spring is in the air

When I first moved to Asheville it was late winter and spring was just peeking it’s sleepy head onto the scene. I recall becoming enchanted immediately with the smells, the fresh shades of green and the pleasant warmth of the forest. Those feelings haven’t faded even a little! I look forward to spring every year, a wide range of medicinal and edible plants show up first, followed by some early fungi, most notably is the Morel mushroom. Let’s take a look at some amazing plants and mushrooms that start to fill in the forest floor first……each of these are found in my region of the Appalachians, southeast, showing up at different times but typically sometime in March. Wild foraging means following the seasons and knowing what grows when and where.

Mullein

Mullein is an easily identified plant with it’s soft, fuzzy leaves, tall growth and yellow flowered stalk right out of the middle. It loves to grow on hillsides and in sandy soils, but can be found in other areas as well. It can used as a tea or made into a tincture, using the leaves or flowers or both. Some folks even smoke the dried leaves. It aids in respiratory health, especially the lungs and can help repair damaged lungs. We offer a double extracted tincture of Mullein.

stinging nettle

Stinging nettle lives up to it’s name and can be a truly unpleasant plant to encounter. Brushing up against it can cause itchy, burning sensations on your skin, however those stingers/hairs are medicinal and can be tapped on your joints to help relieve swelling and pain, I’ve personally used them that way for my arthritis and it really helps! Stinging nettles can be found near streams, along rocky areas, in meadows or ditch like environments. There is a larger wood nettle that also grows in our region, they do not have the stingers, both are edible, you have to boil the stingers off the stinging nettle first. They have a spinach like flavor and are an excellent source of vitamins (C,D,K) and minerals (iron, calcium and magnesuim). Nettles can be used medicinally in teas and tinctures, giving benefits like energy, anti-inflammatory effects, urinary support, help with allergies and for womans support with menopausal symptoms. We offer wild foraged nettles in our myco goddess and organ support tea blends, also in our Womans Harmonic Bloom double extracted tincture.

plantain

Plantain is a very common plant in many regions, some may even call it a weed. However it’s much more than that, it’s versatile and can be used as a food source, being high in vitamins, especially high in vitamin C but also vitamin A and K . Topically you can use Plantain to help fight off itches, cuts, stings and for more over all healthy skin. It can help with digestion and heart health in other forms. It grows in fields, along trail sides and even in driveways or on lawns.

Morels

Now let’s talk about the bell of the ball…..the Morels! These tasty mushrooms are a bit particular as to where they call home. There’s several factors to consider when deciding where and when to go looking for them, such as conditions, soil temps need to be 55 degrees or higher for a consistent 5 days. I use this site which is in real time…. Soil Temparature Maps | GreenCast | Syngenta. Next you have to think about environments, some Morels can be found on mountain sides, others in bottom land and others straight up in the woods, people sometimes find them in their mulch or gravel driveways. Trees play a huge part in finding Morels, I typically find them near Tulip poplar, Ash, or Sycamore and very abundantly in apple orchirds (make sure they don’t spray any chemicals). It’s also a good idea to get to know what kinds of plants may be in the area, some indicators for me are Trillium, Mayapple, Privits, and Irises. Two great online resources to learn where and when Morels are popping out are: A Community for Naturalists · iNaturalist and Morel Mushroom Sightings - Maps - The Great Morel It’s good advice to make some friends with other mycophiles, older folks who have been in the area a long time or you may even notice someone off trail that looks like they lost their keys, they may just be doing the same thing as you are. Remember to slow down, if your in a good looking area and haven’t found any, keep looking, so many times I walked right past them! If you find one, then take time to scour around, there’s most likely more. Below are the kinds of Morels I typically find round here…pictured first is the Yellow or Big Blonde Morel, growing bigger than the rest and most often found in the bottom lands. Next are the Tulip Morels, smaller in size but still taste top notch, they can sometimes have a greyish appearance, these I find always associated with Poplar trees and in different enviroments. The Black Morels get their name from the black lines along the cap. I find these mostly on mountain sides where there’s run off. Last are the half free Morels, they are taller than most and have a small cap on top, usually with black lines on the cap like the Black Morels and I find those two types in the same area. Remember all true morels are hollow on the inside. I’m sharing Morel info this month to get you ready, March 28th may be the earliest I’ve found them but in South Carolina, where I begin my hunt, they don’t show up in my mountains near Asheville until April. Morels also move with the season, going from lower elevations to higher ones as the season goes on……happy Morel hunting…hope you find some for yourself and enjoy the savoriness they hold!

Tulip Poplar

Trillium

Mayapple

Iris