Leaf Lickers!

[lucas logs]

So I know times are hard, and all these arboricultural activities build up a heck of an apatite. So how about eating on the job... or eating the job:laugh1:

 

Il start us off with a few trees to eat, just incase your sandwiches are looking a bit bare. Then hopefully you guys might know of some other edible trees.

 

*DISCLAIMER* - I can not take any responsibility if you die on the spot/vomit/fill your pants... etc. If you chose to eat anything you see here it is your own choice and you must be sure of what you are eating and how it should be prepared. p.s I got all this from the pfaf site so blame them.

 

 

Wych Elm

(Ulmus glabra)

 

Leaves - raw or cooked. They can be a little bit bitter, especially if not very young, and have a mucilaginous texture (yummy). They make a nice addition to a mixed salad. Immature fruits, used just after they are formed, can be eaten raw. An aromatic, unusual flavour, leaving the mouth feeling fresh and the breath smelling pleasant (for any tree surgeons out there with a case of halitosis ).

 

Sitka Spruce

(Picea sitchensis)

 

Young shoots - raw. Young male catkins - raw or cooked. Used as a flavouring. Immature female cones - cooked. The central portion, when roasted, is sweet and syrupy. Inner bark - raw or cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc or added to cereals when making bread. The inner bark was usually harvested in the spring, though it was also sometimes taken in the summer. An emergency food. Seed - raw. The seed is rich in fats and has a pleasant slightly resinous flavour but is too small and fiddly to be worthwhile unless you are desperate. A refreshing tea, rich in vitamin C, can be made from the young shoot tips. A gum obtained from the bark is hardened in cold water and then used for chewing. It should be aged for 3 days or more before using it. The best gum is obtained from the southern side of the tree.

 

Tulip Tree

(Tulipifera liriodendron)

 

The root is used as a lemon-like flavouring in spruce beer, where it also serves to correct the bitterness of the beer. The bark of the root and branches have a pleasant rather pungent scent

 

Elderberry

(sambucus nigra)

 

Fruit - raw or cooked. The flavour of the raw fruit is not acceptable to many tastes (tastes like a badgers arse then), though when cooked it makes delicious jams, preserves, pies and so forth. It can be used fresh or dried, the dried fruit being less bitter. The fruit is used to add flavour and colour to preserves, jams, pies, sauces, chutneys etc, it is also often used to make wine. Some caution is advised, see the notes bellow.

 

The leaves and stems are poisonous. The fruit of many species has been known to cause stomach upsets to some people. Any toxin the fruit might contain is liable to be of very low toxicity and is destroyed when the fruit is cooked.

 

. Flowers - raw or cooked. They can also be dried for later use. The flowers are crisp and somewhat juicy, they have an aromatic smell and flavour and are delicious raw as a refreshing snack on a summers day. The flowers are used to add a muscatel flavour to stewed fruits, jellies and jams (especially gooseberry jam). They are often used to make a sparkling wine. A sweet tea is made from the dried flowers.

[Stephen Blair]

Unless I have to climb a ' cheese on toast ' tree, I'll give it a miss mate:biggrin:

[treequip]

Unless I have to climb a ' cheese on toast ' tree, I'll give it a miss mate:biggrin:

 

I thought I found a bacon tree once but it turned out to be and ambush:laugh1:

 

I 'l get mi coat

[Stephen Blair]

I actually burst out laughing there:lol:

[Ty Korrigan]

What about uses of sap?

I want to make some syrup (wines are out)

Ty

[Daniël Bos]

Young hawthorn leaves are the best thing for your cheese sandwich. Fresh and slightly nutty with extra added health benefits. (Good for the heart)

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

beech and lime leaves are the typical forest salad addition

[breffni]

Bit off topic but got a load of wild garlic yesterday

 

 

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[Adam Bourne]

beech and lime leaves are the typical forest salad addition

 

 

I'd have to agree there tony, but they have to be young leaves

 

 

 

Willow leaves are great to eat if you have a head ache

[alex_m]

You can harvest the sap from birch trees soon.