Flower identification, medicinal and edible properties. As my fellow Steemian followers know, I am an intermediate herbalist and love to forage and identify the local Montana flora as part of my survivalist skillset. Here are the latest finds from my woodland journeys.
Blooming Prickly Pear Cactus
The blooms are so lush!
You wouldn't expect to find a cacti in Montana, but the forests morph from pine to high desert within a matter of yards!
This cacti provides an ample source of food, but the fruits in Montana are much smaller and less fleshy in comparison to its southern relatives.
The stems of the cacti can be mashed and used as dressing wounds out in the bush. Recent studies have been shown that the juice of this cactus may lower blood pressure!
Montana Wild Rose
One of my favorite flora shots with the river in the background
One of my favorite Montana wildflowers, the Wild Rose has a wonderful smell but the blooms only last about a week or so.
This Wild Rose is a great survival food as the hips last throughout the winter and can be foraged as an edible. It is considered more of a famine food as the hips are quite seedy, but in a Montana harsh winter, this could be a lifesaver.
The hips of the Wild Rose contain as much vitamin C as an orange! The tincture of this rose is used for feminine ailments, such as relieving cramps and reducing labor pain.
A special thanks to Lone Pine publishing and its authors for a series of GREAT herbal identification books!
Those roses are so pretty in flower! Those a two great wild edible plants at the right time of year. Now that you have scouted out this area, you can make a map and know right where to go when the cactus fruit or rosehips wil be ripe!
That is a great idea to make a map! I never thought of that. The roses turn so fast, it was nice to capture them.
You will have a great map before too long!
Nice, tasteful photos! Yes, prickly pear fruits are tasty! And such a magnificent color with the deep purple skin and incredible magenta fruit flesh. Be cautious of the patches of little spiky hairs on the fruit that can be a a nuisance to remove from your fingers! And be mindful that there are seeds inside the fruit to sort through.
Do you know of any edibility of the wild rose petals?
Cheers!
Grateful to be connecting with the wild food and medicine community on here!! :)
Yes the rose petals are edible, but the hips have all the vitamins and nutrients. This mountain version of the prickly pear has much smaller fruits and are seedier than the southern version. I might try them once they ripen!
Oh awesome! Good to know. Thanks!
Nice post and good info @queenmountain!!!
Ty :)
Yeah Sis! forgot how fun it was to steem with ya!
Yeah bro!
I'm glad you've been out and about, enjoying the plants! Those are some spiny prickly pears (Opuntia spp.). It would be interesting to see how spiny or spineless the new pads are, when they are small. New prickly pear pads can be so good! It will be nice to see the fruit when they get ripe!
And you know a good plan for foraging -- using one book on the usability of the plants and another on the identification of the plants. Happy foraging!
The prickly pear stays very small out here, I've never seen them any bigger than in those photos. I will try the fruit this year! Good advice on the books. I do have a nice book on prep that I need to delve into.
I thought you were the person with the plan for using your two books in combination! That is a good pair you have. And you are right -- a third book on preparation would help. Not knowing what to do with a harvest can be a big block.
I will say this about preparing cactus -- don't clean up with a dishcloth and then put it into your laundry with your underwear! You won't find that in any book, lol. You can guess how I know that! ; )
Lol, that is some good advice! Now I need to get a map and mark where I find all my specimens along with my 3 books!
Making maps is really helpful! Then the longer you live in an area, the more the whole place becomes your own personal grocery store!
Hey some plants are similar to this fruit pitahaya produced by a
Cactus plants very nice photos.
By the way the pumpkin flowers are very delicious too but you showed
A wild beautiful flowers. Nice photography, the place looks very good.
here are some fruit similar to your pictures, please look only the pictures :)
https://steemit.com/food/@galberto/pitahaya-entre-mas-silvestre-mejor