Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants Interactive Computer CD
by Naturalist Alan Russo.
by Naturalist Alan Russo.
Join Naturalist Alan Russo on an interactive journey in discovering 36 common Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants of our area. Follow the plants through their life cycle in photographs and learn through Alan's experience how to use the plants in your everyday life. Though this CD mainly covers plants commonly found east of the Mississippi, many of the plants are found Coast to Coast.
Alan has taught environmental Education for the last 25 years, and teaches Workshops on all aspects of earth science and nature to schools and the public, though, his Wild Edible and Medicinal Plant Workshops are his favorite to teach. Alan has studied Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants most of his adult life and lives what he teaches every day. Alan is not a professional botanist, herbalist or ethnobotanist but instead is a naturalist that loves to share his passion for the Natural World.
Special price for my blog readers $12.95
If you are interested in the CD please E-Mail me at
ThePlantCD@gmail.com
and I will send you directions for ordering.
Sample Text:
Sample Text:
Broadleaf Plantain
Plantago major
Broadleaf Plantain is a transplant from Europe that has become naturalized in North America and is very common plant in the east. It has found its way across most of the country, following the settlers across the land. Some American Indians called it “Englishman’s Foot” or “White Man’s Foot” referring to the observation that it traveled across the country with the encroaching white man, possibly from the seeds getting caught in the soles of the boots or hooves of their horses.
Plantain is a common lawn plant, which will grow in full sun or partial shade, it is also common along roadsides, fields, gardens or anywhere the soil has been disturbed. The leaves of the plant are found in a basal rosette; they are alternate, ovate, and smooth, often with hairs and the edges wavy. They are somewhat leathery with the most prominent feature being the parallel veins and the petioles being reddish at the base. Though the leaves can grow to 6” long and 4” wide most plants you find on lawns and around your house are much smaller because they are mowed. I took two small Plantain plants out of my lawn and planted them in my garden last year and they got huge, they were about 14” in diameter by the end of the summer! The very small flowers are born on long thin light green spikes protruding from the center of the rosette of leaves. These flower spikes can get quite long; I have seen them up to 14”. When the flowers die off they are replaced with tiny brown seeds, one for every flower that has been successfully pollinated, and the spikes turn a light brown.
In the spring while the leaves are still small and light green they make a good snack or a good addition to a salad. As the leaves get a little older they make a good potherb, boiling or steaming lightly or added to soups. As the leaves get larger and older in the heat off the summer, they get leathery, stringy and much stronger tasting, though still edible, they are not as palatable as when they are young. The leaves can be dried and used for tea or ground into a nutritious flour.
The flower spikes are a tasty snack when they are small and still a light green and can also be added to salads and soups just like the small leaves. When the flower spikes turn brown you can run your hand up from the bottom or cut them from the plant to collect the seeds. The seeds can be ground into flour to add a delicious and nutritious addition to pancakes or baked goods. They can also be sprouted and used in salads or any other way you would use sprouts. They are also great for your chickens..............!
