HERB - culinary sciences

[Roberta R Comstock]

On Wed, 21 Oct 1998 22:49:09 -0700 "sunshinegirl"
<sunshinegirl at steward-net.com> writes:
>
>> From: Gaylin Walli <g.walli at infoengine.com>
>> Egads. I think I'll try my hand at teaching a RUM session first. :)
>> That seems more...more...familiar somehow. Less scary. I'd be
>> deathly afraid of grabbing some Sumac and suddenly realizing I'd
>> misidentified a plant (poison sumac being one of the harder ones
>> for me to identify consistently).
>> 
>
>I was always taught that poison sumac berries were white, and pointed 
>down,
>while edible sumac berries were red and pointed up.  Is it actually 
>more
>difficult?  I've never seen poison sumac, that I know of.
>
>Melandra of the Woods
>
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Poison Sumac (_Rhus vernix_) is generally described as a shrub or small
tree (up to 25 feet tall) of open swampy areas ranging from sw Maine
through sw Quebec and s Ontario  to se Minnesota  and south to Texas and
Florida (and anywhere in between).   Berries or flowering parts may not
be present in young plants or at all  times of the year.   Birds seem to
be unaffected by the poison and often eat the berries.  Humans can be
affected by any part of the plant at any time of the year.

Poison Ivy (_Rhus radicans_) is much more common in all the areas where I
have done herb walks, including informal ones at Pennsic.  The thing I
miss most about Pennsic is doing herb walks with Bns. Sidera.  (Does
anyone here know if she has an email address?)  After the devastating
1993 floods on the Missouri River, poison ivy was one of the first and
most obvious plants to recolonize flood scoured areas.   It can be
unobtrusive little seedlings in grassy areas, shrubs up to 15 feet tall,
or vines of great length.  It also has white berries.  

One of the things I harp on constantly, is identification of what plants
are poisonous and should be avoided.  It drives me crazy when people show
up for an herb walk wearing little or nothing on their feet legs and
arms.  Consequently, many of my herb walks end up being on wide paths and
along the edges of roads and wooded areas.   It is fortunate that the
edge areas also tend to be most diverse and frequently have been invaded
by alien weeds which were brought to the new world from Europe and served
many herbal purposes there in the SCA period.

Find yourself a good field guide to trees and shrubs and learn to
identify poison ivy and poison sumac!  Also learn the plants that may be
confused with them.  (Poison Oak is very limited in its range and occurs
mostly in California.)  


Hertha


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