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livingontheland - [Livingontheland] Gardening with Native foods and perenials/ Re: Resilient gardening

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  • From: Pego Rice <firekeeper38@yahoo.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Gardening with Native foods and perenials/ Re: Resilient gardening
  • Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 18:12:33 -0700 (PDT)

Do you know your local Native American and/or Foraging community?
 
Really, In the US, we have a dearth of native fruit and veg info just because of this.  Can't kill off or diss the natives and still expect to have their broad base of indigenous plant knowledge available.
 
Quite aside from our familiar line-up of berries and the obvious veggies, there are a number of American plants that are excellent food and herbal plants.  I've a list of plants (to get or that I have) that are more suited to home gardens and the assortment that we live with between Bog gardens and Xeriscapes, forests to deserts. (sometimes in the same yard) that commercial growers seldom concern themselves with.   My list is somewhat limited and southern/coastal in  it's inclination. 
 
I've picked up a copy of "North American Ethnobotany" by Moerman, which is a pretty good source of making your own list.  There are also various lists for "Under-exploited" plants of north (and south) America that can be looked over.  I rather think the Moerman book and many regional foraging books are actually more useful, but several plants like Apios Americana have been picked up by colleges for "Improvement" to become field crops.  Many of these turned out to not be suited to open field production (needing shade or wet feet or the like) or didn't get enough of a "sell" to take off as a crop and now only reside in the various germplasm fields like that in Corvallis, which fortunately is willing to share; http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=53-58-15-00 or in rare nurseries.
 
 
 
Achiote (Bixa orellana)
Agave.
Allspice (Pimenta dioica)
Amaranth
American Oil Palm (Elaeis oleifera)
American spikenard/Indian Root (Aralia racemosa)
Anona (Annona spp.)
Birch
Black sapote (Diospyros digyna)
Chalahuite (Inga jinicuil)
Chayote (Sechium edu)
Chokeberries (Aronia)
Dragon fruit
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Epazote
Garlic Vine (Mansoa alliacea)
Gooseberry (Ribes aureum or Ribes echinellum)
Guava (Psidium guajava)
Guayule, Afinador (Parthenium argentatum)
Indian Potato/Hopniss (Apios americana)
Indian Potato/Wapato (Sagittaria Latifolia)
Lambsquarters/Southern Huauzontle, (Chenopodium berlandieri)
Lomatum (Bisquit root)
Mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota)
Maracuya (Passiflora spp)
Mayhaw (Crataegus opaca or Crataegus aestivalis)
Mesquite, Honey (Prosopis glandulosa) Actuyally all, but this one's the best
Mexican/Cuban oregano
Oak/Acorn
Oxalis
Pawpaw, Smallflower/Dwarf (Asimina parviflora)
Peach Palm (Bactris gasipaes)
Persimmon
Quelite (Amaranthus palmeri)
Root Beer Plant/Hoja santa (Piper auritum)
Rubris (Blaberry boysenberry Raspberry ect.)
Rumex
salal (Gaultheria shallon)
salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis)
Sand cherry (Prunus pumila)
Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)
Smilax (greenbriar, it grows in deep shade and is scratchy snf takes up too but the spring sprouts are the Best thing, even better than asparagus)
Stellaria
Squaw-berry/Twinberry (Mitchella repens)
Sugar-apple/Sweetsop(Annona squamosa)
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
Tilia (all varieties, Southern Basswood, linden ect.)
Trandesca
Typha latifolia, Cattail
Varegated Canna (orange flowers, yellow Stripes
Vanilla (Vanilla sp.)
Yucca Baccata
Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius)
Wild Cherry (Prunus serotina)
Winecup
White Cinnamon, (Canella alba)
Zapote (Pouteria sapota)
 
Yours, Pego




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