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English name:  Nasturtium

Latin name: Tropaeolum majus

Habitat:  Coastal and disturbed areas

Plant Community:  unknown

Range:   S. America - Peru

Native: introduced to U.S.

Mature Size:  1-10′ tall, up to 3′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 2-11

Leaf Shape:  Rounded, long-petioled, parasol-like leaves of these plants are peltate, which means the 

Flower Shape:  Showy, long-stalked, spurred, funnel-shaped, 5-petaled flowers (to 2.5” wide) in shades of red, orange, yellow and cream. Flowers have a spicy fragrance and flavor

Use: leaves and flowers, both have a spicy, almost horseradish-like heat, but the flower is sweeter.

Recipe: Stuffed Nasturtium Flowers

INGREDIENTS

12 nasturtium petals ( whole flowers)

1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 garlic clove, minced fine

1/2 tablespoon fresh chives ( you may use chive blossoms, chopped)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh lemon verbena ( or lemon balm, lemon thyme, lemon basil, lemon catnip, or lemon zest)

salt and pepper (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Make sure flowers are clean and dry. Pick as close to serving time as possible, but definitely the same day. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Mix cream cheese thoroughly with herbs. Season to taste. Place 1 or 2 teaspoons of mixture (depending on size of flower) in center of flower. Pull petals upwards to cover the cheese as much as possible. Press lightly into cheese to stick. This makes 4 servings, 4 stuffed flowers per person.

Sources: http://www.food.com/recipeprint.do?rid=126169

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English name: Italian parsley

Latin name: Petroselinum crispus

Habitat:  Grassy waste places on walls and rocks, especially on limestone and near the coast

Plant Community:  Unknown

Range: Western, Central Europe

Native: Native to Europe, introduced to U.S.

Mature Size:  1′ tall, 1-1.5′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 4-10

Flower Shape:   compound umbels of greenish-yellow flowers

Leaf Shape:  Triangular dark green leaves are finely divided into curly or flat leaflets

Use: leaves and stems, dry or fresh used as a seasoning/ spice

Recipe: Parsley pesto

 Ingredients 2 cloves garlic 2 cups packed, stemmed Italian parsley Course salt 1/4 cup walnuts 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste 2/3 cup olive oil Salt and pepper Directions In a food processor place the garlic, parsley, pinch salt, walnuts, and cheese. Process until they form a paste. Gradually blend in olive oil, taste adjust your seasoning if necessary. Great with pasta, poultry, vegetables and rice. Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/parsley-pesto-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Sources: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=276060&isprofile=0&

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/parsley-pesto-recipe.html

http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Petroselinum+crispum

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English name: Oregano cv. aureum

Latin name: Origanum vulgare cv. aureum

Habitat:   Dry grassy areas and scrub, usually on calcareous soils

Plant Community:  Unknown

Range:  Most of Europe, including Britain, to north and west Asia.

Native: Native to Europe, introduced to U.S.

Mature Size:   2′ tall and 2.5′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-10

Flower Shape:  Tiny, two-lipped, pinkish-purple or white flowers  

Leaf Shape:  square stems clad with aromatic, light green, rounded to ovate leaves (to 1 1/2” long) which are usually entire but sometimes have slightly toothed margins.

Use: leaves are a delicious spice/ seasoning fresh or dried

Recipe:

 Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

2 (4 ounce) cans canned green chile peppers, chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

ground cayenne pepper to taste

ground white pepper to taste

3 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans

5 cups chicken broth

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic and ground turkey and saute for 10 minutes, or until turkey is well browned. Add the chile peppers, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne pepper to taste and white pepper to taste and saute for 5 more minutes.Add two cans of the beans and the chicken broth to the pot. Take the third can of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor. Add this to the pot along with the cheese. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.

Sources: http://www.pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Origanum+vulgare

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English name: Rosemary cv. collingwood ingram

Latin name:  Rosmarinus officinalis cv. collingwood ingram

Habitat:   Dry scrub and rocky places, especially near the sea

Plant Community:  unknown

Range: Mediterranean area,  S. Europe to W. Asia.

Native: Native to the Mediterranean, introduced to U.S.

Mature Size:  5′ tall and wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 8-10

Flower Shape:  tiny, two-lipped, pale blue/ purple to white flowers.

Leaf Shape:  aromatic, needle-like, gray-green leaves

Use: leaves are used as a seasoning

Recipe: 

Rosemary Syrup

1/2 cup (125ml) water

1/2 cup (100g) sugar 

2 tablespoons (4g) coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Rosemary Gimlet 

2 ounces gin 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice 3/4 ounce rosemary syrup

1. To make the rosemary syrup, heat the water, sugar and chopped rosemary leaves in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Once cool, strain the rosemary syrup into a jar, and refrigerate until ready to use.2. To make the rosemary gimlet, chill a stemmed cocktail glass in the freezer.3. Measure the gin, lime juice and rosemary syrup into a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker halfway with ice, preferably slightly crushed, cover, and shake the cocktail mixture about thirty seconds. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary or a slice of fresh lime.

Sources: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/rosemary-gimlet-gin-cocktail-recipe/

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English name: Meyer Lemon

Latin name: Citrus x meyeri

Habitat:  unknown in the wild, 

Plant Community:  unknown

Range: Cultivated, no native range

Native: Introduced from China

Mature Size:  6-10′ tall, 4-8′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 9-11

Flower Shape:   Waxy, fragrant, white flowers

Fruit Shape: football- shaped, bright green, ripening to bright yellow. Very tart and sweeter than other lemons

Use: Fruit, sliced or juiced

Recipe: Meyer Lemon Curd

 INGREDIENTS

3 to 4 Meyer lemons (about 1 pound)

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces 

DIRECTIONS 

Finely grate enough zest from lemons to measure 2 teaspoons and squeeze enough juice to measure 1/2 cup. Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a metal bowl and add butter. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, whisking, until thickened and smooth and an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F, about 5 minutes. Force curd through a fine sieve set into another bowl. Serve warm or cover surface of curd with wax paper and cool completely.

Sources: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=d391

http://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Citrus+x+meyeri

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/meyer-lemon-curd-102744

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English name: Common Juniper

Latin name: Juniperus communis

Habitat:   Dry, rarely wet, open woods and rock slopes, often on limestone, infertile soils and old pastures

Plant Community:  Old Field

Range:  Central and Eastern N. America from Canada south to Georgia and Texas.

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size: 1′ tall, 4-6′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-9

Leaf Shape:  Dark blue green scale-like foliage

Fruit Shape:  Fleshy, berry-like seed cones ripen to a bluish-black .

Bark Description:  Gray to reddish-brown bark 

Use: Berries are used as flavoring in production of gin

Recipe: Blackberry Bramble Cocktail with Gin

INGREDIENTS

40ml gin

10ml sugar syrup

15ml crème de mur (blackberry liqueur)

15ml lemon or lime juice

Blackberries to garnish

METHOD

Pour all the liquid ingredients into a chunky tumbler half filled with ice and stir gently, garnishing with a perfect blackberry or two.

Sources: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a394

http://www.pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Juniperus+virginiana

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/cocktails/10-simple-easy-gin-cocktails-for-summer-parties/

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English name: Eastern White Pine

Latin name: Pinus strobus

Habitat:   Woods, especially on sandy drift soils or fertile well-drained soils, sometimes on river banks and rarely in swamps

Plant Community:  Old Field

Range:  Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Georgia.

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  75′ tall, 40′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-7

Leaf Shape:  Bluish green needles (to 5" long) are soft to the touch and appear in bundles of five.

Fruit Shape:  Cylindrical, brown cones

Bark: Scaly, gray- brown

Use: seeds, raw or cooked, needles, boiled as a tea

Recipe: see Western White Pine

Sources: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e710

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Pinus+strobus

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English name: Wild ginger

Latin name: Asarum canadensis

Habitat:   Moist rich soils in woodlands, usually on calcareous soils. Understory of deciduous (rarely coniferous) forests

Plant Community:  Oak Hickory Forest

Range:  Eastern N. America - Manitoba to New Brunswick, south to N. Carolina and Kansas.

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:   0.5′ tall, 1- 1.5′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-9

Leaf Shape:  two downy, heart-shaped to kidney-shaped, handsomely veined, dark green, basal leaves

Flower Shape:  Cup-shaped, purplish brown flowers

Use:  The underground stem and the flowers are used as a ginger substitute. The root, especially when quite dry, has a pungent, aromatic smell like mild pepper and ginger mixed, but more strongly aromatic

Toxicity: Leaves are inedible and can cause adverse reactions

Recipe:  Candied Wild Ginger

1.5 cup granulated sugar                                                                                             2.5 cups water                                                                                                            50 grams dried Wild Ginger broken into 1/2″ to 2″ pieces.

 Extra sugar for coating when done

.Bring the water to a boil,Give your dry Wild Ginger a quick but thorough scrub in cold water.Add Wild Ginger pieces to boiling water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.Stir in sugar till dissolved and simmer for another 15 minutes.Set aside to cool down to room temperature Once cooled, put it in a jar and let it sit for 2 days in a covered non metallic jar.Drain all the liquid and let the Wild Ginger pieces stand in a colander till they stop dripping.Take 1 cup of sugar for each 50 grams of original dried Wild Ginger, mix the sugar and Ginger in a bowl till the ginger no longer picks up sugar granules.( I often let the moist Wild Ginger sit for a few hours in the sugar.)When you are ready, put your candied Wild Ginger loosely into a well sealed glass or ceramic jar to keep for future use .

Sources: http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Asarum+canadense

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b460

https://apothecarysgarden.com/2013/04/07/candied-wild-ginger-recipe/

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English name: River Birch

Latin name: Betula nigra

Habitat:   Banks of streams, by swamps etc, in deep rich soil that is often inundated for weeks at a time, plantings, disturbed urban areas

Plant Community:  Spontaneous Urban Growth

Range:  Eastern N. America - New Hampshire to Florida.

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  65′ tall

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-9

Leaf Shape:  alternate, ovate, 4–8 centimeters (1 1⁄2–3 1⁄4 in) long and 3–6 centimeters (1 1⁄4–2 1⁄4 in) broad, with a serrated margin and five to twelve pairs of veins, green.

Fruit Shape: dried winged seeds packed into catkins

Bark Description:  Salmon-pink to reddish brown bark exfoliates to reveal lighter inner bark.

Sources: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=x800

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Betula+nigra

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English name: Red Oak

Latin name: Quercus rubra

Habitat:   Dry or upland woods. Found in a variety of soils, it grows best in those that are deep and fine textured, and the largest trees are found in protected ravines or on sheltered slopes

Plant Community:  Oak hickory Forest

Range:  Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Georgia, west to Oklahoma and Minnesota.

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  80′ tall, 60′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-7

Leaf Shape:  Dark, lustrous green leaves (grayish-white beneath) with 7-11, toothed lobes which are sharply pointed at the tips. Leaves turn brownish-red in autumn

Fruit Shape:  Acorns with flat, saucer-shaped cups

Bark Description: brown- grey, shallow fissures

Use: Acorn, leached and cooked

Recipe: see Bur Oak

Sources: http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Quercus+rubra

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=i760

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English name: Witch Hazel

Latin name: Hammamelis virginiana

Habitat:   Edges of dry or moist woods, in rich soil and on the rocky banks of streams

Plant Community:  Oak Hickory Forest

Range:  Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and south to Texas and N. Florida.

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  15′ tall and wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-8

Flower Shape:  fragrant, yellow flowers with strap-like, crumpled petals appear in the fall, persisting for some time after leaf drop

Bark Description: smooth and gray

Leaves:  oval, 3.7–16.7 cm long and 2.5–13 cm broad, oblique at the base, acute or rounded at the apex, with a wavy-toothed or shallowly lobed margin.

Sources: http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HAVI4

http://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Hamamelis+virginiana

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English name: Bur Oak

Latin name: Quercus macrocarpa

Habitat:   Found in a variety of habitats from dry hillsides to moist bottomlands, rich woods and fertile slopes, mainly on limestone soils

Plant Community:  Oak Hickory Forest

Range:  Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Manitoba, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Georgia, Kansas and Texas.

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  50′ tall, 25′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-8

Leaf Shape:  Leaves up to 9 inches long with a central midrib from which branch veins lead into rounded lobes. Lobes separated by deep sinuses reaching, in some cases, to within 1/2 inch of the midrib.  

Fruit Shape: Acorn,  1/4 to more than 1/2 of the acorn enclosed in the cup which is scaled and has a fringed margin

Use: Seed, processed

Recipe: Acorn Coffee

Leach shelled acorns by soaking or boiling in water. Pouring off the hot water (also called blanching) with repeated changes of water. Continue doing this until the water stops turning brown when you strain and replace it. Dry acorns. Peel the ripe, leached/blanched acorns. Divide the kernels. Place in an ovenproof dish and cover. Roast in a low heat oven to dry slowly. Stir frequently. Once roasted (light, medium or dark), grind. The resulting mixture can be blended into commercial coffee -- or used on its own to make acorn coffee.

Sources:  http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Quercus+macrocarpa

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUMA2

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Acorns-for-Food

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English name: Pignut Hickory

Latin name: Carya glabra

Habitat:   Dry woods and on slopes

Plant Community:  Oak Hickory Forest

Range:  Eastern N. America - Ontario to Florida.

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  100′ tall, 65′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 4-9

Leaf Shape:  pinnately compound, the terminal leaflets considerably larger than the lower pair, turning a rich, golden-yellow color in fall.

Fruit Shape:  Pear shaped nut enclosed in a thin husk, husks are green until maturity; they turn brown to brownish-black as they ripen. The husks become dry at maturity and split away from the nut into four valves along sutures

Bark Description: Coarsely textured, grayish brown bark, deep furrows

Use: Nut, raw or cooked

Recipe: see Carya ovata

Sources: http://www.pfaf.org/USER/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Carya+glabra

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CAGL8

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English name: Shagbark hickory

Latin name: Carya ovata

Habitat:   Dry upland slopes, rich deep moist soils and well drained soils of lowland and valleys

Plant Community:  Oak Hickory Forest

Range:  Eastern N. America - Quebec to Ontario, south to Florida, Kansas and Texas.

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  100′ tall, 50′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 4-8

Bark Description: Gray- brown, shaggy, peeling off in long strips

Leaf Shape:  leaves are 30–60 cm  long, pinnate, with five leaflets, the terminal three leaflets much larger than the basal pair

Fruit Shape:  The fruit is a drupe 2.5 to 4.0 cm long, an edible nut with a hard, bony shell, contained in a thick, green four-sectioned husk which turns dark and splits off at maturity in the fall

Use: Nut, raw or cooked

Recipe: Grandma's Hickory Nut Pie

3 eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 cup of sugar 1 cup of white Karo syrup 1 teaspoon of vanilla 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine 1 cup of hickory nuts, chopped 1 unbaked pie shell

Mix the eggs, sugar, syrup, vanilla, and margarine, adding the nuts last. Pour into pie shell and bake in a 400ºF. oven 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350ºF. and bake for 40 additional minutes.

Sources: http://www.pinenut.com/wild-crops-nuts-tea/hickory-nuts.shtml

http://www.pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Carya+ovata

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English name: Gray birch

Latin name: Betula populifolia

Habitat:   Found on the margins of swamps and ponds, it also commonly grows in dry sandy or gravelly barren soils

Plant Community:  Northern Hardwood Forest

Range:  Eastern N. America - Quebec to Virginia and west to Indiana

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  40′ tall, 15″ trunk diameter

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-6

Fruit Shape:  many tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts

Leaf Shape:  alternately arranged, ovate, and tapering to an elongated tip. They are dark green and glabrous above and paler below, with a coarsely serrated margin

Use:  The sap is drunk as a sweet beverage or it can be fermented to make birch beer or vinegar. 

Recipe:  An old English recipe for the beer is as follows:- "To every Gallon of Birch-water put a quart of Honey, well stirr'd together; then boil it almost an hour with a few Cloves, and a little Limon-peel, keeping it well scumm'd. When it is sufficiently boil'd, and become cold, add to it three or four Spoonfuls of good Ale to make it work...and when the Test begins to settle, bottle it up . . . it is gentle, and very harmless in operation within the body, and exceedingly sharpens the Appetite, being drunk ante pastum

Sources: http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Betula+populifolia

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English name: Inkberry

Latin name: Ilex glabra

Habitat:  Bogs; wet woods of coastal plains

Plant Community:  Red Maple Swamp

Range: Eastern North America

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  6′-12′ tall and wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 6-10

Leaf Shape: shiny, alternate, simple, evergreen, leathery, obovate to elliptic, pointed at the tip

Fruit Shape: black- blue drupes, globular

Sources: http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ILGL

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English name: Red Maple

Latin name: Acer rubrum

Habitat:   Usually found in swamps and uplands, it also occasionally grows on dry rocky hillsides and sand dunes[

Plant Community:  Old Field, Red Maple Swamp

Range:  Eastern and central North America

Native: Native to U.S.

Mature Size:  55′ tall- 40′ wide

USDA Hardiness zone: 3-9

Leaf Shape: 3-5 pointed lobes

Fruit Shape: winged samara

Sources: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=j170