It’s Ramp season here in Vermont. Ramps, or Wild Leeks are a wonderfully delicious food to forage from the New England forests come spring. They are the first of all the “choice” wild foods that can be foraged each year. While the experienced forager tends to classify Ramps as one of the easier wild edibles to identify, there is one notable look-a-like that anyone who is not experienced at identifying ramps should pay attention to.
I am speaking of False Hellebore. This New England perennial just so happens to spring up at almost the exact same time as the Wild Leek. While to the trained eye, it is noticeably different, the plant is quite toxic, and was actually used by some Native Americans as a method of suicide. Increasingly, every year more people are sent to the hospital due to this look-a-like plant. You can read all about the false hellebore ramp look-a-like here. You can also watch this little video I made that shows the difference between the two plants below.
After what has been a very mild March here in the Green Mountains of Vermont, those first springtime edible plants are just starting to poke through the recently thawed ground. Although the edible plants and fungi are few and far between right now, there is still a lot to be discovered on any given wander about the wilds here in VT.
The Coltsfoot flower.
Discoveries from my first spring time wander about the mountains
Being in northern Vermont, there is quite a delay to the start of the foraging season. On a recent walk through the forests near Camel’s Hump, I was delighted to find the first plants and fungus to forage for the season. Although most of these edible wild foods were not quite ready to be harvested, it is still always a welcome sight.
Wild Leek
The first, most notable discovery was that of the wild leek. Also known as a ramp, these wonderful edible plants were just starting to poke through down in Huntington, VT. The ramp is surely one of most delicious wild edible plants we have in New England, with their chive like garlicy onion flavor, and their bright spring-green leaves, you can’t go wrong throwing these into any dish. Notice the purple sheathes the fresh new greens are sprouting from. Check out my ramp page here for more information on I.D. and cooking with the wild leek.
Wild leeks (ramps) just starting to sprout.
Witch’s Butter
Witch’s butter is a curious fungus. Available to forage all year round, this fungus is most often found on recently fallen branches. While it is technically edible, it is entirely flavorless with a strange chewy-like texture. There is some research being done on the possible medicinal benefits of this strange fungus. I hope to do a whole page dedicated to this jelly fungus in the near future, and often will take small bites when I find it in the wilds.
The mysterious Witch’s Butter
Coltsfoot
Coltsfoot is one of my favorite early spring flowers. I like how it is always the first real flower to surface after (or even before) the snow melts. It is so hardy it is regularly seen growing out of sand or gravel on the side of the road. It has long been used as a folk remedy to suppress a cough. However, there is some controversy on whether the coltsfoot may have some toxic chemicals. It’s beautiful yellow flower is often confused with a dandelion, but a quick look at the stem will show how different the two really are.
The beautiful yellow flower of the coltsfoot.
Chaga
Of course there is always the good ol’ reliable Chaga out there to harvest. Early spring is a good time to locate this medicinal fungus, before the trees all leaf out and obscure the view of birch trunks. Learn how to make chaga tea here!
Winter is here in the Green Mountains of Vermont, and with that comes a slowing down of foraging opportunities. While it is not impossible to go out and forage in the VT winter, it certainly is much more difficult to find anything fun to take home (especially in a little ski town like Stowe).
Perhaps the main thing I find myself looking for is Chaga. I have written about Chaga a bit already and you can read up on that information here and there. So instead of talking more about all the wonderfulness of Chaga, I instead want to focus on the tree we find it on. I am of course talking about the birch tree.
A Majestic Birch Tree
As I was out skiing along the Catamount XC Trail here in Stowe, I found myself hopelessly and haplessly looking up for Chaga with every new bend in the trail. Although I did not find any Chaga, and had to discipline myself to stop looking out of an abundance of caution for my own well being (it’s not easy to stay on the trail when you are looking up in the trees the whole time), I did find myself focusing in on the birch trees.
I started to really focus in on the different types of birch we are lucky enough to find here in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The beauty of the birch tree is really something special. I mean, all trees are of course beautiful in their own right, but there is something undeniably remarkable about the birch. Whether it’s their bright yellow foliage in the autumn, their odd catkin flowers in the summer, their vibrant, toothy leaves in the spring, or their most dramatic peeling bark in the winter- the birch tree is always a welcome sight to see in the forest.
Birch trees are a Northern delight, distributed primarily throughout the northern climates of the world only. They have double-toothed leaves, and their bark is highly flammable making for the best natural fire starter out there. The bark of some varieties has been used in canoe making for centuries by native northern cultures throughout the world.
Birch trees have the most beautiful bark!
Identifying Birch Trees In Vermont
The main thing I was realizing out there skiing along the Catamount trail was how many different species we have just here in Stowe, VT alone. I recognized at least 4 different species that day, which got me thinking about how many we actually have here. So I whipped out my phone and started taking photos of the different types of birch I was seeing.
I decided I would like to create a page dedicated to identifying birch trees in Vermont. This post is the start of that project, which will be ongoing as I discover more species and varieties of birch though time. I will focus in on how to clearly differentiate the main species, as well as perhaps identifying some local varieties. This page will be kept here, and updated as more information is gained. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to send in any questions or photos of birch trees, and I will gladly help you identify.
