Edible Plants – Learn Your Land

Eastern Forests Are Changing — And Pawpaw Is Winning

Adam Haritan — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:00:15 +0000

In my neck of the woods, there’s a particular tree that grows in the understory. It’s not a very big tree, but it’s doing something that has recently caught my attention: It’s becoming much more abundant. On the surface, this looks like a wonderful thing. Known as pawpaw (Asimina triloba), this native species produces a […]

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Why This Shrub Is A Tick Paradise

Adam Haritan — Thu, 28 May 2026 19:56:02 +0000

In my neck of the woods, some places are absolute tick hot spots. If I need to photograph ticks or study their habits, I know exactly where to go. But until last week, I didn’t know that a particular shrub was strongly associated with tick abundance. A new study found this to be true, and […]

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Are Pawpaws Neurotoxic?

Adam Haritan — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 14:15:19 +0000

Are pawpaws neurotoxic? It sounds like an absurd question to ask. After all, many people eat these wild fruits every year without experiencing any apparent negative effects. But let’s consider the following pieces of information: Studies have linked the consumption of fruits in the Annonaceae family to neurodegeneration in humans. Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is in […]

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Does Living Near A Golf Course Increase Your Parkinson’s Risk?

Adam Haritan — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 17:56:09 +0000

Green isn’t always good. In fact, green can sometimes be associated with neurodegenerative diseases. This is especially true when we take a look at golf courses. Golf courses use heavy amounts of pesticides to maintain uniform conditions. These chemicals kill undesirable plants and insects, but they also weaken human health. Researchers have known for a […]

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Edible vs. Poison Sumac — Learn The Difference

Adam Haritan — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 13:35:55 +0000

Years ago, a friend told me about an edible plant called sumac. She taught me how to make a refreshing beverage from its fruits. “Tastes like pink lemonade,” she said. “Really easy to make, too. But be absolutely certain that you’re foraging an edible sumac and not poison sumac.” Poison sumac, she told me, is […]

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Foraging The Most Inconspicuous Edible Wildflower

Adam Haritan — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 13:36:37 +0000

A typical walk in nature can be slow. From an outsider’s perspective, it can be painfully slow. A 1-mile walk might take a naturalist 4 hours to complete — a pace 12 times slower than the average walking speed. While it’s true that a turtle could probably outpace a botanist walking through a flowering floodplain, […]

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Foraging The Elusive Mayapple

Adam Haritan — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 14:36:22 +0000

Tropical fruit flavors are not commonly detected in my neck of the woods. When they are, the experience is unforgettable. Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) is an eastern North American plant whose ripe fruit tastes like a mix between pineapple and Starburst candy. All other parts of the plant (e.g., rhizomes, leaves, stems, and unripe fruits) are […]

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Foraging Wineberries — Delicious Wild Edible Fruits

Adam Haritan — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 13:22:19 +0000

What would summer be without a trip to the local berry patch? In my neck of the woods and fields, it wouldn’t be summer at all. Some of nature’s tastiest fruits — black raspberries, red raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries — ripen during the warmest days of the year. A perfectly timed visit to a prime […]

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How To Find Pawpaws In The Wild

Adam Haritan — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 21:13:59 +0000

Good food is bestowed upon those who scout. This is especially true when we consider what it takes to harvest pawpaws. Pawpaws are incredibly delicious fruits that are produced by pawpaw trees (Asimina triloba). Green and kidney-shaped, these tropical-tasting berries are considered to be the largest edible fruits produced by any native North American tree. […]

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How Do I Treat Seasonal Allergies?

Adam Haritan — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 21:06:46 +0000

Late spring is an excellent time of year to sharpen our tree identification skills. It’s also a time of year when pollen counts are high. If there’s one thing that will stop us from learning trees, it’s seasonal allergies. Tree identification isn’t so fun when a runny nose and itchy eyes are part of the […]

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The Tastiest Tree Shoot You’ve Never Eaten

Adam Haritan — Thu, 26 May 2022 16:19:43 +0000

Think of the many ways in which our diets would be radically different if we did not eat trees. No apples. No oranges. No avocados. No almonds. No walnuts. No maple syrup. No cinnamon. No chocolate. And no Japanese angelica tree. That’s right. If we removed trees from our diets, Japanese angelica tree (Aralia […]

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American Chestnut — Questioning Its Former Status As A Dominant Tree

Adam Haritan — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 19:48:17 +0000

What did the land look like before you were born? This is a good question to ponder, but it’s a difficult question to answer unless clarification is provided. How much land are we talking about? And what is the time frame in question? Even with such clarification, answers do not come easy. The original question […]

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