Tag Archives: foraging

Willow Bark Tea

by Woodsbum

I recently started using willow bark tea to help out with my constant ache and pains associated with the over abundance of injuries that I have sustained over the years. It doesn’t taste bad and when mixed with nettles and local honey, it is quite tasty.

The use of willow bark is not something that is new. Natives have used it for hundreds of years for pain relief. All you have to do is harvest the bark at the right time and then boil it up. Willow can be either ingested as a tea or turned into a tincture, so that is another option if you so choose. I have never used the tincture because the tea is perfectly fine with me.

Of the whole process, it is always the harvesting of the medicine that seems to be the rub. What you are looking for is the live, bendy twigs at the end of branches or year old saplings. Either way you want to gather it in spring when the twigs turn to a bright color and start to bud new leaves. Once you identify and harvest your willow bark, just take a vegetable peeler and strip off the bark. Don’t get any of the pith or your tea will taste funny. Also try to keep the buds out of your harvest.

Once you have your bark stripped, dry the bits out on a plate or bowl. I built a drying rack out of screen so that whatever I am drying does so more evenly. If you do use a plate or bowl just make sure that you turn it every so often to keep the bark from trapping moisture between the bark and the plate.

If you are having issues finding willow just take a trip down to your nearest river or stream. Here in the PNW, there tends to be a plethora of willow somewhere along every year round waterway. It won’t take too much of a hike to find. Worst case take a trip to Sauvie Island or walk along the Lewis River for a bit. When you get to the point where the brush and trees are too thick to navigate there is a high probably that willow is what has stopped your forward progress.

When you get ready to make your tea, I am much less than scientific. What I do is take what I can pinch between my thumb, fore and middle fingers and then toss it into a tea pot. After it whistles at me I remove it from heat and put in some local honey and let it sit for about 10 – 15 minutes. This allows the bark to completely soak and it seems to bring out the best flavor for the tea.

Now is time for the science of what willow bark does for you: From my research willow has a varying amount of salicin, which is an active pain reliever that is similar to aspirin. If you ingest too much salicin, it can do harm and even cause Reyes syndrome in much the same way that aspirin can.

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Clover

by Woodsbum

Another plant that is found in the Pacific Northwest is clover. This plant can be eaten in a variety of ways. Here is a great picture of clover in bloom.

Clover

Clover

All above-ground parts can be eaten raw. It is best when cooked or dipped in saltwater to counteract bloating. The flowerheads can eaten raw, dried or cooked. They can also be dried and ground into flour. The seeds can be processed in the same manner. The sprouts actually have the best taste, but even the creeping stems and roots can be cooked.

Clover grows in all sorts of terrain, but look in disturbed soil areas. The four varieties that grow here are the red, alsike, white and springbank clovers. Each one is edible, although red clover should be avoided in fall due to alkaloids.

Just be aware that it can be difficult to digest and can cause bloating.

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Living Off The Land in Alaska

by Woodsbum

This morning I ran across a website that journalled the time this guy spent living off the land on Admiralty Island in Alaska. Many people think that running up and into the woods to live off the land is an easy feat. The problem really revolves around food preservation for those lean times of the year where game and plants are not as plentiful.

This guy did a great job with his canning and planning ahead. I have not read his entire journal, but from the several months of his excursion that I read I found it to be quite informative.

His website can be found here and the direct link to his journal can be found here.

One of the great things that this guy did involved truly planning ahead. He brought a wood stove and good tent so that he could withstand the colder months. He also brought numerous different ways to catch game.

The writing and descriptions seem to be very well done so this should be an easy read for you guys. Let me know what you think!

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Chicory

by Woodsbum

Here is yet another addition to my edible plants posts. Chicory is a flowering plant that has several edible uses.

This is a good picture of what chicory looks like. If you look closely at the flower petals you can see that their shape is quite distinctive.

blue chicory

Blue chicory

The plant itself grows on long stems with multiple flowers blooming off that stem.

Chicory

Chicory

The leaves can actually be eaten raw no matter how old the plant is and younger plant roots can also be eaten raw. Older plants are best cooked with several changes of water while cooking. The roots can be split, dried and roasted to make a coffee substitute.

You will find chicory in disturbed ground anywhere from plants to foothills and even in higher elevation meadows.

One thing to note is that prolonged use of chicory may damage your retinas and cause sluggish digestion. Use it in moderation, but just know that chicory coffee is actually quite good.

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Agoseris

by Woodsbum

Here is another yellow flowered, edible plant that can be found all around the PNW. The agoseris is very similar to the dandelion and salsify. It grows in open foothills, mountain slopes and alpine areas. You will find it in grassy or open areas.

agoseris 1 agoseris 2 agoseris 3

The flowers and leaves can be eaten raw or the dried sap from the stem and leaves can be chewed as gum or eaten.

As I progress through these edible plants, I am really beginning to enjoy the diverse foliage that the PNW offers. This is beginning to be quite interesting and enjoyable. If all continues to go well, I might even start gathering things to try while I am out in the woods. That would be a stretch, but it would be quite fun to get to that point.

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