Sustainable Harvesting

Foraging is a bit tricky, with over-harvesting and careless practices threatening the ecology of the plants and land. But when done properly, foraging provides the gatherer with plants full of nutrients and medicinal qualities, and one can take steps to make sure the environment is protected and nurtured.

Please commit to the Wildcrafter’s Sustainability Pledge:

• Weigh the impact you have on the land before harvesting.
• Harvest only healthy plants and fungi that are not contaminated by roadways, railroad tracks, industrial and agricultural runoff, urban areas, sewage zones, oil spills, and places heavily sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, etc.
• Never harvest more than 30 percent of what grows in an area, preferably only 10 percent. (Wherever possible, it is best to leave at least 1/7 of the plant so that it may continue to live.)
• Never harvest more than I can process.
• Process the harvest as soon as possible after it has been picked.
• Know how to make accurate plant identification to ensure the safety, health, and wellness of those who are consuming this harvest.
• Leave more than I take.
• Respect the environment that provides us with these gifts.
• Never harvest rare or endangered species (for example: American Ginseng, goldenseal, and Wild Echinacea). Here is the full United Plant Savers list of wild medicinal plants which are currently most sensitive to the impact of human activities:

“At Risk” List

• American Ginseng - Panax quinquefolius
• Bloodroot - Sanguinaria canadensis
• Black Cohosh - Actaea racemosa L.
• Blue Cohosh - Caulophyllum thalictroides
• Echinacea - Echinacea spp.
• Eyebright - Euphrasia spp.
• False Unicorn Root - Chamaelirium luteum
• Goldenseal - Hydrastis canadensis
• Lady’s Slipper Orchid - Cypripedium spp.
• Lomatium - Lomatium dissectum
• Osha - Ligusticum porteri, L. spp.
• Peyote - Lophophora williamsii
• Sandalwood - Santalum spp. (Hawaii only)
• Slippery Elm - Ulmus rubra Sundew - Drosera spp.
• Trillium, Beth Root -Trillium spp.
• True Unicorn - Aletris farinosa
• Venus’ Fly Trap - Dionaea muscipula
• Virginina Snakeroot - Aristolochia serpentaria
• Wild Yam - Dioscorea villosa,D. spp.

“To Watch” List 

• Arnica - Arnica spp.
• Butterfly Weed - Asclepias tuberosa
• Cascara Sagrada - Frangula purshiana (Rhamnus)
• Chaparro - Casatela emoryi
• Elephant Tree - Bursera microphylla
• Gentian - Gentiana spp.
• Goldthread - Coptis spp.
• Kava Kava - Piper methysticum (Hawaii only)
• Lobelia - Lobelia spp.
• Maidenhair Fern - Adiantum pendatum
• Mayapple - Podophyllum peltatum
• Oregon Grape - Mahonia spp.
• Partridge Berry - Mitchella repens
• Pink Root - Spigelia marilandica
• Pipsissewa - Chimaphila umbellata
• Ramps - Allium tricoccum (recently added)
• Spikenard - Aralia racemosa, A. californica
• Stone Root - Collinsonia canadensis
• Stream Orchid - Epipactis gigantea
• Turkey Corn - Dicentra canadensis
• White Sage - Salvia apiana
• Wild Indigo - Baptisia tinctoria
• Yerba Mansa - Anemopsis californica

NOTE- Forage Only When Necessary: Do Not over harvest wild foods. Foraging is fun, but remember that as a human, you have the ability to source your food in your natural environment - wildlife does not. If you must forage for food or herbs for an ailment, only harvest 5% -10% of what you see of any plant or patch you find, so it has a good chance to keep growing and come back next year. Remember that other lives depend on it. 

Wild Vines

 

Wild Vines

If you know what these pink flowers are, please tell me. Wild grape vines, with tiny grapes forming, above what looks like wild honeysuckle, but I'm not sure.

Strawberries On The Way

Strawberries Flowers are a sign of Strawberries On The Way

MY PHOTOGRAPHS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE THROUGH ELISECREATIONS.ARTFIRE.COM

 

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!

 

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Spring Blooming Of Trees

Red Maple (Acer Rubrum) In bloom. I just learned that they bloom red fuzzy looking flowers. I'm still learning new things every day.

Crab Apple Tree In Full Bloom-Loving spring.

  Crab Apple Blossoms
I love the white Crab Apple Blossoms, especially with the touch of pink of the unopened flowers.

Red horse chestnut (Aesculus x carnea ‘Briotii’) Tree Flowering 

This is a hybrid cross between red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) and Common horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum).

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.artfire.com

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Tropical Flowers

Angel's Trumpet Flower (Brugmansia). Most Brugmansia are fragrant in the evenings to attract pollinating moths. Brugmansia are native to tropical regions of South America, along the Andes from Venezuela to northern Chile, and also in south-eastern Brazil. They are grown as ornamental container plants worldwide, and have become naturalized in isolated tropical areas around the globe, including within North America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. All parts of Brugmansia can be toxic.

 Flamingo Plants

 The Anthurium is also known as Painted Tongue, Flamingo Flower (Flamingo Lily) or Tail Flower. The flowers are contained in dense spirals on the spadix. The spadix is often elongated into a spike shape. Anthuriums are herbaceous epiphytes native to tropical America. Anthurium is a genus of more than 800 species found in the New World tropics from Mexico to northern Argentina and Uruguay.

 Pitcher Plant - Nepenthes

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps-a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive fluid. Foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such as anthocyanin pigments, and nectar bribes. The sides of the pitcher are slippery and may be grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out. Pitcher plant, nepenthes, or monkeys cup, are a genus of carnivorous plants that attract & ingest insects. The name monkey cups refers to the fact that monkeys have been observed drinking rainwater from these plants. 

Tropical pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes are distributed in tropical areas of northern Australia, southeast Asia, southern China, India and Madagascar. These plants grow as vines, in the undergrowth, or up in the canopy of tropical forests.

Zebra Plant - Aphelandra Squarrosa, commonly called zebra plant, is a compact shrub growing to 6’ tall in its native tropical habitat in Brazil.

The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) native mainly to the tropical Americas, with a few species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa. 

As if bromeliads weren’t cool enough, with their amazing ability to thrive without roots in soil. One of the world’s most beloved fruits, the pineapple, is a bromeliad. At least three types of bromeliads are carnivorous. With urn-like pitfall traps formed by tightly packed leaf bases, they rely on bacteria to break down their prey (instead of digestive enzymes like other carnivorous plants). Other bromeliads take on a more hospitable approach, acting like mini-ecosystems unto themselves: tree frogs, snails, flatworms, tiny crabs, salamanders, and other animals may spend their entire lives dwelling in one such bromeliad. This is just one of the more than 2,700 species native to the Neotropics.

Datura, One Of My Favorite Exotic Looking, Tropical Flowers. Datura metel, also known as devil's trumpets, they are also sometimes called moonflowers, jimsonweed, devil's weed, hell's bells, thorn-apple, and many more. Datura belongs to the classic "witches' weeds", along with deadly nightshade, henbane, and mandrake. Most parts of the plants are toxic, and datura has a long history of use for causing delirious states and death. In India it has been referred to as "Poisonous" and as an aphrodisiac. In little measures it was used in Ayurveda as a medicine from the ancient times. It is used in rituals and prayers to Shiva. It is also used in Ganesh Chaturthi. The larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including Hypercompe indecisa, eat some Datura species.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants and mushrooms are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

A Wild Foodie’s Guide To Sustainable Harvesting

https://www.urbanmoonshine.com/blog/wild-foodies-sustainable-harvesting/?utm_source=Urban+Moonshine+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1e82f132e6-Herb_Day_Free_Poster_Shipping&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5a1675e218-1e82f132e6-359729409&mc_cid=1e82f132e6&mc_eid=7b376b2b28

The Golden Rules of Wildcrafting 
 These rules keep us safe and ensure that the future of our medicinal plants is secure. These easy to follow rules are: 
Don’t trespass 
Take care of the land you wildcraft on; pick up trash 
Make 100% sure that you know what you are harvesting 
Only harvest what you need and never harvest an endangered species 
Harvest in season Harvest respectfully and give thanks to the plants 
Don’t harvest in a polluted area; this includes roadsides 
Only harvest if the plant community can sustain itself 
Now that you’ve learned the rules of wildcrafting, it’s time to head out!

Text from Wildcrafting with Kids: What You Need to Know - LearningHerbs
Read More at https://learningherbs.com/skills/wildcrafting-with-kids/
Copyright © 2017 LearningHerbs.

Orchids

Orchid Miltoniopsis, is commonly known as pansy orchid.

This photo was awarded "Photo of the Day" on Capture My Vermont, for May 6, 2017.

Masdevallia  Orchid

Moth Orchids (phalaenopsis)

 Moth Orchids (phalaenopsis)

Moth  Orchids (phalaenopsis)

Moth Orchids

Moth Orchids (phalaenopsis)

 Moth Orchids Miltoniopsis

 Moth Orchids

Moth Orchids Miltoniopsis

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.artfire.com

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.