Very interesting. Terminology (re: common names, I mean) is confusing. My ‘Indian Hawthorn’ (Rhaphiolepis indica) is from a completely different group of plants. Very decorative but the berries are definitely not edible.
Yes, terminology is your expertise, and I love your Substack writing about that in "Better Communication."
Yes, the English names for plants can be an absolute mess at times, which is why all professionals (including foragers and herbalists!) use primarily the Latin, which in our situation is called the Crataegus family.
Today I guided 3 foraging walks (and another 3 tomorrow), and there's a tree of absolutely delicious "Crataegus" hawthorns right next to an ancient well that's so close to the surface that our braver foragers climb down the ladder to get their toes wet in the cool, clean water - in a country that hasn't seen rain for the past 6 months of the dry season!
Thank you for your kind words. I enjoy reading about your foraging adventures. I grow as many things as I can – with some success, I’m happy to say. Even living so close to a city, I’m lucky to have a river almost on my doorstep and parks all around but, with local councils regularly and ‘proudly’(!) spraying pesticides there, foraging beyond my garden is now impossible. Have a great week.
That's great you grow yourself - I took to foraging when I gave up on gardening because it wasn't working :)
Yes, pesticides in city gardens are a real issue, although I'm grateful less in Israel than in many other countries. And what's really great about Israel is how easy it is to access the open countryside from the city - I just walk 20 minutes to my best foraging routes that feature 3000 years of history and an incredible array of wild plants.
Very interesting. Terminology (re: common names, I mean) is confusing. My ‘Indian Hawthorn’ (Rhaphiolepis indica) is from a completely different group of plants. Very decorative but the berries are definitely not edible.
Yes, terminology is your expertise, and I love your Substack writing about that in "Better Communication."
Yes, the English names for plants can be an absolute mess at times, which is why all professionals (including foragers and herbalists!) use primarily the Latin, which in our situation is called the Crataegus family.
Today I guided 3 foraging walks (and another 3 tomorrow), and there's a tree of absolutely delicious "Crataegus" hawthorns right next to an ancient well that's so close to the surface that our braver foragers climb down the ladder to get their toes wet in the cool, clean water - in a country that hasn't seen rain for the past 6 months of the dry season!
Thank you for your kind words. I enjoy reading about your foraging adventures. I grow as many things as I can – with some success, I’m happy to say. Even living so close to a city, I’m lucky to have a river almost on my doorstep and parks all around but, with local councils regularly and ‘proudly’(!) spraying pesticides there, foraging beyond my garden is now impossible. Have a great week.
That's great you grow yourself - I took to foraging when I gave up on gardening because it wasn't working :)
Yes, pesticides in city gardens are a real issue, although I'm grateful less in Israel than in many other countries. And what's really great about Israel is how easy it is to access the open countryside from the city - I just walk 20 minutes to my best foraging routes that feature 3000 years of history and an incredible array of wild plants.