consciouseating WILD EDIBLES


Freestyle Foraging in Southwest Florida


by Linda Sechrist G ’


ators and snakes and bears, oh boy! While this enthu- siastic response is not what most of us would utter in


an encounter with Southwest Florida’s wilder side, it is one that’s frequently exclaimed by the biologists, botanists and research associates who staff the Institute for Regional Conservation (IRC). This private nonprofit organiza- tion works in South Florida, the Carib- bean and beyond to prevent the region- al extinction of rare plants, animals and ecosystems. Now doing conservation research and monitoring biodiversity in the Picayune Strand State Forest, Senior Botanist Michael Barry jokes about his network of environmental profession- als. “We have a defective gene, and we know it,” he quips. “When we’re out in the woods and come across a big gator or a diamondback rattle- snake, we think it’s a great day. We’re more afraid of driving in Miami’s rush-hour traffic.” To describe IRC’s


preserve management strat- egy, Barry uses a familiar analogy. “We’re gardeners who observe and weed,” he explains, “because we can’t leave nature on its own if we care about biodiversity and want to keep all parts of the ecosys- tem around for the future. As much as possible, we let the ecosystem run itself, but when invad-


42 Collier/Lee Counties


ing species run amuck, we try to fix it.” Working in the dominant inland pine flatwoods and prairie, Barry and his colleagues enjoy a natural benefit of their job: wild edibles. “It’s slim pickings, which is why the indigenous people, who lived here before Christo- pher Columbus landed, ate mostly fish and shellfish,” says Barry, a modern Huckleberry Finn who also enjoys the wild edibles on his flatwoods property in Golden Gates Estates. He describes several of the plants that he and his colleagues nibble, depending upon the season.


Earleaf greenbrier (smilax auriculata) is an evergreen vine with edible buds that flourish in spring and after a fire. Barry eats them raw, but his wife pre- fers to sauté them with onions.


Muscadine grape (vitis rotundifolia) is the most prevalent vine in Golden Gate Estates. With small, tart fruit that ripens in late summer, this year’s bumper crop is due to a wet winter. To quench his thirst, Barry


pops them into his mouth by the hand- fuls, mashing them and sucking out the juice. Seeds and skin are spit out. “I was working with Mexican and Central American workers in the woods,” he says, “and I observed that when they took short breaks, they loaded up on the grapes.”


Ground cherry (physalis walteri) is Barry’s favorite treat. Common in flat- woods and weedy areas, the cherries ripen in June. He weed whips around them in his firebreak.


swfl .naturalawakeningsmag.com


Wild cucumber (melothria pendula) was Barry’s favorite before he discovered ground cherries. “My dogs love them, too, so I have to work to get my share,” he says with a grin.


Florida bully (sideloxyron reclina- tum) or Buckthorn fruits, belong to the same family as sapodilla, a commonly planted neotropical fruit tree. Although Barry has an abundance of these small, spiny trees on his property, he regret- fully notes that he has to share them with the birds.


Willow bustic (sideloxyron salicifolia) is tasty, but less common than its recog- nizable family members, which include saffron-plum, caimito and mastic.


Saw palmetto berries, which ripen in late summer, are a must-try, in Barry’s opinion. “The first one is usually the last one for most people,” he chuckles. “For prostate health, though, it’s worth the aftertaste—


described as ‘rotten cheese steeped in tobacco juice.’ When perfectly ripe, the berries taste good. The wildlife goes nuts over them, and so do my dogs.”


Cabbage palms are part of Barry’s annual Thanksgiving feast. “I sac- rifice a couple of them each year to cook up with swamp cab- bage in butter and garlic,” he says, noting that the palms can be legally harvested in Picayune Strand State Forest by stopping in at the office to request a free permit.


Dewberry (Rubus trivialis and Rubus cuneifo- lius) is common in the Estates. Fruit is produced in early summer.


Red mulberry (Morus rubra) is a hardwood


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