Lost in the Farmers Market

Welcome to the LITFM weekly blog. This blog is a text-based complement to the LITFM YouTube channel and covers the forage food side of gardening. It is my goal to make gardening and forage food accessible for all while promoting good land stewardship and sustainable practices by providing honest and balanced information backed by verifiable scientific fact. Since this blog now focuses on wild plants or ‘weeds’ we will be taking an objective look at them and their uses. Thank you for reading.

Thursday, January 16, 2025

Cut-Leaf Coneflower

Gardener's Note: We have covered Rudbeckia laciniata before on this blog but in light of new information that it is edible it is now getting the full treatment and in 2025, it will be getting a full length video.

An archive photo from this very blog! This is what the foliage looks like.

While the flowers are ok-ish individually there are a lot of them and that makes for a golden mist over the plant when in full bloom.

Common Name: Cutleaf Coneflower

Other Common Names: Sochan, Green-headed Coneflower, Sochani, Wild Goldenglow, Tall Coneflower.

Botanical Family: Asteraceae (The Aster Family)

Botanical Latin Name: Rudbeckia laciniata

Description & Habitat: Cut Leaf Coneflower is a herbaceous perennial, that is native. It is a member of the aster family which means it supports pollinators and its seed is a food source for American Gold Finches. In the wild you will find it in the wooded areas, in meadows, by streams and by the roadside. It generally prefers soil that is moist but not wet and can withstand a fair amount of flooding. It prefers full sun to partial shade and can tolerate a wide range of soils as long as they are not exceptionally dry or of very poor quality. When Cut-Leaf Coneflower is cultivated in a garden it can reach a height of up to ten feet tall while in the wild it might only reach half that height. The botanical Latin name ‘Rudbeckia’ is derived from the name of Olof Rudbeck the Younger (1660-1740) and Olof Rudbeck the Elder (1630-1702). The name was given to the plant by Carolus Linnaeus in honor of his patron (The younger Rudbeck) and fellow Botanist at Uppsala University. Cut-leaf Coneflower’s specific epithet ‘laciniata’ refers to the appearance and shape of the plant’s lobed leaves and the word specifically means ‘slashed’ or ‘lacerated’. The leaves will have jagged looking lobes making it look like they were damaged. Until the flower stalks emerge this plant is essentially clump forming and the main foliage might only be a third of the total height depending on growing conditions. It also needs to be said here that this plant spreads by underground stems which may be a concern in areas where there is not enough room. This plant’s flowers are mainly at the top half to third of the plant’s height which makes it useful for keeping pollinators and wild birds out of reach of predators such as house cats.

When & What to Harvest: This native perennial has numerous uses, the roots are said to be useful for making a tea infusion that can treat worms and indigestion. The flowers have been used in poultices to treat burns and some part of the plant historically has been sold in tonic form to treat Urinary Catarrh (inflammation of the bladder/Cytistis) and Bright’s Disease (Nephritis). The young dried or fresh leaves can be eaten raw or cooked as a potherb or Sautee vegetable. When harvesting fresh foliage you want to harvest younger leaves with just a bit of red coloration on the petiole, though straight green ones are ok as well. Once washed, the leaves can be added to salads, or cooked in a way similar to spinach or Swiss Chard. Overall the flavor is mild but has a herbal flavor some liken to very mild celery.

Non-Dangerous Lookalikes: None that I know of.

Similar Dangerous Species: It has been noted in more than one reference that Buttercups (Ranunculus sp.) look similar as they emerge from dormancy in spring. However Cut-leaf Coneflower will likely still have the remains of dead flower stalks still sticking out from last year while butter cups will never have such a feature or get as tall.

Recipe: Given that a lot of recipes for this plant originate with the Cherokee, you might want to seek out a copy of this book to find detailed uses.

https://gardenandgun.com/articles/taste-cherokee-cooking/

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=rula3

Where to get seed or Bare Root Plants:

https://www.prairiemoon.com/rudbeckia-laciniata-wild-golden-glow

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

Fresh Foods:

Soup Kit – Parsnip

Soup Kit – Turnip

Turnips

Parsnips

Onions

Celery

Potatoes

Garlic Bulbs

Oyster Mushrooms

Soil Amendment Products:

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

Carolina Gold, Enhanced Potting Soil – 1 Gallon Bag

Houseplants:

Abutilon

Aloe, American

Begonia, Sindbad

Cuban Oregano, Large Leaf

Hoan Ngoc

Pothos, Cebu Blue

Rose Campion

Selaginella

Solanum uleanum

Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing

Swiss Cheese Plant

*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.

How to stay in Contact with Us!

All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (-): [The channel is on Hiatus until 2025]

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is January 18^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Creeping Prickly Pear

This specimen was spotted during the Wild Harvest Tour out in Camden NC.

Common Name: Creeping Prickly Pear

Other Common Names: ‘Lawn Peyote’ (incorrectly) but also, Devil’s Tongue, Eastern Prickly Pear cactus, Low Prickly Pear, Smooth Prickly Pear and, Spreading Prickly Pear.

Botanical Family: Cactaceae (The Cactus Family)

Botanical Latin Name: Opuntia humifusa

Description & Habitat: Eastern Prickly pear is commonly found all over the Southeastern United States. While its habitat can vary as it can be found in vacant lots, in forests, as part of intentional landscaping and just growing wild it always prefers soil that has excellent drainage. You are more likely to find this plant growing prostrate against the ground in the wild which is why its specific epithet ‘humifusa’ means prostrate or sprawling referring to its wild growth habit. The name Opuntia is a combination of the name of a Greek town called Opus where a similar plant grows and ‘punti’ which means spined. In general you can identify this plant as it will always have waxy green pads that are roughly teardrop shaped and it is covered with a variety of spines of two types, the big ones are simply called spines and the small fine ones called Glochids (Glo-kids). Prickly Pears long ago evolved to have no leaves in the normal sense as the closest thing they have are the spines and glochids and the small temporary leaf-like structures that appear on new pads. The pads themselves are just heavily modified stems that have evolved to make these plants highly resistant to arid environments.

When & What to Harvest: There are two things that you would want to harvest here, firstly are the pads which are called Nopales if fully intact, and Nopalitos after the skin and spines are removed or cooked off. The fruit of this plant are called Tuna or Nostle (from Nahuatl). Typically you would harvest the pads as needed, and the fruit is ready for harvest in mid to late summer once it is uniformly colored a rose-red.

Non-Dangerous Lookalikes: A lot of cacti have the same basic features but Prickly Pears are very specific in form and have very few other cacti that look like them.

Related Dangerous Species: None, the Prickly Pears are all relatively safe.

Recipe: Prickly Pear Jelly

Ingredients:

4 cups cactus fruit juice

½ cup lemon juice

5 cups sugar

2 packages of pectin

Directions:

1. Put the juices in a large pot and bring to a full boil.

2. Add the sugar and pectin.

3. Boil until the mixture becomes gel-like in consistency.

4. Pour the mix unto warm sterilized jars and seal them tightly.

5. Allow the jars to cool at room temperature before putting them away in your pantry.