Category: Fruit trees

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. …

When pods burst open the seeds are ready to eat Resembles a peeled banana with red stamen My foraging existence is slightly schizophrenic. I grew …

  While some elderberries can be eaten raw some cannot and most improved with processing. Photo by Green Deane Sambuca’s Fine For Elderberry Wine Start …

Black cherries are a combination of sweet and bitter. Photo by Green Deane Prunus serotine: Better Late than Never Cherry Think of the Black Cherry …

The Surinam cherry is not a cherry nor is it exclusively from Surinam. It’s also not from Florida but it’s called the Florida Cherry because …

In this species, note the “wings” between the leaf pairs. Photo by Green Deane Sumac, Rhus Juice, Quallah: Good Drink Sumacs look edible and toxic …

More a string of fruit not a bunch Sea-Grapes (Coccoloba uvifera  koe-koe-LOE-buh yoo-VIFF-er-uh) are gangly, sprawling bushes or small trees found near beaches throughout tropical …

A good reputation is hard to maintain when your closest relative has a reputation for killing people. That’s the public relation situation for the Natal …

Hercule’s Club Berries I sometimes feel sorry for my neighbors, who have lawns of decapitated grass. I’m sure my wild-looking but well-planned yard bothers them …

First you have to clean the seeds, outdoors These three species are very ancient: The Ginkgo, the Sassafras and the Monkey Puzzle Tree. Fossil records …

Eastern Red Bud Blossoms It’s one of those trees that if you don’t see it at the right time you’re not looking for it the …

Pod of the non-edible E. contortislliquum The flowers of the E. cyclocarpum (edible) are white and arranged like a spiked ball. The tree blooms February through …

 Cnidoscolus aconitifolius: Tree Pot Herb Chaya leaves are edible after cooking. Photo by Green Deane. I knew about Chaya long before I ever saw one. …

While Camphor is not a common spice flavor today it has been used a lot in the past and was popular in Europe until the …

Home grown banana hand Bananas Trees:  Survival Food Yes, everyone knows bananas are edible, as are their starchy cousins, the plantains. One doesn’t think of …

The Annonas Four: Sugar, Sour, Custard, Pond Many species and a few family of plants sit on the cusp of edible/non-edible, among them the Annonas, …

Australian Pine, which really isn’t a pine Casuarina equisetifolia: Dreaded Edible It is truly fitting that the Australian Pine ends up on a site dedicated …

Fresh flowers can be used in salads Bauhinias’ Beauty Bauhinia leaf nicked named “Camel Foot” It’s called the Camel Foot Tree, the Cow Foot Tree, …

American Beautyberries cluster around the stem Beautyberry: Callicarpa Americana The Beautyberry is squirrel’s version of take out. Squirrels will often break off a branch a …

Fagus grandifolia: The All-American Beech beechnuts Tree trivia: Beechnut chewing gum had nothing to do with the Beech tree or the seeds it produces. It …

Ironwood, iron Krugiodendron iron Krugiodendron: Ironwood M&Ms Green twigs of Black Ironwood will sink in salt water. It’s that dense. The Black Ironwood was once …

Heart of Palm and Controversy The state tree of Florida isn’t a tree, but it is a weed of many edible parts. Cabbage palm The …

Juglans nigra and butternut, too! Black Walnut, Juglans nigra I didn’t see my first Black Walnut tree until about 16 years ago. It so happened …

Guapira discolor: A Blolly by Golly The Blolly confounded me when I first saw the tree for it was growing by itself in a park. …

The arils on the fruit are reportedly edible. Cupaniopsis anacardioides: An Aboriginal Treat With a nickname of Tuckeroo, you know the Carrotwood Tree has to …

Gouania lupuloides: How to Get Chewed Out   Gouania lupuloides, the chewstick The modern toothbrush was unknown in Europe until 1498, the year it came …

Chinese Elm’s lacy bark and young leaves Chinese Elm: A tree that doesn’t go Dutch Sometimes a wild edible can be under your feet and …

Popcorn Tree, Florida Aspen, Tallow Tree Chinese Tallow Tree in Fruit There is a lot of debate whether the white waxy aril of the Chinese …

Chinese Box-Orange, Tsau Ping Lak Atalantia buxifolia: Wine-Cake Thorn The Chinese Box-Orange is one of my botanical mysteries. For a long time I thought it …

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 …