Trout lilies!

Now as I had stated in my last article, Japanese knotweed is my favorite spring shoot. But as far as favorite spring woodland plant in general, the prize goes to trout lily. Between its leaves and flowers immense beauty, feeling of satisfaction when finding a patch of it, and its versatility as a wild edible make this plant one of my favorites of all time. The leaves are good, but leave a bit of a tingly feeling in the back of your throat if you eat too many (we are talking multiple pounds here), but my favorite part of this plant are the corms, found underground. These are fairly small, and trout lily colonies can take decades to establish, so be sure to not over harvest. However they are a great trailside snack. I find them slightly similar to day lily tubers. So next time you are taking a walk in the woods and you see plants that look like ramps (Or leeks if you are unfamiliar with ramps) With a spotted pattern and yellow flowers, at least take a moment to appreciate their beauty.

Time for my Favorite Spring Shoot

Its that time of year, the time of year of Japanese Knotweed. If you are not familiar with the plant, it is an invasive species that grows up to 8 feet tall in the summer. It has heart shaped leaves, and in early summer, white flower clusters. Right now, if you were to drive by a patch of it, all you would see would be the skeletons of this plant. But if you looked closer, right at the bottom of these stalks would be red-green shoots from 1-5 inches tall. These are amazing as a replacement for rhubarb in any recipe, and holds just as well as a vegetable. I served it at my aunts wedding shower a year ago in a stir fry, and it was delicious and everyone loved it. So next time you walk by this highly invasive plant give it a try. You will be doing yourself a favor as well as our local ecosystem. This plant will choke out all other life in a certain area if left untamed, as nothing around here but me eats it. 

Happy foraging

Ezra