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Milo, Portia Tree, Seaside Mahoe
Thespesia populnea: Coastal Cuisine One of my uncles had the type of personality that where ever he hung his hat, that was home. The Milo is much the same way. A probable native of India, one would...
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Mangrove Mystery
Mangroves: Marvelous Muck Masters Red Mangrove cigar-like seed pod I did an unknown favor years ago that may stump some stuffy botanist in the near or distant future, and a mangrove helped me....
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Glasswort Galore
Glasswort, a tasty plant growing where others cannot. Photo by South Dakota State University. Salicornia bigelovii, Brackish Nibble Glasswort does not sound like breaking glass at all, though it does...
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Coconuts: It’s A Matter of Degrees
Maturing Coconuts Coconut, An Equatorial Palm Popular media and commercial production have made the coconut a common cultural item, even if you live thousands of miles away from where it grows. More...
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Beach Bean, Bay Bean
Beach Bean Canavalia maritima, Rosea, Beach Bean It’s the tank of beans: Three inches long, an inch wide and very thick. And with good reason, it lives near the sea. Canavalia maritima (aka rosea) gets...
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Beach Orach, Crested Salt Bush
Atriplex cristata: Pigweed by the Sea Beach Orach Crested Salt Bush Anyone familiar with the Goosefoot family will see the Beach Orach and presume it is probably edible, and it is. A distant cousin to...
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Sea-Grapes: Maritime Marvels
Ripening Sea Grapes Sea-Grapes: Coastal Caterer Notice the red veins in the leaves A lifetime ago I spent many a night on a dark Florida beach near the Space Center sleeping out under Sea-Grapes. Now...
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White Indigo Berry Has A Dark Side
White Indigo Berries are among the very few edible white berries Randia aculeata The White Indigo Berry is not high on the food list. Dr. Daniel Austin, author of Florida Ethnobotany, has this to say...
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Torchwood
Torchwood, Sea Torchwood, Sea Amyris One reason to write about the Torchwood is very few people know about it these days yet it was once an esteemed wood and produces an edible, citrusy fruit....
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Sesbania Grandifolia
Original White Blossomed Sesbania Grandifola Any plant called the Vegetable Hummingbird has to be written about. Red Blossomed Variety Sesbania grandifola, has managed to work its way into warmer areas...
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Quack Grass
Quack Grass, a source of grain and root flour Plants of little use often have only one common name, or not even that. Plants that are valued or are a pest usually have too many names such Quack Grass....
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Tape Seagrass
Tape Seagrass at low tide Seed Capsule It is said that all seaweed is edible but that’s not true. There’s at least one species that is not, Desmarestia ligulata. Why? Because it is laced with sulfuric...
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Common Reed
The Common Reed has a common look Some 20 years ago I pondered upon the identity of what appeared to be a very tall grass in a former marlpit in Port Orange, a few miles south of Daytona beach. One...
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Edible Flowers: Part Twelve
Colorful as well as edible Forget-Me-Nots, Calamint, Mimosa Silk Tree, Clary Sage, Petunia x hybrid, Balloon Flower, Yarrow, Corn Poppy, Daisy, Sweet Alyssum Foreget-Me-Not The story I heard from my...
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Yaupon Holly, Ilex vomitoria
Ilex vomitoria, Yapon Holly History has many layers and shades. It’s not a straight timeline of great clarity but more like a meandering muddy river with much confluence, influence and effluents....
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Sea Kale
Sea Kale in seashore gravel Sea kale is nearly the perfect primitive food. It’s difficult to imagine it not being on primitive man’s menu. Sea Kale in Blossom, note four-petals per flower. We know from...
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Queen Palm
A forager’s typical view of a Queen Palm, photo by a White Washed Cottage The Queen Palm and I got off on the wrong frond. Before I met one I had read it was toxic. There are a few toxic palms but the...
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Tropical Almond, Sea Almond
A typical Tropical Almond in a typical setting. Photo by Tropical Plant Book I went to Ft. Myers one Friday to look at plants on an 11-acre monastery. On the property there was a large tree they didn’t...
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Winter Foraging
A frozen cranberry, blueberry’s wet cousin, is still tart and tasty. The thermometer was near zero one day when I was on ice skates collecting frozen cranberries. Bonfires and hot beverage make skating...
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Chokeberry: Bushy Health Food
The bitter but edible berries of the Aronia Melanocarpa. Photo by Green Deane It’s a long ways from the mountains of Maine down the Appalachian Trail to the mountains of western North Carolina. It is...
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