The last time I wrote a conservation journal the ground was laden with snow, and I was expecting to soon leave the Squam range for taller and snowier mountain ranges. However, this has been postponed for another year, and I get to spend my Summer and Autumn here. I am glad for this, because I have never spent a full year anywhere outside of my home state. Learning how the seasons change so far North has been an amazing new experience.
As I write this, 07/06/2020, It is 80 degrees, sunny, and there are towering Cumulonimbus clouds floating above, but the fact that is July vexes me. Normally where I’m from all the berries would be in full swing and hickory nuts would be plopping to the ground from the mixed hardwood canopy. Little beginnings of pawpaw fruits would be hiding among the large peppery smelling leaves. It makes me feel like I have been lagging on my summer foraging, but I find comfort in knowing there’s still time to look for wild chanterelles among the detritus.
“The fruits of the Staghorn Sumac, otherwise known as Rhus typhina.”
One thing I have noticed that I am increasingly excited about are the large upright clusters of red forming on the roadsides. Since January I have been waiting for them to come to fruition. These are the fruits of the Staghorn Sumac, otherwise known as Rhus typhina. Some of you reading this may be familiar with this plant. It is in the same plant family as Cashews (Anacardiaceae)! Poison Ivy is also in the same plant family and it once shared the genus name, Rhus, with Staghorn Sumac, but don’t worry, nothing about this plant could harm you (unless it fell on you). A lot of wildlife will rely on sumac for emergency sustenance in the winter when all other food sources are rimed and rotted. These wildlife (like white-tail deer, wild turkey, grouse, quail, eastern cotton tails, and about 300 species of songbirds) are an integral part to the squam watershed, and give us all the more reason to conserve the world we live in.
The reason I am so excited for these ruby panicles is the amazing tea you can make from the red velvet drupes! That’s right, you heard it here folks those clusters make one fantastic concoction. The way I like to prepare it is by harvesting at least two or three full panicles (that’s just the fancy term for the whole cluster). Once I get back home, I grab a big bowl from the cabinet and place it one the counter. Once the bowl is in position I pull of the best-looking fruits from the panicle (be careful to really pick around, the first time I made this tea some inch worms wound up in it). After thoroughly picking out the fruits I begin to crush them up in the bowl, making a powder. When the fruits are ground (it doesn’t have to be perfect) I then place them in a pitcher of cold water (emphasis on cold) for around 12 hours or so. The reason cold water is important is because if you use hot water it will destroy the vitamin C content of the tea. By the end of the process you should have a bright red tea that tastes like pink lemonade and is rich in antioxidants! This year I am hoping to make a Kombucha with it.
Foraging can be dangerous though. I do it because I am well acquainted with the plants and fungi in the area and know what to look for. Before foraging, you should do extensive research on the thing you are trying to forage and what its look-a-likes are. It is best to go with someone more experienced for your first time or if you are looking for something extremely complicated with less room for error.
Moses is a winter half-time member sticking around for the summer term at the SLA. Now that it’s warm, you may find him drying foraged herbs to make tea, playing guitar around a campfire, and identifying various insects and amphibians the crew sends his way; you can read more about Moses here!