Wild Edible Plants

[Artashes]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Also concerning finding rocks(gem quality) on the ground. Many places in the world where that's so but most easily access places have been cleaned out long ago. Any time there is gold, silver, copper or any other ore there are going to be stones of various quality. Gold has a specific gravity that is 19 times greater than water. Virtually everyone up here(all that I've met) only cares about the gold and don't look for the obvious (to me) accompanying mineral and/ or don't recognize them because gold is so heavy and they are using the weight to hunt. Alaska is rich in gems but few look. Terrain is rough and bears are as big as oxen up here.
Artashes

[Artashes]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Also if your interested I can bird dog you to two reputable stone dealers that put out nice catalogs of gems and are honest.
Artashes

[Artashes]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Again sorry for multiple posts. Vericite and turquoise and Chrysocola amongst other rocks get there color from copper. Any time any where there is a copper mine look for gems. Same with gold, silver etc.
Artashes

[Artashes]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

That's really fascinating stuff, Alaska seems to be full of these natural treasures, especially all the stones you're finding. The variety of mushroom you posted is I believe a polypore, a class with no toxic varieties, though many are not very pleasant to eat as they can be woody, or without taste. I'm sure that some might have medicinal properties though.

All these stones you find... do they naturally appear on the ground during your travels in the wilderness? And the Vericite... that is part of a stone that you make tea with? wow. I never heard of such a thing.

Post 37 is the reference to the tea I spoke about. That particular woody mushroom is what's used to make the highly valuable tea and said tea is quite pleasant.
Artashes

[Artashes]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

These woody mushrooms(birch tree exclusive) are highly valuable. Big bucks can be earned to the finder.
Artashes

[Artashes]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Also concerning morel mushrooms. If a fire takes place round about your stomping ground look the following spring on a south facing slop. They are highly valuable and one can potentially make a fortune.
There is what's called a false morel and it's toxic!
Many mushrooms are highly toxic with no known antidote.
Spoke to a doctor and he told me many mushrooms are so toxic that one(1) touch of the finger that is then touched the eye, nose, mouth, open sore etc can cause total liver failure in minutes.
I personally would not touch any mushroom without expert guidance first.
Artashes

[retro]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

Also concerning morel mushrooms. If a fire takes place round about your stomping ground look the following spring on a south facing slop. They are highly valuable and one can potentially make a fortune.
There is what's called a false morel and it's toxic!
Many mushrooms are highly toxic with no known antidote.
Spoke to a doctor and he told me many mushrooms are so toxic that one(1) touch of the finger that is then touched the eye, nose, mouth, open sore etc can cause total liver failure in minutes.
I personally would not touch any mushroom without expert guidance first.
Artashes

I used to pick mushrooms when I was younger and you need to know what your doing alright.

Porcini - Penny Bun Bolete (Boletus Edulis)

[jgk3]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

That's really cool Artashes, I like how you decorated your pics. Btw, how do you stay safe of bears on your travels?

I usually don't bother with mushrooms because they can look so similar to toxic species, but in the case of morels and false morels, I think you can learn the difference with fair confidence: http://thegreatmorel.com/falsemorel.html

I do nibble on polypores sometimes, and are reportedly non-toxic as a class of fungi. They are relatively easy to identify: no gills on the underside, but thousands of small pores, which tend to grow on trees or logs. As I said, most don't taste very much, and can be tough and woody. Some are useful as tinder (to start fires, as they burn well), and still others are lightweight but hard, and for giant specimens, you might think of using them as a shield. But some are tender inside and quite delicious, and others medicinal. Here's an entry on the birch polypore which Artashes mentioned:

http://guildwoodvillagemushrooms.blogspot.ca/2008/06/birch-polypore.html

[Artashes]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

That's really cool Artashes, I like how you decorated your pics. Btw, how do you stay safe of bears on your travels?

I usually don't bother with mushrooms because they can look so similar to toxic species, but in the case of morels and false morels, I think you can learn the difference with fair confidence: http://thegreatmorel.com/falsemorel.html

I do nibble on polypores sometimes, and are reportedly non-toxic as a class of fungi. They are relatively easy to identify: no gills on the underside, but thousands of small pores, which tend to grow on trees or logs. As I said, most don't taste very much, and can be tough and woody. Some are useful as tinder (to start fires, as they burn well), and still others are lightweight but hard, and for giant specimens, you might think of using them as a shield. But some are tender inside and quite delicious, and others medicinal. Here's an entry on the birch polypore which Artashes mentioned:


http://guildwoodvillagemushrooms.blo...-polypore.html

Thanks for the nice info.. The pic you showed of the birch fungus growing high up in the tree are even more prized than the lower growing variety(nice pic).
The question you asked about bear protection is a tough one. Every sane person I know(exept for myself and a few of my friends) always pact artillery.
I ounce helped a father and son from from Vermont get to the south fork of the Koyukuk river (close to Coldfoot) where they dreamt of finding their fortune in gold. I insisted they pact heavy(guns) or no help from me. Went back a number of days later to bail them out. Here's the story they told me --- we were on a dry part of river with a big round boulder sticking out of the dry bed. Two black bears came upon us and started following us. We walked around the giant boulder 5 times and they followed all 5 times. It took some shots to scare the bears so they could get to safety(no one was hurt). I told them the brown big boys do not scare as easily(if at all). Unlike Vermont and Minesota where the black bear will try not to confront a man the Alaskan black will always hunt you down. Even more so than the big brown. Many of the grizzlys up here don't really care if your around(but definitely not all!!) some of the big guys you can actually bump into and they will just look at you like --- hey dude, are you having trouble walking but will do nothing. Will not happen with a black or polar and the polar bear does not frighten. I do not pack a gun unless I'm going to use it but I do --- NOT -- suggest that to anyone else.
Thanks for all the technical and informative info, most useful.
Artashes

[Artashes]

Re: Wild Edible Plants

I used to pick mushrooms when I was younger and you need to know what your doing alright.

Porcini - Penny Bun Bolete (Boletus Edulis)

A suggestion --- anytime someone shows a picture of a plant on this thread --- tell everyone viewing if they are poisnes or edible. The picture that you (Retro) showed is beautiful in my eyes. I would love to see what that tastes like. Is that ok?
Artashes