Wild food in Houston? (neighborhood, buy, elementary school)

[glorplaxy]

Does anybody know of any wild growing vegetation in Houston that is good for eating? The only things I can think of are cat tails and the oil that can come from pine cones. I am particularly interested in something that can be used as a spice and can be found inside the loop.

Also, does anyone know if the toads that are native to Houston are good to eat? There are swarms of them in my neighborhood and I was wondering if they would taste decent as people eat toads and frogs in other parts of the world.

[Bike4Life]

LOL, this reminds me of a Chinese who killed the neighbor's cat for dinner.

[jimboburnsy]

I'm not sure you would want to eat a toad (which are definitely distinct from frogs). Those "warts" are full of a fairly potent neurotoxin that can induce temporary paralysis.

As far as wild vegetation for spices goes, there are probably some places you could find Prickly Ash trees. They generally grow along fence lines or places that birds frequent (as their seeds are transmitted entirely by birds) and the peppercorns the tree produces can be ground in a regular pepper mill to produce a tart, tingly seasoning that is interesting, but of narrow scope in usefulness (probably will not be wildly popular).

[Poltracker]

Don't forget dandelion greens, they make good salads even if most people think of them as weeds. If you are educated enough, there are also numerous varieties of edible mushrooms that grow wild in the urban landscape. I recall one of my college profs taking us on a shroom hunting trip around Montrose. You may also see blackberry and dewberry brambles in areas. South of the loop, there are still some isolated areas that have small groves of wild plums but they have become rare with all the development.

[EasilyAmused]

Wild Grapes.

[cjester]

I know that certain Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants that serve frog legs. I also been to a Peruvian restaurant years ago that served Rana (type of frog). They could have been native Houston frogs.

[tstone]

We used to pick wild dewberries way back when I was in elementary school. Not sure where they grow nowadays but they could be around.

[rcarrick]

I live, roughly, at W. Gray and Bagby. We have pecan trees, rosemary, lime trees, edible mushrooms, mustard greens, dewberries, mulberries, brocolli (occasionally), onions, 'other' mushrooms, wild cannabis, and tomato vines growing all over the place out here. And, I really haven't been purposely looking. We also have a lot of squirrels, doves, possums, and raccoons if anyone were really looking for meat.

[Svensk08]

Better not start munching on wild plants or mushrooms until you know without question that they're safe to eat! For accurate, useful information, I'd start with the following short list of resources to ask for referrals to local wild plant experts:

Houston Museum of Natural Science

Urban Harvest

Houston Arboretum

Mercer Arboretum

Randy Lemmon (KTRH AM gardening show host)

TAMU

UH Science Dep't

You might have to do a good bit of research, as gathering edible wild plants for food isn't exactly a popular activity.

[Rbrisco]

The nation spends billions every year trying to eradicate wild food in urban settings. Hardware stores have whole sections devoted to that endeavor so wild food must be hiding in plain sight. Indeed, most of what we call weeds (but not grasses) were eaten by Native Americans or brought here by early Europeans for food and nutrition. Now we call them weeds, pay to make them go away, and buy their weak but sweet cousins at the supermarket.

There is more wild food in Houston than anyone could ever hope to eat. In fact the most nutritious foods in Houston and America itself are wild and often growing right outside your front door. The nation's economy doesn't directly benefit from eating wild food, but the nation's health sure would. Check out these sites and you'll find wild food and recipes galore:

Merriwether's Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Texas and the Southwest

Burcucumber

The Forager's Shack - Foraging Books & Videos