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Imagine you are a colonist, fresh off the boat in Jamestown. Look around. Other than wild animals, what do you see that can be eaten? I’ll bet you’re starving, and everything looks edible at this point.

Today in our nature class, we learned about a lot of edible plants in our woods. Frankly, I was surprised at how many things I have walked right past, that could be eaten. Now, I’m not saying they would taste good. Colonists apparently enjoyed more bitter flavors than we do. But if you are talking about survival, these things will do.

One of the first things we saw as we came outdoors was this:

The dandelion could be very useful to a colonist. It’s greens could be made into a tasty, albeit bitter, salad. The leaves actually have more iron and calcium than spinach. Ground dandelions could also be substituted for coffee…. Yuck! I think I’ll pass…. Dandelion roots are also medicinal. They are diuretics. In fact, they are such potent diuretics that some kids have been known to wet the bed after contact with them. Also, the colonists really enjoyed a wine that can be made from dandelions. The leaf’s white, milky sap can also be used to treat bug bites and remove warts!

Here, Ms. Christen is showing us the leaves of a Spice Bush. When crushed they were supposed to smell kind of lemony. My sniffer must have been off, because I thought they smelled more like a green pepper. Tasty in a different way. The bark and twigs could be made into a tea. And the berries make a really nice jelly.The berries can also be dried and used as a spice on food, just like pepper or allspice. Colonists used the Spice Bush medicinally to treat colds, dysentery and intestinal parasites.

This is a Pawpaw tree. It’s fruit has a taste that compares to a mixture of pineapple, mango, and banana. Although it is a delicious and nutritious fruit, it has never been cultivated on the scale of apples and peaches, primarily because it does not store or ship well. The Native Americans dried and powdered the leaves and applied the powder to children’s heads to control lice.

One aspect of Connie Lapallo’s book, “Dark Enough to see the Stars in a Jamestown Sky,” was how fortuitous the gathering of acorns was to the survival of some of the colonists. Acorns cannot be eaten raw because of a tannin, which is bitter, in them. But you can leach the tannin out of them and crush them to make them into a flour-like meal, and later into a bread. The bark of an Oak tree can be used medicinally as an anti-diarrheal.

We also discussed the Sassafras tree. The fragrant oils in the leaves were made into teas and perfumes. And the roots were boiled and made into root beers. We also learned that The dried and ground leaves are used as a spice in the making of gumbo. Now THAT I might try!

GB found our guide a nice pine cone, and she explained that if you peel off the layers of the cone, you will find the pine nuts. These were an important food source for the native Indians and the colonists.

As we came to Beaver Lake, we learned the many uses of Cattails. The leaves can be woven to make mats, and walls for dwellings. The fluff inside the Cattail can be used to stuff pillows and mattresses. And the roots could be boiled and eaten.

Cattails on Beaver Lake

Ms. Christen shows us the peeled root of a Cattail

Leaves of a Cattail can be woven

Here is a basket of edible plants that the children collected.

No trip is complete without some animal interaction for GB. Here he is holding a box turtle.

And this is a baby corn snake. Can’t you just see the LOVE in this child’s face? I cannot believe MY child is so in love with these little critters.

It was a fantastic day. And GB had a lot of fun!