GOOD GUYS

Cattails

These grow along streams and in swampy land. The foliage looks like gigantic clumps of grass, blades rising up from a central point. The flower is at the end of a long stem coming up from the center of the plant. It is a tube shaped, brown, velvety mass, and there might be as many as three of them along the top of the stem. The brown masses about an inch in diameter and vary from 3 to 7 inches in length. You can pick them when very young and green, steam or boil and eat them with butter.

When mature but before turning fluffy, they hold a large amount of golden pollen. Harvest the pollen by placing the stalk above the brown heads in a paper bag and shaking. Add the pollen to flour for baking, or use as a colored powder for crafts. The roots are tubers, and sort of potato-like. When old, the brown heads turn fluffy with dandelion like seeds. These can be very irritating to the nose but also make a nice soft stuffing for pillows and rag dolls. If you want to use cattails for decoration, either put them somewhere where nothing will ever disturb them, or spray them several times with hair spray. They also make terrific temporary drumsticks.

Chickweed

This plant grows everywhere! In parking lots, between the cracks in the street, anywhere there is the least bit of soil and moisture. It has tiny green leaves and a low trailing habit, similar to cleavers. However, it is very juicy and slick. It has tiny white flowers. Its petals are split to the base like little stars. It tastes rather earthy and good. It grows lushly in the same kind of place as cleavers, and they are often found growing together. It was the first plant my Goddessdaughter learned to identify, and we still graze on it together when we go walking.

Cleavers

This plant comes up with the first thaw in spring. It likes moist shady places. It has a long thin creeping stem. When you roll the stem between your fingers, you will realize that it is square, not round. The leaves are about 1 inch long, and thin. They make little round fringes of about 8 leaves every couple of inches along the stem. At the end of the stem, there is a tiny white flower. The whole plant is slightly prickly, but very good to eat. The only other plant that looks like it is Sweet Woodruff that is also edible but more succulent and not as prickly.