, requiring digging down alongside the plant.  Do you gain enough energy to make up for the digging?  But the plant size is impressive.  The purple flowers will turn into the somewhat dreaded sticky burrs.  Again the yin yang, noxious invasive weed or prized asian vegetable?

large burdock stalk,too late for forage,watch for flowers and burrs.

Wood sorrel is on the Charm City farm list this week, the photo is from the 1009 Cloverlea driveway but it is everywhere. With the usual warnings this is relatively safe to try in moderation.  Like many plants it has oxalates. Flowering (small yellow) is done. Leaf like a shamrock.

wood sorrel,pleasant slightly acid taste,better out of the roadway and before  lawn herb spray.

occasional wood sorrel flower still remaining end of June

The plant in the next photos was a mystery until we looked back at the list from last year. It is the early growth of the Joe Pye weed with the whirl of leaves coming off the central stalk. Thought to be used more for folk medicine than foraging.  This was at the corner of Cloverlea and Rolandvue.  This is a rich area, but not unexpected.  "Edges" are one of the richest habitats and road margins qualify as edges.  Just better for virtual foraging not actual foraging.

Rolandvue 1st Week June,Kousa Dogwood,Honeysuckle,Field Onion,Cryptomaria Pollen

The Kousa dogwoods are blooming, about a month later than the native dogwoods. They are imported from asia, being resistant to the anthracnose fungus disease.  Kousas are scattered around the neighborhood,in the woods but pictures are from south side of Rolandvue. They will have a custard like fruit later in the season.  It is so typical that even this beginner forager has tried it. This Spring the flowers seem very dramatic, particularly along Lake Roland near the dam.

Kousa or Asian Dogwood,disease resistant,prominently floral,same 4 bracts

Honeysuckle is also more obvious this week.  There is bush honeysuckle and vine honeysuckle, native and Asian honeysuckle.  This seems to be the vine type and fits more with the Japanese honeysuckle but there are native vines as well. So specific type is undetermined. Both have opposite leaves and bilateral symmetry in the flowers.  The Asian variety may be more invasive. Most of the fruit, dark berries, is good for birds but toxic to humans. The name derives from a sweet nectar which can be drained directly from the flowers.

Foragers say to use your nose when distinguishing field garlic/onion from other more toxic members of the lily family.  If it smells like onion or garlic it is edible. Check the stem, hollow seems to mean onion. The color of the flower coming out of the top bulblet  may indicate onion.  The whole plant is potential forage.

close-up of flower bursting out of top capsule,onion

stalk of field onion with turret cap,hollow stem,onion smell

This is the season for emergency room visits in Japan where cryptomeria is widespread and causes severe allergies.  Some varieties of cryptomeria are less allergenic and some produce little pollen when young.  There are scattered trees going toward the end of Wagner, maybe not enough to cause a problem.  The photo shows a change in the last tree,possibly the male fruit.  Pollen is commonly associated with flowers, but the more showy flowers are designed for insect pollination.  It is the air pollen that is more hazardous,cedars,oaks and cryptomeria.

Cryptomeria seeds on a tree which can produce allergenic pollen

Rolandvue 4th Week May. Bedstraw,Magnolia, Horse Chestnut Blossom

There is an interesting plant particularly on the south side of Rolandvue between Cloverlea and Wagner in the hillside.  It is a straggling low plant with whorls of lance-shaped leaves coming off the stems at intervals of a few inches.  The leaves and stems have small hooked hairs which cling to surrounding plants and to clothing.  It is considered a noxious but fun weed. It was used in bedding because it did cling to itself and stayed in place.

If it clings to your shirt it probably is bedstraw and could be considered for foraging.  It bears watching,said to be transitory and disappear in a month or so.  There are small white flowers arising from the leaf axils.

closer view of cleavers,a velcro plant

bedstraw or cleavers

 The magnolias are blooming this week.  They are more in the gardening category but interesting.  The flowers are said to be edible, made into teas or infusions.  The large blossoms are a sign of ancient heritage, originating before bees so pollenated by beetles,thus needing stronger flowers.  Leaves can be a seasoning.  Not sure of the specific type although grandiflora is said to be common.

The horse chestnut trees are blooming.  The road is covered with petals.  They are more on the very large trees and not on the small shoots or small trees.  The horse chestnut is toxic and even the deer seem not to eat the small horse chestnut leaves.  The internet is silent on the edibility of the horse chestnut flowers.  The trees are widely scattered but two are at the top of Cloverlea hill.

What's that in the road..a head? Horse chestnut petals.

close-up horse chestnut flowers

a blossom on a smaller horse chestnut tree

Rolandvue 3rd Week May,Greater Celandine,Sensitive Fern,Fleabane,Bittersweet Nightshade

The patch of yellow flowers on the north side of Rolandvue across from the entrance of Cloverlea are likely to be greater celandine.  They follow most of the criteria, erect, perennial, four yellow petals and pinnate leaves with wavy margins.  There is also the orange sap seen with the Wood Poppy.  It is toxic due to alkaloids, but supposedly useful in folk medicine at the proper dosage.

Orange toxic sap of the greater celandine

Greater celandine,four yellow petals,thin seed

Latin is Chelidonium, other common names are wartweed, Devil's milk,and rock poppy. It shares the four petal yellow flower and the orange sap with the wood poppy but the seeds are different.  Greater celandine has long narrow seeds compared to the fat fuzzy seeds of the wood poppy(which was fifty yards up Cloverlea last week). This plant is introduced,becoming invasive while the poppy is native. Some raise the wartweed and some suggest pulling it up before it goes to seed while wearing gloves to avoid the toxic sap.


The sensitive ferns are back on the west side of Cloverlea just as it enters Rolandvue ,on both sides of the utility pole. The name derives from its sensitivity to the first fall frost.  It is variously reported as native or originating in the far east.  The photo shows the sterile frond this week, the fertile frond should be smaller and beaded, appearing in July and August. Stay tuned.

sensitive fern,sterile frond, from a clump at corner Rolandvue and Cloverlea

Bittersweet nightshade can be found along the south side of Rolandvue going uphill toward Charles street.   It is a relative of the tomato, but contains more concentrated solanine a moderately effective poison.  Nightshade conjures images of the Borgias.  It has been blooming this week, will go to a red berry sometimes attractive to children. It has medicinal uses but best avoided. The leaves have this arrow shape with lobes at the base. It can climb as high as 4 meters if supported.

bittersweet nightshade,lobed leaf

group of bittersweet nightshade flowers

close-up of flower,four purple petals,yellow stamen
pointed style

The last photo shows a flower also seen along the Bellona end of Rolandvue.   Here is another place for latin, we are calling it fleabane but this is used for a number of similar flowers in the aster family.  But it does have the central yellow disc with numerous white rays. The lanceolate lower leaves are said to be edible but are hairy, possibly unpleasant.
Cooking helps.

enlarged view of the lance-shaped hairy leaves and stem of the fleabane

multiple rays of the fleabane flower

overall appearance of fleabane