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Apple of Peru, Shoofly plant, Nicandra physalodes

Poisonous herbs, ,

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Here’s a lovely photo which Elodie sent me today of a plant which grows well in Amsterdam. Apple of Peru, Shoofly plant (Nicandra physalodes) is a member of the Nightshade family (Solanacaea) and is somewhat poisonous. It is said to be useful as an insect repellent. I saw some seed heads from this plant at the seed swap yesterday but couldn’t remember the name. The seed heads look like pretty lanterns but the tell take tomato truss like arrangement of the fruit and the kinks in the truss stem, told me instantly that it was a nightshade.

I’m not a big fan of Nightshades but they do have many uses. Not that all Nightshades are poisonous, but all contain quantities of chemicals which should be avoided in excess. Some members of the family are packed with the toxins (such as Belladonna) so just a berry or leaf would give that excess and could kill. Others have it in quantity within the green parts alone and the fruits can be eaten occasionally (such as aubergine and tomato). Others are somewhere in between (such as Bittersweet and Black nightshade). It seems that Apple of Peru is an in between nightshade, though I won’t be testing that. It looks and feels very poisonous to me but is very pretty so it’s easy to see why it has survived.

365 Frankendael day 199

365 Frankendael, ,

We took a walk in between the rain showers today and saw the Urban Outsiders exhibition being packed away. Hard to focus on much other than Ginkgo nuts at present (dreaming of them being swept away by the road cleaners before we can get to them!) But here are a few other plants from the park…

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Lovely delicate yet wooly Marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis) still flowering here and there but mainly gone to seed. Such a useful soothing plant.

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Thanks Dana for posting a lovely photo of this plant on Facebook recently. I didn’t know it so got hunting and found it is called Euonymus and is not edible.

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It is pretty enough for restaurant Merkelbach to use in their table decorations today though. A nice escape from the rain – again!

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Here is a taste of one of the best things to come in spring – Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata). Oh what a wonderful herb! I’m holding back from foraging any as the moment as these plants really need to build strength to get through the winter and then hopefully they will really flourish next year.

365 Frankendael day 198

365 Frankendael

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This Gingko tree grows outside of the Muiderkerk on Linneausstraat and is much younger than those I’ve found in Oud Zuid. It’s also not loaded with ripe orange fruit so is most likely a male tree. The leaves of both male and female Ginkgo can be used to make a tea. The plant, including it’s leaves and especially the fruit, does contain some chemicals which are harmful so if using them, read up carefully on how to harvest, how much to use and whether it will interact unfavourably with your body.

365 Frankendael day 197

365 Frankendael,

One herb photo today – Chickweed (Stellaria media), taken in a tree pit of Lavender around a Pine tree, in Christian Huygensplein. Chickweed is a delicious peppery salad plant that is full of nutrients which can help us through the winter and can soothe skin which suffers from heated complaints (such as some forms of eczema). Chickweed is
powerful against itching and cysts. It makes a good juice, tea, straight raw or cooked food and is very useful in ointments.

Respectfully grab a handful when you see it invading a clean spot, give it a good wash, gently shake it dry and use as you wish! One super use if to infuse it in apple cider vinegar, perhaps along with Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris).

This little beauty of the herb world will be around through the depths of the Dutch winter, even if under snow, and is only really absent from the reach of urban foragers in the fight of summer, when it dries out and sets seed.

Look for the minute line of hairs down one single edge of the stem and the tiny white star like flowers.

Here’s a link to some historical uses and a link to a Susun weed post about this wonderful herb.

Eat Ginkgo Nuts from City Streets

Food, Foraging

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Today I prepared the Ginkgo nuts which I harvested from Albrecht Durerstraat, in Amsterdam Oud Zuid, yesterday. They taste great and the three of us are showing no ill effects from eating them this evening! To prepare Ginkgo nuts, a few methods may be employed. All involve removing the toxic apricot coloured flesh (sarcotesta) from around the precious nut, without harming yourself. The sarcotesta contains the irritant found in poison ivy so wear rubber gloves and be very very careful and if your skin or eyes do become irritated, seek prompt medical attention.

How to prepare freshly harvested Ginkgo nuts/fruits

1. Soak your gingko fruit harvest in a bowl of cold water, away from animals, children or prying hands. An hour our two is sufficient to fully hydrate the flesh, making it very easy to remove.

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2. Wearing thick rubber gloves, simply rub the flesh off the nuts, into the soak water. Rub them off under the water, to avoid them squirting into eyes or surfaces where the toxic juice may go unnoticed. As each nut is exposed, place it in a small bowl. 3. Strain the water away, compost or bin the flesh. Rinse your sink drain well after this as the flesh starts to stink of apricoty vomit as it rots down. 4. Give the almost clean nuts another rinse in clean cold water, to remove almost all of the flesh (this is very quick and simple). Drain them and leave in the small bowl.

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5. Spread the cleaned, wet nuts on a baking tray and place in an oven, preheated to 80°C (to dry off and store then – remove from oven when the surface is totally dry) or to 180°C (to roast)

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6. To roast at 180°C in an oven (or in a small sturdy frying pan) simply leave them in the heat, toss them around once or twice and remove when the outside of the nut shells looks just toasted in places. Test one. 7. When cracked open and the inner skin peeled off, a ginkgo nut should be like a very firm jelly but not rock solid, the colour should be a beautiful translucent green. Mine took about 15 minutes in the oven to reach this point today.

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365 Frankendael day 194

365 Frankendael

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Today a photo of a pretty herb meadow, deliberately grown in the grassland beside Hugo de Vreislaan. As you can see, many of the plants are still in flower and many have gone to seed. At the front of the photo is Calendula in flower and seed, beside Shepherds purse in seed. Such useful and easily grown herbs.

Calendula is particularly useful as an edible plant which makes an interesting bitter addition to casseroles and salads. It’s very easy to make an infused oil from the flowers and they can also be dried or preserved for later use.

Ginkgo Harvesting in Amsterdam

Blog, Foraging, Poisonous herbs, Trees

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For some years, each autumn, I have trudged through putrifying Ginkgo fruits, fallen amongst fossilesque golden Ginkgo leaves, on Albrecht Durerstraat in Oud Zuid, Amsterdam. It is where I work and is a street that the local council chose to line with this amazing tree herb, many moons ago.

Ginkgo biloba is a fascinating plant. Often known as the Maidenhair tree or the living fossil tree, it is incredibly resilient to damage and pollution and is well suited to the urban environment. It has been long revered by traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine and apparently has many uses, particularly for the circulatory system.  This is apparently the most adulterated herbal extract that people buy. Most people seem to take the extract to improve their circulation, for cold hands and feet for instance and to boost their memory. Be aware that there is much conflicting evidence about the effectiveness of Ginkgo for memory loss and demetia. As ever, treat all claims with caution and if trying something new, be very cautious. Here’s a summary of the current research.

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This lunchtime I was joined by 5 adults and two snuggly wrapped babies, to harvest some Ginkgo nuts which have dropped onto parked cars and the pavement.  The flesh (sarcotesta) around the nuts is HIGHLY TOXIC, containing the same chemical as poison ivy. Anyone wishing to harvest, should avoid touching it.  The chemical causes a very serious skin reaction and requires prompt hospital treatment.  Likewise, because Ginkgo acts as an anticoagulant, if you are already taking drugs which act to “thin the blood”, you should avoid the herb and consult your doctor for advice, if you really think it could be of benefit to you.   If you are allergic to aspirin or nuts, this is also a herb to avoid.

Please follow the instructions in this link if you want to know how to prepare the nuts. Note the rubber gloves and photo of blistered eyes, on that website!

By removing these smelly fruits from the pavement we are sparing the local residents from some nasal pollution and are harnessing an urban resource that people in some other countries would be very envious of.

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So if you want to join me and a few others on Friday at 12:35 or on Tuesday at 12:45, please come equipt with a pair of rubber gloves, a couple of sturdy plastic bags and perhaps a spoon or chopsticks, to pick up the fruit.  Much of the current harvest has already been swept into the gutter but this is still fair game for the well prepared forager! We’ll be meeting outside of the AKO newsagent, on the corner of Beethovenstraat and Gerrit van der Veenstraat (trams 24 & 5). I’ll be wearing my yellow raincoat and rubber gloves 🙂