In a world where vegetables and fruits are found in a supermarket, it is almost unheard of to think about the greens one can find in their own backyard. Apples, oranges, bananas, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and any other vegetable or fruit that comes to mind are found in the produce aisle of a retail store. But what can be found in the wild? What can the seemingly desolate, unfriendly, and dead-looking desert of Arizona offer a hungry critter or even a hungry human being? Surprisingly, the menu isn’t blank or even boring. With the right know-how, campers or hikers can be fed by the very nature they are surrounded by.
Although many plants that render edible parts are protected and shouldn’t be picked or harvested from the wild, if you happen to have one of these plants in your yard, you won’t be breaking any laws. Also, this information can be valuable if you ever find yourself in a survival situation. The following is a quick run-through of the most common plants that I’ve seen in the desert and their specific edible parts. Make sure you look them all up before you go out and make sure you can identify the plants before you go pick something up and take a bite. Too much research and preparation is always better than too little.
Cacti are, without a doubt, the most unfriendly desert plant. The spines can be excruciatingly painful and sometimes very hard to remove. However, cacti are plants and usually produce flowers and fruits. Some of these can be safely picked, cleaned, and eaten. The Saguaro’s fruit is sweet and juicy and the seeds are edible as well. The O’odham tribe still harvests the fruit and seeds and uses the ribs of dead saguaros for tools and construction. The Walking Stick Cactus has edible, bright, yellow fruits (but make sure you remove the spines). The Cactus Apple (or Prickly Pear) has edible, juicy fruits called “tunas” that are used for juice, syrup or cactus candy, and edible stem pads. You may have seen these with large pieces bitten off because javelinas regularly feed on both the pads and the flowers. Again, make sure you check any cactus parts that you want to eat for spines.
There are also a number of trees in the desert that have edible parts. The Netleaf Hackberry tree produces small, dry, edible berries that are good either raw or cooked. These trees were also used by Native Americans for medicine (bark) and wool dye (leaves). The Yellow Paloverde, with its signature green bark, produces green seeds that taste like tender garden peas and are said to be delicious raw. There are varieties of Paloverde so make sure that you know the difference before you start eating seeds. The Velvet Mesquite tree is the tree that leaves the ground littered with dried, tan-colored bean pods which are edible and can be ground into a sweet, nutritious flour. The beans and the wood of the Mesquite can also be burned to flavor smoked or barbecued meat. The flowers of the mesquite also attract bees and are a source of a delicious honey.
Shrubs and bushes can render a variety of different types of food; from the stems to the flowers to the roots and the leaves. The Common Sotol, a ground plant with a tall flower stalk, has flower stalks which have an edible core. This has also been used to create an alcoholic beverage called Sokol, similar to tequila. Desert Lavender is a grey-leafed shrub with purple, lavender flowers that has edible leaves. These can also be made into a delicious tea, good for alleviating stress and anxiety. The Skunkbush Sumac is a relative of Poison Oak that produces red berries that are good to eat and, if soaked in water, can make a delicious lemonade-like drink. The Chia flower has edible seeds that are being studied for their role in treating diabetes and if mixed in water make a strange, but nutritious drink. Finally, the Hopi Tea Greenthread is an herb that has fully edible flowers and foliage and can also be made into a flavorful, medicinal tea.
This is just a sample of the green foods Arizona’s desert has to offer. There is much more information available in books and on websites that detail preparation methods and identifying markers but with the right research, even a simple hike or camping trip can offer more than just a walk through the desert!
by Johann Warnholtz
No comments:
Post a Comment